My Dad

My life was going pretty good....I received news that my children and I were approved for a new house from Habitat For Humanity!!! I was so excited. Everything with school was going good. I was finally getting a new routine down so that I can juggle classes, work and home responsibilities. Then on Friday, September 19, 2008, my kids and I had just gotten home from work/school. I was in the processes of cleaning up the mess the kids made of their dinners when I looked out of the front door and saw my dad's truck sitting out in the driveway. My kids were excited to see him. I opened the front door as he was getting out of his truck and let Kylia greet him on the sidewalk. He picked her up and brought her in the house. That's when Calen came running to him with his arms up and a big grin. My dad went to sit on the couch and my kids just climbed all over him. They are crazy about Big Daddy. I could tell something wasn't right. He didn't talk much except to the kids. I was telling him about things that had been going on lately, and he didn't seem to really pay attention or be excited. I just figured that maybe he and his girlfriend were having a problem. I didn't want to be nosey so I didn't ask what was wrong. Then he said, "Kisha I've got something I need to tell you".


My first thought was it was going to be news about my Big Mama. She's been sick lately. But it wasn't her. The news was about himself. He leaned back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. Then he looked over at me. His eyes were red. He told me that he is going to have to go to Birmingham and have one of his kidneys removed. I asked why? I thought it was due to his diabetes. He said it's cancer. A mass was found on his kidney and they want to remove the entire organ.

The devil is working so hard to knock me down and he has pushed a button. My dad and I are very close. Everything I know and all that I am is because of him. God blessed me with an awesome dad, and I can't picture life without him. I feel like a little kid. My heart is broken, but at the same time, something tells me that my dad will be just fine.

On a great note, on the same date mentioned above, my baby sis had her baby that night. My
dad, bro-in-law, baby sis and I all made a bet what we thought the sex of the baby was. My dad got it right...I'm the proud aunt of a new baby niece named Avery Grace Jones. 7lbs 7oz. She had to be sent to Huntsville Hospital due to breathing abnormalities, but nothing to be alarmed about. My baby sis doesn't know about my dad yet. We're waiting on Grace to come home and for Meka to get better before we tell her.

After my dad told me the news, he got ready to leave. The moment was awkward. I stayed strong for him. I didn't cry. I talked to him and assured him that he will be taken care of and I will be right there. As he walked down the sidewalk to his truck I just stood in the doorway with the kids and we watched him. I started imagining life without him. Then all of a sudden a flood of childhood memories came rushing back of moments with my dad. They were all moments that he taught me something. It took 34 years for me to realize that the superman in my life is simply human. He walked down the sidewalk with a little bit of a limp and he was leaning just a little. I could tell he was in pain. Then I thought of taking the easy road and letting myself be mad at God for letting this befall such a wonderful man. But I didn't do that. I continue with praise. I watched him get in his truck and drive away with my daughter in my arms. She was waving at him. He waved back and disappeared past the building next door. Then I broke down...

I still give God all the praise and thanks. He has brought me through many things and He will bless my dad and my entire family with the strength we need to make it through to the other side of this storm.

I love my daddy. He's my best friend.

Good News

On Saturday, September 13, 2008 my son screamed "MAMA"........when he did I answered "What!?". I could have fallen over.....he didn't answer. He was just yelling it.

The trip to Birmingham was pretty good. The doc said for me to get down to his level. Get on the floor and play with him letting him lead in the activities. Copy things that he does. Whatever he plays with, I play with it too. What ever faces and sounds he makes, I make them too. That lets him know that it's more fun to interact than to play alone. I can tell a huge difference in doing the therapy. He is so much more sociable at home and school. Kylia and I would sit at the foot of the bed and watch TV together at bedtime. We sang songs and she would ask me "What's that?" about 1,000 times. I would try to get Calen to join us but he never would. Then after my first day of doing the play therapy with him (all day) he actually crawled down to the foot of the bed and joined us!!! I cried...
Along with this play therapy, I have increased his oral B-12 from one drop to 0.25mL (I think it says mL) since reading that B-12 doesn't have a toxicity level. I also got Dr. Huffman-Parker to write out a prescription for occupational therapy which he now receives through the school system. With all these changes came some new changes in Calen...

