Life in the Slow Lane

April is Autism Awareness Month. I'd love to be able to do a post each day pertaining to Autism, but I think that might be a huge undertaking right now. However, I'll post as often as I can. Today I'm thrilled to see this picture and hear that The Empire State Building will be lit up in blue for World Autism Awareness Day this Friday. Beautiful! There will be many buildings across the world that will be lit in blue as well. With the statistics now showing that approximately 1 in 110 children will be diagnosed with Autism, it's of the utmost importance to educate our communities and help parents see symptoms and signs as early as possible!

The title sounds like something I would say, right? Wrong-o! How many of you know that teaching wasn’t my first choice career in life? Or second choice? Or even third choice? Probably only a few of you I went to college with I guess. It’s the truth, I never, ever saw myself as a teacher until the end of sophomore year of college. Just in case you really need to know, I wanted to be a physical therapist, an architect, and a computer programmer. Then teacher. Anyway, if Mama didn’t say that title sentence, by golly who did? Any guesses? Someone I never thought would even be able to form a lovely, perfect sentence no less something so powerful. Yup, my little Alex. We were just hanging around the house the other day and he blurted it out. I asked him what he just said, as my ears definitely can mistake kid garble, but sure enough he repeated it verbatim. My baby. My baby that spoke late, that hated signing, that got so frustrated when he couldn’t tell us what he wanted or needed. My ba...

I've been told many times over the years that I have a black thumb. Yes, black. Green thumb = good, black thumb = pretty bad. I can't even keep a cactus alive sadly. Oh should I water it? Did I water it a few days ago? Not really rocket science, but not really my strongest hobby choice in life to date. However, over the last few years I've tried growing herbs on the front porch. Sounds easy enough. And some have been. Some have died before they even really got going, but a few I've been able to keep going through the summer. Tomatoes last year were yummy but I think I got 4 in total, and that was way too much effort for such little result for me. But the herbs I use to cook, and am beyond proud of myself when they actually grow! This year I'm hoping to do the same, and possibly add a few new things to my crappy-gardener-but-would-really-like-to-try-again list. Basil, parsley, oregano, mint, and lemongrass are all on my short list. Let me know if you can think of a...

I love to read whenever I have a moment. I'm currently toggling between 4 books. Three are on the Kindle, one from the library. In no particular order, here's what I'm reading this week: 1. Rumi: The Book of Love Saw this in a movie a few weeks ago and forgot that I do actually enjoy reading poetry sometimes. Sometimes. 2. I am Ozzy Biography of one of the coolest guys around. 3. Glenn Beck's Arguing with Idiots I loves me some Glenn Beck whether on tv or in print, so I always try to stay on top of his current projects. I've been wanting to read this for a while and have finally started. 4. Eclipse I think this is either my third or fourth read through...I think fourth. But the movie is coming out in less than 3 months, so what better way to get ready? What are you reading?

So I'm going shopping today. Yup, shocker. But one thing I always do to prep for my shopping trip is something everyone should do. It's quick, it's easy, and it can really help you in the long run. First, I make a list of all the stores I'd like to go to. Being on mom time it's hard to squeeze in not only the regular chores, but the stores as well before getting the kids. So the list helps me ensure I can get the most out of my time. Next and most importantly I get online. I google the name of each store I plan to go to, followed by 'printable coupons' . I do use sites like wowcoupons and retailmenot, but sometimes they are just not as up to date as I'd like. By looking for each store individually, it gives me the chance to find the largest coupons. Then I proceed to print, stuff them in my bag, and off I go! Even if you don't think a store would have coupons, search anyway. Today I found a $3 off for RiteAid, a store I would never think to look ...

I have been living in the world of Autism for a little over 3 years now. I'm a walking autism-wiki, I started a local support group and website, and help tons of families that call for help and resources. Yet I still don't feel some days like I've done enough. Like I've done the most important thing. Educate the people that are not in the Autism world. Educate the ignorant. Our family's Autism bubble has gotten dramatically better over the years. Physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, behavioral specialists, TSS, psychologists, doctors. Those are the ones that you expect to help your child. But how about the others in our life? Family, friends, the librarians, the hairdressers, the bank tellers, the diner waitresses, the cashiers, the postal workers. Those people have made just as much of an impact on our life here in our small community. They have embraced my child, and helped him to succeed in everyday social settings. This is all a div...

While it's very nice to receive birthday presents, sometimes it's even better to buy everything you want yourself. Then you know you'll be very happy with the choices! I purchased everything from a previous post , and some other things. Here's a running list so far of my birthday shopping spree. More than any girl needs at one time, but hey, spring is almost here, and I have the birthday money to spend! There's one more thing I'm looking for, a specific spring jacket which seems to be out of stock everywhere. But once I aquire that I think I'll be content with my purchases....and empty pocketed. Happy Shopping!

These days a Friday evening like tonight consists of giving the kids a bath, ordering pizza, and playing some Wii with the whole family. Kids in bed by 8, Mama asleep by 9. Wild, right? I know, don't be jealous. Then I think back about 20 years at what a Friday night consisted of. Wow, I can't believe it's been 20 years! Anyway, the suburb of NY where I grew up was a large, spread out city, but each neighborhood of kids would come together every Friday night at the only place anyone wanted to be. Central Avenue. Central Ave spans a few miles through a few different towns, but the hot spot hub at that time was the 'Alexander's parking lot'. There were at least 30 different stores, a few places to eat, and 2 movie theater complexes. Since we were good kids in my clique, our routine was almost always the same. Go see a movie, then walk down to Burger King and eat, followed by the most important part of the evening....standing outside of Burger King. Yup, all you ...

If you already know my boys, you know they don't like too many foods. They'd eat the same two dinners every other night and be completely happy. But there's a snack I used to make all the time that I'm thinking of whipping up this weekend. It's super easy, and since one of them does like chinese food, and the other likes pasta, it may be a taker. I don't have a recipe, and it doesn't really have a name, but here goes: Quick and Crunchy Oriental Tortellini 1 bag of meat tortellini soy sauce (yup, that's it!) Directions: 1. Cook the tortellini according to package. Drain and put in a bowl or a tupperware. 2. Coat the tortellini with soy sauce to 'marinate'. You could also add some other flavorings if you'd like, maybe garlic, ginger, etc. Refrigerate for a few hours minimum. 3. Once they've soaked in the flavor, preheat your oven, maybe 325-350 degree. Line cookie sheet with foil and use non-stick spray. Make a single layer of the tortell...

I'm not one to care about the age number, but I always tend to think about accomplishments on my birthday. What has happened between my last birthday and now, and what's to come in the next 364 days. I won't bore you with all that, but I'm hoping the upcoming year is better than my last. I also think the older we get, the more sentimental we become on birthdays. My boys gave me a simple Happy Birthday Mom card today, and I cried. Yup, wasn't sappy or anything, but nonetheless I cried. Just the feeling of them being old enough to acknowledge my day, my older son being able to sign the card neatly, and them singing HB pushes me right over the edge. I guess it's another indicator that I'm getting older if they're getting older. My hair gets grey much quicker these days, I'm more forgetful, my eyesight is quite sucky, and I couldn't even tell you what I had for breakfast today. Should I apply for social security and go eat lunch at the senior cente...