More deep thoughts from LP

I have no idea where she comes up with this stuff! I do love love love her imagination :)

"Dear first grade journal,
I went swimming one day and me and Mommy found a starfish. We brot it to the shore and then a pelican grabbed it out of my hand! Really.
Your friend, Layla"

(That never happened.)


"Dear first grade journal,
Let me tell you about an interesting birthday I had. I was having a great party, when all of a sudden, a MONSTER walked in! It ate everyone.
Your friend, Layla"

(Also never happened.)


"Dear first grade journal,
Here's the late breaking news story. Today at (her school), an exciting thing happened. (Her principal) wore a tiara and tutu! It was so funny.
Your friend, Layla"

(That one actually did happen.)


"A Winter Poem
I see snow.
I hear the wind.
I taste ice.
I feel cold.
I smell a skunk.
I know the season is winter."


"Dear first grade journal,
If I was the President, I would help people and I would show mercy.
Your friend, Layla"


"Dear first grade journal,
To Dr.Seuss
I don't like to say this but... your books are not that good. So is it ok if you just make them a little cooler for me?
Your friend, Layla"

*The pics are from the Hope for Hearts pageant two weeks ago. We were completely a little out of our league for that one! It was semi-glitz and we are verrrry natural. But we sure did have fun! I don't think she even realized she didn't win anything, she never said a word about it!

Sweet little loves :)

I think we have finally gotten all our Valentine's delivered, ha. Better late than never?
That's how we roll.

Here are the sweet littles that just scream LOVE!

Today, I choose to love

the ex-husband of my best friend who is treating her, and their SON, like junk.

the lady who committed to making my kids' birthday shirts weeks ago and then disappeared.

my husband's supervisor who is making him work late to help other people, just because he is the only one who will.

the makers of super adorable, super unaffordable children's clothes.

the hendersonville police department.

the United States Air Force.

the 255 boxes of girl scout cookies we have/had to deliver.

the writers of Spiderman 3 who chose to include inappropriate language in a movie that four-year-olds boys really want to watch.

"Let us agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other."
Romans 14:19a



:)

What's on the menu?

First of all, let me just say...
This week has been INSANE.

I have never been so happy to stay home and clean as I am today. My sweatpants missed me!

Next week gets even crazier.

Which is why it is imperative that I spend part of today meal planning. Cale saw a naturopath on Wednesday (or rather she saw him...)! It was VERY interesting. She "read" his energy and immediately found things in his body indicative of autism, sleep problems, stomach pain... all the things we face on a daily basis.

She also tested for food allergies and aversions. Not so coincidentally, the foods Cale's body had aversions to are backed by research to have an effect on children with autism.

The things we were told to avoid were: dairy, chicken, red meat, apples, MSG (and other preservatives/dyes... i.e. processed foods), white sugar, chili powder, gelatin, and lobster.

This child survives on dairy and chicken and apples.

So... obviously this is going to take some adjusting. The good news is that he didn't have any trouble with wheat/gluten (which is common) so that leaves some of our options open. Already yesterday, we were out delivering girl scout cookies all day and at lunch time, I had no idea where to get them something to eat! I tried to talk him into going to my brother-in-laws resturant for BBQ (pork is ok), but he refused. He likes fish, shrimp, salad but didn't want any of it yesterday. We finally compromised on a corndog :/

That's going to be my struggle with all of this... normally, Cale would want a grilled cheese and apples when we are out, neither of which he can have now. But my question is: in these instances, when we are OUT and UNPREPARED (bc it's bound to happen again), is it really better to give him a food that is worse for his overall health (i.e. corndog, tater tots?) than a fruit that his body may react negatively to? To me, its a decision between short term/long term results. Long term, it is not ideal to feed him JUNK... that's common sense, right? But we obviously don't want to give him anything we know isn't good for his little body right now.

I would love for our whole family to only eat natural, organic foods. Obviously, the rest isn't good for ANY of us. But let's face it, even though we will adjust to the dietary changes, I just don't have it together enough to ALWAYS be prepared. I wish I did! And I will try my darndest! But in reality, I know there will be times I'm not. And as long as we're talking reality, let's just get real about the fact that we can NOT afford it. Crappy food is barely affordable, how in the world are we going to afford the expensive (read: healthy) stuff? We will, because you just do what you have to do for your kids, but I don't know how.

We did ok last night, even in a pinch, we managed to feed him shrimp and rice for dinner. But it's time to get creative about our menu. I know there are a bajillion options out there, I just need to do my research. Nathan and I have both grown up eating tried and true southern comfort food so we need to re-program our brains to make the best foods for our child. Any ideas/suggestions are welcome!

We had JUST had a conversation last week about changing the way our family eats, so we are all on board- but it's definitely not going to be easy, and I'm sure will be particularly drastic for the little guy. Wish us luck!

A "sassy" doctor visit.