His eye contact has increased tremendously. He turns to face me when his name is called. He sometimes follows my finger when I point at something. He picks up on songs very quickly. His teacher and I figured out that he learns through song. She sang a color song to him that she made up. She sings about different colors. She said that when she asked him to point at the red bear, he pointed at the correct color about 40% of the time.....the whole time they were singing and humming. He hums everything. I was blown away. His social interaction has greatly increased. I've taught him how to hug...now I get some of the sweetest little hugs from my baby....I can't type anymore...tears are streaming
PRAISE GOD..........PRAISE GOD

Updates

I haven't been able to write in a long time. I've been very busy with work, school, kids...you name it.

Calen's doing good in school. I'm not feeling satisfied right now for some reason. I don't know what my problem is. I'm still pushing for ABA therapy. Lisa Highfield will be out of her office for the next few weeks due to surgery. Her replacement called this morning and I spoke with her about the ABA therapy. I wanted to know if Mrs. Highfield spoke with Brandy from Behavioral Intervention Services in Huntsville and if so, what was said. If she decided not to get someone in for this, then I want her to tell me why. My next step is finding an advocate and approaching the school board. After that (as long as this doesn't take too long) I will try to get him into Handy Headstart in Florence until I can have an IEP meeting with one of the schools in Huntsville or Madison and get my child to the ABA center through the system there.

Calen made 2 attempts to talk. He tried to say "mama" by saying "mmmmaaaaa" and when I gave him his shoes to put on, he said "shhhh". He was trying to say shoe. He picks up on the songs quickly at school. He hums them all the time. The teacher said she was working with him on colors. She said he would pick the correct color about 40% of the time when asked. I was blown away!!!!! The funny thing is that he was picking up on it while she was SINGING IT TO HIM!!!! She's going to work with me on her teaching techniques so I can work with him at home. I've also got Dr. Huffman-Parker to write a prescription for Occupational therapy so he can receive it through the school. It was faxed this morning.

He started the nystatin a couple of weeks ago. He just finished going through the "die-off" process. It was hell on him. He had diarrhea from Thursday to Sunday. He vomited twice, and refused to eat. I came close to taking him to the hospital when he vomited in the middle of the night, but he went right back to sleep. I decided to wait for morning and if he didn't improve, I was calling Dr. Kalb and taking him to the hospital. He was a little better the next morning. I made him some gf/cf banana bread muffins. After he ate a couple of those, he perked up and began to play. After that, he slowly regained his appetite and his poop was better. He was having very watery bowel movements every 15 minutes! Thank God, he is all better. I would not let up off the medicine though. We just kept going. Praise God.

Kylia will be 2 years old next Monday (Sept. 8). I can't believe my baby is going to be 2! It seems like yesterday I was getting ready to have her. Her birth was a scheduled C-section. I remember I came to ECM and waited in the Radiology waiting area. I was reading the Times Daily about a body being found in a corn field when they called me back for my amniocentesis. I was looking at some videos I took of the kids a year ago. Time flies!!! With tears streaming I watched those videos and was amazed at how much they have grown and changed. Now, she is mommy's helper. She brings me diapers when she wants to be changed. She's always saying "cookie?" and asking "What's that?". Every 2 minutes, I'm hearing "MOMMY!!". I sometimes feel like I'm going to go crazy, but I can't help but love it. That is such a sweet sound hearing my child call me mommy. One day, Calen passed gas. It was pretty loud. Kylia looked at me with a look of disgust and yelled "EWWWWW.....it stinks!" I thought I would die laughing!! LOL Anyway, I ordered Kylia's birthday cake mix from allergyfoods.com so that Calen can eat, too. It's a chocolate cake. I don't know what I'm going to do about frosting just yet. I know some can be made from powdered sugar. I will find out something. Her party will be small. I have so much on me that any little extra thing is pretty much a hassle. I'm thinking chips and apple juice and chocolate cake for the menu. I can't invite too many since I can't afford much. It will be nice to have family over though. I don't have enough chairs for people to sit. I don't really have anywhere for the kids to sit either.

