Along Came the Bird

Happy Weekend!

2012-03-02T09:33:00.000-06:00

Just popping in to let you know I'm taking the day off.

Enjoy your weekend, hug your kiddos, have some fun, and I'll see you Monday!

Mama Knows

2012-03-01T08:57:00.000-06:00

Last weekend, one of our neighboring churches had an enormous used baby/toddler/kid sale. My mother-in-law called to tell me there was some pretty good stuff to be had, if I was interested.

As I wandered around the room, my eyes landed on one item in particular.

You know how there are some toys that you just know are going to drive you crazy but you're pretty sure your kid will simply adore?

That's exactly the kind of toy I found.

And yes, it drives me a little bit nuts.

But that smile on my little Mix-Master DJ's face?

Well, let's just say driving Mama a little bit crazier isn't going to make that much difference at this point. Sacrificing my sanity for some smiles and giggles is a small price to pay.

How Much "Therapy" Do You Really Do?

2012-02-29T07:28:00.000-06:00

Let's play Two Truths and a Lie.

I'm going to tell you three things, two of which are true and one of which is a lie. See if you can figure out the lie.

#1 I am married to a preacher and we just celebrated 20 years of marriage.

#2 I have three daughters, one who will be attending college in the fall, one who will be driving in the fall, and one who will be 6 years old in the fall.

#3 At home, on my own, I do every single therapy technique suggested by Lily's speech, occupational, and behavioral therapists.

So. Can you find the lie?

If you've spent any time around here at all, I'm sure it was easy to pick out the lie. And even if you are new to these parts, but have a special needs child yourself, I'm pretty confident you can identify the lie.

So if you chose #3 as the lie, you are correct!

Here comes my true confession for today:

I don't do all that much therapy around the house.

Don't get me wrong, I want Lily to improve. I want to see her reach her highest potential. I want her to accomplish all kinds of things in spite of her diagnosis.

But I have to be honest.

I don't want to be the therapist. I want to be the mom. I want to have fun with Lily. I want her to look forward to spending time with me.

Lily is at school Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM until 4:30 PM. That is a long day when you're five years old, people. Heck. That's a long day when you're 42!

After all her hard work at school, the last thing I want to do in the evenings is drag out the matching cards, the puzzles, the magnetic alphabet letters, or the lacing cards and insist on more work.

Don't all kids, even our kids who need so much therapy, deserve some downtime?

Now, we do spend some time on Saturdays and Sundays doing our Birdie Boot Camp, exploring all kinds of therapeutic activities through play. But I still don't really have her at the table "working" like she does at school.

I don't want to be the reason Lily doesn't become all she is supposed to be. I don't want to be the one who holds her back.

Lily has about eight therapists in all.

But I'm the only mom she's got. And I want to be a good one.

So I have to try to strike that balance between therapist and mom. But if the scale tips one way more often, I'd rather it lean to the mom rather than the therapist.

What about you? Feel like making a confession of your own? How do you balance it all? Thoughts? Let me hear it.

Miss Manners

2012-02-28T10:14:00.000-06:00

Are there any particular manners that you enforce (or try to enforce, maybe I should say) in your home?

Maybe things like, "Don't put your feet on the table!"

How about pants? Are they optional at your supper table?

Or maybe you're a stickler for no iPad while eating.

We really do try to have a little class around here but I'm afraid our standards might be a bit beneath Peggy Post's.

What about you? What's mealtime like around your house?

News You Can Use - Volume 2

2012-02-27T08:12:00.000-06:00

Here it is, folks. My round-up of great stuff floating around the interwebs.

Electronic News:

Since so many of our kiddos need to avoid gluten, Is That Gluten Free? is an iPhone and i-Pad compatible app that allows you to search it's database of almost almost 15,000 gluten free products to ensure that what you are buying is a safe choice.

If you haven't already heard about Gube, I think you're going to love it! This app provides an interface of nearly 3000 pre-screened kid-appropriate videos - and more videos are being added all the time. Think of it like a safe and searchable Youtube for kids.

Since we're on the subject of those expensive tablets, check out Friendship Circle's list of 14 iPad Cases for Your Child with Special Needs. Actually, several of these cases would be great for anyone at any age and ability level.

Get Active News:

Another great post from Friendship Circle - 20 Bikes, Trikes, & Tandems for Children with Special Needs. This almost blew my mind! I had no idea there were so many options for our kiddos who might need a little extra help riding a bike or equipment to make bike riding even a possibility. I think Lily could master the Trailmate Mini Trike but I am in LOVE with the Buddy Bike!

Therapy News:

Need some insider tips on how to make the most of your therapy sessions? Then Ellen, from Love That Max, has just the post for you: Better Therapy Sessions for Kids with Special Needs: Therapists Share! is full of all kinds of helpful information on how to get the most out of your therapy dollars.

Tax News:

Lisa over at Autism Wonderland tweeted this helpful article that you might have missed: Special Tax Deductions for Special Education. I actually attended a seminar recently on this very topic and will be sharing what I learned with you so be sure to check back.

Family News:

Just taking a moment to brag on my oldest... Ryley was recently asked by World Help, a humanitarian organization reaching impoverished people all over the world, to do a guest post for their blog. Click here to read Snapshots from Guatemala and I think you'll discover who the real writer is in this family.

And just because I can, here are two cute pictures of the Bird:

Tooling around town, taking in the sights...

And ~~demanding~~ nicely asking me to put down the camera and give her more Sonic ice.

Have a great Monday!

My First Ever Guest Post!

2012-02-24T07:59:00.000-06:00

Love That Max was one of the very first blogs I discovered when I started on my own blogging journey so it holds a special place in my heart.

Naturally, I was super excited when Ellen asked to interview me for, "This is How I Do It", her series featuring bloggers with special needs kids and their survival/sanity tips.

So head on over to Love That Max and see just how I make it through this crazy, awesome life with the Bird.

Click here to read all about it!

Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!

No Big Deal Meals

2012-02-23T10:18:00.000-06:00

Have you ever felt like this?

I definitely have.

The proof?

My oldest has the above picture pinned on her Pinterest board titled "Hey Mom!". As in, a board full of pins that remind her of me.

Here's another one she pinned in my honor:

Nice.

Basically, Ryley thinks I get tired of cooking every day and that I'd rather take a nap than almost anything else in the world.

I'd get mad but unfortunately, it's pretty true.

I would cook less and sleep more if it weren't for these pesky children running around here, demanding food and waking me up.

When Ryan and the big girls were gone for a week a while back, Lily and I happily ate cheese and crackers, cold cereal, yogurt, store bought rotisserie chicken and plain buttered noodles for supper. I cooked one night that whole time.

And since I'm really the only person in my family with a desire to expand my palate, especially when someone else is cooking, most suppers are pretty simple around here.

No brainer dinners.

The kinds of meals where I can recite the recipe from memory and cook them practically blindfolded. The meals my kids have had so many times that if I try to tweak something to make it a little more exciting, they proclaim, "Did you add something to this? WHY did you change the spaghetti sauce?? It was just fine the way it's always been!"

Just fine. The highest compliment desired by chefs worldwide.

So anyway, I've been going through my recipes trying to create a monthly menu in order to eliminate all the thousands of choices I've collected over time, per my post on the book, 7. And 95% of the suppers making the "menu cut" are these no big deal meals.

Also, since Lily is in a phase right now where I cannot take my eyes off her when she's at home, quick and easy meals are the only way my family gets to eat supper these days.

Some of you might be in the same boat. So I thought I'd pass along a few family favorites that just might make the cut at your house. Then you too can cook supper on auto-pilot while chasing down a lightning fast child intent on wreaking as much havoc as possible.

Fun times.

Chicken and Veggie Gravy Over Biscuits
(adapted from Picky Palate)

1 can refrigerated biscuits, any kind
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
1 can chunk white chicken, drained & shredded
1 can Veg-All mixed vegetables, drained
1/4 tsp. cajun seasoning
salt & pepper to taste
pinch of garlic salt

Preheat oven and bake biscuits. While they're in the oven, whisk together soup and milk and pour into large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, veggies, and seasonings. Cook, stirring occasionally until heated through, usually 5 or 6 minutes.

Slice biscuits in half, pour some gravy over top and serve.

Red Beans and Rice
(from Kevin and Amanda)
*I usually double this recipe*

1 cup long grain white rice
2 cups hot water
1 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 pkg (14 oz) smoked sausage
1 can red beans
Creole Seasoning

Add rice, water, and salt to a lidded sauce pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Thinly slice sausage and drain red beans. Add olive oil to large skillet and heat. Add sausage, sprinkle with seasoning and stir occasionally for about 7 minutes or so, getting sausage cooked on both sides. Add beans and stir til warmed through. Add seasoning to taste while warming. Serve red beans and sausage over rice.

Beef Tips
(from a friend of a friend)

1 pkg dry onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
small jar sliced mushrooms
1 cup regular or diet 7-Up or Sprite
2 lbs. stew meat

Spray roasting pan with non-stick spray. Add stew meat. Stir soups and soda together and pour over meat. Sprinkle mushrooms over top. Cover and bake at 275 for 4 hours - no peeking! Serve with rice, pasta, or potatoes.

And there you have it. Easy as pie. So kick back, relax, and still feed your family well. Or, at least, feed your family well. Do any of us really get to relax??

Budget Cuts

2012-02-22T07:23:00.001-06:00

Every couple of years, Ryan and I sit down and take a look at our budget.

I know what you're thinking - "Man, they really know how to have a good time at the Rush house! How do they stand all that excitement?"

What can I say? We live dangerously around here.

Seriously though, we look at what's coming and going through the bank account, taking a hard look at what we spend money on. Then we decide which of those things need to stay in the budget and if there are some things we can decrease or eliminate altogether in order to save a few pennies.

When we did this a couple of months ago, we decided to take the plunge and drop our home phone service. We also got rid of cable and invested in a one time expense for a Roku box which is now how we watch TV. Please don't ask me to explain this - I have no idea how it works. I just know it does and I no longer have to send $130 a month to Time Warner for internet, phone, and cable. I started using cash to pay for our food (both groceries and eating out) which always helps cut out unnecessary purchases because I have an intense fear of getting to the check-out and not having enough money.

But there is one line item in our budget that some might consider frivolous but that we consider to be non-negotiable.

Babysitting.

One night a week, Julie, our lovely babysitter who has certainly earned more than a few jewels in her crown since meeting our family, shows up at our house. She hangs with the Bird, feeds her supper, helps her shower, and sends her off to sleep. Then, if the big girls are around, they move on to really important stuff like watching Project Runway or Castle. Or searching YouTube for the craziest videos or sharing stuff on Pinterest.

Ryan and I get to go out by ourselves. Eat supper in a restaurant where nothing has to be unwrapped. Go see a movie while it's still considered a new release. Wander the bookstore or the outdoor mall. Sometimes, we take the big girls with us and play mini golf or wander some of the funky shops downtown.

The point is that this line item in our budget is money well-spent. I think I would rather give up meat than give up my babysitting money. And that's saying a lot for a girl born and raised in Texas!

For us, babysitting is more than just babysitting. It's mental health improvement. It's marriage enrichment. It's teenager enhancement. And while it is an expense, it's still cheaper than therapy. And Lord knows that budget line item is already maxed out on the Bird!

What about you? Do you have any expenses in your budget that you never want to give up? I want to hear about it!

Birdie Boot Camp - A Fail and a Win

2012-02-20T08:24:00.000-06:00

Around the Rush house, we're still "learning to play", aka Birdie Boot Camp.

This past Saturday, I decided to have Lily try painting with water.

Simple. Not much ahead of time prep needed from me. And not all that messy.

And according to the Bird, not all that exciting, either.

I think you can tell from the picture below that this was a total fail.

Next up on the agenda: play-doh.

This was more successful. As long as Ryan and I were right there beside her, rolling out the dough, and demonstrating how to work the squeezy tool, she was game to play along.

After watching me fill the compartments of an ice cube tray with little blobs of dough, she copied me and did it herself. Good ol' modeling behavior at work...

As is typical for Lily, she did "taste test" the play-doh a couple of times. Then I had a stroke of genius (if I do say so myself!) and started giving her spoonfuls of crushed ice. As long as I kept spooning that ice in, she kept playing with that play-doh rather than trying to eat it.

Then Ryan had to show off his mad play-doh skills and he fashioned a rough sculpture of Moses holding the Ten Commandments.

Or maybe it's Darth Vader. Take your pick.

Never Give In... Except...

2012-02-17T07:36:00.000-06:00

Last night was date night for Ryan and I.

Our lovely babysitter, Julie, came over to hang out with the Bird while we went to a movie.

Most nights go off without a hitch.

Based on the following text conversation I had with my oldest, Ryley, last night was not a "hitch-less" evening.

FYI: Ryley in white bubbles, me in green bubbles

Hey.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

All good parents know when to break out the youtube. I'm just happy to know I've taught Ryley so well.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Too Many Choices

2012-02-16T07:41:00.000-06:00

OK people.

As if Birdie Boot Camp isn't enough to keep me busy and teetering on the edge of craziness, I'm about to add yet another project to the mix.

I mentioned a month or so ago that I read a book called 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker.

The book just came out in January so odds are good you may not be familiar with it yet.

So here's the book trailer for those of you who prefer seeing what a book is about. Of course, that leads me to wonder if you'll actually read a book if you can't even read the description of what it's about but I'll leave that up to you....

7 Book Trailer

If you'd like to read about the book in Jen's own words, click here to check it out.

Now, in my words, here's what I got out of the book in one simple sentence:

Lots of times, we complicate our own lives because we have too many choices.

I think most of us would agree that we all have a bunch of stuff.

And perusing the shelves of a bookstore pretty much confirms what we already know. We can find tons of books about simplifying. Scaling back. Downsizing. Dumping the clutter. Organizing.

But this is where 7 differs in it's approach. The author, Jen, doesn't suggest that we get rid of all of our stuff and become minimalists. And she doesn't teach us nifty ways to organize all our things.

Rather, 7 was an experiment. Jen simply eliminated some of the choices she faced every day to see if it made her life simpler.

So, in Amazon's words, here's what she did:

7 is the true story of how Jen (along with her husband and her children to varying degrees) took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence.

Food. Clothes. Spending. Media. Possessions. Waste. Stress. They would spend thirty days on each topic, boiling it down to the number seven. Only eat seven foods, wear seven articles of clothing, and spend money in seven places. Eliminate use of seven media types, give away seven things each day for one month, adopt seven green habits, and observe “seven sacred pauses.” So, what’s the payoff from living a deeply reduced life? It’s the discovery of a greatly increased God—a call toward Christ-like simplicity and generosity that transcends social experiment to become a radically better existence.

Sounds radical, right?

But here's what I love about the book - It doesn't have to be that radical. Jen is not telling us to take this experiment and do it exactly like she did. It's not meant to be a template.

It's meant to get your wheels turning. To help you identify some areas where you might just have too many stinkin' choices. Then you can make your life easier by eliminating some of those choices.

Let me give you an example:

I currently have enough recipes in my possession that I'm pretty confident I can't cook all of them before I die. I have that many. Yet I find myself still perusing online and looking at cookbooks. And then when I sit down to make a weekly menu and grocery list, it becomes a headache. See, my palate would like to try new things. But my life right now doesn't allow me much time or money to plan these elaborate, new, exciting menus.

I need to eliminate some choices in the area of food. Now, I'm not going to eat only seven foods for one month like Jen did. But I can create a menu for a month of meals: choose my favorite recipes and put them in a weekly rotation. Each month, the rotation starts again. I can even have a make-ahead grocery list for each week of the rotation.

And then I can be done.

Removing all the endless choices of recipes will save me time and make my life easier.

Think how difficult it can be to make a simple decision sometimes. If we didn't have so many choices, it wouldn't be so hard to choose.

And that's pretty much what I got out of 7.

While it can be wonderful to live in the time that we do, with all the choices that we have, sometimes, all those choices can complicate things. Muddy the waters. Make our lives harder, instead of easier.

So the project I'm embarking on is to take a look around at my life, my home, my calendar. To look for the areas of my life where the abundance of choices is not actually helping me, but stressing me out.

And them I'm going to eliminate some of that abundance of choice.

And I'm not going to replace it with more choices.

I'm just going to let it be.

And breathe.

A Different Kind of 365 Photo Project

2012-02-15T07:14:00.000-06:00

I often think I don't take enough pictures of my kids. Thank goodness for the iPhone or really, I don't know if I would ever take photos. I honestly can't remember the last time I picked up a "real" camera.

But when I saw this come across Twitter, I was intrigued.

I think all of us have seen many different kinds of 365/52 photo projects, especially in the last few years.

However, this 365 project is just a little bit different.

Meet Maya and her personal project - Autism and My Daily Life. Here's a brief description in her own words:

And as my crazy busy season wrapped up in my photography business, I began to settle upon the idea of a photojournalism project, the goal of which will be to paint a photographic picture of what autism actually looks like. My main goal is to somehow portray how autism plays out in the banalities of family life, and not to create a Photoshopped, dramatic portrait of heroic individuals who have somehow overcome autism, or who have managed to turn their savant skill into something that made them rich, fabulous, or at least into an HBO movie.

So I am opening up my otherwise perfected photography blog to begin documenting the everyday lives of families living with autism. And to kick it off, let’s start....

Click here to visit Maya's blog, Maya's Eye Photography, and see the beginnings of her unique and deeply personal photo project.

If you're anything like me, you'll be inspired by the pictures not because of how lovely they are, but because of the story they tell. Which is exactly what I want out of my pictures.

What an awesome way to capture our special kiddos - not made-up or retouched or aiming for perfection. Just a real look at the way it is.

And that's a beautiful thing.

Love Sweet Love

2012-02-14T07:10:00.000-06:00

It's Valentines Day.

So let's talk about love.

I don't know about you, but I love those silly little quizzes that you come across in magazines or online that reveal something about your personality.

Well, a few years ago, I read a book called The Five Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman. In the book, there was one of those fun little quizzes. But this one was more than just fun. I discovered my "love language", or the way that I prefer for someone to show they love me.

Mine was really no great surprise to me. I'm an "acts of service" girl. Nothing says love to me more than Ryan running the vacuum, filling my car up with gas, or unloading and loading the dishwasher. Forget the flowers and chocolates. Swish the toilet and I swoon.

The fun part came when I had my husband and kids do the quiz. When I learned their love languages, I was able to show just how much I love each of them in ways that were meaningful and unique to them. This is knowledge I still use today.

