A Day in the Life

This morning I set out to enjoy the small things...because words like enjoy and morning do not play together well in my brain...It takes me many milligrams of caffeine to get my wheels greased.

I don't do well with a diet of restriction...removing "bad" like caffeine is not in the cards for me...but I don't mind adding a little bit of goodness to counteract the bad.


Grey HATES vegetables, but he loves this morning smoothie. Today I made one for myself too, {because I'm awesome}. I am not a crunchy granola gal, but this I absolutely LOVE.



I don't know how, but you can't even taste the spinach at all.



This morning I washed the same load of the boys laundry...


For the 3rd time in a row...because I kept forgetting to put it in the dryer...first overnight - then hours at a time... and I didn't want it to have that funky towel smell...that it now has... oops.

The more times I visit Spectrumville, the more I realize just how vast the Spectrum is.

Autism is a "spectrum disorder," meaning you can be a little bit autistic or very autistic. The diagnoses within the autism spectrum aren't clearly named, nor are the symptoms always the same even within the same diagnosis.  Terms like "severe autism," "mild autism" and "high functioning autism" aren't true diagnoses -- just informal, descriptive terms used to better understand a child's status on the autism spectrum. Spectrum kids can be quiet or chatty, affectionate or cold...rigid in routine or flexible...Confusing- right? (If you want to know specifics of an Autism diagnosis, go to the Autism Resources tab at the top).

Savantism is a rare condition in which people with developmental delays of the brain demonstrate profound capabilities or abilities in a given field. (Like Rain Man). Not all Spectrum kids have those kinds of special talents- in fact it's pretty rare. Statistics show that 10% of individuals on the Autism Spectrum also have savant-like skills. Greyson does not have Savantism. Michael and I get asked if Grey has any "special talents" every so often... We are still trying to come up with the funnest possible answer at the time of this publication. (Getting asked this doesn't bother me at all. The movie Rain Man gave many people the impression that it was common.)

Today was Trash Wednesday. In case you are new to this blog- If Greyson hears the trash truck driving up and down our street and can tell me or his Behavior Teacher here at the time (without us prompting him) - I want truck  or  Open Door- We drop everything and run like mad to catch the truck. If he cries/whines or points to the door- it's no good, even though it breaks my heart a little.
I need spontaneous words.


Today he heard/processed and asked for it, not once but twice. It was a good day.

We worked on Greyson putting his shirt on independently. We have been doing this for months and every week or so we get a step closer. Man does ABA (Grey's therapy Applied Behavior Analysis) teach me some much cherished patience.

We also brushed his teeth. He has to turn on the water and squeeze the paste out on his own. I still have to help with the brushing for now.


While Parker was napping and Grey was running programs with his Teacher...I took 17 heavenly minutes to just lay back down in bed. I knew I had that much time before I needed to shower during my short window of alone time.




Someone woke up before I could shower.



I let Parker catch up on the blog while I took the fastest shower ever.


And came out to find this going on...


Bed-headed baby goodness is my favorite.

This evening we enjoyed Oranges so ripe and orangey that juice runs down your arms...


And we watched a little of this...


Something about watching these kids swim puts a feel good lump in my throat. I'm so proud to be an American watching the Olympic Hopefuls. I love their stories. I admire how hard they work...how much they give up... Reminds me of a little guy I know...




Hey, while you're here... Can you help me spread Autism Awareness where you live?  Send me an email asking for some stickers to kellyc43@gmail.com. It means more to me than these little letters stuck together can convey. And if you've already asked for stickers...Wow...and thank you.

Have a great day.
Love,
Chrissy