As for the lining up of the remotes I mentioned earlier, I haven't seen him do that anymore. I informed his teacher, as well as Dr. Griffith. Our appointment with Dr. Griffith is this Friday. I will try to blog more often, if I can.

School for me is going great. I'm so excited! I've had a few stumbling blocks. For example, my English book is out of stock, so I'm missing deadlines left and right for my class. I informed my teacher so she knows what's going on. My math class has tests that must be proctored, so I will contact Mr. Thompson from NWSCC and see if he can help me out.

Improving Social Interaction

This is Calen's first full week of preschool and I have to say I am pretty pleased. Calen's teacher takes her time to fill out a sheet about Calen's behavior during each activity of the day. I know exactly what type of day he had and what he did. She even brought a digital camera and took photos of Calen during one of his attempts at social interaction with one his friends named Ava. She really is a sweet, kind, gentle person....she is perfect for working with little kids. I'm glad to have her as my son's teacher. As for his social interaction, his teacher told me that while on the swings, he was swinging next to a little girl in his class. She would look over at him and laugh...and he did the same thing!!!! He would look over at her and just giggle!!!! His eye contact has improved a great deal. He also turns to look at you when you call his name! I'm so excited and proud of the progress my baby is making. I've also received a report saying that the temper tantrums have decreased dramatically. At first, he would have a meltdown when it was time to change activities such as coming in from the playground. They would have to pick him up and carry him inside the school building. Now, he walks with the class back inside when playground time is over. As for lining things up, I haven't seen him do that anymore. I've been watching closely. Calen's teacher (Mrs. Herrmann) told me that they don't strap him in the chair for circle time anymore. One of the para-professionals sit with him and helps him to stay focused on the activities. She says that sometimes he is just too full of energy and wants to get up and kinda roam around never leaving the circle (an improvement because before he would leave the circle and go off and play by himself) and so they have to put him in his favorite chair, but that isn't too often. He's even started humming one of the songs they sing about colors. It's a song I've never heard, but Calen picked it right up and started humming it. GOD IS WORKING ON MY BABY!!! I TOLD YOU THIS WON'T CRIPPLE MY SON....I CLAIM VICTORY FOR CALEN AND GIVE GOD THE PRAISE FOR IT!!!!!!

A New Behavior

On Wednesday evening, I noticed Calen concentrating on the TV remotes. At first he was banging them together which not out of the ordinary. Then, I noticed he would lay them down end-to-end. Then he would bend over and then squat as if he was checking something. Then he would stand back up and adjust the remotes......HE WAS LINING THEM UP. My heart was broken. This was something that he had never done before. He was working so hard trying to line them up perfectly. I sat there and watched him with tears streaming. Today, I called Dr. Elizabeth Griffith. She is the psychologist from the UAB Sparks Clinic in Birmingham that diagnosed Calen this year with autism. She asked if he had lost any of his skills, and the answer was no. She asked if there were any other new behaviors and I told her yes...he's biting himself and showing strong preference for tight, closed-in places. She said these behaviors usually manifest themselves around 3 and 4 years of age. It's just the course of the autism. She told me to watch him carefully to make sure he doesn't lose any skills. Losing skills is something to be afraid of. She asked about how things were going here, and I told her the lackluster help we've been getting. She made an appointment for September 5th at 10am for us to come to Sparks Clinics. She wants to see Calen and work with me on some things we can do at home to keep him engaged so he won't resort to those repetitive behaviors.

I went to pick Calen up today from his preschool. I talked with the teacher this morning while dropping him off about his vision. Calen is near-sighted and has astigmatism in both eyes. During circle time, he was strapped into his favorite chair and biting his fingers. His chair was OUTSIDE the circle. I talked to her about this and informed her of his vision problems. I stated that he would probably be more apt to pay attention if he could see and actually be IN the circle instead of outside it. When I picked him up this afternoon, he was in his favorite chair INSIDE the circle. That was all I asked....include Calen, too. Then there was another problem....he was in a great spot inside the circle, but he was allowed to play with a couple of strings of beads. He was now given something to distract him while the other children were singing and participating with the circle time activities! That defeated the whole purpose of my request!