If you aren't familiar with The Five Love Languages, click here to take the online quiz. There's a quiz for husbands, wives, children, teens, and singles.

Take a few minutes and learn something new about your family. Then use what you learn to love them just the way they like best.

The Silver Lining

2012-02-13T07:56:00.000-06:00

IEP meetings. Endless conversations with health insurance providers. Constant paperwork. Special diets. Therapy expenses. Finding a babysitter. Night after night of interrupted sleep. Budgets stretched to the limit. Holidays. Birthdays. Travel - or lack of. Dispensing medication. Doctor appointments.

Have I got your stress level up yet?

Well, have I got some good news for you today!

It turns out, if you have challenges in your life, you're tougher than the average Joe.

If you've experienced a traumatic event such as a divorce or loss of a job or death of a family member or if you live with chronic illness, just to name a few, these kinds of life events, while still incredibly hard, can actually benefit you in the long run.

Mark D. Seery, Ph.D, a psychology professor at the University of Buffalo, studied the effects of these types of hardships on individuals.

Dr. Seery notes:

“Experiencing some adversity may create a sense of mastery over past adversity, teach coping skills, establish effective social-support networks, and promote cell growth in brain areas relevant for coping,” he says.

It’s similar to the way you get stronger after a workout, Seery says. “Just as the body requires exertion to improve fitness, there is no opportunity for toughness to develop if someone has never coped with stress; likewise, physical overexertion can be harmful, and too much stress disrupts toughening,” he says.

It turns out that old saying, "What doesn't kill you, makes your stronger", is actually true.

So take heart.

When you're in the middle of a difficult situation, remember that your body and your mind are changing, becoming more resilient in an effort to protect you and make you even stronger for the future.

That's a pretty good silver lining, if you ask me.

Click here if you'd like to read more about this study.

Man's Best Friend

2012-02-10T08:07:00.000-06:00

We've all heard of service dogs.

But there's a lot of news going around lately about using therapy dogs for children with autism.

My local news ran a segment on the Austin Dog Alliance last night that was really interesting. Click here to watch it.

While I am certainly not ready to take on the challenge of raising a dog alongside Lily, I'd be interested in going to classes like the one in the video. I'd also love to set up a few times for the dogs to come visit at Lily's school.

Some questions for you:

Do any of you attend classes like these?
Do you have a specially trained therapy dog?

If so, please share your experience with me! I'd love to hear more about it.

Have a great weekend!

Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Zip-a-Dee-Ay

2012-02-09T07:12:00.000-06:00

My, oh my, what a wonderful day!

Plenty of sunshine, headin' my way,

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah

Zip-a-dee-ay!

Today is going to be a good day.

Want to know how I know that?

Because today is the second Thursday of the month.

And on the second Thursday of every month, my Moms of Special Needs Kids group (MOSK) meets.

Since I was invited to join this group by a sweet friend almost a year ago now, I have not missed but one meeting. And that's only because we were in California for our very first appointment with Dr. Goldberg.

There is just something so incredibly amazing about spending a couple of hours with a group of people who just "get it". People who know where you're coming from. People who aren't shocked when you share your deepest, darkest worries and fears. People who celebrate all the little (and not so little!) victories with you that so many others take for granted.

These ladies are my people. My tribe. My friends. My heroes.

And when I spend time with these lovely women, my soul is soothed.

I am one very blessed lady.

I'm so fortunate to be surrounded by such a supportive community of friends. Some I see in my "real life". And some, I see through a computer screen. Some, I can reach out and hug their kiddos. And others, I see their precious children through pictures.

For those who I see often and for those who I may never meet, I'm so grateful to know that you are here, sharing this journey with me.

Yes.

Today is a good day.

Guatemala Love

2012-02-08T07:01:00.001-06:00

Twenty churches in the city of Austin have come together and adopted a village in Guatemala.

Together we have built a water well, complete with pipes to carry it all over the village, a feeding center, (and the means to feed the whole village twice a week) greenhouses, houses, and we are currently adding a nice big addition onto the existing school.

Ryan and the big girls spent last week there, along with about 10 other pastors, checking on all our newfound friends.

Thought you might enjoy a peek at Pueblo Modelo.

This is my Reagan on the left, along with one of the pastors.

Reagan, teaching some ladies how to knit so they can earn their own income.

This is Ryley and our precious Ellie, a baby I met and fell in love with on my first trip.

Look at these precious faces!

Birdie Boot Camp - Session Two: Water Play

2012-02-07T07:41:00.000-06:00

Lily has always LOVED playing with water in any way, shape, or form. I'm pretty sure not many words are needed for you to grasp the fun you're about to see.

"Hey Mom - check me out scooping up these colored ice cubes!"

"Hey - these ice cubes are pretty yummy."

"I can use that cool red cup, too?"

"Sink water is so tasty!"

"Good to the last drop."

"Forget the cup. I'm going straight to the source!"

"I'm a pretty silly kid, aren't I?"

"OK. That's it. No more fooling around. Off with the shirt. I'm going in!"

"Now what exactly is this?"

"I hereby proclaim every day is water day!"

Birdie Boot Camp - Guidelines & Session One

2012-02-06T07:28:00.000-06:00

If you've been following along in our little "learning to play" saga, you know that this weekend marked the official start of Birdie Boot Camp.

Just so we're all on the same page, I wanted to share a couple of decisions Ryan and I have made in the last couple of days.

First, Birdie Boot Camp will take place on Saturdays. And that's it. During the week, Lily's been in school all day and no one really feels like doing much of anything around here in the evenings. Besides, between getting everyone fed, showered, ready for bed, and then getting organized for the next day, there's not much time for anything else.

Secondly, what we will be working on during the week, along with Birdie Boot Camp, is some "life skills". We're going to start with having Lily bring her plate and cup to the sink after mealtimes, as well as put her napkin in the trash can. I think if we begin with a few small things, I'll see quicker progress. Once that has become fairly routine, then we'll add another skill to the mix.

And lastly, we will still be using the iPad, just on a more limited basis. That lovely little device gives all of us moments of respite throughout the day.

And now, without further ado, I give you Session One - Painting with Yogurt. You might notice in the first picture that we started off using some Q-tips to spread the "paint" around. Those were quickly set aside in favor of using fingers.

Here's Lily checking in with Dad to make sure he's watching her work so hard.

It didn't take the Bird too long to discover this was some pretty tasty "paint".

And since every artist must sign their work, Lily personalized hers with a lick.

The finished product.

Next up on the agenda: a nice, long walk on Town Lake. This is one of our whole family's favorite Saturday activities so Lily was more than happy to participate in this portion of Boot Camp.

Next up, we just fooled around with dominoes, little spinning tops, and some one inch colored cubes left over from my teaching days.

All in all, I would say that it was a good start for us. Lily was sometimes happy to participate and sometimes took part very grudgingly. It helped that we were sitting there painting and stacking alongside her.

She did wonderfully well at bringing her plate and cup to the sink and throwing away her napkin. Of course, there was much cheering and hoopla when she did so I'm kind of surprised that she didn't attempt to throw away every single piece of trash she could find.

Don't you think she looks pretty doggone proud of herself?

It may be a long road, this learning to play, but with a smile like that, it's worth every minute!

Be sure to check in tomorrow because we did one more activity that was the clear favorite and I've got some pictures you don't want to miss!

A Little Friday Fun

2012-02-03T07:58:00.000-06:00

Hey!

It's Friday!

So let's not talk about anything the least bit serious today. OK? OK!

But before we get started, I do need to get something off my chest. I don't feel like I can go to the fun stuff if I don't make a confession first so here goes:

Hi. My name is Lana and I am a boot camp drop-out.

It was supposed to be a three week camp and I made the first two weeks.

I hope you don't think less of me.

I'm not going to try and make a bunch of excuses. Actually, I'd like to but they all sound kind of lame now that I think about it.

Let me just say this - Ryan and the big girls have been in Guatemala all week so it's just been me and the Bird at the house. I needed all my energy focused on being the solo parent and getting up at 4:50 AM was not going to help in the energy department.

OK. Now that I've got that off my chest, let me show you a couple things I pinned this week:

Here's a great list of fun "tools" to extend play-doh time.

From Sixty Second Parent

We are working on getting Lily to blow. She "blows" in, like when drinking through a straw but doesn't blow out, like making milk bubbles with said straw. So we're working on it. Thought this might be a fun way to see herself blowing, minus the cute little dragon part because she could care less about that.

From Blog.Kangarooboo.com

As part of Birdie Boot Camp, which starts this weekend (and hopefully I'll be more committed to this one!), we'll definitely be doing some painting with yogurt. A snack and a craft in one? A winner for sure! Until she starts to eat regular paints, thinking they are yogurt paint... but we won't think about that. I even have all natural food coloring that I spent a small fortune on so she won't be consuming funky dyes.

From Tot Treasures

These magnetic paper dolls featuring your child as the doll look like so much fun but so much work for me. And not knowing if the Bird will like it, it's time I'm not willing to spend. But maybe you'd like to do it for your kiddo. Or maybe you'd like to make it for mine.... Wouldn't that be fun??

From ikat bag

And speaking of Pinterest, I have to pick on Jim, from Just a Lil Blog. He is now officially on Pinterest and I thought you might like to see his first comments. Sorry Jim, but I just can't resist. And I think you'll be a good sport.... I hope.

Jim W
okay, i don't understand pinning. But i want the recipe and there's no recipe here. WHY PINTEREST? WHY???????

Jim W
oh my god. . . i just figured that part out. GO PINTEREST!!

Lana Rush
HAHA! You're very dramatic, sir.

Last but not least, for those of you engaged in the IEP process, thought you might appreciate and get some information from Dennise Goldberg's article for Friendship Circle entitled, "Top Ten Most Ridiculous Things Heard At An IEP Meeting".

Now get out there and have a great weekend everyone!

You're Going to Play and You're Going to Like It!

2012-02-02T07:07:00.000-06:00

Do you ever feel like your kid is pulling the wool over your eyes? Like they're actually trying to keep you in the dark?

I feel that way every now and then but today, it was officially confirmed.

Lily has been playing me like a fiddle.

And I have been a willing participant.

I spent an hour and a half at the Bird's school on Wednesday and let me tell you, it was quite educational.

For me.

I know. I know. Kids usually tend to do more for teachers than for mom or dad. Or do more when they're at school as opposed to being at home.

Having taught school myself, I was always surprised when a parent would tell me their child couldn't do something that I knew good and well they could because they were doing it at school.

Like tying shoes, for example. I mean, honestly. It's much easier for ol' mom to tie the shoes than to do it yourself, right?? So why let ol' mom know you've been tying your own shoes for months when she's so good at doing it herself and it's just one less thing on your kiddie to-do list?

Any-who, back to the observation.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting that much because I wasn't watching Lily Bird on the camera. I was just hanging out in the room with her, right where she could see me. Most of the time, this doesn't work all that well because I'm a total distraction for her.

Now I think that maybe it didn't work because she was afraid I was going to discover all she was perfectly capable of doing and start expecting her to do it at home.

First of all, I walked in the room and I immediately noticed was how quiet it was. Just about the time I was thinking Lily must not be in the room (thus the quiet), I saw her move out from behind the therapist.

So of course, I'm thinking the quiet won't last long.

Well.

I want you to know that my child sat on that rug and together with her therapist, quietly built the tallest tower of large Lego blocks I've ever seen her do in her entire life.

Oh.

And while she's building, the therapist occasionally asks Lily what color Lego she'd like next. To which Lily responds appropriately by selecting a color word on her Touch, then choosing the selected color of Lego from the pile.

Whaaaa?

Then, totally relaxed like, she lays on her tummy, tumps a puzzle upside down and proceeds to put it back together while identifying the shapes on her Touch.

Huh??

Then she indicates on her Touch that she is ready to transition from the floor play to some fine motor work at the table. With absolutely no trouble moving to the next activity, she sits at the table and proceeds to complete not one, but two lacing cards.

At this point, I am simply flabbergasted. I mean, I'm wondering who this kid is and what they've done with the Bird.

I feel bad for thinking it but this behavior is just so.... foreign to me.

Lily then takes her Touch and asks to use the potty.

They walk to the bathroom, Lily does some verbal imitation while on the toilet, and gets a piece of chocolate as a reward.

For the verbalizing, not for going to the potty. Because she never actually used it.

I felt a little less like a dunce at this point because I really think she knows good and well that she gets chocolate as a reward for verbalization, which usually takes place while she's on the potty since she's a captive audience and I totally think she asked to use the potty so she could have a piece of chocolate.

Had she just asked for chocolate outright, the answer would've been no.

I personally think she was doing a little ABA of her own.

The reason I know this? Because I think the best ABA therapist in our home is the Bird. I know when she's doing it and I still fall into her evil little clutches.

After the bathroom break, Lily washes her hands, which she loves to do, gets a paper towel and here's where I had to be picked up off the floor..... she walks to the trash can and throws the paper towel away.

Oh. My. Stinking. Gosh.

Lord help me, I am a fool.

Because here's what I learned at the school: As five years have now passed, I am guilty of doing the one thing I don't want anyone else to do with my daughter. I have lowered my expectations of what she is capable of doing. I have made assumptions about what she can and can't do. Sometimes, I don't even expect her to try something so I don't even present the opportunity. I spend more time trying to make life easier for my child than giving her a chance to prove herself.

And that has got to change.

Effective immediately.

So listen here, baby girl: I'll go easy on you on school day evenings since you've been working hard at school all day.

But Saturdays and Sundays? It's Birdie Boot Camp, baby.

I'm scouring Pinterest, not because I want to (definitely not!) but because I am a woman on a mission.

We're going to play.

And we're going to like it.

But most importantly, I know you can do this.

It's on.

Electronics vs. Traditional Play: What the Mom Thinks

2012-02-01T07:12:00.000-06:00

Since this is turning out to be somewhat of a "loose series" of posts, I hope you're all caught up with me. But just in case, here's Post #1 and Post #2 if you need them.

If you read yesterday's comments, Karen from Solodialogue pretty much stole my thunder (!) and summed up how I feel on this issue. But since I'm rarely at a loss for words, I'm fairly certain I can add a couple of things to her point.

Our speech therapist is of the opinion that ABA has removed the joy of simple play for Lily. While she is totally aware that the Bird has motor planning issues that impair her ability to play, she still thinks that ABA has turned play into a series of tasks for Lily to just get through so that she can then engage in "real" play - aka, electronics.

But here's the problem - this opinion makes the assumption that Lily would know what to do when presented with some objects of simple play. That she would understand what to do with the toy and would understand that playing with that particular toy is fun.

In other words, Lily has to learn that play is fun. And in order to learn that play is fun, she must be taught.

Take music for example: Most kids do not think learning the piano is fun, especially in the beginning. Much of what they are learning initially is just stuff you have to get through to get to the fun. Scales. Hand position. Foot position. Memorization of key locations. You've got to play a lot of Chopsticks before you can master Beethoven.

Or sports: I'm going to assume that most high school football players don't think that two-a-days and strength and conditioning work is all that much fun. But I bet that playing on Friday nights in front of a huge cheering crowd is pretty fun.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Some things, even some of the things we most enjoy, are things that we had to learn we liked. We had to learn it was fun.

Lily is the same as any other kiddo in that regard.

But where she differs is that much of play doesn't come naturally to her so it's a little more difficult for her to understand the fun. And takes a little more teaching time. In other words, she needs more Chopsticks time before Carnegie Hall or more strength and conditioning before the Friday night game.

But she'll get there.

Eventually.

It's hard to teach what just comes naturally to many children.

When my big girls were Lily's age, I could hand them each a big chunk of play-doh, a rolling pin, and some cookie cutters and they would go to town for hours. I never really sat down and demonstrated what to do. They were making clay cookies, decorating them with fake sprinkles and running a bakery, all without my "teaching" them a thing.

Not so with Lily.

I have to sit at the table with her. I have to show her how to pound the dough. How to roll snakes. How to use the rolling pin or the little wiggly rollers that make designs in the clay. How to make shapes with the cookie cutters. I have to show her how she can "hide" little plastic bugs in the dough and then "find" them. I have to demonstrate how to put the dough in the extruder thing and squeeze it out like spaghetti. And I have to be very careful of how much "hand over hand" work I do with her because... let's just say she's not always open to my help. And of course, play-doh will be sampled at least ten times. Even though she knows it doesn't taste good, she still keeps checking!

And sometimes, it takes me longer to get out all the supplies than the actual playtime lasts.

So we'll keep trying.

And we'll still limit iPad time, especially as a reward for play. Instead, after a good play session, I'm turning on the TV to play a couple of youtube videos that I choose and Lily can't fast forward, rewind or search since it's on the big TV and I have the remote. It's still electronic but at least I'm in charge. She can dance around, hop up and down, and stim all she wants for a little while, then we move on to something else.

Bottom line? Lily needs to learn that play is fun. And the only way she's going to learn that is by being taught how to play and then practicing that play. By engaging in some simple, traditional play and then getting a brief "brain break" as a reward for that practice.

And no matter the reason why Lily can't seem to understand the simple joy of play, whether it's the fault of ABA, DTT, inferior motor planning, or something altogether different, the fact remains that she needs to learn how to play.

And on that fact, "the therapist" and "the mom" agree.

So we work.

To play.

And maybe, just maybe, one day this baby girl will approach me with a decorated clay cookie and ask if I want to buy it from her bakery.

Electronics vs. Traditional Play: What the Therapist Thinks

2012-01-30T22:36:00.000-06:00

I'm finally getting around to organizing my thoughts about the play saga going on around my house. For those of you who missed it the first time around or just need a refresher, here's the link so you can get all caught up.

Today, I'm going to tell you what the therapist thinks of Lily's play skills.

First of all, this is from a speech therapist's point of view.

Second, this is a speech therapist who is not a fan of ABA, or applied behavioral analysis, a type of behavioral therapy that Lily receives.

And thirdly, this is her opinion and should not be taken as fact, or even 100% my opinion.

Here we go:

If electronics are not in the picture, Lily loves water play. I really think she is part mermaid. In fact, I may not have water play on the agenda for the day, but odds are good that she will find a source of water and engage in some play whether I like it or not.

She also loves good old-fashioned horse play with her dad. Lily is a rough and tumble kind of kid so she loves it when Ryan throws her on our bed or chases her around the house, only to grab her and tickle her. I have tried these games with her myself but unfortunately, I am a poor substitute for her dad.

