The Bon Bon Gazette

Autism and the loss of a pet

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:01:00 +0000

Today was a very sad day in our house. We said good-bye to a family member, our dear dog Josie who was almost 13 years old. It was time, but it doesn't make it any easier to say good-bye.
This morning I snapped a couple pictures of her before I took her to the vet but in looking at them, it is not how I want to remember her. I want to remember her as the puppy with the giant feet, that grew into a gigantic beast of a dog. A loving beast that my son used to use for a bed (as pictured). She was such a gentle soul, and had no idea of her enormity. But in the end it was her size that got the best of her. She couldn't go up and down the stairs. Her quality of life was suffering and it was time to make the difficult call. I hate myself right now and I feel like a murderer even though I know it was her time. My heart hurts.

My daughter knows that I am sad and she just keeps giving me hugs. She doesn't want me to cry. Alex got upset when I was crying and told me not to cry. Sometimes it seems he is so nonphased by death but I know it is because he truly doesn't understand it (or maybe he does?). This is not the first time we've had to deal with death this year. When my father passed away suddenly the children got a crash course in death, funerals, and heaven. My son still asks on about a weekly basis "Where did Grandpa Tom Go? And where is he?". And we answer that he is in heaven - and sometimes he'll stop with the questions, and other times he will ask more. His little sister recognizes that this is a sad subject for me and when he starts she will tell him to "knock it off" or that "he's pushing it" and "needs to drop it". I see her becoming a little mother to her older brother right before my eyes, and it touches me but tears me up at the same time.

This morning when we asked the kids to say good-bye to the dog - my daughter petted her and said a couple of nice things. She drew a picture today of a big dog with rainbow colors on it and waves and said it is a "rainbow dog" and it is at the beach. She did this all on her own - she just turned 5 years old. She gets it. Meanwhile, Alex just yelled "Good-Bye Josie" while playing with this Nintendo DS and barely looked at the dog. But for him, I know it is just a matter of time before he asks about where she went and we go through another round of questions about Heaven. I know it will take longer for him to sink in and realize that his dear doggie is really gone.

Related:
Saying Good-Bye to Grandpa and can you take an airplane to Heaven
On Autism and a Death in the Family
In a Time of Sadness
Have you thought about all the bunnies?

Autism on the Ice - Special Needs Hockey

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:07:00 +0000

In fall '09 the Brick Hockey Club started something very special, a hockey clinic for children with Special Needs.

I had hoped to enroll my son in the program, but he clearly stated that he wasn't interested. "Alex doesn't like sports. Only Bowling - and sometimes Baseball", he said. After discussing it with my husband - we agreed not to push it. Though we both agreed that the physical activity would be good for him - especially because of his low tone muscles - it didn't seem worth the fight. Surprisingly - my daughter who has vision issues - really wanted to learn to ice skate and try out hockey. She has loved it and looks forward to going week after week - the only girl and the littlest player on the team.

On a few occasions we asked Alex if he would like to come and watch. He was vehement that he didn't want to. Last week they started a new 6 week session and the night before he announced, "Can Wall-E Ice Skate?". I took this as a sign that he was interested in trying to skate - himself. I didn't push it but when he asked again this weekend, "Can Wall-E go ice skating?"... I knew he was interested. So, I asked if he wanted to go to ice skating and he said, "yes!". I told him he could just watch or he could skate if he wanted to. So, this morning.. up and early we got up and I layered him up with warm clothes and warned him that the rink is very cold. I half expected he would bow out along the way - but he didn't. We put Wall-E in the pocket of his vest so that Wall-E could go skating with him.

When we got to the rink he did seem anxious. He was circling a bit in the locker room (the freezer) as I got his sister ready. A teen who volunteers attempted to assist him with getting his gear on but Alex wasn't the most compliant. Once Belle was ready to go, I focused on him and got him started with getting the gear on. I then turned him over to the volunteers who got his knee/shin guards and skates on him - and we found a helmet that would fit his very large head.

They started him out sitting in a chair and then pushing a chair. But, that didn't last long - he saw his little sister was up and skating (scoring goals) and he stood up on his own from the chair and wanted to shoot some goals too. The volunteer took turns having him push a chair and also supporting him to help him skate upright. He was very floppy and fell quite a bit. By the end of the hour he was exhausted and actually laid down on the ice. They helped him skate over to the door and he told me. "I won!". He was very tired, and he cried a little bit, but then he was very happy and said he had fun skating - I think he was just sheer exhausted. Overall it was a very good experience for him and I am hopeful that we'll do it again next week and for the remainder of the program.

