Boog

Boog

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Unbreak Her Brain

Unlike formerly-kinda-popular-when-I-was-like-12 singer Toni Braxton, I do NOT feel my son with autism is punishment from God. 

If I ever see her she may need to un-break her leg. Just kidding. Sort of.

Here's the link if you want to get irritated too:

Toni Braxton's Shocking Reveal Hurts Children with Special Needs



Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Mommy Laugh Time


I did this a while back and loved it. Here are some Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl"s that I found on various sites and thought were beyond awesome:





























Hope you had a laugh :)
-Boog's Mommy

Summer Lovin... Having a Blast?

Yep. It's here. Snuck up, on all of us. Summer vacation.

It wouldn't make me nervous, but Boog is in the process of changing schools/programs. At his precious school they had class until the end of June. Then I really just had to be creative for July and I was great.

To get Boog in a new awesome program based on ABA that he loves I had to take whatever time slot they had. He gets three hours of therapy there (he said "hi" today!) and they have a lot of kids to schedule. We got M-F 8-11. This means it would be completely silly to take him all the way back to his former school for June just to turn around two hours later and pick him up.

So, it looks like I'm going to have lots of bonding time this summer, which is great. I'm just one of those weird people that if I'm not busy, I can get really down. I think it's because I was always in school or working or both. Being a SAHM has been a big adjustment for me, then you throw in Autism and sometimes I catch myself talking to random strangers at Target about how there's a coupon for the item they're looking at. Seriously. I've done that just to have a small amount of adult conversation.

So, instead of scaring away potential shoppers in stores I have decided to make a schedule. This schedule will have Boog's therapy time, errands I need to run, cleaning (yuck), and meals amongst other things. I think having a schedule will make me feel better because it's what I'm used to.

I'll let you know how it goes and if you have any magical way of getting through summer sane...please let me know :)

Below are some hilarious pics I saw on Pinterest and had to share.

-Boog's Mommy





These first two are hilarious and from  Mommie Daze












Thursday, May 22, 2014

Salty and My Sweet



I remember about 1 1/2 years ago discussing a theory I had with Boog's OT. At the time, Boog would randomly start crying and I would go through my normal checks because he's non-verbal (boo-boos, diaper, hungry, thirsty, tired) and non would apply to said crying.

I gave him some ibuprofen once and it seemed to work. I wondered if he had a headache. I actually listened to his tummy to see if I could hear if it was upset (I told you Autism Moms were awesome) and heard nothing. It happened just about every day so I was determined to figure it out. I don't remember how I thought about it or if maybe my Mom said it but, growing pains came up. Why hadn't I thought of that earlier?! Boog had been growing like a weed and still is.

I did some research and found out that boys sometimes have worse growing pains than girls. I wouldn't know because I basically stopped growing at age 12 and just barely passed five feet tall. So next I looked for a solution. I saw lots of articles about Epsom salts relieving muscle pain and even helping with sleep. 

So, back to the OT. I asked her about it and she had heard the same thing once. Being the incredibly kind lady she is, she ran off and quickly returned with some printed off information basically describing the same as we thought plus a whole list of other issues Epsom salts are used to treat.

I headed to the store that afternoon and bought a big bag of Epsom salts. Did I mention these are CHEAP too? Like, really cheap. I was very thankful.

That night I put about a cup in Boog's bath and while he was in there I massaged his muscles in his legs and arms. He really liked it! So through my long process of elimination, Boog was having growing pains. Mostly in his legs with no way to tell me. 

I used Epsom salts and massage in his bath for several weeks and you know what? The random crying stopped :) I wish I had thought of it earlier, but maybe by postin this it might help out another mom trying to figure out what's going on.


Much love,

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Song for the Soul

An amazing man has made an amazing song and video. It's easy to find information, blogs, and videos about parents' frustrated feelings that their child has Autism. We're wrapped up in the "poor me" sometimes. I admit to this myself. That's why this video is so important for two reasons:

1. This song tells the story through the eyes of the child, not the parent. It literally gives a voice to children that aren't able to (yet). That in itself is incredibly powerful and rare.