She loves being tickled in the armpits by her big sisters.

So, as you can see, the list of non-electronic play is rather short right now.

We are working to expand her play repertoire at the moment, something that will probably take a few months.

The speech therapist feels the main reason for this lack of play is that Lily no longer thinks of traditional play as fun. She doesn't look at puzzles or balls or Legos or play-doh as enjoyable activities.

In short, she has lost the joy of play.

The speech therapist believes this disengagement from play is mostly the fault of ABA.

You see, one part of ABA is something called Discreet Trial Training, or DTT. In very, very simple layman's terms, this means getting a child to complete a task, essentially for a reward.

Think of a mouse running through a maze to get to the cheese. Does the mouse run the maze because he loves the maze? No. He's in it for the cheese.

So for the past year and a half, Lily has been engaged in DTT. She has learned to do all kinds of things, like putting puzzles together, stacking blocks, feeding a baby doll, and the like. But she has learned these things not because she likes doing them, but because once she completes the activity, she gets to choose something she wants to do. In other words, something electronic, like the iPad or the clinic's touch screen computer.

Essentially, and possibly by default, Lily has learned that giving a baby doll a fake bottle or pouring a cup of tea is simply a task to complete, much like the maze is for the mouse.

What she hasn't learned is that some kids think feeding baby dolls, having a tea party or doing puzzles is actually fun. These activities are play, in and of themselves.

The speech therapist thinks Lily doesn't think of these things as play, but rather as work.

And she believes that's the fault of DTT.

Do you see how she came to this conclusion?

Now our goal is to help Lily re-engage in some of these kinds of play, showing her that this is the play. The reward is not the play. I'm thinking of calling it Operation Restore the Joy. Nice ring, don't you think?

I've been scouring Pinterest for ideas and spent last Friday at Wal-Mart picking up a few things that will hopefully capture Lily's attention and help us restore the joy of simple play.

And since I'm no dummy, I'm starting with water play, the most highly non-electronic motivating thing for her.

I'll keep you posted on how it's going - and hopefully, I'll write "What the Mom Thinks" tomorrow.

In the meantime, any thoughts to share? I'd be interested to hear...

From the Archives...

2012-01-27T07:51:00.000-06:00

Y'all.

I've just had one of "those" weeks. I can't seem to find the time to sit still long enough to accomplish much of anything.

So for today's post, I dug back through the archives and found a little something I hope you'll enjoy. Maybe it'll even send you off for the weekend with a little smile....

No She Doesn't..... But She Does.... (from September 2010)

Tests..... Paperwork.... Forms.... Evaluations.... Meetings.... Online research.... Therapy.... and endless, endless questions.

This is the world of special needs kids. Well, I guess it's only a portion of the world, but it's a big ol' piece.

One thing that always drives me crazy is sitting across from some evaluator and having to answer hundreds of questions about Lily. Most parents don't mind talking about their children and I certainly count myself as one of them.

But these aren't fun "tell me about your child and show me some cute photos" kinds of questions. These are hard questions and most times, the answer is no... no... no... no... no.....

Here are some examples:

"Can Lily purposefully kick a ball?"
"Can Lily fill a bucket with sand or water?"
"Can Lily imitate facial expressions?"
"Can Lily engage in back and forth play?"
"Can Lily imitate your verbalizations?"

Yuck, yuck, and more yuck.

After meetings like this, I feel the need to turn the tables and give a little lecture on all the things Lily cando that never came up during the evaluation.

So, for all those times I didn't get to say what I wanted, I give you the "No She Doesn't.... But She Does.... List".

No, she doesn't roll a ball back and forth but she does dismantle a childproof lock faster than I can install it.
No, she doesn't put two words together but she does latch all the straps on her carseat, booster chair, and grocery store carts.
No, she doesn't engage in pretend play but she does know the way to our neighbor's house with the swimming pool and yellow Lab.
No, she doesn't ride a tricycle but she does know if she empties her toy tub, puts it upside down and stands on it, then she can reach the sound machine on the top of the bookshelf.
No, she doesn't scoop sand into a bucket, but she does know how to turn on the bathtub faucet even if you remove the handles.
No, she doesn't initiate play with other children but she does destroy a book series called "Indestructibles".
No, she doesn't play with toys appropriately but she does have the amazing ability to create ladders out of anything. Give her some gum, a few toothpicks, and a paper clip and she's better than MacGyver ever was.

I could go on and on but I think you get the point.

Now I would like to take this opportunity and send a message to all those evaluators with all their questions and this is it:

HUMPH!

There - I feel so much better now.

Have a great weekend!

Let's Make a List Together!

2012-01-26T08:12:00.000-06:00

I'm not purposely trying to create a cliffhanger about the electronics versus toys. I just haven't had enough time to sit at the computer long enough to get it all out.

And today is no different.

So how about we do this instead...

Tell me a couple of your favorite special needs books.

What books have really helped you in your journey? Or inspired you? Or given you a sense of hope? What books have let you know that you're not alone? Made you laugh instead of cry? Or laugh and cry??

I'll add the books that we come up with to the Resources section of the blog.

All of us can use a good recommendation from time to time so let's hear some titles, folks!

The Need to Read

2012-01-25T07:38:00.000-06:00

I saw this on one of my favorite blogs, Love That Max, and had to pass it along to you. Since so many of us are big-time readers, I knew this would be easy win - help a kid out while doing something you love.

And since I'm super lazy, I simply stole Ellen's description of the campaign rather than re-writing it myself:

List your favorite books, help a kid in need: Scholastic recently kicked off the One Million Bookprints for One Million Books campaign, an initiative to donate one million books in need through the nonprofit Reach Out and Read. When you join You Are What You Read, you make a "Bookprint"—a list of 5 books that have shaped your life. Both kids and adults can do it. For every Bookprint, Scholastic Book Clubs donates a book to kids in need, distributed through pediatrician offices around the country.

You can also check out the Bookprints of some famous people,too, like Taylor Swift, Bobbi Brown, The Jonas Brothers, and Eli Manning.

Thanks, Ellen, for letting me borrow your words. And if you haven't discovered Love That Max yet, you really need to check it out. It's amazing and you will love it!

Thursday and Friday, we'll talk more about the electronics versus toys issue going on in the Rush house now.

But for now, go make that Bookprint and spread the word!

If You Were Stranded on an Island.....

2012-01-24T05:01:00.000-06:00

Actually, no one that I know of is stranded on an island.

I mean, I'm still stranded in Week Two of boot camp but no one wants to hear my pain.

But remember that logic question that used to pop up in school every now and then: If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want with you, not counting people?

Well, I've got a variation of that question for you and I'm really interested to hear what you have to say.

If your child could have no electronic devices (iPads, iPods, iPhones, Android devices, tablets, e-readers, DVD players, etc...), what would they play with instead?

A little background on the reason for the question - Monday, Lily had a visit with her former speech therapist that we haven't seen in almost two years. After an hour session with the Bird, she came out and asked me, "What exactly does Lily like to play?".

Of course, my immediate answer was the iPad.

Then she asked me, "Besides electronics, what does Lily like to do for fun?".

To which I answered, "Ummm.... Gimme a minute, here. Ahhhh..... OK! Got one! She likes for her Dad to throw her on our bed! Does that count? Oh, and she likes to crawl under our covers and kind of "hide out". Oops! But that's with the iPad. Oh, she likes this sensory tunnel thing that she combat crawls through, but.... oh no, that's with the iPad as well. Soooo, did you mean like no electronics at all??"

And while I've noticed it before, I think it's the first time I voiced it out loud - My child does not really like to play anything. Or at least, anything that's not electronic.

There are definitely worse problems and it's certainly not the end of the world but it does raise an interesting question.

Or at least, it's interesting to me.

While Lily has never been what I would call a "stellar play-er" (and I don't mean that in the sleazy sense, in case you were wondering), there was a time that she played. She would drop balls down a marble run type toy. She matched these little plastic puzzle cookies that looked like Oreos. She spun plastic tops. She squeezed Play-doh, though it's always been so tempting to take just a small bite or two. She looked at books, before she took to ripping them to bits. She filled and emptied plastic eggs with little rubber bugs.

She does none of that anymore.

And she's not all that interested anymore.

Granted, she's 5 and some of those things might just fall by the wayside now that she's a little older. But nothing non-electronic has really taken the place of any of these activities.

So of course, the first thing I thought of is to do the good ol' comparison thing that none of us are supposed to do but we all do anyway and take a casual "opinion poll" on the blog today.

In the next couple of days, I'll offer some conflicting reasons for this "lack of play" ("the mom" thinks, "the therapist" thinks....) and see what you think about that.

But for now, just answer this for me:

If your child could have no electronic devices (iPads, iPods, iPhones, Android devices, tablets, e-readers, DVD players, etc...), what would they play with instead?

On your mark...

Get set....

Comment! (or facebook or tweet or email....)

A Thought for Monday.... and Every Day

2012-01-23T06:46:00.000-06:00

You've Got This, God

2012-01-20T07:34:00.000-06:00

One of my very favorite things about having a blog is connecting with other special needs families.

After doing my morning post here, I often spend the next hour making the rounds to all my bloggy friends, just checking in to see how things are going in their neck of the woods. I gain so much insight from the fellow parents who are slugging it out in the trenches just like me. The understanding and encouragement is simply priceless. And I usually laugh out loud at least once because our kiddos can do or say the funniest things.

But it seems like ever since the holidays ended, I've detected a note of discouragement in several of the posts I've read.

Maybe it's the winter doldrums. Maybe it's wacky barometric pressure. Or just getting back into the daily grind of things after a long break.

But for some of my sweet online friends, it's additional pressures like caring for aging parents and making hard healthcare decisions. Dealing with the loss of a loved one. Unexplainable aggressive or sad behaviors in our kiddos that try as we might, we simply cannot fix. And oftentimes, the guilt that we're not doing enough, the fear of the unknown future, and the anger that we have to deal with all this in the first place.

It's simply not fair.

I took a little trip back into the archives of this blog and found something I needed to hear again. Maybe you can get a little something out of it, too.

More Than I Can Handle - A Post from June 2011

Today, for some unknown reason, I was reminded of some wise words that were shared with me shortly after Lily was born.

Most of you already know that our Lily Bird was a bit of a surprise for our family.

Adjustment number one.

Then on Day Two of Life, she quit breathing for about 30 seconds - just enough to shake us up, not to mention the nursing staff.

Adjustment number two.

On Day Five of Life, she quit breathing yet again, which led to a panicked 911 call, a midnight ambulance ride and the discovery of a hole in her heart requiring open heart surgery, and a host of other physical conditions.

Adjustment number three... and four... and five...... and one hundred.

Then at 18 months of age, the loss of skills such as speaking, eye contact, and smiling for a camera.

Adjustment number... infinity.

Anyway, I was sharing my overwhelming feelings of fear and inadequacy with a very wise woman and I said something along these lines to her:

"I just don't know what to do anymore. I am at the end of my rope and I just can't take one more thing. I keep thinking of that Mother Teresa quote 'I know God's not going to give me more than I can handle, but I just wish He didn't trust me so much!' and that's exactly how I feel."

This sweet lady looked me straight in the eyeballs and said these words:

"Lana, listen to me. That quote sounds great but it's simply not true. God WILL give you more than you can handle. Because He doesn't want you to handle it. He wants you to trust Him. He wants to take your burden and handle it. If you could handle everything that came your way in life all by yourself, you wouldn't need Him."

Wow.

It was a true lightbulb moment for me.

I cannot tell you the sense of relief that flooded through me.

I don't have to handle everything. Nor should I expect myself to be able to handle it all.

That's God's job and I was more than happy to delegate it right on up to Him.

Now, that doesn't mean that God's going to show up and make lunch. Or drive Lily to yet another therapy or doctor appointment.

But it does mean that in those moments when I just don't think I can go one more minute without having a breakdown, I can keep going.

When I think my heart cannot be twisted and stretched and tugged anymore without being totally broken,my heart takes more.

On those days when I think I cannot deal with one more bit of bad news, I deal with it.

And when my prayers are nothing other than "Please, God....", He shows up.

I'm not a Superwoman.

But I am a child of God.

And He is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Amen.

When the world says, "Give up",
Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
Anonymous

The EIP

2012-01-19T07:24:00.000-06:00

I'm assuming that all of you in the special needs community are familiar with the term Individualized Education Program, or IEP.

Since I know how many of you feel about the IEP process, and since we're trying to keep it clean around here (!), we're not going to talk about that today.

Instead, let me tell you about the latest, and hopefully greatest, thing we're about to embark on in the Rush home.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you..... the Electronics Intervention Plan, or EIP.

EIP

I know. I know. You like how I flipped the letters around. I'm clever that way. But enough about me.

So, here's the thing about the EIP.

For a while now, I've been thinking that while I'm a big, big, big fan of the iPad, it's just not been exactly what I want it to be.

Through no fault of the iPad, Lily just has so quickly learned to work it to her advantage that the device is not accomplishing what I was hoping.

Follow along with me:

We introduce Lily to the iPad.
We show her that it plays Backyardigans movies.
She contentedly watches videos for a week or so.
Then we introduce a few apps, showing her how to touch the screen to work the games.
She happily plays with apps for a week or so, only watching videos when we turn them on for her.
Then one day, as she is switching apps, she notices the youtube icon.
She remembers this is the button Mom and Dad use to play her videos.
Now she can switch between apps and youtube all by herself.
Then she gets braver and starts working the music icon, selecting songs from our iTunes library.
So now she can do apps, youtube, and music all by herself.
Then she figures out that all the icons do something so within 24 hours, she has learned how to change wallpaper, delete downloaded videos, access iPhoto and browse through pictures, view Ryan's calendar at work and make a few small changes, and send tweets on his behalf.
Lovely.

Needless to say, she can't be left alone with the iPad or she will send blurbs of the Backyardigans dancing to the Black Eyed Peas singing in German to all of Ryan's Twitter followers who will then be scratching their heads, trying to figure out why this was sent to them and if they're missing something.

True story. I can't make up stuff this good.

Now that Lily knows everything the iPad is capable of doing, and how easily it can do it all, it's like she simply must work it. She is no longer content to just play an app or watch a video. She must fast forward and reverse her way through movies. She must select a new family photo for the home page. She must attempt to log in to Netflix. She must play one app for ten seconds to appease Mom and then try to crack the passcode that blocks youtube. She must check out what people are saying on Facebook. She must play the phrase of one song over and over again and then switch to another song to do the same thing.

Get the picture?

While it's impressive that a 5 year old knows how to do more on the iPad than any of the rest of us in the family, it's frustrating to me. I think it's got to be bad for her attention span and focus if she's constantly jumping from one activity to the next without really finishing anything.

And I really want to see her do more apps because that's about the only way I can get an idea of what all she knows since she can't just tell me.

Here's where the EIP comes in.

Despite the fact that most everyone in the world is moving towards one simple device that does everything except cook supper and wash the car, we at the Rush house are moving in the opposite direction.

We are going for more devices that function in a single purpose manner.

So, Lily has:

a portable DVD player just for watching movies.
an Mp3 player just for listening to music.
an iPad just for playing apps.
an iPod Touch just for Proloquo2go, her communication app, for talking.

Four devices. Ridiculous, I know.

But each of them does only one thing.

And Lily can only have one device at a time.

Now, you may be wondering how I'm able to accomplish having an iPad that just does apps and nothing else.

First, I had two conversations with Apple Support, throwing out my idea of a "gaming tablet", something that looks and works like an iPad but only supports apps and nothing else.

While they were both very nice, even telling me that what I was suggesting made perfect sense for my goals with Lily, apparently I'm the only one who really wants something like that.

I laughingly asked if maybe there was a way to simply "grab" an iPad off the assembly line after it gets loaded with app capability and before it gets all that other stuff on it.

That's when they hung up on the crazy lady.

No, they didn't hang up but I think I may have lost a little credibility.

Any-who, I did the next best thing to getting something invented just for the Bird.

I called my friend's techno-genius husband. It's good to know smart people.

After much discussion and thought (mostly on his part because I was no longer certain he was speaking English - he pretty much lost me after, "Well, we could try....."), he is "jailbreaking" the iPad.

Meaning pretty much every single icon that typically shows up on the iPad will no longer show up. The only icons will be ones I choose.

And those will be icons for apps.

And only a few apps at a time. Probably no more than five or six choices or I think she might just flip from game to game.

I'm fully aware that once the iPad is jailbroken, it no longer has warranty. It's pretty much no longer considered an Apple product. But we don't have any warranty on it anymore anyway so we're willing to take the chance.

And my techno-genius friend can "un-jailbreak" it, too. Told you he was smart.

Of course, it remains to be seen if Lily Bird is as smart as he is.

If she figures this out, I'm done with electronics.

We'll move to a cave and go back to hieroglyphics.

The end.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T07:09:00.000-06:00

Even though it's January, the weather has been so beautiful and mild here in Austin.

We recently took Lily for a little stroll around the Austin Nature & Science Center.

As we entered the "zoo" portion, it was recommended that we not make sudden loud noises so as not to disturb the animals.

We almost turned around and walked right out. I mean, we did have the Bird with us so sudden loud noises are pretty much a guarantee.

But we pressed on.

And Lily did great.

In fact, the only sudden loud noises she shared with the animals was a couple of tunes from her jambox, propped on her shoulder like a throwback to the 80's.

And really, don't all God's creatures love a little Coldplay "Paradise" mixed with a little "Jesus Loves Me"?

Just Passing Through....

2012-01-17T07:27:00.000-06:00

Well.

I survived the first day of boot camp.

One day down, fourteen to go.

I am so utterly exhausted that I am just going to cheat and take the easy way out today.

I am passing along two things that I think you'll like.

The first is a list of 100 Healthy Snack Ideas from the blog, Six Sisters' Stuff.

Since I'm doing boot camp, I'm trying to watch what I'm eating as well. But I'm a big snacker. This list has helped me make some smarter choices when I'm standing in front of the pantry looking for something to munch on.

The second is just a little something to read for fun. It's called If You Give A Mom A Muffin and was recently posted by "Andrew's Mom" over at Kids, Autism, and Finding Joy. If you're familiar with the series of kids' books by Laura Numeroff, you'll recognize the rhythm of the story.

Enjoy!

If You Don't Hear From Me The Rest of the Week, This Is Why....

2012-01-16T07:42:00.000-06:00

Well, I've gone and done it now.

