A Beautiful Mind Update: Our First Preassessment Visit

On Tuesday, we met with one of the therapists at the clinic that we will be bringing LBB throughout his Autism Evaluation. We are blessed to have good insurance that covers a fairly decent chunk of "preassessment appointments." Since we were told it would be 2 to 4 months before we could get LBB in for his actual evaluation/diagnosis, we get to meet with different therapists between now and then to learn exactly what the Autism Spectrum is, what we can do to help him through his rough times, and they are able to get a feel for what issues he has been having.

The therapist we met with was awesome. She was kind and made what was actually pretty stressful thing not so stressful. And we walked away with some good things...after hearing all of the things that have been going on with LBB, she is going to try to get him into his evaluation sooner than 2 months. We are on the list to accept any cancellations. We are attending a workshop in August that explains the in's and out's of ASD and different ideas to help LBB. And then, she decided that she would "load him up" on consultations between now and his evaluation. (Thank goodness it is billed as a bundle price. lol.) He will be going to:

*Feeding Therapy Consultation---to help build his special diet and help us to learn how to introduce foods successfully to him and his VERY picky appetite. (Sensory issues stink. lol.)

*Visual Consultation---to help us teach him to communicate and understand using pictures because he just can't find the words to tell us what he needs, and most times he just doesn't understand when we ask him or tell him something, even if we repeat 18 gazillion times what we said.

*Occupational Therapy Consultation---to help with his daily routine and to learn coping skills to do the basic things he needs for daily life (like toothbrushing and all that stuff.)

*Speech Therapy Consultation---to help figure out WHERE he should be speech wise, work on his regression of speech, and help him to use actual words instead of words he made up for things.

She also suggested that we talk to our pediatrician about getting melatonin for his sleep issues. I need to research it a bit more, but from the people we've spoken to that have used it for their kids said it helped immensely.

Since the appointment, we switched rooms around, made the dining room his playroom (and used a perfectly sized spot behind the living room for the dining room). We once again have the Master Bedroom, and LBB now has the smaller room, which is much cozier, has a relaxing paint color on one of the walls, and is only filled with books, non-stimulant toys, his bed, and his comfy Pottery Barn chair. We have his Sit N' Spin in his room (which he uses when he is feeling overwhelmed) and a convenient "FEELINGS" poster that we are constantly talking about and referring to. Overall, just that change alone has helped him a bit...he is waking up happy at least, and that is a humongous achievement.

So that's the news. :) I better go because I hear LBB "helping" Daddy rehook the Wii up to the TV...and by helping it sounds more like things are getting tossed around where they shouldn't be. :)

9 Things I've Learned in 1 Week of Healthy Living

Dear Sweet Hubby and I have adopted a healthy lifestyle, and we've made it through the past week pretty well. We've had a few stumbles but we know that is natural, so we have kept on with our new eating and exercise routine. (Although to be completely honest, I've been doing better exercise-wise than he has. lol.) So, here's some things I've learned this week:

1. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the deal. Before this week, I'd hear that and say "What. Ever." :) But the day I skipped breakfast I shoved 6 gluten free chocolate chip cookies in my mouth before noon. Yep. Breakfast is worth it. 
2. Life without caffeine stinks...the first few days. And there will be stumbling days. I was doing great, until yesterday, when an unexpected call from Dear Sweet Hubby that he needed to be picked up because his brakes went out on the way to work set the "caffeine-monster" to work on my head. :) I wasn't even stressed, but by the time I picked Dear Sweet Hubby up, I had a caffeine-craving from heck. I got a Dr. Pepper. And paid for it. Blech. At least my body isn't in cahoots with my brain on this. :)
3. Trying new foods is essential. I thought I din't like strawberries. Then I tried one while cutting them up for LBB. And bam...I was surprised by how much I actually liked them. Maybe it's me being less picky. Maybe it's me knowing that without candy, my sweet options are pretty limited if I only eat apples. But either way, it's for the best. Fruit is GOOD. Candy is not. :) 
4. Being healthy takes time. Lots more than grabbing a Dr. Pepper and a bag of chips for breakfast. There is meal planning for every day of the week. Making breakfast and lunch when I used to skip them eats up time. And that whole "exercise" thing? I am terrible at slotting time for myself during the day...I let LBB eat up a lot of it. But, it's been rewarding to take 5 minutes before bed to sneak in a few more situps. And throughout the day, I sneak in little things to tone up while I'm doing other things.
5. When you take out the nasty food, you find great substitutions. We loved Dr. Pepper. But...the ingredients label is nothing short of scary. I can't believe I've been dumping that many chemicals into my body. However, just saying we were done with it doesn't make that soda craving go away. So, we figured out a great compromise. Natural soda! Reading the ingredients doesn't make your cringe, and goodness, it is good. We have tried two brands so far...the first one I can't remember the name of (but it was super delicious), and this brand: Boylan Soda. Oh. My. Goodness. Yum. Sure, its a bit pricey, but we decided that Friday night we would get to have an all-natural soda as a treat. So, we buy one 4 pack a payday and still spend WAY less than we did on Dr. Pepper.
6. My dad is right: Hydrate, hydrate hydrate. Water is literally my new best friend. I start feeling a headache? Water. A little worn out? Water. Hungry but craving cruddy food? Water. It's been working so well so far. 
7. Eating healthy gets a bit expensive. I totally should've started this on a payday that wasn't so tight money wise, but I'm glad we did, and I suppose that the money we spent on soda can just go to regular, good food. It evens out, mostly. :)
8. We have decided to reserve eating out for vacations only (and even then we plan on getting food at the grocery store for sandwiches and whatnot.) But here's the funny thing...Burger King's wafting aroma of delicious burgers is never more tantalizing than when you are swearing off fast food. :)
9. Once you read one ingredient label, you become obsessed with all the others. And then, you become shocked at the junk we put into our bodies without even thinking twice. Our new motto: Simple ingredients, delicious food, better life. :)

This past week, while full of challenges, had been very "freeing." We fell better (for the most part, minus this lack-of-caffeine-induced sleepiness) and feel more active. I couldn't be happier that we have decided to live healthier...I want to pass on good life habits to LBB and if he sees us shoving junk and drinking chemical water, what is he going to do as he grows up? 

What have been your "healthy-living" challenges and rewards?

Adventure

A month or so ago I wrote about how Dear Sweet Hubby and I were re-prioritizing. And we're on a pretty good start...we are selling what we don't need, donating what people don't buy, and have done a pretty good job of not buying things we DON'T need.

And I will admit...while it hasn't been the easiest to accomplish, and while we still have a looooonnnnggg way to go, simplifying and refocusing has been exhilarating.

We have so many material possessions that are, in essence, suffocating us.

We eat unhealthy, processed foods that are, in essence, killing us.

We have big goals. Attack our debt. Sell what we don't need. Eat whole and good food as we were made to.

And in the long haul, we have big goals to travel and explore the world around us, near and far. I want to teach LBB that there is so much more to life than the complex existence that society deems as necessary. I want us to explore, dream, and create. I want us to walk in other people's shoes and see how other people live.

I want to embrace our gypsy souls.

My feet yearn to walk new paths.
My heart calls out for new adventure.
My mind begs to take in new sights and learn new things.

Sometimes I think that since we are a little, middle class family that we should be satisfied with living through the daily grind. Sometimes I think that since I am a loving, stay at home mommy that I should be satisfied with going about our normal routine.

And while I love our life. And I love being at home and doing fun projects...I want there to be more. I want to do more with my two guys. I want us to explore. I want us to discover. I don't want our homeschooling to be confined to a classroom. I want LBB to see the world as his classroom.

Strangely enough, I hear Belle from Beauty and the Beast singing in my head right now: "I want much more than this provincial life, I want adventure in the great wide somewhere."