Information about Brick Hockey Club Special Needs Hockey can be found at http://www.brickhockeyclub.com

Photos & Video from 2/28/10 Special Needs Hockey

Alex skating with the help of a caring volunteer

Both of my kids practicing scoring (Belle is in the purple jersey)

Video of Alex pushing a chair - first time standing up on skates. As you can hear - the ice rink is a loud arena. I fully expected that between the sensory issues that the gear (helmet, pads, skates) and the noise that he would really struggle. Once again, he surprised me.

Video of Alex skating with the help of a volunteer. For his first time on skates, I have to hand it to him!

For comparison - here is my daughter who started the program in late November. She loves to use the hockey stick!

Related Links:
Brick Special Needs Ice Hockey League
Overcoming vision challenges
Amblyopia on Ice

Bowling Fun, Hurdles and Highs

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 22:23:00 +0000

Well here we are at the close of another season of Challenger bowling for the kids. This is Alex's favorite "sport" brought to us by the Challenger athletic program. The kids really look forward to going to the bowling alley on Saturday mornings, eating snacks with friends, and bowling.

Things that never change:

The french fries. Sometimes we are convinced the kids care more about their snacks than bowling itself.
Alex always needs the green ball. Isabelle always needs the pink - even if she isn't officially on the roster and is just floating in to take a turn for an absent player - must be pink.
4 - The number of times on average that my son "fires" the loudspeaker announcer each week when they announce a birthday, high score, or other. If we could just get over the loudspeaker announcements, bowling would be a cakewalk.

Obligatory Kid Pics of receiving their trophies presented by Brick Township Mayor Acropolis.

Hello Kitty Waffles - Gluten and Casein Free!

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:44:00 +0000

Years ago my husband got me a Hello Kitty Waffle Maker that I loved and cherished. I used it a lot in the beginning but then put it up and away. The other day the kids were asking for waffles - and since I had a gluten free mix in my pantry I thought I'd pull it out. I did, only to find that it was broken. It was a sad sad day. My husband went out to Target to see if they had a new one in stock - but they didn't as it is an item they usually carry around the holidays. He went online and ordered me one, and I had a new one within days. Of course, that meant one thing - Breakfast for dinner! First, I made gluten and casein free Hello Kitty waffles for Alex using the Maple Grove Farms Gluten Free Pancake & Waffle Mix. You just add - oil, egg, and water to the mix and it makes pretty yummy waffles. Because the Hello Kitty waffler doesn't have a timer on it, you need to kind of play a guessing game on when they are done. If anything, I overcooked these a bit but Alex likes a crispier waffle and they are pretty thick so I wanted to make sure it was cooked all the way through. When done, I made up some non-gfcf Hello Kitty Waffles for the family.

Yummy and fun!

gluten-free hello kitty waffles

hello kitty waffles

Related links:
Hello Kitty Waffle Maker - Epinions.com

Gluten Free Pizza from Boston's

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:35:00 +0000

I recently went to Boston's for a much needed Mom's Night Out and found that they offered Gluten Free pizza! So, we headed there a few nights later as a family to give it a try. Alex loves pizza, so he was happy to order a gluten free pizza with sauce, no cheese, and grilled chicken. His individual pizza came to $7.88 and it was gone in about 5 minutes flat. The crust was really thin and crispy and he loved it. Typically he eats the pizza and leaves the crust, but this time he even ate the crust. Both my husband and I commented that it looked really good and if it wasn't so small we would have tried to sample a piece of it. Next time, we need to get him a larger size (the Small) since the kid can eat!

If you have a Boston's in your area, check them out for Gluten Free pizza. We did the "make your own" but they can make many of their signature pizzas on gluten free crust for a very small surcharge ($1.99 more)

Happy Valentine's Day

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:04:00 +0000

Alex came home from school the other day (Tuesday - the only full day they had last week) with this valentine that he made for his sister.

I don't know if they told him to make it for his sister, or if it was supposed to be for me (usually they have the kids make something for their mother!) I'm not complaining -I love that he made his valentine for his little sister. He does love her, when he isn't fighting with her.

I had made gluten and casein free rice krispie type treats with EnviroKidz Koala Crisp Cereal. But, because of snow days - the kids didn't have school on Friday nor their Valentine's party.