See if you can relate to this scenario:

A friend calls you on the phone and says, "Hey, you're never going to believe this but (insert store you love here) is having a sale! (Insert item here) is only $20 for each of us if we go in together! But we have to act quickly because there's only 3 left!!!"

And because you feel that surge of adrenaline rushing through your body, kind of like when you're bidding on an item in an auction, you find yourself throwing caution to the wind and saying, "What a deal! Let's do it! I'm in!"

I mean, it does sound like an incredible opportunity, right?

Except for one small detail....

The "item" in this particular scenario is..... Boot Camp.

Oh. My. Word.

I got so caught up in the rush of beating someone else to get this amazing deal that I totally and completely missed the fact that I don't really even want this deal.

But I have committed. And I have paid my money. And a friend is counting on me to show up.

Oh, did I tell you when I'm supposed to show up?

Monday.

Tuesday.

Wednesday.

Thursday.

Friday.

AT 5:30 AM.

For three entire weeks.

Don't you just wish you could find such fabulous deals like me?

Maybe if I recover from this, I'll write a post sharing the details of my shopping prowess.

I'm sure you don't want to miss out on bargains such as these, either.

Oh, and if you needed some proof that crazy runs in the family, Ryley, my oldest, is going with me. I taught her my best shopping tricks, too.

So, just in case I don't make it out alive, I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you reading the blog.

It's been nice knowing all of you.....

Sweet Victory

2012-01-13T07:53:00.000-06:00

Do you remember how I told you that Lily will go from loving a food for days on end and then one day, with no advance warning whatsoever, that same food will become horrid to her?

Like bacon?

Well, the latest food to meet the same fate as bacon is vanilla soy yogurt.

And while it's annoying to have this ongoing love/hate relationship with certain foods, the despised yogurt presents more than just one less food the Bird will eat.

See, I've been sneaking two of her crushed medications in that yogurt.

So I'm stuck with trying to disguise the blasted pills in yet another food item that will, one - disguise the taste, and two, ensure she's getting all of said pill.

And then I had a stroke of pure genius, if I do say so myself.

While searching for some treats that Lily could have every now and then, I discovered that the lowly Junior Mint is within Dr. Goldberg's diet protocol.

Look very closely at the picture below and see if you can tell what I did:

If you looked at that photo and thought....

" I know exactly what she did! She took a shish-kebab skewer and dug a small hole into the center of a couple of Junior Mints. Then she took that tiny bit of crushed up pill and "injected" it into those tiny holes. Then she mixed the "special" Junior Mints in with a few regular candies and fed them to Lily. I just know that's what she did!"

.....then you would be 100% correct.

I performed successful candy surgery.

My kid ate the "special" Junior Mints right alongside the regular ones without batting an eyelash.

Score one for Mom!

Of course, this will only work until the day she decides she loathes Junior Mints....

Sigh.

Getting to Know Meme

2012-01-12T08:08:00.000-06:00

Nope, that's not a typo in the title.

For all my non-social media friends who so sweetly follow my blog, here's how Wikipedia describes a meme (pronounced like meem, in case you were wondering):

An Internet meme is an idea that is propagated through the World Wide Web. The idea may take the form of ahyperlink, video, picture, website, hashtag, or just a word or phrase, such as intentionally misspelling the word "more" as "moar" or "the" as "teh". The meme may spread from person to person via social networks, blogs, direct email, news sources, or other web-based services.

In layman blogger's terms, it means that someone "tags" you, often with a list of goofy questions. You answer the questions and then "tag" a few other bloggers.

And on and on it goes. Where it stops, nobody knows.

Bloggers typically respond with groans and sighs, wishing they hadn't been tagged but I think they secretly love the recognition. It's like finally getting picked for the kickball team in gym class instead of being the last man standing.

So I've spent the last year and a half faithfully writing my little blog, standing on the sidelines, in my PE class issued elastic waist shorts and stinky t-shirt, patiently waiting to get picked.

And it finally happened.

I got tagged!

Maybe once I've been tagged multiple times like all my veteran bloggy friends, I'll groan and sigh and roll my eyes, too.

But today.

Today, I wear the crown.

I am "Meme Queen". Hear me roar.

I was tagged by Karen over at Solodialogue and if you haven't seen her blog yet (and her too cute son, Tootles), you really should rush right over there and check out all the good stuff.

Now, on to the questions...

My Favorite Color - I'm going with red. But not like crayon red. More like that rustic, old wood barn kind of red. Like this:

My Favorite Animal - I hope no one likes me any less when I admit this but I'm just not that much of an animal lover. Would a dolphin count?

My Favorite Number - I've never even really thought about this. Hmmm.... I'll take unlucky 13 because no one ever picks him, not even elevators.

My Favorite Drink - Now we're talking. Without a doubt, Route 44 Diet Dr. Pepper with a Double Shot of Vanilla. From Sonic. Amen.

Facebook or Twitter - Twitter. Short blurbs of information. Kind of like the ticker at the bottom of news network stations. But with more fun stuff.

Passion? - If this means something I can never get enough of, something I do when I have free time, and something I can get totally absorbed in and lose all track of time, it would be reading. I have always loved to read. And once I start a book, it has to be simply awful for me to not finish it. Like Don Quixote awful.

Giving or Getting Presents - Ummm.... gotta be honest here. I do like me a good present.

Favorite Day - Monday. My husband usually has the day off. The kids are back in school. And I usually do not do not much of anything on Mondays.

Favorite Flower - Sunflowers. They're huge and happy. What's not to like?

And this marks the end of my reign as "Meme Queen".

It's time to pass off my crown and tag some of my fellow bloggers.

So without further ado, the envelope please. I tag:

Lisa, over at Autism Wonderland because I've just discovered her and want to know more! And what better way than a meme?

Allie, from Little Baby Fields x2 because we have a connection besides just blogging and special needs kiddos. We both love Jesus! And I think she needs a good ol' mindless meme post to take her mind off her house conundrum.

And Jon, from Happy Trouble simply because he's the new kid on the block and I want to give my first meme to him as his first meme. And he's one of the few dad bloggers around here.

There you have it!

I will be checking the blogs to see if you caught the joy I just sent your way.

Have a lovely Thursday everyone!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-11T08:18:00.000-06:00

The "Butt Dip" gone too far.....

Umm... a little help here?

Please??

Better Late Than Never

2012-01-10T07:23:00.000-06:00

I don't know about you, but I'm not that big on making New Year's Resolutions.

I think because my kids are in school, I tend to follow the school calendar. For me, the beginning of a new school year often feels like a "new year" to me, even more so than the first of January. So my resolutions for the year are more likely to be made in September.

For the past several years, we've put a different spin on the resolutions and turned them into predictions. It goes a little something like this:

Each New Year's Eve, our family sits down in the living room with pens and a big pile of paper strips. We make predictions about the upcoming year - one per slip of paper - then sign our name to each. For example, "The Spurs will win the NBA Championship", "We will meet someone famous", or "The girls will get all A's on their report cards". Then we seal the predictions in an envelope and store them in a box with our Christmas decorations. The following New Year's Eve, we open the envelope and read the predictions to see which ones actually happened. Then we get out new strips of paper and start all over again for the next year.

I'm thinking I probably should've told you about this back in late December but you really could still do this. We're not too far along in 2012 for this to be a total bust if you want to try it.

Also, most of you know that I'm a big reader. As in, anytime I have a few free minutes, you can bet I am going to spend it reading.

So the only resolution I'm 100% willing to commit to is to read even more in 2012.

Thankfully, there are several reading lists floating around the internet to get me going.

Bloom (in)courage has their winter reading list up and it's a good one!

The Nester tells us the books she read in 2011 and the ones she hopes to read in 2012.

Sandra Peoples (author of Speechless, a book about her first year's journey with autism) has a list of what she read in 2011 and several of them look really good.

And check out the School Library Journal's Best Books of 2011 for some great reads for your kiddos.

Now, one more thing that I'm a little behind on.... the Joy Dare 2012. But this is my only other 2012 resolution - to be more intentional about looking for the gifts and blessings in my life. To try to find at least 1000 of them. And to write them down. I hope to have a lovely notebook to show you this time next year, a beautiful visual reminder of my grateful thanks to a loving and good God.

Ann Voskamp, the author of One Thousand Gifts has even created monthly "guides" to help in the search.

Here's January's:

Will you join me in this?

Obviously, you don't need to be strict about this guide. It's simply some suggestions to get your creative juices flowing. The goal is to be looking for blessings, not going thorough a checklist. Use it only if it makes it easier for you to get started.

So, let's chat now.

1. What's the best book you read in 2011?

2. What was your biggest blessing in 2011?

3. Will you dare to join me in the Joy Dare 2012?

Your turn. Leave a comment. Ready.... Set...... Go!

Easing Into The Week... with Pizza

2012-01-09T08:09:00.000-06:00

I don't know about you but, we have had a weekend at the Rush house!

And I'm not talking about the nice, relaxing kind, either.

Without going into all the gory details, I'll just tell you that I don't have enough brain cells to compose anything too life-changing at the moment.

Instead, how about I give you a pizza recipe that just might change your life?

It's not my original recipe so I'll be sure to give credit where credit is due.

Last week, I finished an amazing, wonderful, thought-provoking book called 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. Click here to read the description if you're interested. I'm sure I'll be referencing it in other posts to come.

Let me say that I took much, much more from the book than the following recipe - the only recipe in the book and such a small aside, the really deep thinking readers probably glossed right over it.

But the concepts in the book plus this pizza sauce recipe will certainly rock your world.

Pizza Sauce
Courtesy of Jen Hatmaker

Saute 3 garlic cloves and 1 tsp. red pepper flakes in 1/4 c. of good olive oil for 3-4 minutes. Add one 28 ounce can of Muir Glen organic crushed tomatoes (must be this brand according to Jen and I certainly didn't argue with her). Stir then simmer for five minutes, add salt and pepper to taste, along with a bunch of chopped fresh basil. Heat through. Spread on pizza crust. Use any leftover sauce for dunking pizza crusts - or eating with a spoon, in my case!

Trust me, it is worth taking those few extra minutes to make this sauce. Nothing in a jar tastes this good.

Now, I love this recipe for Pizza Crust from Barefoot Contessa. It's my all-time favorite.

But I cannot tell a lie.

I did not make homemade pizza crust this weekend.

Instead, I purchased homemade pizza crusts from Cafe on the Run at my local HEB grocery store. So to my way of thinking, it was still homemade, just not made in my home by my hands.

Here's how I put the pizza together:

I spread that yummy sauce on that homemade pizza crust.
I placed some lightly sauteed red and green peppers and onions on top of that sauce.
Next, slices of fresh mozzarella cheese.
Then, a few pieces of pepperoni.
Last, I placed it directly on my oven rack at 400 degrees and baked until it looked done to me.

I sliced it up.

I took a bite.

And I died.

The end.

Well.

I didn't actually die.

But my tastebuds felt like they were in heaven. And yours will, too!

Come on people!

Make those tummies happy.

Make some pizza.

News You Can Use - Volume 1

2012-01-06T07:29:00.001-06:00

I have come across so many nifty things lately on Twitter and Pinterest that I decided you simply had to know about this great stuff!

So without further ado, I give you "News You Can Use" - a variety of things I find interesting that I think you might, too.

Instagram News:

Most of you know that I'm a big fan of Instagram, the fun and easy way to share photos with your iPhone. So how about some ideas on how you can get those photos off your iPhone and into your hot little hands?

Stickygram turns your Instagram photos into magnets. Jim over at Just a Lil' Blog tried this out so maybe he'll leave a comment and let us know what he thought.
Postagram is an app that turns pictures from your phone, Facebook, or Instagram into photo postcards. And here's the really cool thing - you can customize a message, choose people from your contact list to mail the postcard to and when they receive the card, they can pop the photo out to display.
Printstagram is an app that turns your Instagram pictures into cool posters, miniprints, stickers, photo books, minibooks, and tinybooks.
InstaShirt prints your Instagram photos on a shirt. The baby onesie is especially cute.
CanvasPop will print Instagram photos on canvas.

And for the computer savvy out there, here's a tutorial on creating DIY Instagram photo strips through Photoshop. Very cute!

Special Needs News:

Notice anything about this Target ad?

Now take a minute to read this great article, "Target is 'Down' With Down Syndrome: 5 Things Target Said By Saying Nothing At All". It'll make you smile - and give you another reason to feel good about shopping at Target, as if you needed one!

Here are Friendship Circle's Top 20 Special Needs Resource Posts of 2011.

Now, I'm not foolish enough to think that you've got time to sit down and read every single one of these but glance through the list and see if something catches your eye. The list runs the gamut from school lunch ideas and suggestions for play therapy all the way to handwriting tips and 17 great colleges for special needs students.

Technology News:

For those of you interested in sharing some engaging Bible stories with your kiddos, check out the free Read and Share app from Thomas Nelson.

Once you've downloaded the free app, you can purchase a book a week for $2.99. If you click the link, you can see a video that lets you know what the stories are like. I personally love the illustrations!

And speaking of apps, how about a list of 25 of them that the whole family will love? Click here to check them out.

Most of us with special needs kiddos have our iPads in cases designed for maximum protection. Well, I can't vouch for any increased protection with this case, but the iGuy is one of the cutest covers I've seen - and ideal for hands free vertical viewing.

Organization News:

Now that a new year is here, maybe you've decided to eat out less. This handy fill-in-the-blank menu planning & grocery shopping form should help you meet your goal.

Want to simplify but getting started just seems so complicated?

Look no further than the e-book One Bite at a Time - 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler.

I just purchased my own copy so I don't have a personal glowing review yet but here's what sold me - I don't have to do the projects in any particular order, I don't have to do a project a week and be done in a year (even though there are 52 weeks in a year), and some of the projects, I might not even need to do.

But what it does do is give me a place to start - to take some of the tasks I really need to do around here and break them up into very manageable steps.

For those of you who want to start even smaller and just get a good daily to-do list going, click here for a free printable daily planner page from Ann Voskamp. This is a daily draft with a higher purpose so be sure to read how to fill it out... and be inspired and encouraged at the same time.

So - that's it. A collection of things that caught my attention in the last couple of months - that hopefully won't totally overwhelm you and send you running for the hills since I crammed it all into one post!

Now get out there and have a great weekend, folks!

What I Got For Christmas

2012-01-05T07:25:00.000-06:00

Before you officially start reading, I just wanted to let those of you who are wondering if I'm ever going to talk about anything else know that this will be the last post referencing Christmas. Even I know it's time to move on....

Hey - did you know that Santa brought me some good stuff, too?

Since I started the Couch to 5K program, I've been in need of a new pair of running shoes. My previous pair had gotten a hole in the left little toe side of the shoe. The hole was getting larger after every run - to the point where running on the Hike & Bike Trail meant gravel and dirt easily working its way in.

I'm enough of a reluctant runner that I look for any excuse to stop and a sandbox in my shoe was a good one. But I am trying really hard to keep this up so new shoes were in order - if for no other reason than to remove the excuse to stop running.

Of course, I wanted good shoes that would hold up well but my priority was "cute". I wanted some of those really colorful shoes I see all up and down the trail. Yes, I'm huffing and puffing but can't a girl try to look snazzy while doing so?? I was convinced that cute, colorful shoes were just the motivation I needed to keep running.

So I was really happy to find these under the tree:

Fun, huh? I'm sure that I'm running faster, jumping higher, and looking good while doing so...

I also got a Kindle, something I swore I'd never do. In fact, my oldest thinks I've crossed over to the dark side and is totally and thoroughly disgusted with me. I think she truly believes I can no longer call myself a reader.

We do love real books around the Rush house. And my Ryley can be a tad bit obsessive about books - click here to read the proof.

I didn't get the fancy new Kindle because I didn't want a backlit screen.

I like the idea that it looks like a real book page and it doesn't hurt my eyes like a computer screen will.

But what really sold me?

The library I frequent allows you to check out e-books. I don't even have to go to the library anymore! Now, I love me some free books. But free books I don't even have to go pick up or return? Can I get an Amen??

Ryley gave me a Sonic gift card. But... wait for it. It's in the exact amount of not one, not two, but seven Route 44 Diet Dr. Peppers with Vanilla, my drink of choice. She knows me well.

And Reagan knitted me a beautiful shawl/wrap/scarf:

It can be worn all kinds of different ways so if you would like to see what it looks like on an actual human, you can click here.

As I'm putting this post together, I have no make-up on and I'm too vain to take photos of me in my shawl. But every time I've worn it, someone tells me they like and asks where I got it. They're always surprised when I tell them Reagan made it for me.

So - what about you? Did Santa bring you something good this year? Spill it!

The Best Gifts of Christmas

2012-01-04T07:50:00.000-06:00

Imagine the scene:

A Christmas tree beautifully decorated with colorful ornaments and lovely tiny white lights. Delightfully wrapped gifts spread around its base in a dazzling array, just beckoning children (and teenagers!) to come close. The tantalizing sense of anticipation. The pleasure on the faces of the adults, observing the children (and teenagers!) take joy in the gifts they lovingly selected for each recipient. The sweet chorus of "thank you" mingling in the air with Christmas carols playing softly in the background.

Does this sound like Christmas at your house?

Mine either.

While my big girls do a great job of getting in the Christmas spirit, opening up gifts with the appropriate and truly sincere "oohs" and "aahs", and giving genuine hugs of thanks to the gift-givers, Lily doesn't quite catch the spirit of the season in the same way.

The post from yesterday gave you the low-down on how our actual Christmas Day went so I won't go over that again.

One of Lily's biggest issues with Christmas is that she really could care less about the gifts. She just doesn't get all the hype and the drama. For a child who will rip any remotely paper product to shreds and bits (especially those items not intended for tearing), she will not touch a wrapped gift.

So we wrap only a couple things, just to let her try and see if this is the year she "gets it".

And we try handing her a new toy, excitedly pushing buttons to show her how it lights up, plays music and generally does every thing she likes in life, except maybe throw dark chocolates directly into her open mouth.

Her response?

She won't even look at it. Or she'll glance at it, press one single solitary button, and then look at us like, "There. Are you happy? This toy is dead to me."

Wow. That little girl is a tough crowd, let me tell you.

I've finally sold her grandparents on the best method of giving a present to Lily.

Set the unwrapped toy in her general area with a vague announcement. "Here you go, Lily!"

Here's the clincher, though: Walk away.

That's the hard part.

