Autism Awareness

April is Autism Awareness Month in case you didn't know. We as a community hope that throughout April people will become more aware of not only the signs and symptoms to look out for but also to just become more aware of the special people living around you. Autism is nothing to be feared and a little education on everyone's part will go a long way in making sure each Autistic person in the US and around the world reaches their full and true potential. Autistic kids are just as awesome (if not more so in Zilla's case) than any other child they just need a little extra. So if you do the responsible thing and get educated because you may not think you know anyone with Autism but I'd bet your wrong!

What has the US come to?

Guess you can't trust even Sears anymore. My mom (Mena) was recently in charge of some recent renovation going on at her workplace and it required some clean-up so she went looking for a place to do the work. Mena was all excited because she had found a good deal with Sears to clean the carpet at her work today. As it turns out they did a VERY crappy job! The office is 5 rooms and apparently they "cleaned" the carpets in those five rooms in about 30 minutes - um yeah it takes longer to do the carpet in just our living room at the house! So I told her I'd let everyone (all 2 of you) who reads my blog that they should probably overlook Sears when they are thinking of getting anything - at least outside of the store! So I've done my daughter duty lol.

I'm Gonna Conquer Mashed Potato Hill!!

That title might confuse a few people but it's my new goal, well one of the many, to work on. I took an online session through my local CARD (Center for Autism and Related Disabilities) location tonight entitled "The Battle of Mashed Potato Hill" and it was all about food related difficulties that some of our kids have. The lady that did the presentation was AWESOME and gave me lots of things to consider and ideas that will (hopefully) help me get Zilla to expand his food horizon. If you haven't taken this session (and you have access to it obviously) then you should! Mashed Potato Hill is gonna be a treacherous and probably a battle of epic proportions considering the kid involved but I'm strong and he's only had 5 years to hone his stubbornness whereas I've had almost 30 years (wow it's almost my birthday) so he hasn't seen anything cause I can totes outlast him! Anyone have any stories to share about their battles? Is anyone even reading this? lol

Why Does the World Weigh So Much?

I'm sure that every mom has moments *or years* where she feels like the world is one heavy mofo just resting on her shoulders. I am no exception to this and often wish I could just dump all of my worries to the ground and never think of them again. But alas I'm not my ex so I can't just forget about everything and since it's just me and Zilla the buck stops here and I get the awesome *cough cough* job of taking on everything alone. I am in no way missing about my marriage but I really do miss having someone else to share the burden. There are so many things you must figure out and decide on when you have an Autistic child and each one is utterly important. I try to remember that I'm not going to "ruin" my kid if I don't put him the 'right' school next year but the truth of the matter is that while I won't ruin him it is completely important and could make his (and mine and the schools) year difficult if I don't choose correctly. I just wish the world didn't weigh so darn much! Okay I guess I'm done being so woe-is-me for today!

Six Word Saturday

*Going to an ESE conference today*

Today the County we live in is hosting an ESE conference where I will hopefully learn something great that will help me with Zilla's future education. They are doing different presentations throughout the day in addition to complimentary breakfast and lunch. I enjoy going to these types of events (there were several held by different organizations last year) because you just never know what you'll walk away with. I also enjoy meeting with other special needs parents because having a good support system is vital. I hope your Saturday is a good one!

Welcome to the Land of DIY Stuff

This morning I was loving introduced to the Land of Inexpensive DIY Stuff (aka Ikea) and it was nice. We've had an Ikea for awhile but I just never really had a reason to go (you know since my storage unit is already furnished) but a friend mentioned it and we spent the day just looking around. They have seriously TONS of stuff there! I really liked that they had little (and I do mean literally little in some cases) rooms staged. I found lots of stuff that I really liked and a bunch of things that I can't figure out why anyone would own them. We had lunch there and it was pretty good and nice to be able to eat in between shopping without having to leave - smart of them! I had hoped that the kid section would be bigger/better since I am a mom and the world revolves around Zilla LOL. I have a feeling that in the future if I need some lamps or kitchen cabinets I will at least give them a chance.

Such a boy!

MomZilla}Okay baby we're here grab your stuff.
Zilla} NOOO Mama close your door don't get out!!!!
MomZilla} Um what? Just get out of the car
Zilla} Oh Man I wanted to be the winner. Well I'll just beat you to the door, don't move.

Umm What? Gotta love it he seems to think that he's got to "win" at everything including getting out of the car! He literally runs to the door everyday just so that he can win but only after either telling me to stay there or just plain cheating by starting "before" me! 

Something on Sunday

I think on Sundays instead of the fanfiction I'm going to post something maybe a Bible Verse or a random thought or quote and my thoughts on it. Who knows what it will be but here goes:

I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD. —Hosea 2:19-20

God has given us something wonderful and in return we should not only acknowledge him but in turn give him the respect and devotion that he reflects upon us. Thanks Lord for everything you've put into my life and I can only hope that I have the time to truly appreciate them.

Six Word Saturday

*Still got almost 45 minutes left*

Almost missed six word Saturday but I managed it by almost 45 minutes! I meant to do it this morning but I had to take Zilla to meet his grandparents cause they are keeping him for the long weekend. They are really doing their best to stay in his life and be there for him unlike their spawn who has pretty much fallen off the Earth. Guess out of sight, out of mind applies to his kid - I'm not sure how he could possibly do that to Zilla but guess you just never know about some people.

How did they even get air time?

Ok I just finished watching a show called Pop Shop on HGTV (love me some HGTV) and I have to say it left me wondering what on earth would possess anyone to hire these guys to decorate their home. In this episode They wanted to "bring the outside in" so they proceeded to bring in AstroTurf to cover up their awesome hardwood that they spent $500+ on by the way and a wooden swing that say in the middle of their living room! Did I mention that they had a child that just was learning to walk! Don't get me wrong Zilla would LOVE a swing inside but I can't say I'd share that opinion and I wouldn't want anyone spending MY money to install one and it wasn't even a nice looking swing it looked like a random piece of wood from Home Depot. Oh I forgot their "inspiration" was a merry-go-round horse that they hollowed out to install a light in it and hung over the dining room table! Yep you read that correctly they actually hung an ugly chipped paint horse over their table! I just can't get past the horse and the AstroTurf.

Finding a School

I'm pretty positive that I have thought more about Zilla's school and school programs in the last six months than I EVER did for myself and that includes my college! I guess I had always just assumed that Zilla would go to public school and I'd really only have to worry about his post High School plans but um I was totally WRONG. Having a child with specail needs comes with a multitude of different worries and that includes their schooling.

Now don't get me wrong I would have been an "involved" parent regardless but believe me when I tell you that report cards, parent/teacher meetings and PTA are not even close to the kind of involvement I currently have. I can't say that I would want my kid to be any different than he is but wow it would be super nice to have even one thing to not worry about. Wow that sounds a little selfish but I can't take it back because it's true and I feel like I never really to be selfish so I guess a personal thought (yeah I'm sharing with you but you know what I mean) isn't so bad in the grand scheme of things.

I'm in the process of trying to figure out if I will be keeping Zilla in his current school next year or possibly moving him to a V.E. (varying exceptionalities - slightly more contained with better teacher/student ratio for kids with ASD) or maybe even to a private school. I am gonna have to map them all out with pros and cons and what match them up to what I need. It's just SO much to process and think about. Zilla doesn't do well at all with change so I have to weigh carefully and really make the right choice for him.