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.

Will wonders never cease?

A little background is probably in order on this one. Corey is an autistic child with sensory issues and very specific issues about food. For years now, he has hated anything that is mushy - pudding, ice cream, mashed potatoes, pastas, oatmeal, etc. He is a meat, veggies/fruit and plain rice/bread/fries guy - no condiments, gravy, sauces, etc. with the exception of salad dressing. Yesterday, of the way home from Zilker Park, we stopped by Whole Foods to pick up a few things that I can't get at the regular grocer. The kids were being super great and patient while I looked for the items I needed and then checked to see if there was anything new/interesting in the gluten free freezer, as I generally do. Corey looked too, and picked out a frozen meal told me he wanted it. Now - asking for something at the store is a fairly new thing for Corey, and asking for something like a frozen entree - never. Then - I looked at what he had picked... A baked ziti with broccoli and an apple crumb dessert. Following Corey's normal food rules, the only thing "edible" there was the broccoli, and he wouldn't eat is cause it had "stuff" on it. However, Corey was insistent that he wanted it, so I went ahead and bought it, since it was gluten free and casein free - what the heck, right? Well - today we offered it to him for lunch and amazingly, he said yes, he wanted it, and even more amazingly - he actually ate it! Baked Ziti - are you kidding me?

Corey is making such progress in many areas this year, and this is just another reminder of that. He needed some help with eating his lunch, since he wasn't used to dealing with slippery, soft-ish noodles and finds it tricky to get them securely onto a fork. I was happy to help him branch out and enjoy a new and different dining experience. From a sensory standpoint, this a great step for him. And for overcoming some of his classic autism-related "rigidity" to try something new - this is awesome!

This is what he picked out and ate:

Austin Nature Center

The kids and I headed down to Zilker Park today and explored a bit at the Austin Nature Center. It is a beautiful day and the kids had fun checking things out. Of course, I didn't remember to take the photo in front of the sign until the end when the kiddos were hot and tired... Oh, well. They are still cuties in my book.

Pizza Night!

To celebrate Corey's first week back to school, we had pizza night. Now - keep in mind with Corey being gluten and casein (dairy) free - pizza is not easy to come by - at least pizza that remotely resembles the pizza we all know.

Good news for Corey. A new place just opened right here in Round Rock called Promise Pizza.

www.promisepizza.com

Not only do they have "Corey friendly" pizza, they do all natural, organic pizza - even natural sodas and gf brownies. How cool! They even deliver in eco friendly (if goofy) Smart Cars.

They made a pretty darned good gfcf pizza for Corey with a new cheese product that is totally vegetable based, but soy free, gluten free, and vegan. He ate darned near the whole pizza! Mia and I tried their regular thin crust pizza with mozzarella and mushrooms and it was quite tasty. Mia has informed me, in no uncertain terms, that I am to save the leftovers for her lunch tomorrow. I am to stay away from it. LOL

Do you think Corey was happy to get "real pizza"? Judge for yourself...

Mmmmm.... cookies

I haven't been doing a lot of baking recently, other than Corey's sandwich bread. Something about triple digit temperatures to take the baking urge away for a while. Now that we are approaching (hopefully) fall, I am going to get back into the baking groove. Yesterday I came up with a new cookie recipe and they turned out so yummy! They are gluten free, casein free, soy free, as usual. Going to have to make note of this recipe - a keeper for sure.

First Day of Third Grade!

Today was Corey's first day of 3rd grade - how did that happen? Since he had finally decided to go on a summer vacation sleeping-in schedule the last week of summer, I wasn't sure how he would do with getting up for school. He has to be up early since his bus picks him up at 6:40am... But, the boy was great - got himself up a bit before 6am, played computer for a few minutes and then came downstairs to get dressed and ready for school. He was such a good boy, took his meds, ate his breakfast, and when he heard the bus was ready to head outside and hop on.

Corey has a new teacher this year, Ms. Ryan. He will continue with the same OT and speech therapists, and add Music Therapy to his curriculum this year. He will also get Adapted P.E. in additions to time in his regular ed classroom, and specials (PE, art, music), lunchtime and recess - all with his regular ed classmates.

TerraBurger Austin

A friend suggested that we try TerraBurger, the new North Hills location, so the kids and I decided to go check it out yesterday. What a great place! They use all natural, organic ingredients to make yummy burgers, fries, etc. and to make it even better - they have gluten free buns for folks like Corey that don't eat wheat, etc. Even the sodas are natural - sweetened with natural cane sugar or stevia instead of processed corn syrup, aspartame, etc. They also have non-dairy shakes made with coconut milk. A pretty awesome place for folks with food allergies and for everyone who is trying to eat healthier, with less processed foods, additives, etc.

Do check them out at:

www.terraburgeraustin.com

When you go, the kiddos can play on the playscape or the little sprinkler park area while mom and dad can relax at one of the shaded tables.

Here are some pics - one of Corey's rockin' lunch - all natural and gfcf, and a few of the kids hitting the playscape.

Fun around the house...

Sometimes the best way to beat the heat is to just goof off at home...

Advocacy

My continuing Autism Advocacy efforts... This month, I was thrilled to partner with Jungle Java as they celebrated their first year here in Round Rock - they were taking donations for my walk team, but they also had vendors set up displays and designated 20% of those proceeds to go to my walk, as well. Earlier in the month, I participated in the Greater Austin Walk Now for Autism Speaks kickoff luncheon at the Alamo Drafthouse. A fun, and inspiring time was had by all.

August Fun!

August has been a fun and busy month for the Webers! We have enjoyed lots of fun in the sun with trips to the swimming hole, pools and parks. Other times, we beat the heat with trips to indoor playplaces, etc.

Here are a few highlights from the month...

Time to go to war...

We were thrilled to receive approval and an out of network referral for Corey to receive ABA therapy, commencing in May, with insurance paying for 90%. This was so cool because it meant we could afford a meaningful number of hours, especially over the summer when school services are minimal. We want to keep our boy learning and growing and help him overcome the obstacles that autism puts before him. Sadly, we have been struggling getting the insurance company to reimburse us for this therapy all summer and how now been informed that they are cutting off approval entirely. So - not only are we upside down because we have been juggling while they drag their feet on reimbursing us all summer - now we have been forced to stop ABA therapy entirely - tomorrow will be Corey's last session. Yes - the big bad insurance company is dictating treatment decisions for my child. ABA therapy is a researched and proven treatment - the standard of care treatment for individuals on the autism spectrum - backed by the American Medical Association and the US Surgeon General. This is not a controversial therapy, it is simply an intensive therapy that is expensive - which leaves it out of the grasp of many, if not most, familes. Insurance companies do not want to pay for it, and use all sorts of fine print, loopholes and other excuses to deny coverage and/or for this important treatment. Legislation is already on the books in several states (including California, where our policy is written) to help force insurance companies to cover treatment for autism, but families still have to fight to receive it. I am studying up and beginning my fight. To the insurance company that is trying to keep my child from continuing treatment that is showing great benefit - here comes mama bear, and I don't give up when it comes to the welfare of my child.

OK, rant over. And now back to your regular programming...