But if you try to "push" a present on the Bird, she will not respond in the way you want her to.

Whether or not this is autism or sheer stubbornness on her part, I'm not 100% sure yet. I just know that letting her discover the toy in her own good time is the secret to getting the thing played with.

It can take as long as two weeks for her to actually "adopt" a new toy into the fold. Then I let the grandparents know that it finally "took".

This year though, both sets of grandparents hit the jackpot. They each gave Lily a gift that she took to almost immediately. Even I was surprised at how quickly she responded.

Wondering which gifts the Bird thinks are the bee's knees?

The first one is the Cuddle Me Sensory Tunnel. Lily's OT highly recommended one of these for us to have at home since she loves the one at the clinic.

I'll have you know we whipped that thing out of the gift bag and the Bird knew exactly what to do. I held one end open and she ducked her sweet head and crawled right in there, all snuggled up with the iPad. She emerged a few minutes later, grinning from ear to ear.

And the next gift....

a portable DVD player. I know what you're thinking... in this iPad/Netflix day and age, she goes and gets a DVD player??!? But the Bird loves it. She's even traded me the iPad for it a time or two, and that's saying something.

Now, I've got a plan for this DVD player that I'll share with you later. Something like, an "electronics intervention plan", so to speak.

The gifts Ryan and I gave her? Well, we're still waiting for ours to "take". Sigh...

But, at least this year, we had two sets of happy grandparents and one happy little Bird.

Holiday Highlights

2012-01-03T08:17:00.000-06:00

While I am really glad to be back in the "regular routine", we did have some good family time during the holidays.

Because we were able to spend so much concentrated time with the Bird, we were really able to see how much progress she's making lately.

Here's a couple of examples:

Lily surprised us by unwrapping one gift without any help at all. Of course, she had more than one wrapped gift but hey, it's a start!
She rediscovered the trampoline and really enjoyed some good time bouncing in the backyard.
She had lots of moments of calm, "chill out time"when she was perfectly content to just lay beside us in the bed or watch TV with us. (this is not normal for her!)
She even fell asleep on my dad's lap one night (a highly unusual event) and I think this might have been his best Christmas gift.

We have taken lots of walks on the Town Lake Hike & Bike Trail but this week, Lily finally noticed the ducks. She took great delight in feeding them several times when we were out walking and it was fun to watch her taking it all in.

Of course, we still had moments when autism, and all that entails, reared its ugly head.

On Christmas Day, we went over to my in-laws for dinner. My parents were there. So was Ryan's sister, her husband, and their son. Of course, my in-laws were there and so were we.

Twelve people in all. Not too many. And only two little kids, Lily being one of them.

Lily was doing fine until we sat down to open gifts before eating.

After about five minutes, she was done and ready to move on to something else. We let her have the iPad so we could finish watching each other open gifts.

That worked for another ten minutes or so then she was ready to head back home.

She started pulling us to the front door.

We started trying to distract.

Cue meltdown.

Now my mother-in-law has her table beautifully set so that all of us can sit and eat together.

Nice idea but it just wasn't going to work this year.

Reagan and I ended up taking our dinner plates and Lily upstairs to the gameroom, where it was nice and quiet and looked the same as it always does. Lily crawled in her favorite comfy chair with the iPad while Reagan and I ate and softly chatted. In a little while, Lily had regrouped and was ready to eat, which she also did upstairs.

After about thirty minutes, Lily went to the baby gate and motioned for me to open it. Then she went downstairs and rejoined the group like nothing at all had happened.

Go figure.

As for the big girls, we never let them come downstairs on Christmas morning until we are awake and up and have cameras at the ready. You can tell how thrilled Reagan is about this, even though she's been doing it for fifteen years...

But she did recover enough to take on her Dad in a little Just Dance 3.

So. Did we have some lows over the break?

Yes.

But did we have some really wonderful highs, too?

Most definitely.

And it's those really wonderful highs that get us through those lows.

Have You Figured It Out Yet?

2011-12-27T21:51:00.000-06:00

I'm sure you have by now.

With all three girls home this week, plus my parents in town, I'm just not getting around to posting.

So in case you've been patiently waiting, checking the blog each morning this week in hopes of reading something new and exciting, I feel like I need to come clean and quit stringing you along:

I'm not going to be posting this week.

Hopefully, that means I'll be back next week with some really great stuff for you - pictures and stories galore.

I'll try to not disappoint.

Have a wonderful week and I'll see you January 2nd!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T10:37:00.000-06:00

From our home to yours....

Looking for some ideas to help your kids (and yourselves!) keep the focus on Jesus this Christmas morning? Click here to visit Ann Voskamp's A Holy Experience blog and discover 10 Ways to Celebrate (Regardless of What's Under the Tree).

In the midst of all the excitement, presents, catching up with friends and family, and eating way too much good food, I pray that you catch a glimpse of Christ and remember that He is the reason for the season.

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you!

HACKED! An Unauthorized Blog by Lana's Husband

2011-12-21T12:25:00.003-06:00

I thought I'd "break in" here since Lana is out of town for the day. For our anniversary, I sent her to a hotel by herself - which may sound bizarre, until I tell you that I am meeting her there for this afternoon for our second night. Have you heard of Gary Chapman's five love languages? They're very perceptive and helpful to couples, but I think the language that best expresses love to Lana doesn't show up in his spectrum. Her love language is alone time - especially since the Bird came along. So right now she's sitting next to a fireplace reading a book, and I am getting a new appreciation for all of the stuff she does around here to keep us alive. She's been gone for less than 24 hours, and we're barely surviving!

Dropping Lily off at school this morning:

Me: Hello! Please excuse anything that might be missing. Lana wasn't here, and I don't know if I followed all of the instructions.

Therapist: Oh, I'm sure it will be fine. (Looking through the bag)... Does she have her iPod Touch?

Me: Oops. I did think to plug it in, so it's charging at home!

Therapist: (Fake smile) No big deal.

Lily reaches for a cup on the outside pocket of her bag.

Therapist: Sorry Lily! You can't have that one until lunch. But you can have your regular morning drin... (looks back at me) Did you pack her a morning drink?

Me: I packed the thermos with the extra lemonade in it, but not an extra cup. I didn't know! The sticky note didn't say pack an extra cup!

Therapist: (Second fake smile - eyes saying "You're a moron.") No problem! We'll just get her to drink it straight from the thermos out of a straw.

Me: I remembered her jacket! (Very proud of myself)

We wave goodbye awkwardly, both fully aware that there are sure to be missing elements from her bag throughout the day. And I'm having second thoughts about the leftover Chinese food I put in her lunch to save time.

So I'm not the only one today who is reminded of all the little things she does that no one ever notices or applauds. And it dawned on me that it might be a good opportunity to tell you how amazing this woman is who exposes our quirks to the world on a daily basis through this blog. Here are a few things that Lana loves:

1. Lana loves the big city for very short periods of time. She loves the country for long periods of time.

2. She loves 80's rock. When we met, she had more 80's hair band albums than anyone I knew, which was a bit bizarre for a very preppy "Duran Duran" profile girl. It still amazes me, when Van Halen, or White Snake, or Wenger come on the radio (If Wenger every actually comes on the radio), how she can identify song, band, lyrics, and some bizarre trivia about the band. Who have I MARRIED?

3. She loves books. But then, if you've read this blog, you already know that.

4. She loves sports more than she lets on. And will often shock me by commenting on a play or player in the midst of a game in a way that shows me she's very aware of what's happening. (This isn't really true, but I slipped in one that I hope becomes self-fulfilling prophecy. Who knows - maybe she really DOES love sports more than she lets on! I once went to an NBA game with Lana and her parents. She and her mom talked the entire game about things totally unrelated to Carmelo Anthony and Tim Duncan. It was an amazing game, and a shot at the buzzer put the game into overtime. I looked over at Lana and said, "Can you believe this?!?" To which she replied, "I never noticed until right now that there is a Disco Ball hanging in the ATT Center! Do you think that's just for concerts?")

5. She loves little, mischievous boys. You know those ones with the look in their eye like they're up to something no good but they're trying to pull the "Eddie Haskell" fake innocence? The six-year-olds who are the first ones who will find trouble if it's within twenty feet of them? She's always loved them. Even as a teacher, when she wanted to strangle them, she would come home and tell the stories of what they did, and then smile almost in admiration. I have often thought it would have been dangerous if we would have had a son, because he would have gotten conflicting messages about his bad behavior. "Son! Just because it's sort of the right shape doesn't mean you can play football with the lamp! What were you thinking? Now its broken forever. But, then again, you're kind of cute when you're bad. Let me take your picture for my blog!"

6. She loves old people. And by old people, I don't mean to offend the old people reading this. If you're offended, then you're not old enough to be the ones I'm talking about anyway. Do you know how people get old enough that they start bragging about their ages again? She loves those people, and I've always enjoyed watching her love on them, engage them in conversation, and listen intently to their stories. It always makes me think she'll be a really good old person when she gets there. But then again, it's hard to picture Lana bragging about her age.

7. Lana loves being at home with her family. She would prefer this more than just about anything (with the exception of the aforementioned time alone), and so our home always feels like the most welcoming place on earth.

8. She loves her extended family, and loves hanging out with them too. Incidentally, we have two nephews who have that "look in their eye" like they're up to something. I will not expose them on this blog. They know who they are. One of the challenges of having Lily has been a lot less travel to see everyone, and she misses that.

9. She loves sitting by a warm fire on a cold day.

10. She loves coconut gelato.

11. She loves the babies at the Baby Rescue Center at our missions partner in Zacapa, Guatemala. If I would let her, they would all live at our house. (By the way, the same rescue center Lana has told you so much about and has raised funds for was featured on Fox News this past Sunday, where our good friends Vernon Brewer and Noelle Yeatts. You can watch the clip here.)

12. She loves driving around looking at houses, and really enjoys walking through them. After moving five times in the past eight years, I think we've kicked the habit of moving into them, but she still likes looking. In fact, she found the house that my parents ended up buying when they moved to Austin.

13. She loves shopping with cash. That may seem odd, but if I get her an outfit, she appreciates the effort and sometimes appreciates the outfit (I can't really tell until it sits in the closet for a year. I also don't want to make it sound like this is a common occurance. I've purchase maybe three outfits for her in two decades.) She's okay with just going shopping with me or me saying, "Go get yourself something fun!" but I still don't get the same excitement. I think it's because, with the checkbook or bank card, she knows it's coming out of the budget. With the cash, there's no connection to real life. What she really likes is, "Here's $_____ cash that can only be used on you and nothing else. Go to the mall and get something you love!"

14. She loves special needs children. And this is not a phenomenon that happened when we had one. Lana has always been the one to walk across the Wal Mart to say hello to a child if she felt it would make his or her day, and make the mom and dad feel better. This is noteworthy, because Lana is not a chatty socialite with strangers. But she'll go out of her way if it's someone she thinks a person is hurting, sad, alone, or marginalized. When we first had children and we started planning for what attributes we wanted to instill in them, Lana's priority was compassion. She often said, "If there's a child at school who others make fun of and is all alone, I want our girls to be the ones to walk across the room and be a friend when no one else will." Incidentally, that describes our older girls pretty well.

15. Lana loves frosted sugar cookies almost as much as life itself. Please send them to her by the dozen.*

16. She loves long walks on a cool day. We spend lots of time on the Hike and Bike Trail in Austin. This is her most relaxing time.

17. Lana loves you! She loves this blog, and interacting with the community of people that have gathered here. She loves the idea that she might be able to take some of our experiences and bring joy to a family who is hurting and overwhelmed - as we have been at times - and share that there is hope. I have a friend who has been dealing with the overwhelming challenge of a brain tumor, and he recently wrote, "Laughter feels like faith to me." I think that's true. Laughter is an expression that life is not so serious, that the sun will still come up tomorrow, and that there's joy found even in the midst of difficulties. Lana's ability to spin our lives in a way that makes us laugh at ourselves has been a blessing to us, and hopefully a reminder that having a special needs child is not one big pity party.

18. She loves suspense movies and TV shows. I count that as a great blessing in my life, having not married someone who loves chick flicks. If people will be murdered and others are trying to solve that murder and there is some government conspiracy, it's her kind of film. (This sometimes concerns me. If I turn up missing, don't automatically assume I ran away. Check the backyard for fresh dirt.)

19. She loves her children. Lana taught elementary school when we first got married, but her dream was always to pour her life into her own children as soon as they came our way. And that's exactly what she did. I have never, ever seen a Mom love so much, offer so much insight, and inspire so fully (and I had a GREAT mom!) Since Ryley was born 18 years ago, I've been amazed by her ability to recognize a sense of "time and place" and accept her role for the season. In other words, she has other hopes, dreams, aspirations, etc, but she puts her children first - and doesn't really care whether people are mad because she doesn't accept the position on the board.

That's why Lily's coming five years ago so profoundly impacted our family. Not just that Lily can't speak yet, or that she's another mouth to feed. It's that Lana has once again re-calibrated her plans and expectations to give everything to her family. And you might say, "What choice did she have?" But she had plenty of choices - even within the obligations that every parent holds. Lana hasn't simply "held on" to her obligations with Lily, or kept plodding along as a mom. She's poured her heart and soul into Lily Bird. She's read every book she can get her hands on to help improve her quality of life. She's been her advocate when it's meant being rude, when it's meant faking niceness to people she didn't like, and when it's meant pleading with doctors, nurses, or insurance companies to move things along.

Lana has literally given her life to her family, and I don't know if there is a greater example that any mom could follow.

20. She loves me. I still haven't completely figured out how I pulled that off, but she does! And twenty years ago today, at 11AM, I had the privilege of marrying my very best friend. Every year since then has been better than the one before.

*Actually, I'm the one who loves the frosted sugar cookies, but I felt like I should get something for my effort today.

The Santa Visit of 2011

2011-12-20T08:39:00.000-06:00

You may remember that I recently shared with you about our last Santa visit.

Since Lily Bird joined our family, our visits with Saint Nicholas truly try the patience of a saint.

Let's just say, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see our photo hanging in the mall, warning all Santas to steer clear of us. Kind of like those "Most Wanted" posters you see on old Westerns on TV.

Can't you just see it now?

ATTENTION ALL SANTAS:

DO NOT TAKE PICTURES WITH THIS KID!

DO NOT LET THE INNOCENT SMILE FOOL YOU. JUST READ THE SHIRT AND CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED.

Because I have finally learned to just let the Santa pictures go, we were not even going to attempt the mall this year.

Now, we are fortunate to have a sweet man in our church who is the official Santa for all our Christmas productions. And Amy, our Special Needs Director, worked with him to set up a photo op one Sunday afternoon when services were over and the church was quiet.

It was just perfect.

Now, when Lily first sat on Santa's lap, she didn't pay him a lick of attention. How you can not notice that he looks a little different than the average guy is beyond me but she managed it.

Even doing some classic "snot rocket" blowing through her nose. Nice for Santa, I'm sure.

Because we are gluttons for punishment and because Lily didn't seem to mind hanging with Santa (and we didn't feel he was quite snotty enough!), we tried it one more time.

Well, this time, she took a nice long gander at him.

I mean, she really checked him out. It was like she finally noticed him. And while she didn't pull his beard (thankfully, since it's the real deal), she did feel the need to reach up there and check it out.

Then she turned and gave us a look that I think clearly (and very seriously) communicates she's not exactly sure what to do next.

So there you have it.

No smiles. But no tears.

A little acknowledgement of Santa Claus. And no injuries.

I'd call that a successful visit.

The Weekend in Pictures... And a Few Words!

2011-12-19T08:04:00.000-06:00

In case any of you are wondering, I'm still doing the Couch to 5K Program. I'm in Week Six which means I'm now running for 20 minutes with no stops. That's a big deal for someone who despises running. I hope all you real runners out there are not scoffing at me...

Ryan and Lily went along for my final run of Week Six on Saturday afternoon. Lily was definitely more comfortable than the rest of us.

Reagan gets in a little trampoline time.

Nine treat sacks of Kris Kringle Krunch (thank you for the cute name, Karla!) bagged up and ready for Lily's Buddies and Sunday School teachers.

Every Christmas, our church does a huge production over three Sundays called The Singing Christmas Tree. There's music, dancing, acting and an enormous Christmas tree filled with lights and singing people. It's pretty spectacular.

And we have a real Baby Jesus. Check him (it was actually a "her" this year but don't tell anyone!) out in the corner of the next two pictures.

Did you see that big ol' tree in the background? You can't really miss it...

And for my more astute readers, I expect you noticed a lovely young lady in a long white dress in those photos above.

And if you thought it was my oldest daughter, well, you would be correct! Here's a close-up:

A little blurry but that's my girl!

I hope you had a great weekend, too.

Now it's time to get serious about finishing up all my Christmas chores...

See you tomorrow!

A Christmas Re-Run

2011-12-16T08:36:00.000-06:00

Since quite a few of you faithful followers were not around this time last year, I thought I would resurrect one of my 2010 Christmas posts today.

A "Helpful" Gift Giving Guide from December 3, 2010.

For the last several Christmases, I've used a little rhyme to help guide me in the purchasing of gifts for my big girls.

Something you want,
Something you need.
Something to wear,
Something to read.
Something homemade,
A game to be played.

Please feel free to nominate me for Poet Laureate of Austin.

The girls make their wish lists according to the categories in the poem and they get six gifts each from Ryan and I, aka Santa Claus.

This year, we're changing things up. There are a couple of reasons for this.

One, I must admit the homemade something always stresses me out just a little bit. I'm not really a crafty person, though I would like to be one.

Actually, that's not true at all. I think that free time means time spent doing nothing that amounts to anything.

If at the end of my free time session, I have a beautifully decorated photo album or a knitted scarf or a hand sewn apron or a one of a kind piece of jewelry, then I was not having free time at all. I was working. And working is not how I want to spend my free time.

So I don't want to be a crafty person.

There. I said it.

Secondly, our whole family has fallen in love with the people of Guatemala so the bulk of our spending will be donated to our adopted village there, Pueblo Modelo. We're thinking of buying livestock and I have to admit, it's pretty fun choosing between chickens, cattle, goats.... a whole new kind of Christmas list. We'll also be contributing to a multi-purpose center we're hoping to build in the near future.

INSERT 2011 NOTE HERE: We're not buying livestock this year. Just continuing to donate and serve. Want to be sure I'm 100% honest.