Related Links:
Happy Valentine's Day & Autism
Epinions Review of Glenny's Organic Brown Rice Chocolate Rice Marshmallow Treats

A Boy and his Nintendo DS [Autism]

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:04:00 +0000

Alex loves his Nintendo DS Lite. He bought it with saved up gift cards last Christmas/Birthday shortly after turning 8 years old. Now more than a year later he is still loving it - sometimes maybe too much. We've had to have a few talks about not bringing it to the dinner table and everyplace we go. It pretty much goes in the car with him most times we go out - and is a great occupier through otherwise tough waiting situations.

I love the photo above - he is so "in the zone". In this photo, he was at his sister's birthday party and the little kids were all running around playing games and listening to loud dance type music. An otherwise very difficult environment for him was completely avoided, he sat quietly and played without a complaint.

Related Links:
Epinions Review of Nintendo DS Lite Console
Epinions Review of Nintendo DS Headphones
Epinions Review of Naki G-Pak DS Organizer
Epinions Review of Nintendo DS Lite Car Charger

Kim Stagliano speaks out on CNN Re: Wakefield Autism/Vaccine Retraction

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:35:00 +0000

You know, its my daughter's birthday. If one more "helpful" friend points out to me the link on the Lancet article retraction - the Autism/Vaccine link being tossed out and Wakefield being lynched... Excuse me, but do you think I'm NOT following it all? I'm trying to enjoy my daughter's birthday but everywhere I turn I can't seem to get away from it.

My son has autism and his story is very similar to many other children also on the Autism spectrum. My son was very much a healthy and happy child for the first year of his life - until he went to a well visit and received a toxic cocktail of multiple vaccinations (including the experimental MMR-V a mercury containing vax, a flu shot, and others). That night he ended up in the hospital. The doctors said he had asthma. Over the following year he lost words and stopped meeting developmental milestones. We started early intervention to help him get caught up but he never did and he was ultimately diagnosed with Autism. I refused to let the doctors and schools write him off as just another number. Therapy, ABA, OT, PT, Speech, Behavior plans - it is all great and helps but I knew we needed to do more for him. A big giant red flag was the fact that in Kindergarten my son got sent home almost weekly. In fact, I originally began this blog as a place to rant against the school nurse who kept sending my son home.. day after day, week after week. My son was always getting sick. He would come home and then he wouldn't seem sick. I identified that the sickness usually correlated to things he ate.
I knew people who had put their autistic children on special diets and were seeing results - I knew it wasn't going to be easy and it would also be a financial challenge. I did it anyways - at first on a trial basis. We noted immediate changes when we eliminated milk and so we proceeded with eliminating gluten. We started supplements. Bit by bit, we watched our son make gains. Huge Gains. Not only was he no longer getting sick at school (aside from the usual seasonal stuff) he started to behave better and have less tantrums. He still has autism but he is a changed child.

Our story is not a fluke.

Vaccines hurt my child and biomedical interventions are helping him.

I want to share this link/video to someone who is a rock star and someone who I am honored to consider my friend :) Kim Stagliano - mother of 3 children with Autism. Kim blogs at Huffington Post and is the managing editor of Age of Autism

Happy Birthday Belle!

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:06:00 +0000

Happy 5th Birthday to Belle!

Brick SEPTA Spaghetti Dinner - GFCF Success!

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:44:00 +0000

I'm part of the Brick Special Ed PTA (SEPTA). We recently had a Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser which was a great success. Since many of the kids are one special diets (gluten and casein free) - we decided to also offer GFCF options for the dinner. We served pasta, marinara sauce, meatballs, salad, chicken - and also had gluten free pasta and the gluten free chicken. For dessert we had a cake and brownies, and GFCF chocolate cupcakes (made by yours truly).

The event was a huge success. We estimated ahead of time how much food to have - and I think we could have had even more gluten free/casein free food available since it went very quickly! So many parents came up to us (Board members) and thanked us for serving gluten free items.

As a parent of a child with a special diet, I know it is tough to get out to dinner and enjoy without a lot of preparation and bringing your own food. So, this was a treat for those families and it was truly a joy to see friends and our extended SEPTA family coming together to enjoy a meal.

GFCF Crazy Cake

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:29:00 +0000

We celebrated the kids birthdays jointly at Nana's house this year. Of course I made a GFCF cake for the kids to enjoy. Belle wanted cupcakes and Alex wanted a cake - so I made both. Half was decorated with an Ariel Candle and pink/purple cupcakes and the other half had a WALL-E Candle and green cupcakes. I put the cupcakes in footed cupcake holders that I received as a Christmas gift. The final product was very crazy looking but the kids loved it. I admit - it was fun to decorate with the kids.

