Ahhh, summer is upon us...

Okay, so many of us are about to face the dreaded "summer vacation", if you have not already begun it! Now I say dreaded not because we don't like having our kids home. We love our kids but really, when the heat is on, the kids are home, and the "Mommy, I'm boooooorrrreeeedddd" is the most common phrase you hear, a mother can certainly understand why I use the word dreaded.

We have officially one more week before we are on "Summer vacation" here and so I began preparing today. Braydon needs structure, and so I've got to have atleast an idea of what we're doing. It's easy just to say we'll play it by ear, but a little preparation can come in handy. Having a "back up" plan of things to do in your area to get you out of the house is great! Knowing when things are cheap or even free is even better! Here are some tips and ideas to help you avoid having to use duct tape this summer vacation. =)

All of this takes some research and a little planning. Pull out your calendar, and make a list of the important dates this summer. For example, when are your doctor's appointments, vacations, etc. That way you'll know that you can't schedule a trip to the museum when you're supposed to be taking your little one to get his teeth cleaned!

There are so many resources that you can use this summer! First, check out your local library. Most libraries offer summer reading programs, story times, and other neat activities that are all FREE!! I recommend getting a basket to put all the library books in so that you avoid the dreaded late fees. These fees can quickly turn an awesome free activity into the equivalence of a day at Disney!! (By the way, did you know that some libraries even send overdue fines to collections agencies?!? Not that I know that personally or any thing!)

Other great sources are your local museums. Often times, museums offer free entrance at certain times. Just remember that everyone and their mom (quite literally) will be there at that time, so expect lots of people, children, and even daycares/summer camps to be there at the same time. Our local museum allows you to join as a family and not only can you go to their museum whenever you'd like, but they also offer reciprocal admissions with over 200 other museums worldwide! It costs $60 for our family to join, normal admission for my family of 4 would be $14 per visit. If we go 5 times in one year, we'll have already recovered our money. Also, we have a free activity on vacation if we go near one of the museums with reciprocal admissions, and there are 16 in the state of NC alone!! Check out your state here to see how many you have in your state!

Check out freebies, such as free bowling for kids or Barnes & Noble's summer reading program, tonight's Free Root Beer Float from Sonic Drive-In, a free single scoop cone or dish at Friendly's June 6th, or a free Orange Julius smoothie on June 19th. (thanks to A Full Cup for the last two) Most restaurants offer "kids nights" too where your kids can eat free & there might even be games or crafts for kids to do that night. Locally, restaurants like Chick-Fil-A, Denny's, San Jose (a mexican restaurant), Zaxby's and several others offer kids nights. Each restaurant is owned & operated individually so make sure you check with your local restaurants. Many restaurants offer e-mail clubs, or you can even sign up to receive text messages with coupons for FREE things. Our Dairy Queen offers free sundaes to their MYDQ members on Mondays with other free coupons throughout the month!

GET OUTSIDE!

Chalk is amazing. It's cheap, its messy and kids LOVE it! They can create and recreate every single day....There's also the new 3-D chalk which allows kids even more ways to experience creativity! No longer will your kids be limited to boring old hopscotch! They can create anything and actually see it "come to life". Cost is about $5 bucks for 4 pieces of chalk & a pair of 3D glasses. The added giggles and squeals of excitment are FREE!!!!

Find a community pool, rec pool or YMCA pool to cool off in. Check your with the Parks & Recreation department for a list of pools. If you have to, make friends with people who live in apartments with pools. (hey, when it's HOT out, it pays to have friends with pools!) We've picked Wednesday as our designated pool day ("wet wednesday"). We'll still visit the pool the other days too, but Wednesday will be spent by the pool. Make sure you pack the sunblock, hats, drinks, & snacks. Ideas for great snacks are fruit, pretzels, cheese & crackers. Try to avoid chips & sugary snacks. Bring a book or two that you can read to your kids while having a "break time" (everyone needs some shade time & a book is a perfect way to do so.) If you have younger children, they will need to have more frequent breaks, and don't forget to reapply the sunblock to all (don't forget yourself!!)