Anyway, that means our little rhyme has to be modified for only two gifts per big girl. This year's version goes a little something like this:

Something you need,
Something to wear.
That's all you're getting,
Please do not swear.

What do you think?

I'm thinking of seeking a publisher - I feel a book of poetry might be in my future.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!

Calming the Beast

2011-12-15T07:56:00.001-06:00

Those of us with special needs children spend quite a bit of time trying to prevent meltdowns.

I follow Support for Special Needs on Twitter and this article caught my eye: 26 Sensory Integration Tools for Meltdown Management. I found it very helpful and thought you might, too. Click here to read it.

Also in the article is a catchy tune (along with a cute video) featuring actor-musician Jack Black in a duet he recorded for the Miracle Project in 2009. The song is called "Sensitive" and captures some of the things that can lead to a sensory meltdown. Make sure you check it out!

And by all means, if you have some helpful tips on calming down your kiddo, leave a comment and share the knowledge.

Have a great Thursday!

Easy Street

2011-12-14T08:19:00.000-06:00

Let's face it.... being the parent of a special needs child can be difficult.

But here are a few things (other than sweet, helpful, patient family and friends) I've found that make my "special needs life" just a bit easier:

1) A white noise machine - I originally bought this to help the Bird sleep by muffling the noise of the rest of the family after she was tucked in. But I've gotten so used to hearing it through the baby monitor that I've pretty much gotten to where I can't sleep without it, either.

2) Back Zip Pajamas - These handy pj's keep Lily Bird from stripping herself naked during the night. In case you're interested, click here to see the ones we use.

3) 24 Hour Drive-Thru Pharmacies - This seems pretty self-explanatory. I feel certain a mom came up with this idea.

4) Pill Splitters, Crushers, & Pill-a-Day Trays (with AM/PM slots) - These are all small and inexpensive little devices that make the process of dispensing meds just a little bit easier.

5) The iPad - Ummm.... DUH.

6) A regular once a week babysitter - This has to be some of the best money we spend each month.

7) Reading other special needs blogs - I look forward to checking in with all my online buddies each day. Not only is it a source of comfort to see that I'm not the only person in the world with a kiddo like Lily, I just enjoy catching up with my newfound "tribe".

8) A pizza cutter - These handy things cut way more than just pizza!

How about you? What are some things that make your life easier?

A Clean Car.... For Now

2011-12-13T08:08:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend, Ryan took Lily's car seat completely apart and I gave it a very thorough cleaning.

Inspired by a freshly washed car seat, I decided to to give the Tahoe a good vacuum. Then because I was on such a roll, I wiped down the entire inside of the vehicle and sprayed a little Febreeze on the floor mats.

Every singe time I clean out my car, I never fail to be amazed at all the food crumbs I discover. While some may think that's completely disgusting, I take comfort in the fact that if we ever got trapped in our car, we could forage for food and survive for quite some time.

Cleaning my car reminded me of a comic strip I read a while back. Read and enjoy....

Just Trying To Get Out The Door

2011-12-12T07:40:00.000-06:00

I think all of us parents know that getting out the door in the mornings can often be the most difficult part of the day.

Being married to a preacher means that most Sunday mornings, Ryan leaves before the rest of us. And now that my girls are older, many times one or both of them is heading out early as well for choir or youth group stuff.

Ryan is great about helping in the mornings, but since Lily has taken to chewing her way out of clothes, I don't dress her until the moment I'm about to walk out the door. Which means Ryan has already left.

Despite the fact that on Sunday mornings I get up in plenty of time to do all that needs to be done, I still always seem to be late for church.

Yesterday morning, I was trying to figure out exactly why that is.

My conclusion?

It's that last thirty minutes before I walk out the door that seems to seal my tardy fate.

And while that should be an easily correctable thing, here's why it's more difficult at my house: in a word (or two) - The Bird.

See, there are lots of things that happen around here that I just can't plan ahead for. So even though two and a half hours should be plenty of time for all of us to get up, get dressed, get fed and out the door, a few "extra chores" never fail to crop up that I'm fairly certain don't occur regularly in most other homes.

Things like -

Prepare Lily's breakfast cocktail of apple juice and crushed anti-viral and deliver it to my bedroom where she is lounging in my bed with the iPad.
Head to the kitchen to crush yet another one of Lily's morning medications, this one mixed in a spoonful of soy yogurt.
Hand the yogurt to Ryan who helps Lily feed herself the yogurt, hopefully without getting any in her hair - or his!
Finish getting myself dressed while Lily continues to recline on my bed and Ryan heads out.
Lily notices that someone left a cup with a tiny bit of hot chocolate on the nightstand and proceeds to dump the remaining liquid on my clean sheets. It no longer looks like a tiny bit of liquid.
Throw a towel over the spot, get her settled again, then put on lipstick and perfume.
Notice that Lily is no longer in my room.
A quick sprint to the kitchen reveals I left the lid off the bottle of cinnamon and Lily has dumped the contents on my kitchen island.
Strap the Bird in her Tripp Trapp chair, give her a bag of chips (the breakfast of champions) and clean up the cinnamon.
Get Lily dressed.
Realize I forgot to put on my jewelry.
Leave her in her room a grand total of twenty seconds while I sprint to my closet, grab my watch, ring and earrings, sprint back to Lily's room...
Only to discover that she has stripped off her pants and Pull-up.
Ask her if that means she'd like to go potty.
Set her on the potty and feel like I need one more good spritz of hairspray. (Hey, I live in Texas and my big hair doesn't stay up all on its own!)
Leave Lily on the potty for a grand total of ten seconds, sprint to my bathroom, grab the hairspray, and deciding not to waste any precious time spraying in my bathroom, I sprint back to Lily's bathroom to spray my hair in there....
Only to discover she has pooped, removed the potty seat from the toilet, sat back down and is in the process of trying to dip her behind in the disgusting water.
Extract the Bird from the toilet, noticing that the back of her shirt has also taken a dip.
Strip off what remains of church outfit number one, turn on the shower and stick her in.
Soap her up quickly, trying to not let the shower humidity wreak havoc on my big hair.
Remove her from the shower and put her in church outfit number two.
Realize the shower steam has done a number on my hair, along with all my frantic running, and I'm going to need to do a ponytail.
Place Lily in her carseat FIRST, give her the iPad, sprint back in the house, pull my hair up, spray it one more time for good measure, then grab my purse, my Bible, the Bird's shoes and coat and her bag containing Pull-ups, an extra outfit, snacks, a chewy tube, a drink and her helmet, then sprint to the car....
Only to discover that I forgot to put an old t-shirt over Lily Bird's clothes so she has now successfully torn the collar of her shirt with her teeth.
Sprint back into the house, grab church outfit number three (or at least another shirt), run back to the car and FINALLY drive to church.

And how much time elapses from church outfit number one to church outfit number three?

About thirty minutes, my friends.

I'm frantically going through the above list, give or take a couple of items, from 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM most every Sunday morning.

It's really a wonder that I haven't shown up at church yet without my own shoes or for that matter, without wearing a shirt.

Honestly, I think the only way to remedy my late arrival to church is to revert back to the days of my youth: taking a shower and washing my hair on Saturday night. Laying out my church clothes on the dresser, complete with shoes and jewelry. Putting my purse and Bible at the back door, with the addition of Lily's coat, shoes, and bag, ready for departure. Putting an old t-shirt at the ready in Lily's car seat so I can throw it over what is hopefully still church outfit number one.

If that doesn't work, I guess I'll just give up sleeping on Saturday nights.... but the preacher might notice if I sleep through the sermon!

Gifts Galore... For Therapists, Teachers, & More

2011-12-09T08:17:00.000-06:00

Before I go any further, I'd like to make sure that you noticed my title is actually a little rhyme.

I've never been accused of being a poet and I think you can see why.

Now, on to the good stuff.

The school my big girls attend does not allow students to purchase Christmas gifts for their teachers. Because we are way past the days of having only one teacher for all subjects, us parents could go broke trying to get something for every single teacher our high schoolers have.

So the rule is - teacher gifts can only be something homemade.

Nice for the wallet but trying to come up with something a little out of the ordinary, yet simple and sweet can be a little daunting.

Enter Confetti Popcorn.

Photo courtesy of www.nestofposies-blog.com

Now, I know what you're thinking - "that looks nothing like Christmas popcorn".

But that's the beauty of this recipe: it works for any season. The batch above is for Valentines Day.

The first time I made it was last Easter.

Photo courtesy of www.bakeat350.blogspot.com

Bunny Bait. Cute, right?

So for Christmas, the big girls and I will making several batches of this popcorn for every single last teacher and therapist we have.

It's super simple and very yummy.

Here's the recipe in case you're interested -

Confetti Popcorn

1 bag of M&M's (use whatever seasonal ones are appropriate)

Almost 2 bags of Orville Redenbacher's microwave Tender White popcorn

1 bag Wilson's Confetti Candy Melts or White Chocolate Melts

Pop popcorn. Put in large bowl. Melt chocolate. Pour over popcorn. Add M&M's and stir. Spread on baking sheets to allow time to dry before packaging.

Doesn't get much easier than that!

But I do need a cute Christmas-y name, don't you think? Santa Sweets? Reindeer Rations? You can see I'm into alliteration. But not so creative. Help a girl out here - send me some cute names!

One last thing - since the title promises you gifts for teachers, therapists, and more. We've covered the teachers and therapists so who's the more?

Well, how about a little something for your kiddos' friends? Or your kiddo?

I saw this on Pinterest and fell in love - Gingerbread Playdoh.

Photo courtesy of www.sweetsugarbelle.com

Wouldn't this make a cute kid gift? Maybe with a little kid-sized rolling pin and some cookie cutters...

It's not to eat, though. Just smells like lovely, spicy gingerbread but tastes like regular, yucky playdoh.

If you're interested, click here to check out the recipe.

One last thing - I think it's been waaaaayyy toooooo long since y'all have seen a cute photo of the Bird on here and since we're coming up on the weekend, how about one quick pic to last you til next week??

Told you it was cute...

Have a great weekend!

Blog Writers Unite!

2011-12-08T06:48:00.000-06:00

I always joke with my family that if I miss a post, there will be an outcry from "my public" as well as rioting in the streets.

I really don't think they fully grasp the magnitude of my following.

I mean, there are people out there who just don't feel like their day is complete if they don't visit my blog, right?

Aren't there??

So when my oldest daughter found this on Pinterest the other day, she just couldn't wait to show it to me.

Recognition at last.

Next time the kids ask me to do their dirty laundry, I'm going to remind them of this.

Surely big deal blog writers don't do their own laundry.....

Enjoy your Thursday!

Visit Parada Creations, an Etsy shop, to purchase this print and see lots of other cute things!

The Magic Questions

2011-12-07T08:13:00.000-06:00

Do you ever feel like things just aren't going your way? That the world is out to get you? That you just can't seem to meet your goals? That no matter how hard you try, things just aren't working out?

How about your child? Does he sometimes just seem to wake up on the wrong side of the bed? And you could promise him the one thing his heart truly desires and it still wouldn't make him happy?

Back when I was homeschooling my big girls, we would sometimes have days like this. My solution was to just push through the bad moods, the tears, the unhappiness.

And that was just my behavior!

I just wanted to "get it done".

Then I went to hear a very smart lady speak. And she said something that stuck with me.

On days when absolutely nothing seems to be going right, stop whatever you're doing and ask your child three simple questions:

Do you need a snack?
Do you need a shower?
Do you need a nap?

These three seemingly simple questions can totally turn a kid's day around. They may not even realize that they're cranky because they just need a couple of Nilla Wafers and some milk.

But here's where the really genius part comes in.

These three seemingly simple questions can also turn my day around.

I'm no longer homeschooling any of my girls but I still have days when I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, when I can't seem to get anything done no matter how hard I try, and I feel like everyone is out to get me.

Before I totally start to lose it, I ask myself those same three questions.

And I have discovered that nine times out of ten, I'm grumpy because it's 11 AM and not a bite of food has passed my lips. Or I'm mad because I'm still in my grubby yoga pants and one of Ryan's t-shirts at 2 PM. Or I'm simply exhausted.

It's amazing what a little cheese toast and some iced tea can do for your spirits. Or a nice, hot shower. Or a quick little cat nap.

Especially at this time of year, when we have so many extra chores tacked on to our already long to-do lists, odds are good you're going to feel a little stressed. Take a minute to ask yourself those three little questions. Then take a few minutes to take care of yourself.

You'll feel better.

And then your family will, too.

Jolly Old St. Nicholas... not so jolly, maybe?

2011-12-06T13:08:00.000-06:00

Ever since the big girls were born, I have had a picture of each of them taken with Santa.

I have them all displayed in those little clear acrylic frames with the year marked in red paint pen. See how cute:

Since 1993, I had not missed a year.

In fact, I didn't quite realize the depth of my obsession until the year 2006.

The year the Bird joined our family.

Granted, it's not completely her fault. The big girls were 10 and 13 and they were pretty much over having their picture taken with Santa. They were only doing it for me. And for the bribes I was offering.

But Christmas 2006 rolled around and Lily was 4 months old and awaiting open heart surgery. I literally could not take her outside of the four walls of our home (per doctor's orders) for fear of her getting sick. She just didn't have the strength to fight off infections.

I'm not a total ogre. I could see the most important thing that year was not a Santa photo op but a healthy child ready for heart surgery.

So no 2006 picture with Santa Claus.

But I was a woman on a Photo With Santa mission and after doing this since 1993, you better believe I wasn't going to miss another year. I was a slave to my own tradition.

December 2007 rolled around and we attended the Christmas grand opening of the brand new Ronald McDonald House here in Austin. Santa was there, just waiting to have his picture taken so we went for it.

Here's what I got:

Can you tell which kid doesn't give a rip about my bribes?

December 2008 comes and goes with no Santa photo. Honestly, I procrastinated because I knew the Bird was going to be a challenge and by the time I decided to go for it, so did the rest of Austin. The line was so long that I actually stood there and told myself to just "let it go, Lana".

But I'd been doing this for so long that when December 2009 arrived, I was determined yet again to get a photo of Lily with Santa. By this time, the big girls were really giving me a hard time. No one's really looking forward to the now somewhat annual visit with Santa but because I am a control freak, I pressed on.

We made a plan.

And this was it -

Just. Be. Quick.

Get up there, set Lily on Santa's lap, squeeze in beside her, smile, snap, get her and be gone.

I'm sure you already know it didn't go down quite that way.

Lily did not want to sit still. She did not want her picture taken. She didn't appear to be afraid of Santa. She just wasn't all that impressed.

Because I refused to be deterred, Ryley wrestled Lily Bird up to Santa. Reagan jumped to Santa's left side, prepared to whisk Lily away as soon as the camera clicked.

Ryan quickly moved into place behind the camera man and started yelling for the Bird to look at him.

I got behind the person working the computer, ready to shout, "there it is!"as soon as the picture appeared on the screen so I could snatch it up, pay and get out of there.

Doesn't this sound like a fun tradition you'd like to create each year in your own family?? Just throwing that out there....

Well, we forgot to let Santa in on our little plan.

As soon as Ryley placed Lily on Santa's lap, she did that wet noodle, boneless kind of move she does when she doesn't want to be held. She started slipping through Santa's grasp just like she was hoping for.

Santa reached down to get a better grip on the Bird and hauled her up to his lap.

The camera clicked, and almost immediately after, before Reagan could grab her, Lily arched her back and treated Santa to a big ol' backwards head butt right in his chin.

Santa did not say Ho, Ho Ho.

He released Lily, grabbed his chin and said, "Oww!" and possibly some other choice words that got lost in his beard.

Reagan grabbed the Bird from her momentary freedom and she and Ryley hauled her away from Santa as fast as they could go.

Meanwhile, clueless me has missed the whole thing and I'm paying for the picture. All of a sudden, I hear all three girls almost running behind me, and Reagan saying under her breath, "Move, move, move. We need to GO! Don't make eye contact with Santa!"

I was totally bewildered but I was very confident that we had done something dreadful to Santa. I quickly finished paying and we not only left the festive Christmas area, but the entire mall itself.

I think the big girls were afraid that Paul Blart, Mall Cop was going to chase us down on his Segway and arrest us for assault on Santa Claus.

Here's the photo exactly one second before we left Christmas carnage in our wake:

And that, my friends, is the last photo I have of Santa and Lily Bird.

2009.

The year my lovely tradition died a painful death. (admittedly more painful for some of us than others....)

This year, the support group at our church is having a special photo time with Santa just for special needs kiddos. The Santa is a friend of ours so I won't have the option of fleeing and never seeing him again should Lily decide an injury is in order.

So here's my philosophy this time: Let Lily walk up there totally by herself, if she wants to. Let her check out Santa on her own terms. If we get a picture, great. If we don't, that's fine, too.

This is the new me - no longer on a Photo with Santa mission.

No longer a slave to my own tradition.

Just let it go, Lana.

My Life in Contrast

2011-12-05T08:28:00.000-06:00

There are countless moments in my life when I am reminded of the stark age difference between my big girls and Lily.

I mean, they're kind of hard to miss.

Let me give you just a few examples of how my parenting skills swing from one end of the spectrum to the other:

Advising a daughter in the best method of leg shaving while trying to wean another daughter from a pacifier.
Taking a daughter to an empty parking lot to practice giving turn signals while driving and arriving home in time to change another daughter's dirty diaper.
Helping a daughter shop for a Homecoming dress while teaching another daughter to eat with a spoon.
Watching Backyardigans with one daughter, then tucking her in in time to watch Psych with another daughter.
Taking a daughter to get her braces off while hoping that another daughter will someday brush her own teeth.
Shopping for undergarments at Gap Body for a daughter while picking up a package of Pull-ups for another daughter.
Getting one daughter at makeover at Sephora and trimming another daughter's fingernails and toenails.
Watching one daughter play JV volleyball while keeping another daughter entertained in the stroller.

And last but not least,

Getting a college acceptance letter for this coming fall for one daughter while trying to decide if another will be ready for kindergarten that same fall.

I could go on and on but I think you get the idea.

Things can get pretty crazy around here.

I've been known to hand a sippie cup to Ryley and a full glass of iced tea to the Bird. To cut Reagan's food into teeny-tiny bites and hand Lily a whole sloppy joe. To suggest that the big girls try using the potty when I was meaning to take Lily.

Just another day at the Rush house.