The cake is the Namaste Chocolate Cake Mix - gluten and dairy free.

The frosting does have soy in it, and obviously a ton of sugar and dyes. We paid for it afterwards with the hyperactivity - but birthdays do only come once a year!

Happy Birthday Kiddos!!!

5 and 9 this year - I cannot believe it!!!

Swimming in Winter

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 07:18:00 +0000

We had Isabelle's birthday party at a local fitness center pool. It turned out to be the perfect day for it as we had a light snowfall the evening before. Everyone was cold and appreciated the retreat into the heated 85 degree pool. The kids also tried out the hot tub and the sauna (to dry off and warm towels).

As little sisters can be, Belle had made up her mind that her brother wasn't invited to her party. She was adamant about it and he had somehow decided along the way that he wasn't going to go. Of course, we wanted him to attend but the kids sometimes decide these things for us. Thankfully, the day of the party she decided he could come. He took some coaxing but when we told him he could go swimming - he was definitely interested. The hour in the pool seemed to fly by. The little kids were playing with pool noodles, kickboards, and water aerobic barbells and Alex joined in. He floated around (with a bubble on his back, that he probably didn't need but all the little kids had them and since no adults were actually in the water - it was a safety decision). Alex loved swimming and had a blast at the party. I really enjoyed watching him float around and attempt to swim under the water with the bubble on his back - a challenge). The water is so calming for him and excellent exercise. It makes me wish we had access to a pool year round for him.

Alex's finished movie - Ice Age Scrat visits Pixar UP!

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:33:00 +0000

Alex really missed going to Small Factory since they had a bit of a holiday/winter break between lessons. This weekend he finally finished his creation in whice Scrat from Ice Age visit's Carl and the "Up" house from Pixar's UP.

Enjoy!

Louise Kuo Habakus to visit Brick SEPTA

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:27:00 +0000

Louise Kuo Habakus, Age of Autism's 2009 Person of the year will be visiting Brick SEPTA in February. Please mark your calendars and plan on joining us for this informative (and FREE) event!

Brick Township Special Education PTA presents
an introduction to Parenting For Wellness A Health Empowerment Series
Louise Kuo Habakus, MA, HHP

Please join us for an informative and timely look at nutritional and perspectives on parenting and family wellness. We’ll discuss the “New Normal” of children’s health, and how to take back parenting and make our life health choices. Bring your questions about cold and flu season, including prevention, vaccines and immune system support. Life Health Choices is dedicated to building community and creating change through informed choices affecting our lives and our health.

Individual registration louise@lifehealthchoices.com

Free admission & light refreshments

Monday, February 22, 2010
7:00-9:30 pm
Veterans Memorial Middle School Auditorium
105 Hendrickson Avenue, Brick, NJ

For more info visit Brick Septa's website at www.bricksepta.org

Really Cool GFCF foods we've tried lately

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:59:00 +0000

It is so hard to believe some days that the Alex who stands before us today is the same child who was barely verbal and tantrum-ruled when he was diagnosed with autism. The same child who went from eating everything in sight to eating about 5 things and ate those same 5 things for years. Until, in first grade we switched him to the Gluten and Casein Free diet. The diet, which limits food ingredients and made things even more selective for him opened him up to a whole new world of eating. The same child who now will eat a turkey leg or a hamburger and not just chicken nuggets and pizza. Before starting "the diet" I had images of my child starving or wasting away because he would have no food choices, but it has most definitely had the opposite effect.

I've been really lucky lately in having the chance for Alex to try out some new gluten and casein free foods thanks to samples being sent my way.

Kenzoil review

I have shared many times how my son loves ketchup. The kid puts ketchup on everything - his eggs, his noodles, his potatoes, his fries, his chicken, his everything. A couple days ago he put ketchup on sweet potatoe, which made me gag but he ate it. Anyways, we tried a new condiment - Kenzoil. The name is reminiscent of something that goes in cars to make them run, I don't really love the name. But thankfully the product is nothing like motor oil. It is actually EVOO with basil, garlic and spices and you can use it in a gazillion different ways - as a sauce, dip, marinade. I first tried to give it to Alex similar to how he would eat ketchup but I assessed that the "taste" is a bit too grown up for him like that. Next, I tried cooking with it on his grilled chicken. Success and it definitely jazzed up plain bland grilled chicken. I also cooked his sunny side eggs with it and served his eggs on top of his Udi's bread like eggs in the basket, except they were greenish eggs. Another hit. Kenzoil is one of those products that I will just have to experiment with in terms of cooking but my goal is that maybe if I make Alex's food a bit more flavorful or seasoned he won't see the need to drown them so much in ketchup. Since it is a gluten free condiment, I'll definitely be trying more things with it.