2. It's truly therapeutic. Every parent with a child on the Spectrum *needs* to hear this. Trust me. The first time I heard it, Boog was playing in the floor on his iPad in front of me. The video gave me the verbal emotional connection I crave to have with my son. It wasn't Boog singing, but I know he loves me and sees me frustrated. He wishes he could do more, I've seen it in his eyes. He wants to escape the communication confines Autism has created for him. I see how HARD he tries to speak, that it isn't easy for him to look me in the eye...but he does it. He works so hard and this song expresses that point in a perfect way.

The main point? "We'll Get by".

Johnny Orr Band Video "We'll Get By".

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Mommy: The Gluten Free Guru Attempting to Spend Less Green

Okay, I don't know about the "guru" thing, but I do know a thing or two about gluten free. Boog has been gluten free since October 1, 2012. I decided to try it in September, so I gave myself a month to learn about it and test foods. We officially rolled it out 10/1/2012 to see if it helped in any areas.

I was very surprised and pleased! I wanted to know true results, so I didn't tell my parents or his teachers. Both noticed a difference in his focus. As a matter of fact, Boog self-fed himself with a spoon on October 18th, 2012. I was unbelievably proud.

Gluten free is not a "cure all", nor does it effect every child on the spectrum. What I'm saying is, why not try it? Read up about it and give it a one or two week trial. If you see improvement, try longer. I see Boog as being very sensitive. He's sensitive to sounds, touch, so...why not gluten?

I try whatever I can to help him within reason. Gluten free can be a diet no harm to children as long as you make sure they are getting the nutrition they need from all food groups. Go by the old-school food pyramid and make sure your little one gets what they need. If the diet seems to help, go with it (and please tell me!), if it doesn't, go back to what works (and please tell me!).

Anyhoo, gluten free can be kinda pricey and kids are picky. Here are some staples of our Boog-food and any tips I can think of:


Meat:

- Bacon
- Bologna
- Eggs
- GF Corndogs, chicken nuggets and sausage by Applegate Farms.
- John Morrell Meats. Most are GF, but still check the label. We frequently purchase the hot dogs, ham, and bologna.














Applegate Farms makes it so easy, you can browse their GF products here:

http://www.applegate.com/products









John Morrell has been around a long, long time. That's one reason they're GF. They started out natural and still are.
Check out their great selection  of GF meats here:







Veggies:

- Green beans
- English Peas
- Lima beans

Luckily, these days you can get toddler size cups of these veggies that are microwaveable. There's not much I like more than a time-saver when a suddenly starving 

Potatoes: So important they need their own section :)


- Oreida brand fries. Check the packaging, though! There are just a few that are not GF like the
seasoned fries and, unfortunately, the waffle fries. Boog loves waffle fries, so I find that one a bit frustrating.

Snacks:

- Jello. Although, I'm thinking of skipping the red kinds. I've heard a few people mention red dye sensitivity. I need to do more research and find out if it's a real thing or rumor.
- Chips. Many chips are GF thankfully, and it looks like more are becoming GF. Boog likes Cheetos, Ruffles, and sometimes the cheese Doritoes. I believe Cool Ranch isn't GF, so watch out.

Sweets:

Boog really doesn't eat many sweets. I wish I had that in common with him.... anyway, he mostly

likes fruit and a couple cookie types.

Do you have any "quickie" GF foods that your child likes? If so, please post below!

-Boog's Mommy











Thursday, May 1, 2014

Free Friday Printables!



I got crafty again and decided to make some more graphics expressing some great points. Some are Autism-specific, but others can be used for a variety of special needs parents. Boog goes to school with many adorable hearing impaired children and although not all use sign language, I couldn't resist when I saw this precious font! Each letter shows the ASL (American sign Language) sign and the outline is the letter :) Too cute! 

Also, many non-verbal children use sign language as well to communicate. Boog has created a few of his own. My favorite? He takes your hand NAND puts it on his check, nuzzles it, and smiles (swoon). He doesn't do it too often, but when he does it's the greatest compliment you can get! It even made his Papa tear up :)

I hope you enjoy these and feel free to save them, print them, put them on a t-shirt. Remember: Mother's Day is right around the corner and Father's Day is next!

Much love,
Boog's Mommy