Go for a nature walk, a bike ride, bird watching, at a greenway or hiking trail. To find the closest one to you check this out. Don't have a trail near you? Go on a walk around the neighborhood and find nature....it's every where! Even in the innercities, there are greenways you can explore! Make sure you bring bug spray, water, a snack and a camera. Point things out to your kids as you walk, for example the red bug that just crawled by, or the noise you just heard, then have your kids point things out they see. Ask them questions such as "which tree do you think is older?" or "why do you think it's cooler under the trees than out in the sun?" These kinds of questions will no only be encouraging your children to learn even in the summer but also to think for themselves!

But when it is REALLY hot outside, you need some activities for your kids to do inside that will allow you to do your other household chores like laundry, dishes, making lunch/dinner, cleaning, etc. The phrase TV rots the brain was obviously not spoken by a mom in the midst of summer break. I'm not advocating mindless hours of unmonitored TV watching. Pick one day to be a movie day, and create a day full of activities surrounding the movie. (We chose our day to do this as "Movie Mondays", a post is coming about this soon) I'm using movies that I already have, but if you want to get a new movie, Redbox movie rentals are great. They are $1 per day, which is much better than Blockbuster. What's even better is that you can sign up to receive a text message on Monday's with a promo code for a FREE rental. They'll send you the text message around 10 in the morning and it expires at 11:59 that same night. Don't have text messaging? You can sign up for e-mail and although you may not get weekly promo codes, you will get a free code for signing up the 1st time. They have current movies, just like at Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, Etc. Click to see what movies they have or to locate a redbox here. Our local Redboxes are at Walgreens, Harris Teeter & Wal-mart. A piece of advice: before you go up to the box, try to have an idea of what you're going to get. When there's a long line, you don't want to be the one who is making everyone wait!

I hope this advice is helpful. If you have any suggestions about how you survive summer break without duct tape, post about it on your page and then come back and add yours to the list! The more the merrier...We can all use new ideas, right moms?!?

What my mom taught me...

-To love unconditionally.

-To serve others without complaining or second thoughts.

-To walk humbly before God.

-How to sacrafice for your kids.

-To save money.

-Not to be wasteful (with time or money).

-To get things done, even when you don't have time, energy, money, etc.

-To forgive.

-To give.

-To laugh so hard tears come streaming down your face.

-To pray.

-To think for myself, and defend what I believe in, even when it gets you suspended from school. (not that I ever did *cough cough* HAHA!)

-to give grace.

-To cry.

-To worship.

-how to really love my kids.

Thank you Mom for everything that you have sacrficed for me over the years. You are the most Godly, humble woman I know, and I am so thankful to have you as an example of how I should be as a Mom. If I become 1/2 a good as mom as you, my kids will be blessed. I love you so much, and really do appreciate EVERYTHING you do!!

PS....I stole your picture Rach...I didn't have any recent ones of mom. Sorry & thanks!

Googled...

You know you've done it before...You opened up google and put your name in there. We have all done it. I've done it before, but this morning, I figured I'd do it again....And I found the usual links to facebook, meetup, etc. But what I also found were sites that took local news articles that had been written about me and posted them on their page...

Several sites took the article written about my trip to the Green Our Vaccines Rally in Washington DC led by Jenny McCarthy. Click here and here to visit the two sites that have published the entire article. It's neat to know that our story, even though at that point we didn't really know how much we really were already apart of the autism community, is still out there, hopefully raising awareness of the vaccine controversy!!

Other sites took the article about raising bi-racial children and published it on their site. A group called Project RACE published the article here.

Have you googled yourself? If so, what'd you find?!?

Braydon's story

He was still thrashing, kicking, screaming and crying. I tried to calm him down as we've been doing a lot lately. I held him tightly with his back against my chest and repeated softly "It's okay, Braydon. Mommy's here. We love you." As I sat on the floor of my four year old son's room, I knew that we had to be missing something. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and quickly thought back to what had just been a typical Friday afternoon. I picked him up from Pre-K as always, and of was informed that he had yet another rough day. Would he ever out grow this? I thought. We got into the car, and headed towards home.

My husband called me to see if we could stop at the store on our way home to pick up some hamburger buns and chips. It was so nice to have a husband that enjoyed to cook every now and then! I glanced back at Braydon, who was smiling as he gazed out the car window. "I think we can do that since it's just a few things."