Gluten Free Pita Review
Which brings me to Gluten Free Pitas. Since Alex is now eating more than 5 things - when we received a package of gluten free pitas from GFL foods they didn't last very long in my house. I used these for school lunches and stuffed them with grilled chicken. And that Kenzoil I just blabbed on and on about - the pitas go really well with it. I could not taste any difference between these pitas and a "regular" non-gluten free one. I don't think Alex ever ate a non-gluten free pita before, so this was a first for him. He liked how the bread was shaped like a pocket - this was very novel to him. When I gave him suggestions on what we could stuff it with - the only thing he wanted to put in it was chicken which was just fine with me.

Boomi Bar & Prana Bar review
While on the topic of school lunches - I have to pack Alex's lunch every day. It gets old because I do feel like I give him the same things over and over. I received some samples of Boomi & Prana bars which are gluten free, and they have a line that is also dairy free/vegan. Note: some of the gluten free bars have whey protein in them, so as with everything check the ingredients. These are laden with nuts. My husband happens to be allergic to nuts and for a long time we didn't give Alex nuts because we felt he could be allergic to them even though the results from testing were not conclusive on that. I've been allowing nuts and introduced almond flour with no issues. Still, I watched carefully for a reaction and proceeded with caution on these since his father has a nut allergy. Alex preferred the Coconut Acai prana bar over the the Apricot Cashew Boomi Bar. He started out with both of them quite enthusiastic but didn't finish them. I shared them with them and found these energy bars are really quite filling and I liked the taste. I'd buy them in the future, but be sure to cut them in half and just send him with a partial bar so they didn't go to waste.

I'm so thankful that Alex has gotten the chance to try these new foods out and expand his repertoire bit by bit. I am still impressed that he is being so adventurous and has clearly stepped out - taken a giant leap- away from his old limited diet ways.

What will he try next?

Related Links:
www.kenzoil.com
www.glutenfreepitas.com
www.pranabar.com

Disclaimer - I was provided with samples of the above products for our honest no holds barred review.

And he eats a Hamburger thanks to Video Games

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:57:00 +0000

Alex adores cooking games and food themed games on the Wii and Nintendo DS. His favorites include the Cooking Mama Games and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I've always found it very funny and ironic because he plays all these games that involve food that
1) he can't eat because of his GFCF diet
2)If he could eat it with GFCF accomodations, he won't because he is very selective - which is common in kids on the autism spectrum.
However, since we went to Disney his food profile has expanded and he has been on an uphill climb, trying new things almost weekly.

And so it started, like this.... Alex has always been obsessed with making miis on the Wii. We used to try to be diligent and not let him make a million of them. But we have since caved and have come to enjoy the crazy miis that he comes up with or makes from the instructions on the mii characters website.

This one is a personal favorite:
The Hamburger head mii.

So, he has asked a few times for a Hamburger for dinner. I've held off on making it for him because, well... I figured he wouldn't eat it. But, he asked again and I thought I would just try it. If he didn't like it, I'd make him something quick like a sunny side up egg, another favorite of his as of late.

After procuring the $5.99 bag of Kinnikinnick buns from the grocery store I headed home to make burgers for the family.

He ate one, and then asked for a second! On the second. He asked if we could...

1. Slice the Tomato
2. Tear the Lettuce

These are steps from the Cooking Mama game and he scripted the game sequence as I did the above two steps. You can see a video of Cooking mama here making a hamburger.

Really, I wondered if he would eat this 2nd one with the vegs on it. His first one only had ketchup.

Today, my son ate his first (and second) hamburgers in his entire life!

A Day to be Awarded

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:09:00 +0000

The schoolyear got off to a rocky start for us at school with some issues largely revolving around food. But, things are looking up for the most part. As with anything there are good days and not so good days. Today was more than a good day.

After school I had to load Alex into the mom-van and drag him along so his little sister could make up a dance class that she had missed last week (going to the dentist). While she was in the class having fun - Alex and I waited in the car.

