Happy (Early) Halloween!

Since Daddy is going to be flying out on Halloween for business, we are enjoying some pre-Halloween festivities with him this weekend. Today, we are going to a Halloween Party at a park nearby Corey's school. I have made some yummy cupcakes to share with Corey's classmates - many of whom have dietary restrictions like Corey. (free of gluten, casein, soy, and egg)

Update: The kiddos had a blast at the Halloween party at the park. They enjoyed some yummy treats, trick or treating and also playing on the playscape.

We indulged in some fall fun yesterday. First, Corey had a baseball game at the Miracle Field - always a fun time. From there, we headed over to a Pre-Halloween Carnival nearby in Round Rock. The kids loved the bounce houses and the petting zoo - those bunnies sure were soft. The chickens, however, kind of freaked both kids out - LOL.

2009 Greater Austin Walk Now for Autism Speaks

We have been planning for months, and yesterday was the big day - our Walk! The weather didn't cooperate, for the 2nd year in a row, but we made best of it, and we had a great time while raising funds and awareness for Autism. It is such an amazing feeling to be at one of these events - the fellowship, the hope, the feeling of thousands of people there for your kid - it is really quite overwhelming at times. I am really proud of my fellow committee members for working so hard and pulling together a successful event, even in the face of a chilly, rainy day. The band played on, the resource fair rocked, the walk went on, even in the rain. Everyone who came out, in spite of the weather - what troopers!

Since the rain prevented us from doing the walk as a family, we all went out in the neighborhood in the afternoon to do our own walk, still in our team StimBusters shirts, of course.

Baseball and other stuff...

Corey had his first baseball game of the fall season and had a great time. I have said it before, but it is worth saying again - the Miracle League is amazing. From the adults who put it together to the older kids ("Buddies") who help our kids on and off the field. We feel so blessed.

It is so wonderful to see Corey enjoying himself doing things like baseball and being social with other kids, peers and both younger and older kids. Autism puts up barriers for Corey, but I can see him climbing over them each and every day - he is a wonder. It is funny to say, but I am thrilled that he is talking back to me at times now - he has the language to do so, and the confidence. Last night, it was Mia's turn to choose a movie to watch, and Corey was frustrated because he had something different in mind - I said to him "Its ok..." and he interrupted to inform me, firmly, "Its NOT ok!" LOL. Earlier yesterday, he was playing on his computer in his bedroom upstairs, and all of the sudden we heard him reprimanding the dog. He came down to get me, and also to make sure Samantha went downstairs. I asked him what happened, fully expecting to have to mostly figure it out for myself... He took me upstairs and told me that Sam should not bite/mouth the pillow... And then he showed me which pillow and that he had moved a stuffed animal off the top bunk and onto his dresser so Sam couldn't get to it. This is such a great step for Corey - not only did he want to explain it to me himself, but he did so in a clear manner. This is not an easy task for a child with autism and processing difficulties.

Just another day in the 'burbs...

One of the things I love about where we live is the abundance of beautiful parks. The kids and I spent some time at Veteran's Park here in Round Rock today. The kids hit the playscape, collected acorns (which must, of course, be tossed into the water), and enjoyed checking out the local wildlife.

New baking adventures...

We recently received the results of a new allergy screening done for Corey. As is common, his sensitivities have changed over time. Some old reactors are now low/non-reactive - he can now tolerate CHEESE! We are going slow - he gets a bit here and there, and he is so happy to have cheese back in his rotation! However, Corey has some new sensitivities to address - we have now eliminated soy and baker's yeast from his diet, along with a bunch of other low to moderate reactive foods (eggs, pineapple, berries...) that we have cut temporarily so we can monitor any reactions as we add them back in.

What all this means is that I am re-inventing a bunch of Corey's food. Bread, cookies, taquitos, pizza dough, chicken strips - all need to be modified now. Bread is a challenge to do gluten free/milk free/soy free/egg free and yeast free - let me tell you. I am getting close, but still need to work on it a bit more. Cookies and such are much easier to modify, so I am feeling pretty comfortable there. I am making taquitos from scratch to avoid the soy, etc. that seems to be in every brand I can find in stores. Chicken strips are now conquered. Now - Pizza! Corey was so happy to get pizza from Promise Pizza recently, but with the latest yeast elimination, that is off the menu for him now. So - I have made it a priority to make him pizza that does comply with his current dietary needs. First attempt was last night, and I have to say it was pretty good. The crust needs a bit of work - more focaccia-like than I want, so I need to work on making it a bit more chewy/crunchy, but Corey was happy. It was fun to make him a pizza with real mozzarella cheese!

Here are pics of the pizza and the latest loaf of bread. We are getting close...

September 11th...

Eight years ago, and yet I remember like it was yesterday. I remember waking up to an enormous sense of dread - that something was very wrong. As a mom to a 6 month old baby, he was my first thought, and I went to check him... he was fine, but I couldn't go back to sleep. When I turned on the news, Katie Couric was talking about a plane hitting the WTC, and soon after, I watched live footage of the 2nd tower being struck. It seemed so unreal, and yet it was then that I realized that somehow I knew when that first plane hit - that was why I woke up with that terrible sense of dread. The timing was exact. We did our best to go about our regular morning routines - getting ready for work and getting baby Corey ready to go to daycare. It was early on the West Coast. I remember how hard it was to drop off Corey that morning - not because I believed he was really in danger, but because I wanted to hold him close to me. The first tower fell as I dropped him off.

I went in to work, but knew that it wasn't going to be a real "workday". Two of us spent a couple of hours tracking down all of our employees who were either in the air or on the east coast that morning. We also managed to confirm that our Flagship NY office was ok, employees accounted for. What a surreal morning, phonecall after phone call, all the while the news on TV just kept getting worse and worse. I learned that I had many friends who were stranded away from family, and many who couldn't find out if their loved ones were safe. We managed to get good news spread where we could. Finally, there was nothing more that we could do and we shut down the office. Some stayed just to talk and support each other. I went and picked up my baby boy and spent a good portion of the remainder of the day holding him and watching the horrifying news coverage, how could I not?

Eight years have passed, but we will never forget that day. To the many who were lost, and those who they left behind, to those who put themselves in harm's way that day - and since, to those who serve, in any capacity.... God Bless you all!

Weekend at Granite Ranch

What a fantastic time at Granite Ranch this weekend!

Back in the spring, we attended a fundraiser for a local school and a group of us went in together won a weekend at this wonderful location via the live auction.

www.graniteranch.com

Friday we drove out met up with 3 other families and had a wonderful, fun-filled weekend together. There was swimming, kayaking, hiking, checking out the longhorns, plenty of acres for the dogs to roam, beautiful weather...

The kids did great and the grownups had fun, too. Adrian brought the Big Green Egg for some awesome grilling, and we all pitched in to put out a yummy spread each night. What a great group of people to spend a weekend with. All came from different backgrounds, places and yet we all share the common bond of a child with autism. We all know and appreciate our childrens' challenges and their gifts, and are our kids biggest advocates. It is so nice to hang out with other families who "get it" - you can really relax.

Mia's first day of Pre-K

Mia was SO excited to start school today. She has been telling everyone she sees the last few days that today is going to be her lucky day, because she is starting school. She was SO ready, she even got up early, all on her own, today.

Once we got there, she hung up her backpack and was ready to for mommy to go so she could start her school day in earnest.

Pool time at Jennifer's...

We had a great time this afternoon hanging out with good friends at Jennifer's house - the new pool is awesome! Mia, Corey, Jimmy, Logan and Shelby all had a blast swimming and being silly in the water and the grownups had fun with them, and chitchatting, as well.