:)

I'm blessed by God to have a hubby who feels the same as me. He's just as excited to start our journey as I am. :) And while it will take lots of work, and a substantial amount of time, to get to the point where we want to be (debt free and able to adventure when, how, and where we want) we will get there. :) 

Thanks again for listening to some more "adventure ramble" from me. It's been a pretty big part of life right now...and something that I don't plan on having go away anytime soon. I want to start blogging our efforts to live life to the fullest...at first, the simplifying and downsizing of accumulated crap, sharing some world cuisine recipes that we are eager to try...and hopefully, in the near future, sharing our trips and adventures. :)

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

This post has been in my heart for a week or so now.

Well, actually, I suppose I could truthfully say for a year or so. :)

And I still go back and forth on the timing of writing this, but deep down I feel like we are beginning a new journey in our family life, so it seems right to "let it out" now. :)

The difficult thing about all this is knowing that LBB is super awesome and wonderful, but then not knowing why he was acting the way he was. A year ago, little flags started popping up that began to make us wonder. And worry. But mostly wonder...

"What is processing through our sweet boy's little noggin?"

LBB is incredibly smart. I'm not saying that to boast, I'm saying that to make sure that everyone knows exactly how proud we are of him and how cherished he is. I know I shouldn't have to say that, but part of me feels the need to "disclose" on things. I've got to get over that. He's so smart that when he dropped his flashlight and the pieces went flying all over the place, he decided that since Mommy and Daddy had written the flashlight off as broken, that he would have to fix it. And fix it he did. Our 2 year old grabbed all the pieces and reassembled his flashlight, then proudly said "I fix." His mind is super technical like that...now I totally understand why he can whip through a puzzle in seconds.

But there are things that are concerning, and while I am not going to dive into them right now (when we find out more concrete things, I will be more than happy to share so maybe we can help someone else), we finally hit a breaking point last week. I just couldn't figure out what to do anymore to help him when he was feeling a little "crazy." After a year of debating and trying to figure out if he was a normal toddler or if this was something more, we finally made an appointment. And this time, with a new pediatrician.

And this new pediatrician? A blessing in disguise. She listened. She made notes. She observed. And most importantly, she didn't make her decision based on the 20 minutes that he was sitting in her office. She took everything into consideration. We had a hunch that what we thought was a very good possibility, but we aren't professionals. So when she said:

"I am going to give you a referral. I have a pretty good feeling he will fall on the Autism Spectrum."

We weren't surprised. While LBB is verbal, he is technically behind other kids his age. And there is a whole list of other things that are flags, not to mention that she also thinks he will be diagnosed with Sensory Processing issues as well. (That one is pretty much a given...spend 1 hour with our sweet boy and you'll be convinced of it too.)

So I was so unsure of writing this...do I wait until we have a full, accurate diagnosis? There is the chance that he doesn't fall on the spectrum. There is a chance that he is the average, normal toddler. But the fact that there is a big chance that he will be on the spectrum is what pushed me to write this. Deep down, I feel like he will be...my heart has already embraced that. It feels like the piece of the puzzle we've been missing. If he isn't, well, then my gut instincts were wrong, but at least I know I cared enough to find out. And if he is, well, then, we are lucky that we noticed early, because early intervention is best. :)

The thing is, whether he is or isn't, God made him with a purpose. God created him to be just the way he is meant to be. And while that's no excuse for when he misbehaves, it does make me realize that he is very unique, and that I am very blessed to be Mommy to such a sweet, caring, creative, intelligent little boy. There is a path for him that God wants him to take...he  may not be your average kid, but that's ok. :) Life with him has taught me to appreciate things and see life differently.

He is fearfully and wonderfully made, and I praise God for that. We are very blessed. Everyday with LBB is an exciting journey. I'll keep our story updated...he will be having preassessment appointments at the clinic that we were referred to while we wait for his actual evaluation (it's a 2 to 4 month waiting list...yikes.) This is the beginning of a new journey for us. Sometimes it's overwhelming, and it is definitely full of new challenges, but I wouldn't trade any of our daily life for the world. :)