A car pulled up next to us and it happened to be a para from his class. Her daughter is older and also takes classes at the same Dance Studio that my daughter attends. She asked me if Alex had told me what happened at school today. Of course he hadn't - he is usually not very good at telling me what happened and I have to really pull it out of him and ask just the right questions. She asked me if I'd looked in his backpack, but I told her that I hadn't because we came right over to dance class. So she tells me...

They had an assembly today with a singer, Mr. Sprout. He asked for kids to volunteer to come up and sing a solo and Alex volunteered.

My son, who in the past has not even been able to ATTEND assemblies, or had to attend them wearing ear muffling headphones. My son who hates clapping. My son who doesn't like microphones or loud speakers.

My son, My Alex. He got up and he sang with his sweet little voice over the microphone on the stage in front of the entire school. There was clapping, and there were a lot of tears (from his teachers and paras who are "in the know" about how HUGE this is for him).

In his backpack I received a really nice note from his teacher. I seriously could frame this. When I'm having a bad day, I will read this.. over and over and over again.

I am so proud of Alex. He actually made me cry. The past 2 assemblies he has been participating, CLAPPING along and enjoying himself. Today he actually volunteered to sing in front of the entire assembly with the Presenter Mr. Sprout. It was beautiful. He has come so far already!

In his green folder, I found this Star Student Award.

For: Participating and singing during our Assembly.

I am so proud of Alex every day for his hard work but today even more.

Welcoming in 2010 with a Meltdown

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

I've been a little bit absent from the blog here as the kids as ever have kept me busy lately.

The New Year, 2010, got off with a rocky start. We went to friends house for a low-key New Years Eve celebration consisting of Wii games and good company. Alex was having a blast playing the Wii and showing off how good he is at making all sorts of "celebrity" miis and mii-look-a-likes. We brought some of his new games with us including Super Mario Brothers and Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games. He was happy, we were happy. All was good. As it got closer to midnight the kids -- who had made it without a meltdown and on relatively good behavior for being up way late, started playing on their Nintendo DS so we could watch the countdown on TV with Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest. Alex was looking forward to seeing the ball drop and was counting down with us. But, he made a fatal mistake and he looked at his video game and he missed seeing the ball drop!

We then entered the year with the biggest meltdown ever, tears, and serious upset.

Thankfully our friends live only about a mile away so we headed home and with the help of You Tube, I was able to find someone who had already uploaded the 2010 ball drop and so Alex got to watch it and he calmed down.

There are days that I really dislike Youtube because my son likes to find videos on there and play them over and over and over. It is usually harmless but he has found some things I would really rather he not. But this time, YouTube came to the rescue.

My GFCF kid + Udi's Gluten Free Foods = Happy Kid

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:56:00 +0000

Alex got a special gift the day before Christmas. A sampler box arrived from Udi's Gluten Free Foods for him to try out. It was perfect timing as we had long since finished our loaf of gluten free sandwich bread and they are not yet available at the Jersey shore. YET. You can however order them online and they ship anywhere in the US. I have plans to do this soon soon soon.

So, in the box was a loaf of their awesome sandwich bread as well as a whole grain (but still gluten free) loaf. It is rare that my son gets "whole grain" anything because of being gluten free!

There were also 2 boxes of the giant muffins: blueberry and lemon streusel. I popped the lemon ones in my freezer but Alex cracked right into the blueberry ones and was so happy. When he saw the muffins he asked me "Did it come from the oven?" As if I had just made it. So cute! Well, those 4 muffins were gone at the 1-a-day rate. It wasn't until the last muffin that I was able to break off a piece when he wasn't looking to taste it for myself. And so, I could see for myself why he ate them. Pretty darn good and not super sweet either. I'm not a big fan of blueberry muffins because usually the entire top is coated in sugar and they are almost crunchy - pleased that these were not like that at all.

Fast forward to today...

So, being that we are on winter break - the kids have been out of school for 2 weeks (also thanks to snow days here last week which gave them 3 extra days). My daughter asked me for pizza for lunch. I usually send her into pre-k on Wednesdays with pizza for lunch as Alex can't really have pizza (too many GFCF infractions) without me jumping through a lot of hoops to make him his own. Well, since little sis wanted Pizza I decided that we could do make your own pizza and how convenient because I had a 2 pack of the Udi's gluten free pizza crusts in my freezer from the sampler box. We usually use the Kinnikinnick Pizza crusts that are now sold in my "normal" grocery store (Stop N Shop) freezer section for $10 a box - it is robbery but kids love pizza and my son is no exception. So, while my daughter had her regular pizza (laden with gluten and dairy).