Brynn had to go to the doctor Monday for an ear infection.
Nathan shot this video (sideways) on his phone while they waited for the doctor to come in.

This is "sick Brynn"... seriously. This is mild compared to healthy Brynn!
I love this child!

Echo-fun

Cale often repeats things he hears (like most littles), especially from movies. The difference is that he repeats it over and over and over and over to no one, usually.

We got the kids 'Marmaduke' for Valentine's, and he can't say it very well- it sounds a little like 'Momma do'!

So guess what he is going around saying over and over and over again today as loud as he can... "Momma do poots loud!" hahaha.

Miss Photogenic

Layla has won Miss Photogenic in every competition she's entered. Ever.

We don't turn in professional headshots or overly "enhanced" (read: scary-looking) photos.

Just a snapshot of my girl... being her delightful little self! I think that's why she wins, she isn't posed and propped or even smiling for the camera. She's just being Layla, and I happen to push the button at the right time to catch it :)

She has two big competitions this weekend! I'm a little stressed because her BEAUTIFUL new dress isn't going to be here in time :(
And possibly not in time for the 26th/27th competitions. Fluster.

She will be plain and simple... but she shines bright enough all on her own!

Fill'er up!

Brynnie is the best eater in the world!

!

This is her having her second helping of mushroom spinach fettucine alfredo, AND finishing off her brother and sister's!

And with the other two being pickers (although, Layla is getting much better), it is just such a relief to have one that EATS!

She's not a huge fan of meat or bread, but will TRY anything.

Pasta, veggies, fruit, rice, pretty much anything else...

She'll have seconds please!

Super proud of my super good eater!

If one more person suggests that Cale is just "acting out" because Nathan is out of town, I'm going to scream.

Nathan has only been gone for two days. Cale did not change when he left.
The only reason it is worse when Nathan is gone, is because I don't get a break. It just so happens that the two days he has been gone, I attempted to venture out in public and he was seen in all his glory.

It's ok to not get it, most people are not educated about the details. It is hard to understand how my child can be labeled when he doesn't fit the stereotype. There is a reason why they say, "If you know a child with autism, then you know ONE child with autism."


EVERY child is different. Every child has different characteristics/tendencies. Not every child with autism acts like 'Rain Man'.

My son is not neuro-typical. It has nothing to do with how I treat him, how many spankings he does or doesn't get, or whether his daddy is here at bedtime.

He is who he is. He is FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE. He is my whole world (at least a quarter of it!) and I am doing everything I can to help him. I didn't choose it. I wouldn't wish it on anyone else. He is the gift God trusted me with.

Good days are GOOD. But bad days are really BAD. That's okay! Every day is a new day.

I sincerely appreciate your support and love. You all are awesome!

ASD diet?

Ok, parents... I need some tips/suggestions/ideas/help.

C has recently (last couple of weeks) started regressing in a very obvious, very aggressive way. We have no idea what triggered it, but it.is.ROUGH. It's just frustrating because he had been doing soooo well the last few months. He had definitely made some big steps, and now we are just trying to get through the day.

We will probably have our first assessment appointment (for the study) at Vandy in the next week or so, but until I can talk to the "professionals", I'd like to hear from the ones who live it everyday like we do!

Talk to me about your child's diet...
No gluten? No red dye? No dairy?
It's all so overwhelming.

We have no diet restrictions right now, and since he has basically been eating the same things for three years, I seriously doubt that's what triggered this new/old behavior. But if we can make some changes that will help, even a little bit, we're willing.

I'll continue to research (when he's at school or asleep!), but what do you have to offer?

Sweet Cece's photo shoot!

A few weeks ago, Sweet Cece's posted on their FB that they were getting ready for a new marketing campaign and to send in your pics. Lo and behold, all three kids and I were all cast!

We shot Saturday morning, bright in early (got up at 4:30am!) in downtown Franklin. The kids were super duper excited since Sweet Cece's just may be our favorite place!

Several different families were actually cast to shoot throughout the day, we were the second family to arrive. As often happens in this type of business, there was a bit of waiting... which was totally fine, except my favorite little boy doesn't care much for waiting. We tried taking him outside to walk around (this usually calms him, didn't work so great this time). We brought him back in, but he got obsessed with the trash can. By the time it was time for my little stars to shine, it was pretty evident he wasn't going to be a part of it. My child wrangler (Deda!) took him across the street while the girls had their moment in the spotlight.

They did SO WELL. They were having a blast building fun treats for the camera! The photog was telling them to raise up their scoop full of sprinkles and let them fall from the sky! Layla said- you mean it's okay if we spill?! Ha. It definitely was! They smiled and giggled while they piled (and piled and piled) all kind of toppings onto their froyo (I really dislike that word for some reason?).

The photographer and marketing director were just thrilled to pieces with them! And they were thrilled that they got to eat everything they made (and it took several shoots with different cups! lol).

Their photos should be up on the Sweet Cece's website soon, we hope! I can't wait to see the final results!