Calen's First Day

Calen enjoyed his half-day of preschool on Aug. 11. He had a few tantrums when switching from one activity to the next. He also became upset at leaving because he had to put away toys. He found a string of purple beads that he kept running along the train tracks and making them go through the tunnel. He pitched a bit of a fit when having to put them away. I can see a little regression in his actions since May, but all I can say is I did the best I could to help him over the summer. If my application for a home from Habitat for Humanity is turned down, I will resume my quest to leave this area. I blame the lack of services for his regression. I feel that maybe if he had the proper help during the summer, he wouldn't be going through this. I don't know. I just want to make sure I'm doing my part as his mom before I go blaming someone else. I'm so sick of feeling powerless.

I bought some gluten-free muffin mix from Valley health food. I didn't have any dried fruit to put in it so I used McCormick's sugar cinnamon. It tasted pretty good! Calen loves them. It made about 22 muffins. Well...I didn't try to make muffins. They're more like cupcakes. I let the kids have a few while fresh from the oven. That bought the number down to 16. Now, I have the rest for reserve just for him so he can have 2 per day at school. I also purchased gluten-free baking mix. I plan to make him some banana bread using the recipe on the back of the box. I finally have the non-aluminum baking powder, so we're ready to roll. I just have to get some bananas. I know he misses the texture of breads.


I finally received an e-mail from Dr. Kalb, and a phone call from the Wellness Pharmacy in B-ham about Calen's Nyastatin. It's on its way. I've also contacted my children's dad, who is trying to get another job to send me money every pay period so I won't have to call and "ask" for it.

I've also got great news on other things going on. I applied for a home through Habitat for Humanity. They sent a nice couple out to take a look at my apartment. They also made a list of everything I reported wrong with the place. They said they would write up the report and turn it in. I'm not sure when to expect word. I'm pretty excited about the thought of paying a house payment instead of rent. How great it would be to be able to give something to my children...a place to grow up in and call "HOME". It will be hard on me to leave the apartment we're in now. I'm such a sentimental fool, but that was the place I bought my babies to when they were born. First steps, first words...first everything took place in our apartment. It will be so hard to let it go, but so wonderful at the same time. New memories will be made in our new house!!! I will have to work a total of 4oo "sweat equity" hours. 200 of those hours can be worked by friends/family. The other 2oo has to be worked by myself. Since I am a single person, 100 of my hours can be worked by another person I pick. I can work a few hours on a construction site helping to build other homes for families, and I can work in their thrift store. I don't feel comfortable asking other people to help work these hours, so I'm bracing myself to have to do all 400 alone. I will ask others to help, but I'm not doing it with expectations. Others have jobs and responsibilities and children just like I do. I can rely on myself if I have to. I just want to make sure someone is available to keep my kids while I work these hours.

I'm ready to start my classes with UA! At first, it wasn't looking too good. All the classes were closed! My sis, who attended UA before, told me to speak with the teachers and ask them to let me in. My advisor told me to take History, Math and English classes. I managed to snag the English class, but the rest were closed. I sent an e-mail to the History and Math teachers. The Math teacher, Mr. Zhijian Wu, told me "no problem" and let me in right away. I'm now signed up for MTH110 (Finite Mathematics). Will be in touch with Mr. T on that one! The other teacher, Mr. Jonathon Hooks, is "hesitant" about expanding his American Civilization Since 1865 class. He asked me to find other classes and if I can't, he would consider letting me in his class. I kept digging and found a class that sounded interesting...Principles of Human Geography with Jeffrey Richetto. I signed up for it. Now, it doesn't matter if I hear from Mr. Hooks. I will have 9 hours and I won't lose my financial aid. If I get good news from Mr. Hooks, I may drop the Human Geo. class since I don't think it would count toward my degree. I prefer to take the History class. My advisor told me that I had 60 hours transferred over from NWSCC. All I have left for my Bachelor's is 60 hours....I hope I didn't misunderstand because I'm in shock with that bit of news.