As I hung up, I heard Braydon say something. And then he repeated it. Again. And again, ten times in total. "They didn't do it right." is all he said. I quickly checked both sides of the car to see what he was talking about, but we were surrounded by the North Carolina countryside, and there were no other cars near us.

"Who didn't do it right, honey?" I asked.

No response, just a blank stare.

"What didn't they do right, sweetie?" I proded.

"They didn't do it right." he stated in a monotone voice.

Then he blinked his eyes, looked at me and began talking about his day at school and a fellow classmate, as if he hadn't said anything out of the ordinary. I brushed it off for now, figuring I'd talk to my husband about it later on in the evening, after we had gotten the kids into bed. This wasn't the first time he'd repeated himself like that. We'd just add it to "the list".

Stores are usually a struggle for us, but atleast his younger sister was at home with Daddy, and we only had 2 things to get. I reminded Braydon that we wouldn't be getting a cookie this time, but we could get a balloon, providing that he behaved himself.

Do all moms have to bribe their children? I reassured myself that yes, most likely every mom bribes their kids before they go into the grocery store. Braydon jumped into my arms and I lifted him into the seat of the cart, because he just can't handle riding in the basket or even walking. We've learned our lesson and it's just easier to put him in there, even though he's almost five years old. Braydon was excited when we saw some coupons so he grabbed a few. I snickered at the thought. Only my child would get this excited about coupons! Just another one of those quirky personality traits which I personally found endearing.

We continued down the bread aisle, Braydon looked at me funny and out of no where, he began to punch me. Punching quickly turned into an all out attack on me. I stepped back as he was kicking and thrashing at the air, and the he turned his attention to the bread. He squeezed and squished the bread he could reach. I grabbed the hamburger buns, and managed to get him out of the cart. I set him down and began walking towards the chip aisle. As I walked away, he realized that he was going to be left behind. He quickly caught up with me, and didn't say another word. Somehow we managed to make our way back to the front of the store to check out. Right as we got to the front of the line, he insisted he had to go to the bathroom.
Ugh. Stores were bad enough, but public restrooms were a whole other story. Braydon had "issues" with public bathrooms. He literally cries, screams, and tries to claw his way out of the bathroom. He also covers his ears and starts shaking. For a while, we thought something was wrong with his hearing because he was so sensitive to loud noises but would also not respond to us when we called his name. His hearing was fine, so we assumed he'd eventually outgrow this fear. We were wrong.

He would not go within 10 feet of the bathroom, even though he insisted that he had to go. He stood shaking in fear while holding himself. It was evident he really did have to go, but this inexplicable fear of the bathroom was obviously winning the battle against his bladder. It just wasn't worth it, so we returned back to the line. He pleaded with me again saying that he couldn't hold it any longer, so we returned to the bathroom. Or I did, rather. I turned around and Braydon was still standing 10 feet away from the bathroom, shaking once again. Frustrated and just wanting to get out of the store, I gave up with my pleading with him to go to the bathroom. He was three months shy of turning 5 years old. If he wants to pee on himself instead of peeing in a public bathroom, that was fine with me. He'd be the with the wet pants, and atleast I could buy the groceries and get home!

Finally after making it out to the car, I struggled for 15 dreadful minutes to get him in the car seat. I had been bit, kicked, scratched, punched, had hair pulled, and tears were streaming down my face. Finally, I just couldn't take it. I began sobbing and just stopped fighting with him. As he was screaching at the top of his lungs in my car, the only thing I could think is This is just not right. Something is wrong. It can't be ADHD, there must be something more to this.
I put the car in reverse, and he clicked back into "reality". He quickly put on his seatbelt and mumbled something about the police going to put me in jail because he didn't have his seatbelt on. Then the screaching started back. I picked up my cell phone & called my mom so she could hear what I was hearing...I repeated my "Something is just not right!" She told me we'd figure it out, that it'd be okay.

We made it home, but it just got worse when Braydon saw Kenney. He went up to his room and was kicking and thrashing again. The only thing I could do is hold him, and rock him. this was it. I knew something had to be done.