Alex made up his own on an Udi's gf crust. His pizza just had sauce on it with some tomatoes and seasoning - no cheese.

I am used to him eating 2 of the single serve pizzas but I could easily get away with 1 of these since they are pretty big (maybe 9" round?) . I cut it into 8 pieces.

He made quick work of eating almost an entire pizza and was so happy.

Yay for Udi's! Thank you from Alex!

Christmas Redux

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:29:00 +0000

What a nice white christmas we had here! The snow has since melted away and boy it was cold but it really added to the feeling of Christmas.

The kids as always scored big!

My daughter is loving her new best frien d, an American Girl Doll complete with pretty purple eyeglasses. Her christmas was complete with many many a girly gift, including Pink Emu Knee High Boots, barbies, DVDs & DS games, and of course Zhu Zhu Pets.

Alex received lots of DS and Wii games, DVDs, and books that he asked for. Big hits include the Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs DS game and Wii Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs as well as his new Perry Chattering Plush. A very happy Alex, indeed.

Both kids had been longing for the As Seen on TV Touch N Brush Hands Free Toothpaste Dispenser, which Alex received. It immediately set his little sister Belle into a fit of jealousy because even though at first she thought they could "share it", this didn't work because they use different kinds of toothpaste. So, off I went to Walgreens and came home with a second one. We are now a 2 Touch N Brush family and peace has been restored. The funny thing is that several friends also with kids who have autism also had the Touch N Brush under the tree. I have noticed that a lot of ASD kids love those As Seen on TV items. In fact, I am certain that a few of the kids (my son included) can recite the commercials.

The best gift that I received this year is my son's better understanding of Christmas and the fun in GIVING gifts as well as receiving. This year he had specific things in mind that he was very set on giving.

For his sister, he gave her a Kevin Plush from the Pixar Up movie. I had already given her a "baby Kevin" that she loved but he was insistent on getting her Mommy one. Well, these are exclusive and you can only order them from Disney Movie Rewards. So, with the help of friends (and facebook) I was able to reach out and get an unused code so my husband could create a DMR account to order it (I'd used my allotment when I ordered the baby one for Belle). She loves it, and has been sleeping with it every night. Alex also insisted on giving the cats gifts. In particular he wanted to get a green collar with a Belle for our one cat that has never worn a collar. (The other cat has a red one). For the other cat he got a bag full of green cat toys. Green being Alex's favorite color and the cats being his friends, they also must like green. Happy the cat was very unsure about the green collar at first and hid in the bedroom closet for about a day. He's since had an attitude adjustment and is wearing it... happily. Of course, I think Alex likes it better than he does. If I can get a picture of the cat I'll add one to this post - because hip hip hooray - I got a new digital camera, since mine broke shortly before Thanksgiving.

Christmas was tough this year for me being the first Christmas without my Dad, but the joy on my childen's faces and being able to share in their joy helped me through. And this picture, is for my father - who I know is smiling from Heaven. My daughter wearing a dirndl dress that he purchased from Germany. I know that Grandpa, my Pop, would have loved to see her wearing it.

Merry Christmas to All.

Merry Christmas!

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:16:00 +0000

Merry Christmas!

My little Prima Princessa and the Nutcracker Ballet

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:26:00 +0000

It can be tough being the little sister of a big brother with Autism. All the family activities are planned around whether or not we can attend as a family and with the needs/concerns of the Autistic child in mind. There are a lot of special events, especially around the holidays, that get skipped because they would be too difficult for her brother, Alex, to handle. At age 4, she doesn't always realize what she is missing out on - but I don't want her to feel like she missed out because of her brother and end up resenting him. Because of this, I try to plan special things that my daughter can do that are just for her.

As a child, I remember taking a trip every Christmas to go see The Nutcracker ballet. I usually went with my father, who I especially miss this Christmas - it is our first without Grandpa and fond memories of him are so close to the surface for me. When I found out that The Nutcracker ballet was being performed nearby, I purchased tickets for us to attend. My daughter loves ballet and is in her 3rd year of classes already! I figured that at close to 5 years old she could sit through the performance and would enjoy it. One of her favorite DVDs of all times happens to be Barbie in The Nutcracker and more recently, Prima Princessa Presents The Nutcracker.

