He is NOT Broken

As I start this post I know it will take me several posts to convey my feelings.  Not because I don't know what to say, but because I have so much to say at the same time that my thoughts are going to take a while to sort out.  This has been an exhausting experience, and it has only just started.

"We would like to have AJ evaluated for the Autism Spectrum."  With those words my world changed.  It's not to say that I didn't see it coming.  I saw the signs.  I'm his mother.  I know him better than any other person on the face of this planet.  I saw that some things were harder for him to understand than others.  I battled through the frustrated melt downs; clenched my teeth through the spasmodic (and ear-splitting) outbursts of joy; endured the constant, yet halting off-topic chatter; held his sobbing body every time one more thing in his life changed.

The signs may have been there, but there were other things that didn't fit.  He is very "touchy-feely".  He loves cuddling.  He is very social and makes friends very easily.  Plus, he is VERY smart.  While he isn't the smartest kid in class, he is one of the handful of kids who can work independently on his class work without the teacher's assistance.  He reads at grade-level when encouraged to do so, and has "savant-like" attention to detail.  These facts alone allowed me to push the suggestion of Autism, or more specifically Asperger's Syndrome, out of my mind.

Yet there I was, sitting in front of his 1st grade teacher and school principal during the Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences being told that AJ needs help.  He is disruptive in class, exhibits several nervous tics, appears socially awkward, has selective hearing, is unable to cope with disappointment, can't sit still, wanders away from groups, has trouble writing clearly, and walks with a clumsy, hesitant gait.  Having all of these things spelled out to me was a lot to handle.

Overall, I think I handled the conference fairly well.  I didn't go hysterical, or start spouting off all of the reasons I believed there was nothing wrong with my son, or get mad and ask for another opinion.  I simply asked them to spell out for me exactly what they had in mind.  I am forever grateful I did that because I believe that my reaction was a compass point on our journey.

I was told, very clearly, that AJ's school work is great, so the last thing anyone wanted was to take him out of a class that challenged him academically to place him in another situation that might not.  The first step was the evaluation process.  This could take up to three months.  As of this writing we have still not finished with all of the evaluations.  So far we have completed speech, hearing, vision, and medical evaluations.

In all of this I am mindful of one huge thing:  my son is a human being.  He is not a toy to be fixed.  He is NOT BROKEN.  There is nothing WRONG with him.  I cringe every time I hear that word now, especially when applied to a child.  Even a casual "What's wrong with you?" sets my blood to boil.  I realized that I never really used that phrase with my boys.  Even before all of this it seems I didn't care for that phrase.  My phrase of choice was a joking "What is your malfunction?"  For some reason, to me, that seems to be a more gentle way to inquire about a problem.  The word "wrong" just seems...wrong.  Like you aren't the way God intended.

AJ is a delight.  There are not many people who have met AJ who would not agree that AJ is a joy to be around.  I am pretty sure every teacher on staff at his school knows his name and loves him.  He is smart as a whip and, when he puts forth the effort, can accomplish above grade level work.  His downfall is his immaturity.  Socially he has a lot of work to do, but so what?!  There are a lot of people who are "normal" but emotionally deficient in many ways.

As we learn more about what makes him unique, I will keep you updated.  Right now his doctor is more concerned about his asthma/allergies/excema than his behavioral quirks.  In fact, he believes they might even be connected.  Until then, I will leave you with this thought.  God made us the way He wanted us to be made.  He knew the challenges we would face, and put people in our lives to help us through these challenges.  I think God put AJ in my life because He knew there was going to be something in my life that AJ could help me through.  AJ is perfect for me, and through his eyes I can now see myself as perfect him.

Apple Chips

Our family goes through phases with food.  We like a food, buy a lot of it, eat a lot of it, buy more of it, eat more of it, buy even more of it, get tired of it, and then we are left with a bunch of food we are not quite willing to eat any more.

This happened this week with apples.  My kids were tired of apples, yet we still had three apples that were going to go bad if someone didn't eat them.  Then I saw a Pintrest post that solved my issue:  Apple Chips!

So I sliced up the apples very thin, pre-heated the oven to 200°F, sprinkled them with a cinnamon-sugar mixture, and baked them for two hours.  They'll keep for a week in an air-tight container, but they won't be hanging around that long in my house.

This is definitely a healthy alternative to candy and chips, and I can make them while the boys are at school and have them ready when they get home.  WIN!

APPLE CHIPS

Ingredients:

- Apples

- Cinnamon

- Sugar

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°F.

2. Core apples if you wish.  Slice them very thin.

3. Mix equal parts cinnamon and sugar in a small dish.

4. Sprinkle apple slices with mixture.  Flip and repeat on the other side.

5. Bake for two hours or until the slices take on your preferred level of dehydration.  (I like mine slightly crispy)
*I also decided to flip the chips 90 minutes in to help them dry a bit more.