I called his pedi the next day to get him seen, and of course, he had "issues" out in the lobby. When we got in there, he was going wild. He wouldn't and couldn't sit still. He constantly was trying to climb up the walls, and run out of the door. I looked at the look on her face and flat out asked, "Is this normal? He was diagnosed with ADHD, but is that normal for kids with that?" Even before I had finished my question, her head was shaking 'no' and said she really wanted me to take him somewhere else to get re-evaluated. This was bittersweet. On some level, I desperately wanted her to say "Yes, that's normal, he'll grow out of it" But I knew that it wasn't.

Aside from having a few friends whose kids had autism, in a severe form, I knew relatively little about the autism community. I had indeed gone to Jenny McCarthy's "GREEN OUR VACCINES" rally in Washingon DC. I've read all of her books, starting with "belly laughs" when I was pregnant with Makenna. For some reason, Jenny's story just resonated with me. It was a horrible tragedy that she walked through. I had nothing even remotely in common with her, except that we both were mommies to little boys. But I just knew that those books struck such a chord in my heart when I read them. In fact, Kenney even got me one of her books as a Christmas present. But I really didn't know where to start. I went to the only place I knew to look for help: Generation Rescue

Generation Rescue is Jenny McCarthy's site designed to link parents new to the biomedical treatments of autism and other forms with parents who had "BEEN THERE, DONE THAT". They're called rescue angels. I contacted one in Raleigh, who gave me some AMAZING referrals, one to a developmental pediatrician, and one to a neurodevelopmental pediatrician, who was also a DAN! protocol doctor. From my online researching, I learned that DAN! (which stands for Defeat Autism Now!) doctors attempt to treat using biomedical approaches first and foremost, and then will turn to meds if neccesary. They also try to treat the whole child, not just one part.
I called to get appointments with each. The first one was the developmental pedi, about 1 hr 15 mins away. We could get in with him, but would have to wait about 2 months. When I called the neuro-developmental pedi in Wimington, the first available appointment was not until July. I've heard amazing things about this woman, so I figured it'd be worth the wait, as well as the drive to see both of them.

The first appointment went well, the doctor really connected with Braydon, and in fact it was the first time I've seen him make eye contact with anyone for quite some time. He didn't have any of his "outbursts", which of course I figured meant the doctor would tell me he was fine, and that I had wasted my time and his time. (But wait, isn't that what part of me wanted him to tell me?!?) But even with his superior behavior, we were given a preliminary diagnosis. You may remember that I spoke briefly about this in a previous post.

A week after we got home from seeing the 1st devel. pedi, I got a call from the 2nd clinic saying they had a cancelation and that they could see us on the 8th and the 9th (they do 2 seperate appointments for your first visit). We went down there, and on Wednesday afternoon went straight to the doctor. This time, we were not so lucky about the no outburts. But this woman was incredible. She got down on the floor with him and showed me how to hold him, so that no one would get hurt. She reassured me that this was not the first time, nor would it be the last that she had to help do that.

Once again, after this appointment we were given the exact same diagnosis, even without them comparing "notes". I feel fairly confident that we have a good diagnosis, which I finally will share. His diagnosis is "PDD-NOS" which stands for Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified. PDD is the clinical term for autism. It's also referred to as ASD, autism spectrum disorder. You might here people refer to kids with autism as "on the spectrum" which means they have autism. Braydon is high functioning, but he has some speech problems, which means he could not be included in the "aspergers" category. PDD-NOS is basically a category for children who do not have enough criteria to fit any other

We are so encouraged though with the doctor's list of supplaments to begin treating Braydon's gut problem as well as getting his brain to function as well as it should. We will be doing some other lab testing this upcoming week to check for toxins, etc. We have a follow up visit in 5 weeks to determine whether Braydon would benefit from a exclusion diet or not (GF/CF)
Although the diagnosis is not necesarily a happy one, I do know that know we'll be able to get him the services he needs to get in order to have him be very successful in school. And it doesn't change the way we look at him or love him one bit. And I hope it won't change the way you feel about him either.