In preparation for attending The Nutcracker Ballet performed by the Company of Dance Arts, we watched Prima Princessa Presents The Nutcracker many many times. Unlike the Barbie version which takes many liberties with the storyline, the Prima Princessa version is the "real" Nutcracker. We first fell in love with Prima Princessa last year when she received Pri ma Princessa Presents Swan Lake DVD. What is so great about both is that they include real ballet performances of the actual ballet with child-appropriate narration explaining what is happening in that ballet Act. Unlike musicals or plays, there is no spoken word at The Ballet so kids may struggle with understanding the storyline as it is played out through dance. In between segments of dance, Prima Princessa includes video clips of children dancing ballet and illustrates real dance moves with proper terminology. My daughter takes dance class and knows many moves but she didn't know the names of the moves she was learning until watching the Prima Princessa DVDs. If you have a little girl who loves to dance, these DVDs are must haves for your collection and a nice diversion from the usual Barbie dreck.

Since she had watched her Nutcracker DVD, oh.... 10,987 times (or thereabouts) over the past few months - I think my daughter knew the Nutcracker storyline better than I did. She was counting and waiting for the days to attend the live performance. We had a close call due to a huge blizzard here in New Jersey and our Saturday afternoon performance ended up getting postponed until Sunday at 7pm. When the snow didn't stop, I feared that we wouldn't be able to attend the ballet at all. My daughter cried. I cried. I felt mad! But, we still had Prima Princessa and if we had to dress up fancy and sit down and watch it together (kicking out the boys) I would have. The good news was - the snow stopped and the roads started getting plowed out. I decided we could get safely there and back to the rescheduled performance. My daughter was over the moon excited and couldn't get ready fast enough. I worried a bit that sitting through the 2 hour program would be difficult for her - even with the 10 minute break. When we got there it was magic. My daughter sat eyes wide open and loved every minute of it. She took in every saute, glissade, and passe and couldn't take her eyes off of the dancers. Even cuter was when she was doing her own narration, ala the Prima Princessa fairy, and explaining to me what she saw on the stage. There was a little girl about 10 years old sitting near us and she commented to my daughter that she sure did know a lot about The Nutcracker! The credit goes only to the fact she has watched her beloved Prima Princessa DVD so many times.

The two of us had a magical time at the ballet together. I am glad to have taken the time and braved the snow to appreciate her for her without being in her brother's shadow.

Yes, watching The Nutcracker ballet with Belle, I fell in love with my daughter all over again. I am so proud of the beautiful and smart young girl she is shaping up to be.

Related Links:
Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake
Buy Prima Princessa Presents The Nutcracker
Prima Princessa Website

Disclaimer: I did receive the Prima Princessa DVDs to try for review purposes.

Carnivorous Snow in New Jersey

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:19:00 +0000

We woke up to even more snow today! Not a surprise.. hockey was canceled.

There is so much snow, you can't even see my husband's car - it is buried. My van was completely blocked in and the snow was practically up to the windows.

This is the most snow I have seen in New Jersey since we moved here 5 years ago.

Kurt went out to dig the snow out and Belle went out to play. She made a snow angel and couldn't stand up. She announced that "the carnivorous snow is eating me".

I took a video on my phone. She had such a blast. Both kids want to go back out and build new snowmen but Daddy needs to thaw out. He was out there for close to 3 hours and still isn't done!

Snow in New Jersey

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:11:00 +0000

Well, we've got snow on the Jersey Shore.

The kids couldn't get outside fast enough.

To make this:

So... the weekend plans have completely been shuffled. Today I was supposed to take Belle to go to the Nutcracker ballet. She'd been preparing for weeks and had a special new pretty dress all ready to wear. Snowed out. The performance is rescheduled for tomorrow night at 7pm - that is late for a 4 year old, because it is 2 and a half hours long. She may just have to enjoy her Prima Princessa Presents The Nutcracker DVD instead.

Alex was supposed to go to computer school but the snowy dangerous roads put a halt to that today. Class was canceled.

Tonight we were supposed to go to a neighbors house for the Santa deliveries from the local firehouse, that looks to be off as well.

Tomorrow Alex was supposed to go to the Elks christmas party for special needs children - that is postponed as well - til next weekend - of course, after Christmas but the kids will still enjoy.

Today we are staying inside, safe and warm - enjoying family.

Green Gluten Free Cake

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:12:00 +0000

Because no birthday is complete without cake...

Here's the green cake that Belle and I made for Alex. Its actually chocolate cake, with a whole container of green sugar sprinkles on the top of dairy-free frosting.