Greetings from Salem!

Wow!  Who knew that moving would take so much out of me that I would need to take an 8-month hiatus from blogging?  Well, to celebrate making it back to blogging, I have changed the look of the blog.

Our lives have been very eventful in the last eight months.  Here are a few high lights, month-by-month:

September - We arrived to fairly hot weather and were able to get some awesome family time in before Todd started his job and AJ started his new school.  Gordon and Scott (the FIL and BIL) helped us move and stayed one extra day.  The day they left my parents arrived to visit.  Two days after they left Chad and Jamie (BIL and SIL) arrived to visit.  What a wonderful time!

October - Todd started work, AJ started school, Gordy and I decided to "get lost" a lot in order to find our way around town without depending on GPS.  It only took us two weeks to stop using it.  Halloween was fun (the boys were Mario and Luigi) and we were able to sneak a trip down to Eureka to celebrate Ti Aula's birthday.

November - More adventures around town.  The leaves turned, so we were able to have some fun in the leaves.  Rain toward the end of the month provided Todd with his first challenge as a carrier: delivering mail in a flood.  Was able to host Thanksgiving with most of Todd's family (missed MIL).

December - Busiest month of the year!  I decided to bake goodies for Todd's co-workers 2-3 times a week, and apparently they liked them.  My parents surprised me by visiting the weekend before my birthday.  I cried like a baby (we are talking huge sobs) when I opened the door and saw them standing there.  The in-laws were here for Christmas and then a week later we traveled to Eureka to celebrate with my family.

January - The New Year was rung in while visiting family in Eureka.  After returning home the rest of the month was spent settling in to a routine and enjoying life.  Mommy and Gordy spent a lot of time at the YMCA and the biggest excitement of the month was the "new" bunk bed Daddy found while at work for $25.

February - Being a short month, it flew by very fast.  Uncle Scott and Mike and Justin all sneaked in visits at the beginning of the month, and the boys got to spend a bit of time at the Discovery Village.

March - This month was packed VERY full.  Between a quick trip to California for my niece's birthday, Easter, another visit from Mike and Justin, and AJ being invited to TWO birthday parties we were busy every weekend.

April - Finally, last month opened with a BANG!  AJ turned 6 and my parents surprised him with a special visit.  We celebrated all weekend by doing some of his favorite things and ended it with a party at his favorite pizza restaurant.  The rest of the month zoomed by.  As the temperatures started to rise we spent more time out of doors.  It culminated with a visit from our cousins, a trip to the Ag Fair, and a case of pneumonia for AJ.  Not the ending we would have chosen, but he is doing much better now.

Jumping Jacks and Your Workout

A few weeks ago a friend of mine pinned a picture to her Pinterest board (is anyone seeing a pattern to my go to place for inspiration lately?) about Jumping Jacks.  The picture stated the following:

So Here Are Some Facts:
1. There are 3500 calories in one pound
2. Every two jumping jacks = one calorie burnt
3. 7000 jumping jacks = one pound GONE!
4. 10 sets of 100 jumping jacks a day for one week will burn one pound


So on top of your current diet and exercise regime can you add 10 sets of jumping jacks?
Lets try this, because a pound lighter is a pound lighter.


Here is the "skinny" about the science behind this.  This formula doesn't work for everybody.  In fact, I'm not sure who it works for.  The number of calories burned during exercise are not determined by the number of reps you do.  It is determined by several things working together: intensity of activity and the duration of that activity; as well as the individual's weight, age, and metabolism.

For example, my husband - who is 6'2", 190 lbs, and 28 years old - and I (5'8", 240 lbs, and 31 years old) both do jumping jacks (high intensity workout) for 5 minutes straight.  On paper I would burn more calories because I weigh more than he does, but his metabolism is crazy.  He burns calories by breathing, I swear it.  That would give him an edge.

Now, I am not knocking the general idea behind this.  It is pretty reasonable to assume that doing 10 sets of 100 jumping jacks randomly throughout the day would keep your metabolism pumping all day long.  Your calorie burn would increase and you would probably lose more body fat - not weight, by the way.  In doing jumping jacks you are heavily working muscles which will replace the body fat.

My suggestion is to talk to a certified athletic trainer before changing up (or starting) your workout routine.  They can give you tips that can improve your results and keep you from hurting yourself.

For the record, I did add jumping jacks to my daily routine.  My doctor informed me that doing 25-50 jumping jacks at a time will help me jump start my return to the world of exercise.