Oh and by the way, in case you're wondering.... yes, my Ryley did get her first college acceptance letter! Actually, it's the only one she'll get because it's the only college she applied to because it's the only college she wants to go to. Confused, yet?? In the fall of 2012, my oldest will be attending Liberty University in Virginia. Proud of that girl!

I Give Up

2011-12-02T12:03:00.000-06:00

I have had somewhere to be every single morning this week and it's just been wreaking major havoc on my blogging.

And I'm sitting here now with just a couple minutes to spare to let you know that I will be back on Monday.

Not posting anything new gives you plenty of time to peruse the gift lists suggested in the last post and do a little online shopping, right?

So really, I'm doing you a favor by not giving you something else to read, right?

I like the way you think.

Have a great weekend!

Looking for Some Good Gift Ideas?

2011-11-30T09:43:00.000-06:00

Let's face it.

Shopping can be hard.

Finding the perfect gift at the perfect price is challenging for everyone.

So shopping for a child with special needs can seem near impossible.

This time of year, family members are usually asking me for gift ideas for the Bird and sometimes, I honestly cannot think of a single thing that child would like.

So this is the time of year that I'm especially thankful for the internet and all those lovely parents out there who share wonderful lists of things their special kiddos enjoy. There are several such lists circulating around Twitter right now.

If you are in the same boat as myself, never fear! Check out these sites for some gifts that any child is sure to love.

Ellen, over at Love That Max, always puts together a great gift guide. But this year, it's even better than usual. She enlisted the help of actual special needs kiddos and their parents in testing out toys. So not only do you get great gift ideas, you get helpful reviews from fellow special needs parents. Good job, Ellen!

Click here to see Ellen's Best Toys for Kids with Special Needs: Holiday 2011 Guide.

Shannon Des Roches Rosa of Squidalicious wrote a great gift guide that's published over on BlogHer. Click here to see the Very Necessary Holiday Gifts for Kids with Special Needs.

The Coffee Klatch has a helpful list of businesses that create products specially created with special needs children in mind. Click TCK Special Needs Children's Wish List to check it out.

And don't forget that Toy's R Us puts out a toy guide for differently-abled kids every year. Click here to see this year's guide.

Looking to gift a child with some fun apps for Christmas? Read Finding Good Apps for Children with Autism for some great advice and suggestions.

Last but not least, click The Holiday Book Wish List put out by The Coffee Klatch, a list of books for the parents of kids with special needs.

Of course, if you buy one of these gifts and it turns out to be the "perfect present of Christmas", I expect to receive full credit...

After gushing about me and my gift-purchasing wisdom to your family and friends, a nice "Thank you, Lana" comment left on the blog will suffice.

You're welcome.

You Might Be An Autism Parent If....

2011-11-29T07:46:00.000-06:00

Are you a "twit"?

Or a "tweeter"?

I mean, do you "tweet"?

I'm not exactly sure what you call it but I'm wondering if you use Twitter.

And if you do, have you seen the #youmightbeanautismparentif conversation going on over there?

It was created by two autism moms - Jenny from Many Hats Mommy (who had the idea) and Elise from Raising Asperger's Kids (who created the hashtag, or subject for conversation).

See if you can relate to some of these tweets:

#youmightbeanautismparentif Your child can tell you something you said 3 yrs ago & the date you said it but can't tell you what he just read (@KatieMollo)

#youmightbeanautismparentif The only part of the play kitchen your child actually plays with are the buttons on the microwave (@donnamcmurray)

#youmightbeanautismparentif You are willing to sleep on your kids bedroom floor if that is what keeps him calm (@aspieside)

#youmightbeanautismparentif When you say "I don't know", you're accused of withholding information (@littlefluffycat)

#youmightbeanautismparentif The term IEP instantly conjures up the theme song to "ROCKY" in your head (@sunflowercyn)

Are you catching on now?

Do you have thoughts running through your head right now that you just know other autism parents can understand and appreciate?

Want to get in on the fun?

Then join me (@lanalrush) over on Twitter and have your say.

Come on - you know you want to....

Thirty Minutes of Fun

2011-11-28T07:53:00.000-06:00

We had a great Thanksgiving - I hope you did, too!

Since all the girls were out of school, we decided to spend Friday at Morgan's Wonderland in San Antonio. In case you aren't familiar with Morgan's Wonderland, it's an all-access amusement park designed especially for members of the special needs population. You can read more about it here.

We've taken Lily there twice and she's really enjoyed herself both times.

So we expected pretty much the same this time, too. You'd think we would learn to not have expectations of how things should go by now.

While Lily did have some fun, the fun happened in about the first thirty minutes of our arrival time and then she was ready to head back home. No amount of bribery, cajoling, or even unlimited water play could convince her otherwise.

So we packed it up and headed back home, earlier than expected but before utter and complete meltdown mode.

I do have some pictures to share with you, though. And I think you'll see that we did have a good time overall.

Lily typically has two favorite things at Morgan's Wonderland - the roller slides and the water play area. We save the water play for the very end of our visit because it usually requires a change of clothes upon completion.

Since the Bird had already decided she was ready to leave by the time we hit the water area, that part was a total bust.

But check her out working the roller slides like a boss.

And one rule of thumb for all girls to keep in mind: Even when swinging, you can still sit like a lady.

Then it was on to the carousel. This picture cracks me up because Lily Bird looks so thoughtful - but it looks like evil thoughts might be running through her head, don't you think? "Hmmmm..... World domination today or tomorrow???"

And then she wipes those evil thoughts from her mind and starts passing out the kisses.

And here's a shot of our family photographer, with my mother-in-law behind her. Morgan's Wonderland is a family affair.

Another rule of thumb for girls - Never be so much of a lady that you don't indulge in snack time.

And while I'm not a photographer, I did manage to capture my big girls in a sweet moment.

Even though the Bird surprised us and we cut out "day of play" short, we're hoping to visit at least once more before it gets too cold. Maybe next time, she'll love it and we'll have to drag her out.

Who knows?

Her job is to keep us guessing and our job is to keep trying.

My Gift of Thanks for You

2011-11-24T07:51:00.000-06:00

I guess this isn't technically something I created myself just for each of you.

But as soon as I discovered it this morning, I wanted to share it with all of you who read my blog and share this journey with me.

I mentioned yesterday the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and what an impact it's having on my heart and life.

While there is much more to it, a large part of the book encourages the reader to actually list 1000 gifts - blessings for which you are thankful. To move beyond the typical things we tend to think of right away - family, friends, home.... and get very specific.

You may not be able to run out and buy the actual book so I have an awesome surprise for you today:

The One Thousand Gifts App!

What is it, you may be asking?

The One Thousand Gifts app encourages you to make everyday Thanksgiving Day. It's a visual reminder of all your many blessings that you carry with you all the time - in your phone. Use text or photos to record your gifts, then share them with anyone you choose through email, Twitter, or Facebook. There's even a #1000gifts Twitter Stream where you can see hundreds of others sharing their gifts, too.

And, just in time for Thanksgiving, the app is FREE!

Sound good??

Click here to find out more about the One Thousand Gifts App.

Click here to download it to your iPhone or click here for Android devices.

And remember, this holiday season:

Want this free printable for yourself? Click here and enjoy.

I count every single one of you as a blessing. Thank you for reading, following, commenting, praying, laughing and just being a source of encouragement to me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Little Change in Perspective

2011-11-23T07:46:00.000-06:00

If you're a faithful follower of this blog, you will likely remember that last week, I was getting a little caught up in the whole "Is therapy really even working for Lily?" thing that drives so many of us parents crazy.

I also might have been having just a tiny bit of a pity party.

Click here in case you missed out on all that fun.

In the midst of this season tailor made for giving thanks and remembering our many blessings, I let myself get side-tracked and focus on one thing that we seem to be unable to financially make happen - an extended family vacation.

Granted, the point I was trying to make was not that we can't afford a long vacation, but that the high cost of therapy can cause me to question if it's all really worth it sometimes.

As so often happens, I was gently reminded that I might need a little work in the gratitude department.

First, I asked my husband a couple days after I wrote the original post if he thought I was airing our dirty laundry. He reassured me that I made the point but I still kept thinking I sounded a bit ungrateful.

Maybe, just maybe, God was putting those thoughts in my head?

Then, I picked up and started reading an amazing book by Ann Voskamp called One Thousand Gifts. (It's so amazing that I can't really even find the words to share with you what all is going on in my heart while I read it... maybe one day.)

What's the message of the book? Gratitude.

Ummm.... Hello, God? Are you trying to tell me something?

Finally, just like every Sunday, my husband preached two sermons.

The subject matter? Gratitude.

OK, OK, God. I hear you. I get it.

Gratitude has so much to do with our perspective. With how we choose to look at or respond to certain events in our lives.

Here's what I mean:

My husband is good friends with several other pastors here in Austin, one of which is just a dear, dear man whom I just love.

Last summer, Ryan and this pastor friend, who I'll refer to as K, rode together to a retreat. Since it was just the two of them in the car and Ryan trusts this sweet man implicitly, my husband let down his guard and shared with K something that had been bothering him.

Ryan said, "K, it seems like every time we get a little bit of extra money coming in to the house, it goes right back out for something we hadn't planned on. I do a speaking engagement, we get some extra cash, and then Lana's Tahoe needs new tires and there goes the extra money. I sell a few books, we get some extra cash, and then Lily has an unexpected health issue and there goes the extra money. I emcee an event, we get some extra cash, and then the dishwasher quits working and there goes the extra money. There is never any money to do anything fun - go spend the night in a hotel or let Lana go get a pedicure or whatever."

K looked at Ryan and very thoughtfully and tactfully said, "You know what I thought you were going to say, Ryan? I thought you were going to say - 'Man, we have had so many extra expenses lately. So much stuff happening that we hadn't planned for. Yet every time something comes up, it just so happens that I've got some extra money to cover it. God's really been taking care of us because we've been able to just keep on trucking with that extra money coming in at just the right time.' That's what I thought you were going to say."

Well.

If you want to put it that way....

But you know what?

K was exactly right.

We were totally focused on what we couldn't do. And every time extra money came in and went right back out, that list just got longer and longer.

Thanks to K, we made a choice.

We quit looking at our long list of negatives and started thanking God that when we needed new tires or had a health crisis or needed a new dishwasher, there was money to take care of it all. And still eat three meals a day!

A simple perspective shift.

And all of a sudden, we were acutely aware of blessings all around us. Filled with a sense of expectation for the next one. And heaped with gratitude.

Small Blessings

2011-11-22T07:48:00.000-06:00

Blessing Number One: When I picked Lily up from school Monday, the therapists told me she had a great day.

And what was one of the things that made it such a great day?

Only SIX head bops! The Bird wore her helmet until about 12:30 PM, then no more for the rest of the day. WooHoo!

Blessing Number Two: Lily now has these IgG injections, right? (OK, the shots aren't exactly the blessing so keep reading!)

Well, they're an intramuscular shot, which means a pretty deep shot with a fairly long needle. Granted, it's only one shot every three weeks but still, it's not really my cup of tea.

So to save a doctor visit every three weeks (and a co-pay!), with some training, Dr. Goldberg told us we would be able to give the shots ourselves. Again, I like saving the time and money, but giving shots is really not something I look forward to.

Enter our sweet neighbor, Gretchen, (here's where the blessing part comes in!) who just happens to be a Physician's Assistant. Who just happens to live two doors down from us. Who just happens to know exactly how to give an intramuscular shot. And who just happens to be sweet enough to come to my house to volunteer her services every three weeks.

Thank the Lord for good friends - especially those in the medical field.

Blessing Number Three - Sunday morning, my husband preached a sermon that I really needed to hear. Not that I don't really need to hear all of them, but the timing was especially good on this one. I'm hoping to tell you more about why it was so good in tomorrow's post.

Blessing Number Four - That really helpful "all-purpose" muffin recipe I told you about yesterday. That I am now going to bless you with, thanks to the generosity of Morgan, my official personal recipe creator.

All-Purpose Create Your Own Muffin Mix (Goldberg Approved)

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar substitute

1 T baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1/2 cup oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put paper liners in muffin tin. Mix dry ingredients. In separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Combine two parts just until it comes together. Bake 15-20 minutes for regular size muffins.

For apple muffins - replace water with applesauce and add 1/2 cup chopped apples

Optional - 1/2 cup any small chunk fruit, dried fruit, dark chocolate chips or whatever your heart desires

Could be tweaked into banana bread, too - haven't tried this yet so not exactly sure (mashed bananas instead of water, perhaps?)

Blessing Number Five - These crazy big girls of mine... and the fact that they are off school this whole week.

Do you have a little blessing of your own? Don't be shy - tell me about it!

Have a great Tuesday!

Frozen Delights

2011-11-21T07:40:00.000-06:00

Per Dr. Goldberg's plan, Lily Bird's diet consists mainly of meats and vegetables.

Well, mostly meats.

My daughter has never been accused of being a vegetarian.

She can have snacks, but the doc really wants no dairy or whole grains of any kind and very little sugars and starches.

Those guidelines make for a pretty small list of snacks, especially most of the prepackaged kinds that I usually keep on hand.

So I continue the search to find snacks that fit the profile and that Lily will eat.

One of Ryley's friends, Morgan, who will be attending culinary school in the fall, came up with a lovely all-purpose "base" muffin recipe that I can pretty much tweak to fit whatever I think Lily will eat: apple muffins, banana muffins, dark chocolate chip muffins, and so on.

So that's been very helpful.

But last week, it hit me that I've been kind of focused on pantry-type snacks, those kind you just quickly grab off the shelf and throw in a lunch box.

I've been neglecting a whole variety of snacks that you might find in a freezer!

And thus began my quest to find some diet-friendly treats for the Bird, along with the help of my trusty Pinterest.

One treat was such a success, that I thought I'd share it with you. This would be great for anyone unable to eat dairy, as well as anyone else out there who might be following Dr. Goldberg's diet.

The original recipe on The Reality of Skinny was for Healthy Strawberry-Banana Ice Cream. Since Lily cannot have red berries of any kind, I subbed frozen sliced peaches for the strawberries. I also used soy milk instead of almond since the Bird can't have nuts.

Goldberg-Approved Banana Peach Ice Cream

1 small banana

1 cup frozen or fresh sliced peaches

1/3 cup soy milk

Blend until smooth. Pour into containers and freeze.

That's it! How easy is that! And Lily loved it, which makes the recipe a keeper.

Of course, she also loved bacon and now she hates it so we'll see how long this love of banana peach ice cream lasts.

As for the containers, I used these:

They're four ounce freezer containers by Oxo meant for homemade baby food but they're the perfect size for a little ice cream snack. They come in a set of four cups with lids and a storage tray.

The other frozen treat isn't an actual recipe. I just took some of the Bird's plain soy yogurt that I sweetened with stevia and vanilla extract and froze some of it in those little freezer cups, too.

Considering that Lily likes yogurt, I wasn't at all surprised to see that this frozen version was also a hit.

Even though it's only two additions to the snack rotation, with our limited list, two makes a big difference.

And one happy Bird!

Phase Two of "The Goldberg Protocol"

2011-11-18T07:41:00.000-06:00

So it was brought to my attention that I never let you know about the follow-up phone call we had with Dr. Goldberg regarding Lily's progress to date.

We've actually had two phone calls with the good doctor and let me tell you, it's a lot to take in.

Here's a quick recap of what's going on:

Lily is continuing to take an anti-viral on a daily basis.

Dr. Goldberg added an anti-fungal to the mix so we're on day two with that. This was not surprising to me as we've experimented with anti-fungals a few times already. And of course, we'll know if the medicine is working if we see a lovely die-off period of increased irritability and general grumpiness in the Bird. Which means fun times ahead around the Rush house.

The newest treatment is IgG injections.

Every time Lily has bloodwork done, there are several things that always seem to stand out - low white cell count and incredibly low IgG levels. IgG's are one of basically four types of antibodies that are present in our bodies to help fight off various infections. Of the four antibodies, two of Lily's are low, with IgG being very, very low.

While I've always considered the Bird a pretty healthy kiddo, Dr. Goldberg (since he looks at the whole child, with an emphasis on neuro-immune systems) considers her an ill child.

Not in the sense that she's running a fever, has a stomach bug, sore throat, or things like that.

But in the sense that the low white cell count indicates the presence of a virus and the low IgG means her body is unable to fight off the infection. He truly believes this has been going on for years (which we've been able to confirm with past bloodwork results) and is the reason for many of her autism "symptoms" - the hand flapping, hyperactivity, loss of speech, etc....

There are other markers in her bloodwork that indicate something physical going on inside our girl. The hope is that once we heal her body and get her physically "straightened out", we'll see some progress in other areas as well.

Now for the neuro-SPECT, that fancy brain scan we had done while in California that shows images of blood flow in the brain. Proper blood flow means the brain is operating at its peak.

Most of the kids in Dr. Goldberg's practice have spots on their brains that kind of look like the holes in swiss cheese, indicating blood is not flowing properly to all areas of the brain, meaning portions of the brain are not working they way they should be.

Of course, Lily has never been one to do what everyone else does.

She ain't average, people.

Lily has spots on her brain that indicate too much blood flow, creating little "puddles" of blood on the brain. Dr. Goldberg referred to them as "hot spots". These hot spots can result in hyperactive behavior and could possibly even make her head hurt. Maybe not necessarily headaches, but you know how sometimes you feel like your brain is throbbing and you can almost feel the blood flowing around in your noggin? Like that. Which could explain some of the self-inflicted head bopping that is all too common around my house.

Just looking at the neuro-SPECT, Dr. Goldberg's first reaction was to put the Bird on something to relax the blood vessels.

But seeing the neuro-SPECT combined with the bloodwork, he's instead opting to give Lily's body some time to try and heal itself by upping her IgG levels through injection. If we can get her IgG's up, then maybe those antibodies can fight off the virus and her white cell count will become normal.

So while I don't have a remarkable story of how far Lily Bird has come in the month and a half that we've been doing this, I do feel like we're on the right track and finally getting somewhere.

Lily is five years old and this is really the first time a doctor is looking at her like a "whole person" and not just some specific part - like her heart, her kidneys, her ears.... And while we certainly wouldn't be where we are today without those specialists, it's nice to see someone putting all the little puzzle pieces together in the hopes of creating a whole, healthy child.

I Can Bring Home The Bacon.... But Will Anyone Eat It?

2011-11-17T13:02:00.000-06:00

Lily loves bacon.

She's been eating it for breakfast every morning for the last two weeks.

