Our Journey through Autism

Paula Deen, reworked

2012-02-13T19:04:00.000-08:00

I had several end pieces from bread loaves in the freezer...so I figured it was time for some bread pudding...I came across a recipe from Paula Deen and I just reworked a few things to make it work for this GFCFSF house...if you are like me and don't drink...this just might be a good alternative for you :) It was really good!

2 cups sugar
5 large eggs, beaten
2 cups milk (I used TJ's rice milk)
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups cubed bread, allow to stale overnight

Oven 350. Greased 9x13 pan. Mix first 5 ingredients well. Add bread cubes and let sit for 10 minutes.

Topping:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)

Mix topping. Pour bread cubes with mixture into 9x13 pan. Sprinkle topping over bread cubes and bake for 35-45 minutes or until set.

Sauce:
1 cup sugar
1/2 c coconut oil, melted
1 egg beaten
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 c brandy (I think you can get away with 1/8 cup...the 1/4 cup has a strong flavor...personal preference)

Mix first 4 ingredients. Cook in a sauce pan over medium heat...constantly stirring so egg does not get lumpy, until sugar is melted. Remove from heat, add Brandy and stir thoroughly. Pour over Bread Pudding.

Enjoy :)

The Phone is Smarter than Me...but not for long

2012-02-12T18:59:00.001-08:00

So...the infamous 2 year cell contract is up and good timing meant that we got to the store in time for their Smart Phone Promotion yesterday. A Free smart phone with another 2 year contract.

Going from an old school cell phone to a smart phone has been quite a learning curve...but I'm getting used to it and I'm completely amazed at all the things this mini computer can do.

I may have to have a smart phone veteran give me a couple pointers on using it. Until then, I'll have fun playing Angry Birds :)

2012-02-12T17:31:00.000-08:00

2012-02-12T17:18:00.000-08:00

My little miss full of pure joy collecting beach rocks...no more sad face here!

Our little sand lover. 2 years ago when we had sold our townhouse and the single story house had not closed escrow yet...we were left homeless for about 6 weeks...and we got lucky and found a beach house to rent for a very reasonable amount with it being the middle of winter (although the weather was still gorgeous...just not their busy time of year)...before that beach house adventure...Levi had a love/hate relationship with the beach. He loved it but could only tolerate it for very small amounts of time...the waves were too loud and he'd cover his ears...He'd get crazy from the sand being all over him...and go nuts after too much play in the salt water...however things changed during that 6 week adventure and now he loves the beach so much...I think he'd just stay there all the time if he could.

The splinter adventure...Way to go Tough Boy!

Birthday Day 7...At the beach

2012-02-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

Mimi and Papa gave Georgia lots of hair clips for her birthday...she just loved them, and I had to get a picture of her with about 12 clips in her hair :)

Miss Georgia is such a funny girl...she was not happy to be at the beach that day at the beginning...of course by the end she was having a blast. I just had to get a picture of her sad face :)

2012-02-11T07:44:00.000-08:00

2012-02-11T07:38:00.000-08:00

Day 4,5 &6

2012-02-11T07:23:00.000-08:00

Day 4...Cousins came to town and we had a stay-cation in a nice 3 bedroom condo to use up some hotel points we had.

Day 5 & 6 we went to legoland...had Mimi and Papa over, opened presents and had cake and ice cream

Georgia at the Musuem

2012-02-11T07:02:00.001-08:00

Daddy took Georgia to the Children's Museum on their birthday...Levi isn't much of a museum kid...but thought next time we could take the train down and he would love that, plus they have a park right next door for him to play at while Georgia explores inside. We checked out the pass from the library :) She choose to wear her Astrid costume for the day.

Birthday Day 2 & 3

2012-02-10T15:29:00.001-08:00

Day 2 was their actual birthday....so we had dessert and presents...day three they got to see their friends at speech and share cupcakes...I don't have a picture of this, but Georgia of course was super excited.

Levi got this bike/video game thing...thought it would be a little more motivating to learn how to pedal with it linked to a racing game :)

Lemon Birthday Cake

2012-02-08T12:43:00.001-08:00

Georgia asked for a Lemon Cake this year....so I looked up several recipes, talked to my mom and came up with this very simple and delicious cake. I used a pamela's cake mix, because I like that brand and it always comes out well...and just added a bit to it.

I made cupcakes for friends with the lemon icing...which were good...but if you want to go with the more lemony flavor...an actual cake is better with absorbing the flavor of the icing (which we did later in the week with family).

1 pamela's classic vanilla cake mix
3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Zest from 2 lemons (I zested them first, then used the juice from the 2 lemons)
1/3 cup oil
4 eggs

Icing:
1 package T.J.'s powdered sugar (1lb)
2-4 Tbsp lemon juice (start with 2 tbsp...add additional liquid if needed to obtain icing consistency)
Zest from 2 lemons

Combine and mix all ingredients...pour in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for approx 30 min. Check with toothpick. While it is still hot, pokes holes throughout with a fork. Pour icing over the top and allow to cool completely.

This cake is very lemony and sooo delicious :)

Happy Birthday, Day 1

2012-02-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

Snow day didn't work out, with the weather being so nice...they didn't have any snow for tubing up in the mountains...so we took advantage of being up in Orange County for Levi's HBOT and went to the Discovery Center then to Wahoo's for lunch, and a trip on the Ferris Wheel afterward before heading home.

Levi loves the Ferris Wheel...and Roller coasters...well, they both do. I think by the time we hit middle school we will have graduated to Magic Mountain Kiddos :)

The good the bad and the grossness

2012-02-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

Levi was up at 5 today...not a huge deal...but it just added to the hellishness of our morning. Things were going well....we got to HBOT...start the dive, turn on the DVD player...and I read my book. 10 minutes later the player dies...mommies back-up player only lasts another 10 minutes and then we were left with an hour of Levi Screaming and Thrashing in a 7 ft steel tube. They doubled his oxygen input he was using so much of it up.