Parent Meeting

Yesterday was the parent orientation at Howell-Graves from 6pm to 8pm. My children and I were the 1st to arrive. I really didn't want to bring them, but I thought I'd like to see how Calen would react to this new classroom. Mrs. Herrmann told me the building was between the elementary school and the BOE building. I passed by it several times because I thought it was a storage building. I cannot believe that these kids will have class in this tiny storage shed of a building. Not to mention the lack of security...anyone could walk in. I HATE the new classroom. I plan to speak to Mrs. Highfield to see why these children are in this storage house and what are their plans for next year concerning a classroom. It's almost as is their "contagious" or something. I know there's a logical explanation for it, and boy would I like to hear it. Now, I wish it was still at Highland Park. I'm going to miss the walks Calen and I would take hand in hand down the long hallway to go get his breakfast. I would watch him as he walked down the hall taking in everything and everyone we passed. He was so cute as he looked at everything. Every now and then, he would look up at me. I could cry just thinking about it. Now the food will be brought to the children on a stupid cart.

Anyway, I couldn't stay for the meeting. It was a disaster having my kids there. Kylia pooped on herself and I came without diapers or wipes. Calen was overly tired and was misbehaving terribly. Then, the teacher passed out folder filled with paperwork for us to fill out and told us that we can fill it out anytime and get it back to her. I took it as though the meeting was about to begin but NOOOOO...she just stands there while the other parents fill out the paperwork right then. I'm growing more and more impatient thinking "She just said to get it back to her when we can. Why isn't she starting the meeting?" I asked her what she was going to cover because I had questions and I also wanted to know what the other parents had to say about things. Of course, I can't stay. My kids disrupted everything. I was beyond angry at my babies. I put them in the car and just drove around to calm myself down. I was tired, hungry and wanting to attend that meeting. Calen was the one that had me the most upset. He really showed out. His first half-day is on the 11th. I plan to turn in the paperwork and talk to her one on one (hopefully...if she has time). I may just have to try to catch her at home. I am very frustrated at the moment.

Accepted

I finally received word.....

I was accepted by the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa!!

Medications

First, to Mr. T....I stand corrected. The quote I received over the phone about the fish oil and the actual price when I showed up at the store to buy it was different. It was something like $23 where it is $20 online. Thanks for the info!!!

Also, I wanted to correct the mention I had made about the website I use to buy Calen's medicines. It IS NOT kirkmanslabs.com. It is spectrumsupplements.com
The site is simple and great to use. I would encourage anyone to check it out. My favorite part is the detailed description of the products. I ordered the meds Calen has ran out of this morning. I was told by the DAN! doc to buy the Kirkman's Super Nu-Thera liquid multi-vitamins online. The price is outrageous....$50!! I compared the online brand to the brand I have for him at home and there is NO DIFFERENCE. I buy Love Bites for $16 at Valley Health Foods. They are gf/cf. Nothing in them is artificial, and my son loves them. So I won't switch. All the other meds will have to come from online purchases for now. I plan to compare meds and prices with more local health food stores. Valley Health Foods has officially been crossed off the list. Here is a list of Calen's meds:

Nordic Natural's Omega 3-6-9 lemon - for kids
(fish oil/fatty acids)

Peptizyde 90 ct with Rice Bran filler
(digestive enzymes that help in breaking down proteins)

B12 oral drops

B6 oral

Zinc

Bio-Max Buffered Magnesium Glycinate
(Glycinate is easier on the digestive system)

this taken from spectrumsupplements.com
Some individuals find some forms of magnesium difficult on the digestive system and as a result, difficult to absorb.
The use and effectiveness of magnesium supplementation is well documented. Magnesium is an essential mineral that is involved in many body functions as well as being a constituent of bones and teeth. It is essential for element of cellular metabolism and is an enzyme activator. Other body actions include: Magnesium relaxes nerve impulses and muscle contractions, Magnesium promotes relaxation and in the process may aid in restful sleep. Signs and symptoms of magnesium inadequacy can include fatigue, mental confusion, heart disturbances, irritability, weakness, muscle spasms, loss of appetite, insomnia or a feeling of weakness. The Physician's Desk Reference for Nutritional Supplements states that some recent data of inpatient and outpatient populations, suggest that magnesium deficits may exist in from 12% to 40% of individuals.

