Boog

Boog

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Why I Can't "Live in the Now"



If you only take away one piece of information from this article, let it be this:


Approximately 50,000 kids on the autism spectrum turn 18 every year.


50,000 every year. If we're struggling and fighting for our children now, what is being put in place for their futures? Not enough. Not nearly enough.


Parents Create Custom Jobs for Adult Kids with Autism









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Wednesday, January 20, 2016

What a Doll!

My Mom has told me several times a story about two boys she went to school with that we're best friends. One boy had the polio vaccine and the other didn't. The boy that didn't have the vaccine ended up only being able to walk if he used braces. 

I think my generation often doesn't understand the severity of things like polio because we've never seen them.

I have been very surprised by seeing pro-vaccine stories pop up in television (American Horror Story). I also just found out that the popular doll brand, American Girl, by Mattel has a historical doll and her book addresses the time when polio was a huge threat. She is actually a polio survivor and has to overcome a limp.

Way to go, Mattel!

And here she is, ladies and gentlemen, Maryellen Larkin!

Maryellen can be purchased here: http://www.americangirl.com/shop/dolls/maryellen where you can also see her quote that very much applies to this topic "I follow my heart instead of the crowd".


I learned about all this from a random article I found. It was written by Simcha Fisher and is located here:


This is the part of the article that inspired me to write this post:


"So, will American Girl Maryellen help to remind people that polio was a terrifying, widespread threat just a generation or two ago? I hope so. It's not just a matter of being well-educated in history: If vaccination rates continue to fall, the disease could certainly come back again, spreading among people who cannot receive the vaccine for medical reasons, and among people for whom the vaccine is not 100% effective. We don't see polio cases around us because vaccination rates have been so high. The threat has not been permanently abolished. We still need to vaccinate. "


Maybe some of this will work against th years of false accusations that vaccines are harmful and cause Autism that have been spread for years by idiots like Jenny McCarthy. If you read my blog and are anti-vaccine, please do some research. Find out that the doctor that originally started this crap no longer has his medical license (lost it years ago) and has admitted he made it all up.

I hope Maryellen and her book bring to life the actually severity of the polio virus and hopefully create some awareness, even if it is in the least likely of places.


What a doll!
-Boog's Mommy



Sunday, January 17, 2016

Potty Training!

And just like most things I get super nervous about, Boog is kicking major butt and catching on way quicker than any of us had hoped.

Why do I even worry?!?! Because I'm neurotic, I guess.

He was even dry this morning when he woke up! He held his big morning tee and went in the potty.

I'm so proud of my big boy! He's doing great at school and at home.

Next time we're about to conquer a big task I need to read this post and remember to have faith.

Very happy and saving a ton on pull-ups,
Boog's Mommy

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Potty Training Positive Thinking

We have begun serious potty training this week. It was not something I was looking forward to. I tried potty training over a year ago with one of the therapy groups Boog was seeing and it didn't work. They expected him to wear underwear and stay dry while he was doing intense ABA work. That was way too much to ask of a 5 year old and caused him anxiety. I had to tell them to stop trying to potty training because at that point, the ABA therapy was more important.

That experience, plus my own huge amount of self doubt has made me dread potty training a lot more than I should have. Boog is smart and doing well. This is the exact time he needs to be potty trained. I believe in him, I just don't believe in myself.

Yesterday, our first full day trying, Boog tee-teed in the potty four times. That's more times than he had ever. But instead of being thrilled about it, I focused on the six times he had an accident after the successes. I hate that I think that way. I put enormous amounts of pressure on myself and I am my own worst enemy. Someone tells me to do something, I can't just do it, I have to do it 3 times faster than they asked me to. That's a great personality trait to have in the working environment, but not as a stay at home mom. 

I'm trying to get my brain to believe that this isn't on any time table. No one is judging me on how long or how perfect I do this. I'm trying, but it's not working so well.

I was just watching a DVR episode of Dr. Phil (don't judge) about a man with two wives (who would want two nagging them?!). Anyway, after the poly-whatever family, Dr. Phil had a special guest on for the last 5-10 minutes of the show. His special guest was Joel Olsteen. To be honest, I've never listened to him. I know he's got a huge church in Texas and a ton of people watch him on tv, but that's about it. He has a new book out and he was on Dr. Phil to talk about it.

I was about to change the DVR to something else, but for some reason I listened for a bit. Olsteen was talking about his book "I am" and the concept behind it. He explained that people spend so much time thinking negative thoughts about themselves, convincing themselves that those thoughts are true. He gave examples like "I'm not good enough" or "I can't do this". Basically the constant thoughts that have been going through my head for two days now. This got my attention and I watched more.

Olsteen said that instead of waking up and thinking those thoughts, you should get up every morning and list three things you are grateful for. So I thought about it:
1. My son is healthy
2. I have my family
3. Boog is doing well

How many people would love to list those three things? A lot.

Olsteen also talked about replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. It's very much like CBT (Cognative Behavioral Therapy) where you literally train your own brain to stop thinking negative or intrusive thoughts. The basis is that if you stop a negative though enough times, it will stop coming up. The hard part is keeping with it because it may take a while, but it's proven very effective.

Some of the positive thoughts that were listed on the screen as examples were:

I am blessed
I am successful
I am victorious
I am talented
I am creative
I am wise
I am healthy
I am energetic
I am happy
I am positive
I am passionate
I am strong
I am confident
I am motivated
I am focused
I am disciplined
I am determined
I am patient
I am kind

Some of these statements I know are true about myself, but some of them I know I need to work on (patience). I also believe that God will tell you what you need to hear, you just have to know how to listen. It took me a long time to learn how to stop and listen. He knows I have prayed and cried with self doubt about helping my son. I truly believe He has given me this lesson to realize I am not the failure I often think I am. 

So I will wake up and think of three things I am thankful for every morning, and when I get in that downward spiral of self hate, I will read the list above. 

I am flawed, but I am also blessed and I know He can give me strength.

-Boog's Mommy

Monday, January 4, 2016

Easy DIY Help for DVD Player and Fine Motor Skills

Boog loves to start movies by himself when the DVD gets to the title screen. But the DVD player we have has these tiny tiny tiny buttons. I decided to get creative and make it easier for him:


On this player, I just used white out to highlight the "play" button. After I showed him twice, he was ready a pro.




On this one I actually used red nail polish because it showed up a lot better:



I used the same polish on the remote control too:


Just a couple easy ways to make things a little easier if your little one it still working on those fine motor skills :)


Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!
-Boog's Mommy