For about 3 seconds...I thought...oh well, we will just cut it short.

Then my stubbornness got the best of me and I thought...You know what...this is life, this is real life, sometimes things just don't go the way you plan and you have to make due.

So we did :) Everytime I sang...he screamed more...when I played cars, he threw it against the side....finally (and I wish someone had a camera) I got him smiling...and kinda giggling the last ten minutes blowing cherries on his hood and acting like a crazy frog that got stuck to his hood and couldn't get off. Ahhhhh....yes the things moms will to do to make their kids happy. Acting like a lunatic? Right up on top of that list.

So I'm exhausted afterward...not really in the mood to do much...just going to let the hour drive back home chill me out when I get this text:

(which for some info...cousins are here staying for the weekend...we had some hotel points that needed to be used...so we turned it into a stay-cation...and are going to legoland today and tomorrow for the kids birthdays...since Levi much prefers activites to gifts anyway)

Curtis: So the kids wanted to go to the pool this morning....Cher sent Ki and I down with them. Kids had fun, it was nice. Cher comes to take pics and she looks on the ground and says, "is that poo?" We ask all the kids if they pooed.....Georgia says "I tried not to" :( We left the pool and I cleaned up Georgia and her suit. It was Gross. She is not allowed to do any water stuff the rest of the day.

So lets just say that I spent the rest of the drive home laughing...and thinking...about Georgia's comment "I Tried Not To!" and thinking about Curtis getting to experience some mom life too :)

So now...they are all at legoland...and I'm at home with Levi who passed out in the car from an hour of screaming. And well...I'm just enjoying some quiet time until he wakes up and we join them later today for lots of fun rides.

Birthday Week

2012-01-30T19:36:00.000-08:00

Because 1 day just isn't enough :)

We have officially kicked off Birthday week...we had planned to go tubing up in the mountains...unfortunately the resorts were low on snow today and didn't have their tubing lanes open...so we went to the Santa Ana Discovery Center (since we were up in Irvine for Levi's appointment)...Then we went to Wahoo's for Lunch (one of Georgia's favorites) and rode the Ferris Wheel at the Irvine Spectrum. We hoped to take a ride in the Orange balloon...but that was closed today as well. The kids had fun...everyone took a nap when we got home.

Tomorrow is their official Birthday...Curtis is taking G to the Children's Museum tomorrow(Levi's not big with museums...so I think we will just head to the park for some good ol' playtime)...then after dinner will be cupcakes, ice cream and prezzies.

Wednesday...TBA

Thursday the cousins come into town. The line up...probably movie night Thursday

Friday & Saturday @ Legoland...then Saturday Night party with the cousins and Mimi & Papa.

WOW...that is a lot of excitement for our little...or rather big 6-year olds!

Okay...I realize I have not posted many pictures lately...because my camera died and the new one really hasn't grown on me yet. However, I'll be sure to get some pictures this week :)

If only it wasn't 60 degrees inside the house...

2012-01-29T09:20:00.000-08:00

Sitting here, waiting for the 1st of today's 5 loads of laundry to finish drying...Levi is sitting on the couch rocking and giggling...I'm cutting out food PECS...could not help but laugh at this one ;)

utterly shocked

2012-01-26T14:30:00.000-08:00

I must be old school...or ultra conservative on what Georgia and Levi watch on T.V.

I volunteer in G's class every week...and I got a chance to work with and talk to one of the more behavior challenged kiddos...Sweet, sweet child...the child started telling me about siblings and activities they like to do...then the child started telling me about movies they have seen...oh my...right up on the top of the list:

Chucky (WHAT!)...a 5 year old! To be honest...I haven't even seen that movie myself...I can't even get past the cover image of the Demented Doll...maybe it isn't all that bad...but at 5 years old?!

Rarely if ever do I let G & L watch anything more than G-rated...and all their shows are PBS...maybe they are too sheltered...but for now, I like it that way.

There was a time when I let them watch Mama Mia...because they loved the music...but when G started singing "....He's a love machine, Oh he makes me dizzy!" I knew it was time to stop :) She had no idea what she was saying...but, I don't want her to know or starting asking questions about that for a while yet.

Levi is so sensitive...for a while he couldn't even watch some episodes of Sesame Street...For several years...he watched Oswald almost exclusively...nothing bad ever happens there...except for popping too much popcorn, or too much honey on the honey buns... :)

***

As for another topic...Levi has missed a bit of school since the new year with all the appointments we've had...and I finally feel like I'm starting to get the hang of things as far as doctor appointments go. In the past, we've typically taken any open appointment...especially at Children's because sometimes they are backed up 4 months or more...But when you call early enough...you can usually pick your time. So I just scheduled both kids for Eye appts, Dental appts, and Levi's yearly appt...I just have Georgia's yearly appt left to do...all on their break from school in March. Yippee!

Working towards new adventures

2012-01-26T07:07:00.000-08:00

Our cousins introduced us to the Lowes Build and Grow Clinics back in November. We have been signing up for these ever since. Georgia LOVES to do them...and is VERY excited for this Saturday's activity....Building a Dinosaur!

It has also been a great activity for Levi...while we do most of the actual building...he is working plenty. They have it right outside the store...and it can get a little loud with all those hammers going...so we typically sit way off to the side to deaden the noise a bit...we have him sit with us...we explain what we are doing...have him try the hammer a few times...work on waiting and taking turns. It usually doesn't take long...about 15 minutes...and so it has become a good regular exercise of staying with us in public and participating in an activity which is not preferred at this point...but he does like the toys he gets to play with after :)