Lactobaccilus Acidophiles (Calen's doc wants him to have more strains, so when this bottle is used up, I will order a different kind. I will talk further with him and post what we discuss.)

from the spectrumsupplements.com website
This species is recognized as one of the primary friendly lactic acid bacteria residing in a healthy gastrointestinal tract. Research over the past decade has shown that L. acidophiles possesses a number of important health benefits including:· Ability to adhere to the GI mucosa and colonize the intestinal tract· Supports the body's natural defenses (immunity) · Helps control diarrhea, or constipation · Helps alleviate occasional diarrhea or constipation

This last medicine mentioned was actually the cheapest at $13 per bottle for 120 count. The cost of all these meds is really adding up! My children's dad will be sending me some money. He said if he can't do it today, then I will definitely have it Thursday. We'll see.

Social Interaction Improvement!!!

Yesterday, August 3, 2008, my son did something I have NEVER seen him do before. My friend from work, Alicia, brought over a play kitchen for Kylia. Her daughter is too big for it now. She brought her daughter, Julianna, along with her. Calen actually walks up to this little girl with a huge smile on his face and gives her a really small hug. He stood there smiling in her face for about 30 seconds or so, then he walks away to play in his usual fashion...pretty much by himself. It was a major step for him and I am a very proud mom right now!!! God is moving for my baby. I give Him all the praise...

I can't remember how much I paid for the fish oil online. It was Omega 3-6-9 Junior for kids (lemon flavored). I think I paid somewhere around the $20 range. That's not including any type of shipping charges. Valley Health Food carries it for $17. I hope it comes in some sort of flavor. I have to puncture the soft gel tablet and squeeze it in Calen's juice. That would be gross if he had to drink unflavored fish oil. I'm still trying to get everything together because he has ran out of meds except for the new ones he's started. I order all the meds from kirkmanlabs.com I'm waiting to see what the deal will be with the Nyastatin.

I received a pre-registration pkg from Muscle Shoals schools. It had totally different dates from what Miss Herman told me about. I contacted her this morning and it turns out that the parents of the pre-k students weren't supposed to get those packages. I was the first parent she's heard from. She said she may have to get on the phone and contact the other parents because that will cause confusion. She said we have already completed paperwork and there was nothing for us to do but come to the parent-teacher meeting on the 7th. I was glad she called because I was so nervous. I don't want to mess up things for Calen's education.

Speaking of education...I still haven't heard from UA as to whether or not I am accepted.

In memory of my grandfather Mr. Robert Armstead, Jr

(known to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren as "Big Daddy" and is the reason Calen's middle name is Robert)
Happy Birthday, Big Daddy!! Life isn't the same without you. I miss being able to come to you for advice. I wish my children could have met you. I love you.

Our Trip To Franklin, TN

Calen's appointment with Dr. Kalb was yesterday. We were 15 min. late due to some bad weather we ran into. It was a short visit. I don't know how dr.'s visits work behind the scenes but it bothers me when I have to repeat EVERYTHING. It was as if he had forgotten what he had told me or vice versa. I was talking and at the same time thinking "did he bother to take notes from the last visit?" Anyway, Calen was put on zinc and B-6 along with Nyastatin for yeast overgrowth in the intestines. I asked if giving Calen this medicine would harm him if he didn't need it. He didn't give me a yes or no answer. He said that Calen exhibits all the signs of yeast overgrowth. I asked about testing Calen for it, and he said that a urine and stool sample would be needed. When I asked about the cost, he said the kit and the actual testing would cost somewhere around $500. Since the doc said that Calen exhibits the symptoms of yeast overgrowth, I said okay to the Nyastatin. He also stated that when Calen first starts this medicine, he will experience yeast "die-off" which will be uncomfortable for him. Doc said when this happens, keep giving him the medicine because it will eventually level off and Calen will not experience any discomfort anymore. It is temporary. I don't honestly feel comfortable giving my son something due to a "guess". I plan on calling Dr. Crenshaw from Infants' and Children's Clinic to see if I can set up an appointment and talk to her about my yeast overgrowth concerns and see if I can get him tested through her. That way Medicaid will cover the test, and I will KNOW whether Calen needs this medicine or not. I'm not at all comfortable with guesses. I also understand what the doc is saying though. Calen is an excellent candidate for yeast overgrowth due to his positive response to the gf/cf diet and his positive response to the meds. Usually when a child responds positively to the diet changes, that is a good indication that there is yeast overgrowth. I plan on doing more research on this matter. I also plan on hitting my children's dad up for some money. I'm just glad that it's all done for right now. We have to be back in 2 months. I just made an appointment for October 1st at 2:00 pm. I also talked with the ladies at Valley Health Foods in Muscle Shoals. They will start carrying some fish oil for children so that I can get it locally for Calen. They are doing their best to work with me. They are nice. I plan on buying Calen's meds there rather than ordering them online. I've used kirkmans labs online last time. All together with shipping he cost was about $80. That can almost be cut in half locally. As for now, I'm endorsing Valley Health Foods....that is, until they give me a reason not to.