My 1st Harris Teeter Triples Trip

I only spent $47.80 and save $87.75! Here were my Deals! TOTAL PRICE PAID (in bold)

(5 deals) BeechNut Toddler "Let's Grow" Items sale price 2/$4, (some were 2/$5 but I only got those that were 2/4) 75 cents off coupon per item, FREE with a 25 cents overage (per item)

(1 deal) Fiber One Bars sale price 2/$5, 50 cents off coupon, $1.00

(2 deals) Betty Crocker Cookie Mix 17.5 oz reg. price $2.19, 50 cents off coupon, $0.69 per item

(1 deal) Ragu Sauce Buy One Get one Free (BOGO) (so sale price is 2/$2.69) $2 off any pasta sauce, $0.69 for 2 or ($0.34 a piece)

(2 deal) Dole Fruit Bowls 4 pk. Sale Price 2/$4, 75 cents off coupon per item FREE with a $0.25 overage (per item)

(1 deal) Ken's Salad Dressing Buy 2 Get 3 free $0.73 per item

(1 deal) French's Worcestershire Sauce reg price $1.69, 50 cents off coupon $0.19

(1 deal) Harris Teeter trash bags Buy 2 Get 3 free $1.58 per item

(2 deals) Crisco Omega 3 DHA Canola Oil sale price $3.79, 75 cents off coupon $1.54 per item

(2 deals) Softsoap Antibacterial soap BOGO (2/2.29) plus 35 cents off coupon per item $0.10 per item

(2 deals) Pillsbury GRANDS! frozen biscuits sale price 2/$5, 50 cents off coupon per item $1.00 per item

(1 deal) Kraft 2% Sharp Cheese 8 oz block sale price 2/$5, $2 coupon, $0.50

(2 deals) Pillsbury recipe creations sale price 2/$4, 40 cents off coupon per item, $0.80 per item

(1 deal) Perdue already cooked dino chicken nuggets regular price $4.89, $3 off HT store coupon , $1 off manuf. coupon $0.89

(6 deals) Deli Creations sale price 2/$5, $1 off HT store coupon per item, plus $1.50 off 2 coupon, Plus an addition $3.00 off purchase of 6 Food Lion coupon ALL ITEMS FREE!!

I was pretty excited about the free stuff I got, although I paid a little more than I am used to paying during triples because we needed items that we don't have coupons for (like butter, milk, ground beef)

The Pampered Chef

Okay, so I have to admit I'm not remotely as talented in the kitchen as say Andrea or Toni in the kitchen. Oh, how I'd love to be...but I digress. Even as limited as my cooking skills truly are, I still love Pampered Chef stuff. I love the deep covered baker I adore my microcookers. But really, I love the fact that they make cooking easier.

The deep covered baker that easily fits into your microwave (unless of course you are using the same microwave that fit into your college dorm!)

Go check out all the cool gadgets over at www.pamperedchef.biz/mertscookin and if you see something you like, get it!! I had a cooking show at my house this past Saturday and had a lot of fun! When you go to add something, your host's name is Christy Rue. All orders must be placed by March 12th, 2009.

For a chance to win your choice of the chipotle rub, the greek rub, or the Moroccan rub visit Meredith's website , pick out your favorite Pampered Chef product and leave a comment telling me what it is. For an extra entry, blog about this contest, with a link to this post, and leave a second comment. Also, you'll get an additional entry for every $10 you spend (through Meredith's page, using me as your host!) Contest is open to US residents only and ends March 12th, 2009 at 12 noon, EST.

Back the Basics Cooking Class Contest

I am so excited to tell you about a contest that Toni at The Happy Housewife is hosting!! She's giving away a virtual cooking class!! It's a 14 week course that's done in the comfort of your own home, specifically your own kitchen! You can even cook in your underwear & no one will know!! Already know how to cook? Maybe your sister, daughter, mother, or really cool friend Christy could use it!! =)

To learn about the cooking classes and to enter the contest go stop by The Happy Housewife's site. For a direct link to the contest post, click here. Leave a comment and tell her that Christy from Life of the Newly married sent ya! Also, while you're there, check out all of her cool cake tutorials, meal planning posts, homeschooling info and much much more!!

Contest ends March 13 at 10 PM EST.