Every now and then, I'll scramble some eggs or make some toast to go with it but since she leaves the other offerings lonely on the plate, I usually just serve up the meat.

But, as is typical for the Bird, it all comes to a sudden, screeching halt with absolutely no warning.

This morning, I seat her at the table and place the delicious food of her choice, the lovely bacon, in front of her.

And she proceeds to avert her eyes and turn up her nose.

Like she can't even look upon the offensive food.

Like she is pained that I would even think to serve her this dreadful pork product.

It does not matter that yesterday morning, she ate it like a starving woman. And did the same thing the previous thirteen mornings in a row.

No.

Today, she no longer likes bacon.

And she will not phase out of liking bacon. She won't slowly pick at the bacon for a few days, giving me a hint that she is tiring of the same breakfast item.

Yesterday - she loves bacon.

Today - she despises bacon.

It's just one more way that little girl manages to keep me on my toes.

I Guess We'll Never Know For Sure....

2011-11-16T10:48:00.000-06:00

Yesterday's post was just one of those "thinking out loud" moments.

And I loved reading all your comments because it made me feel so much better to know I'm not the only one out there who questions things sometimes.

I really don't believe there will ever be a for sure answer regarding therapy. And of course, every kid is different so there won't ever be a solution that's the same for everyone.

So my solution is to simply try not to dwell on it too much.

But sometimes, those little questions rear their ugly heads:

How do I know for sure which therapy to pursue?
When do I know the time is right to add another kind? Or remove one from the schedule?
Is this therapy even working? Are we really moving forward?
Would this time/money/effort be better used on something else?

Sometimes, an opportunity will come along and I'll just feel for certain that we need to pursue this for the Bird. Other times, I allow myself to lean on the knowledge of someone else that a proposed course of action is what's best for Lily.

But day after day, year after year, it's such a bumpy ride with so many peaks and valleys.

And I worry and wonder if I'm doing the right thing right now.

And if it's all worth it.

I think it's especially difficult when you have other typical children.

You see them missing out on some of that carefree childhood you wanted for them. Having the house that all the teenagers want to hang out in because there's a pool and good snacks. We moved to a house without a pool because we were afraid of the Bird drowning - she has no fear of water. And I'm just not the mom who stands at the stove making quesadillas for all the kids who crash at our place after school is out. I wanted to be, but....

We wanted to take an extended family vacation last summer. Just the five of us. In a cute little house in a cute little town where we could ride bikes and take walks and swim.... whatever.

You see, we have one daughter that we're launching from the family nest this coming fall. And another who's not far behind.

We wanted to get some good family time in.

We postponed the vacation because of finances. A budget will only stretch so far when it contains a line item labeled "medical" and it's the most expensive thing in it.

We're hoping to do the vacation this summer but it's not looking promising.

And honestly, after the California doctor trip, I'm not sure that the idyllic vacation we're hoping for even exists for all five of us. The Bird is not one to be content with hanging out, reading, taking naps, and mindless activities like that.

Now, I'm not asking you to feel sorry for me because we can't take a silly vacation like we'd like. That's not the point I'm trying to make.

It all comes back around to the whole therapy thing.

If it wasn't for the expense of therapy, we would definitely be taking that extended vacation.

And that's when those old questions start coming back. Is Lily really benefitting from this? Would she be in this same place if we had done less?

When Lily is making progress and good things are happening, it's easy to write those checks. But in the valleys? Not so much. That's when I want to scrap it all and take a vacation... with a babysitter!

So we're paying for tons of therapy right now and I wonder if it's all worth it.

Then I read the comment that Christy left yesterday and I think it best answered all those nagging questions that continually pop up in my head.

She says, "There's not a day that goes by when I don't wonder if he would be better with more help."

More help? Less help?

Either way, I would be questioning if I was doing the right thing.

And I'll probably never really know the answer.

So here's my great words of wisdom for all of us parents - All you can do is all you can do. And all you can do is enough.

Thinking...

2011-11-15T07:26:00.000-06:00

I'm thinking about something today.

Actually, I've been mulling it over since yesterday.... and off and on for the past five years.

I'm not even sure I can formulate my thoughts into complete sentences yet but I want to ask you something:

Do you ever wonder if your kids are truly benefitting from all the therapy you have them in?

I mean, do you ever stop and think if they would be any different from where they are today if you had just done nothing but kept them home and loved on them and allowed them to interact with your family in just the way that came naturally?

I'll elaborate more on Wednesday but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

It's Catching On!

2011-11-14T08:09:00.000-06:00

I've never really been one to give my children nicknames.

In fact, for the first five years of her life, I insisted on calling my oldest daughter by her full name, Ryley Anne, and I wanted everyone else to as well.

That lasted until she started school. First graders aren't really big on long names.

So when Lily was born, I never really thought about a nickname for her. Her name was Lily and that's what we would call her. End of story.

But we have some good friends who call their own children by various nicknames. And since we spend quite a bit of time together, my daughters soon had a few nicknames of their own, courtesy of our friends.

And Lily was no exception.

For whatever reason that no one can now remember, Lily became Lily Bird, also courtesy of our friends.

And it stuck.

I found myself calling her Lily Bird, along with some minor variations on the theme: Bird, the Bird, Birdie.

Then I started noticing other people calling her Lily Bird.

But yesterday, when I picked Lily up from church, I got the final confirmation that the nickname is now official.

When teachers are writing your nickname on your belongings, it's no longer just a nickname.

It's simply who you are.

Lily Bird. I like it.

And Now.... The Big Reveal

2011-11-11T07:12:00.000-06:00

So I mentioned yesterday that if you use Instagram for your photos, I found something really fun to do with them.

And that fun thing is...... Stickygram.

Stickygram turns your Instagram photos into lovely little magnets. How cool is that??

The picture below is for a contest Stickygram is running right now but check out that fridge covered in Instagrams!

And look at this:

This person just had her first baby and she's charting her newborn's first year of life in Instagrams personalized by Stickygram.

Basically, all you do is take pictures using Instagram, select the images you'd like to have as magnets, and order them. Easy as pie....

The magnets are about the same size as they appear on your iPhone.

They're sold in packs of nine for $14.99 with free shipping.

And your pack is nine unique pictures - not nine of the same picture like your kids' school photos are sold.

I think the magnets could be such a fun Christmas gift!

Teenagers could put Stickygrams on their lockers. You could put Stickygrams on a magnetic white board in a mudroom. Of course, the fridge is always a good place. And with all the magnetic paint out there, the possibilities are almost endless for creating a totally personalized spot in your home to display all your favorite pictures.

If you're participating in the Zoom in on Gratitude: 20 Day Photo Challenge we talked about yesterday, then you're well on your way to having lots of lovely images to turn into magnets.

A whole display of things your family is thankful for. What a fun way to celebrate the season and a lovely reminder of all our many blessings.

So give Stickygram a try - I think you'll love it!

And have a great weekend!

Giving Some Thanks

2011-11-10T07:05:00.000-06:00

Since it's November and since it's the time of year that many of us start thinking of all the ways we've been blessed, I came across something on Pinterest (of course!) and thought it might be fun to try.

Dani, the author of the blog, Positively Present, came up with a fun way to remember all the things we're thankful for.

Rather than writing the same old list, take pictures!

And she calls it "Zoom In On Gratitude: 30 Day Photo Challenge".

Cute name, right?

And she's even given us a nice list of "thankful things" to take pictures of. Check it out:

Of course, we're already 10 days into November so I guess if we started today, it would really only be a 20 Day Photo Challenge.

Here's what I'm thinking: For the next 20 days, pick an idea from this list. Then snap away. That's one picture per day for the next 20 days.

Then the first week of December, I'll have one of those linky things on my blog. You can add a link to your single very favorite picture from the photo challenge.

Now, if you're an Instagram fan like me, take your photos and put an Instagram filter on them. Tomorrow, I'm going to show you something really cool and fun I discovered that you can do with your Instagram photos. I think it could be a great Christmas gift.

Don't try to guess what it is because I want to surprise you.

So, what do you think? Are you game to try and capture some of your gratitude on film?

Come on - it'll be fun!

Onward and Upward

2011-11-09T07:34:00.000-06:00

Lily has now been under the care of Dr. Goldberg for almost a month. If you're new around these parts and have no idea what I'm talking about, clicking here will get you all good and caught up.

We have a phone appointment with the doc himself Thursday evening and I'm expecting to hear bloodwork results as well as any findings on the fancy Neuro-SPECT he did on her brain.

I have to send in a weekly report to him via email and I've been very faithful to do that. One section of the report is divided into Positives and Negatives.

Truthfully, we've been pretty heavy on the Negatives with not many Positives to report.

Until this weekend.

I have to tell you that we've been lucky in that our sweet Bird has always been a pretty affectionate kid. But this past weekend, she was incredibly lovey.

And it was lovely.

I would be in the kitchen, rinsing out dishes to load in the washer, and she would come up behind me, wrap her little arms all the way around and just squeeze me. When I'd turn around and bend down to get a better hug, she'd lay her sweet head on my shoulder, squeeze me with her arms, and just smile the sweetest smile.

She's making better eye contact.

When I point at something, she actually looks to see what I'm pointing at rather than just looking at me in confusion.

Her use of the iPod Touch for communication seems to be much more intentional and purposeful. Like when she is asked a question, her answers tend to make more sense.

And best of all, while she is still very active, there's been less of that frantic, frenetic running around like she's got ants in her pants and it's simply impossible for her to sit still. She actually snuggled up next to me on the couch and, dare I say it? She almost appeared... peaceful.

I would venture to say it was actually a pleasant weekend around the Rush house. Unlike most of our weekends, which are spent trying to keep Lily occupied in ways that are not harmful, destructive or catastrophic.

Of course, there is still much, much more progress to be made.

But hey, we've learned to take what we can get with the Bird.

Yes, these are tiny baby steps.

But they are forward.

And that is a huge cause for celebration.

Allow Me to Introduce.... Pinterest

2011-11-08T07:29:00.000-06:00

Oh my goodness!

After reading yesterday's comments, it became clear to me that several of you have not discovered the wonders of Pinterest yet.

And I just wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't take a little time to introduce you. I promise you will thank me later....

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard, a place for you to collect things you love. The website itself is full of images, quotes, youtube videos and the like. Each of these is referred to as a "pin".

You can request an invitation to create a profile or a friend can invite you. (Let me know if you want me to send you an invitation.) Then all you do is sign in and create your profile.

Within your profile are "boards", which are divided up by category. Pinterest does some suggested board titles for you but you can come up with your own as well.

The boards are basically topics in which you categorize the images you like.

For example, maybe you're about to remodel your kitchen. You could create boards with titles like "Cabinets I Love", "Great Paint Colors", "Lovely Kitchen Islands".....

Or maybe you're about to get married - or hope to one day. You could create boards with categories for dresses, rings, table decor, photo ideas..... how about wedding cakes?

Are you catching on now?

But you don't need to have major projects going on to love Pinterest. I have boards for recipes I want to try, desserts that look super yum, playtime activities for the Bird, home organization ideas, and outfits I like, among other things.

Here's two of my boards, just to give you a peek:

What I Would Wear

Edit
For The Bird

Edit

And if that's not enough, you can add a "Pin It" button to your toolbar and no matter where you're surfing on the web, if you see something you like, you can click the "Pin It" button and instantly pin the image to the board of your choice.

No more trying to remember where you saw that knitting pattern you love or that landscaping layout you want to do in your own yard or that yoga workout you want to try.

And no more random post-it notes scattered around the computer that make no sense to you a week after you write them.

You can follow boards that other people have created, like the special needs "pinners" I suggested to you yesterday. If I'm looking for something to do with Lily, I don't have to scan the entire Pinterest site. I can go directly to the boards of people who tend to pin things I like.

Likewise, people can follow your boards. It can be a good way to drive some traffic to your blog, if you have one.

But more than anything, it's just plain fun. It's like looking through a magazine filled with all kinds of lovely things, delicious food, funny sayings, beautiful photography, travel suggestions, and creative ideas, just to name a few.

So, can it be a waste of time? Sure.

Can you spend hours of time pinning things that you know good and well you'll never do? Definitely.

Just like anything else in life (chocolate and Angry Birds comes to mind), you'll need to exercise some self-control.

But keep this in mind, too: Time you enjoy wasting is not always wasted time.

I found that quote on Pinterest. :)

Share Some Good Stuff

2011-11-07T07:15:00.000-06:00

Let's start the week off right - sharing some fun stuff for our kiddos.

I spent a little time this weekend on my newest online love, Pinterest. If you haven't heard of Pinterest, you're missing out on a seriously fun, creative, inspiring, and educational waste of time. Actually, it doesn't have to be a waste of time. For me, it's a really relaxing way to spend a few minutes when I need an escape from it all.

Pinterest is basically a place where you can create and personalize online bulletin boards about anything of interest to you. You can share your boards with others or keep them all to yourself.

If you're interested, you can follow me there at lanalrush.

Any-who, while scouring Pinterest, I discovered several wonderful ideas for kids with special needs.

Lily still needs a little help identifying body parts, especially her own. She's more likely to point out someone else's nose or ears than the ones that belong to her! So when I saw this Ziploc "My Body" Book, from I Can Teach My Child, I knew it would be perfect for the Bird.

I'll take pictures of her cute little ears, mouth, nose, toes, and the like and create a simple photo book. Of course, Lily would totally scoff at those little baggies holding the photos. She's way too advanced to let a little ziploc stand between her and whatever is inside. The photos I take will be laminated for added protection. I'm also going to create a "book" on her iPod Touch.

Lily is actively learning alphabet recognition so I really like this Letter Search game from Little Hands, Big Work.

But I am 100% certain that Lily will sample the uncooked rice. I know it won't hurt her. I'm just trying to decide what will end up being more fun for her - digging for the letters and putting them in the puzzle or eating the rice. I'm leaning towards eating the rice which then begs the question, "what's the point???"

An activity that might be a little less likely to be sampled but still fun is a Sticky Table.

Placing some contact paper upside down on the kitchen table and then using various things (pom poms, ribbon, foam shapes, pipe cleaners....) to stick on and pull off might be more successful. And I could use alphabet letters for this. I'm also going to stick on some of that bubble wrap with those really big fat bubbles for her to pop.

But the one almost guaranteed to catch her attention and hold it for a while? A Kitchen Duty sensory bin.

While she may not care about washing the dishes, she'll play in the water and we can practice filling and pouring, sinking and floating. Heck, we can even throw those alphabet letters in again and maybe fish them out with a slotted spoon.

So, if you're hunting up more activities than you'll ever have time to do with your kiddos, I suggest following a couple of Pinterest "pinners":

Tara Bennett (tmoney)
PediaStaff
Sensory Basic

I'm sure there are tons more pinners who share boards filled with wonderful ideas for special needs kids, so if you know of others, be sure to leave a comment and pass them along.

Also, if there's a book that has really helped you along in your special needs journey, would you leave a comment with the title?

We can learn so much from each other so don't be shy - share your ideas and resources!

I'm Clocking Out Early

2011-11-04T12:50:00.000-05:00

So here's the scoop for today, folks.

This is my oldest daughter, Ryley:

And today, this beautiful baby of mine is 18 years old.

So I could spend the next couple of hours locating pictures of her from birth until now, scanning them into the computer, penning a lovely ode about what a wonderful daughter she is, posting it on my blog for all to read, and then showing her and saying, "Look, Ryley! I did all this just for you!"

Or I could take advantage of the time that Lily's in school and take my (gulp!) almost adult daughter out on the town to celebrate. I mean, she can now legally purchase cigarettes and lottery tickets. Isn't that the sign of a mature adult??

I'm going with the second option - minus the cigarettes and lottery tickets.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!

Along Came the Bird

Happy Weekend!

Mama Knows

How Much "Therapy" Do You Really Do?

Miss Manners

News You Can Use - Volume 2

My First Ever Guest Post!

No Big Deal Meals

Budget Cuts

Birdie Boot Camp - A Fail and a Win

Never Give In... Except...

Too Many Choices

A Different Kind of 365 Photo Project

Love Sweet Love

The Silver Lining

Man's Best Friend

Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Zip-a-Dee-Ay

Guatemala Love

Birdie Boot Camp - Session Two: Water Play

Birdie Boot Camp - Guidelines & Session One

A Little Friday Fun

You're Going to Play and You're Going to Like It!

Electronics vs. Traditional Play: What the Mom Thinks

Electronics vs. Traditional Play: What the Therapist Thinks

From the Archives...

Let's Make a List Together!

The Need to Read

If You Were Stranded on an Island.....

A Thought for Monday.... and Every Day

You've Got This, God

The EIP

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Just Passing Through....

If You Don't Hear From Me The Rest of the Week, This Is Why....

Sweet Victory

Getting to Know Meme

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Better Late Than Never

Easing Into The Week... with Pizza

News You Can Use - Volume 1

What I Got For Christmas

The Best Gifts of Christmas

Holiday Highlights

Top Three Posts... and Posts I'm Glad I Didn't Have to Write - 2011 Edition

Have You Figured It Out Yet?

Merry Christmas

HACKED! An Unauthorized Blog by Lana's Husband

The Santa Visit of 2011

The Weekend in Pictures... And a Few Words!

A Christmas Re-Run

For the last several Christmases, I've used a little rhyme to help guide me in the purchasing of gifts for my big girls.Something you want,Something you need.Something to wear,Something to read.Something homemade,A game to be played.

Calming the Beast

Easy Street

A Clean Car.... For Now

Just Trying To Get Out The Door

Gifts Galore... For Therapists, Teachers, & More

Blog Writers Unite!

The Magic Questions

Jolly Old St. Nicholas... not so jolly, maybe?

My Life in Contrast

I Give Up

Looking for Some Good Gift Ideas?

You Might Be An Autism Parent If....

Thirty Minutes of Fun

My Gift of Thanks for You

A Little Change in Perspective

Small Blessings

Frozen Delights

Phase Two of "The Goldberg Protocol"

I Can Bring Home The Bacon.... But Will Anyone Eat It?

I Guess We'll Never Know For Sure....

Thinking...

It's Catching On!

And Now.... The Big Reveal

Giving Some Thanks

Onward and Upward

Allow Me to Introduce.... Pinterest

What I Would Wear

For The Bird

Share Some Good Stuff

For the last several Christmases, I've used a little rhyme to help guide me in the purchasing of gifts for my big girls.

Something you want,
Something you need.
Something to wear,
Something to read.
Something homemade,
A game to be played.