Here are some Jumping Jacks Facts from a really great fitness website: Livestrong.com

Staying Healthy and Drinking Lemon Water

Well, we are all healthy here...finally!  It was a very long December.  While I got some baking in, my kitchen was a mess 99% of the time and I couldn't bring myself to take any pictures in it.  Besides most of my baking ended up being done over at my mother's house while my sons, nephews, and nieces all played and caused chaos.  Seriously, who is going to remember to be a dedicated food photographer in moments like that.  Most of the time my camera was firmly pointed at the six kids running rough-shod in the living room, not the kitchen (although they did end up in there a couple of times).  It was the first time all six kids - ages 10, 7, 4, 3, 2, and 9 months - were all under one roof.  Needless to say my mother was in heaven.

Now that the holiday chaos is behind us and the Christmas decorations have been put away - or in my case put in a corner waiting for my husband to transfer them into the garage - we can turn our focus on being healthy, and staying that way.

Yesterday I had my very first ever physical.  Yes, I know.  I am 31 years old and have never had a physical.  My doctor already informed me of the health risks of putting off preventative health care.  It was, of course, my "wonderful" gall bladder surgery experience that convinced me to start taking a more proactive approach to my own health.  I am sure my next venture will be to the dentist - it's been 6 years since my last visit there!

Anyway, as my doctor showed me all of my lab results I was amazed by my good fortune at being so healthy.  All of my lab results came back well within the normal levels.  I still need to lose weight, but I have not yet done irreparable damage to my body.  From here on out I only need to worry about staying healthy, or maybe getting healthier.

One of the recent changes I made to our family routine can definitely help to improve our overall health.  I discovered these tips about drinking lemon water every morning through Pinterest.  Honestly, as a non-coffee/non-tea drinker, I was more bemused than intrigued.  I had been using hot lemon water as a cold remedy and vocal therapy since high school, so I knew some of the benefits, but I really had no idea about most of them.

Here is a quick run through of the better known benefits:

1. Boosts your immune system: Lemons are high in vitamin C, which is great for fighting colds.  They’re high in potassium, which stimulates brain and nerve function. Potassium also helps control blood pressure.

2. Balances pH: Drink lemon water everyday and you’ll reduce your body’s overall acidity. Lemon is one of the most alkaline foods around. Yes, lemon has citric acid but it does not create acidity in the body once metabolized.

3. Helps with weight loss:   Lemons are high in pectin fiber, which helps fight hunger cravings. It also has been shown that people who maintain a more alkaline diet (see #2) lose weight faster.

4. Aids digestion:  Lemon juice helps flush out unwanted materials. It encourages the liver to produce bile which is an acid that required for digestion. Efficient digestion reduces heartburn and constipation.

5. Is a diuretic: Lemons increase the rate of urination in the body, which helps purify it. Toxins are, therefore, released at a faster rate which helps keep your urinary tract healthy.

6. Clears skin:  The vitamin C component helps decrease wrinkles and blemishes. Lemon water purges toxins from the blood which helps keep skin clear as well. It can actually be applied directly to scars to help reduce their appearance.

7. Freshens breath: Not only this, but it can help relieve tooth pain and gingivitis. The citric acid can erode tooth enamel, so you should monitor this.

8. Relieves respiratory problems: Warm lemon water helps get rid of chest infections and halt those pesky coughs. It’s thought to be helpful to people with asthma and allergies too.

9. Keeps you zen: Vitamin C is one of the first things depleted when you subject your mind and body to stress. As mentioned previously, lemons are chock full of vitamin C.

10. Helps kick the coffee habit:  It is said that after a cup of hot lemon water in the morning the cravings for coffee are greatly reduced.

So after reading this blog I decided to give it a try.  All of us needed to drink more water anyway, so why not add something new by way of an incentive?  I had just picked up a couple of water pitchers from Cash & Carry - a long story involving 12 broken glasses in five years and a new desire to start using plastic drinkware - and realized that they would be perfect for storing the lemon water.

I simply fill the pitcher with water, slice up a lemon, add it to the water, and store it in the refrigerator.  In the first day of our experiment I refilled the pitcher eight times.  I ended up drinking 12 cups of water that day.  My husband drank at least six cups of water, and each of my boys had their water bottles refilled twice.  It was a definite improvement in the amount of water we were all drinking.  I have also noticed that my energy level is up and my attitude is improved.  These are all things affected by dehydration.

As a funny side note, my husband informed me this morning that he finds tap water disgusting now after drinking the lemon water for almost a week.

Now, there are some other benefits to making lemon water every morning.  Lemons are inexpensive.  I get mine from Safeway at about $0.40 each (Winco sells them for $0.28).  If I know that I am going to be needing lemon zest for anything that day, I zest the lemon before cutting it up and throwing it in the water.

The next morning, I put the old lemon slices aside while I am slicing up the new lemon for the water.  Then I juice the slices into a small cup and store it in the refrigerator.  Fresh lemon juice for cooking!