On the way there I had to stop in for my favorite Starbucks treat...sugar-free cinnamon dolchi frappuccino. Calen got large fries and a Coke from McDonald's. On the way home we ran into another terrible storm that forced us to pull over in Athens. We waited for about 15 min. and was finally able to get started home again. My baby sis, Meka, picked up Kylia from daycare so that she and Reese (her son) can play together. Meka fixed me and Calen a plate of food for when we arrived to pick up Kylia. She's the sweetest sister ever. We sat around for a little while and chatted. David, my bro-in-law, showed me his new surround-sound system he bought. That thing is super nice! It sounds great! After that I had to head home and put them to bed. I was exhausted. My sinuses are completely stopped up with lots of painful pressure and I have a terribly painful stiff neck. My sis thinks I have the flu, but I don't think so. I took some medicine and came on into work. I'm about to take another dose right now. I look forward to the weekend. I'm in so much pain right now.

Calen's New Teacher

I heard from Calen's new preschool teacher. Her name is Jennifer Herman. She called me Monday and I missed the call. I returned her call, but I was only able to leave a voicemail. I expressed the fact that I wanted to discuss her ABA training, Calen's diet, and incorporating potty training into Calen's IEP. Calen's first day will be a half-day on August 11th from 8am to 12pm. Then he will have 2 more half-days on the 14th and 15th. His first full day will be August 18th from 8am to 2pm. I can't wait. They've moved the preschool from Highland Park to the building between the Howell-Graves and the BOE building. I haven't had a chance to ride through there yet, but I will find it. There will also be a parent night on August 7 from 6pm to 8pm. I have to find someone to keep my children, but I will be there regardless.

Calen's appointment with his DAN! doc is tomorrow at 2pm. I requested gas vouchers from Medicaid for my trips to Franklin. My first request was denied with a statement saying that the trip wasn't approved prior to the request for the voucher. I was instructed to call Mrs. Foster from the Medicaid office in Florence. I called and left a message, but the call was never returned. Yesterday, I called Medicaid in Montgomery to request another voucher. While speaking to the rep, I asked what I had to do to get the trip approved. I did the work and got Dr. Kalb's office the accept Alabama Medicaid. She didn't understand either, and put me in touch with Mrs. Foster. She stated that she will need a letter from Dr. Kalb stating why Calen is being seen by him and why does he have to go out of state. I left a message for Dr. Kalb's nurse concerning Mrs. Foster's instructions. The nurse called me back and asked that I write down what I want the letter to say and e-mail it to him in an attachment. My Internet at home isn't working for some reason, and I can't do it at work. I created a letter with instructions and faxed it to his office. I hope there isn't a problem. I didn't mention autism in the letter. I said that Calen is being treated for digestive disorders. Since autism is considered untreatable by insurance companies and Medicaid, I made sure not to mention that in the letter so that they will cover it. If the medical coders and staff are smart, they will leave out autism as much as they can so that services will be covered. Mrs. Foster said that she will reimburse me for the previous trip back in May also. That was good news.

My children's dad called yesterday. He didn't want anything. He informed me that he called the daycare to check on the kids. You see, he doesn't do a single thing for the kids, so to ease his own conscience, he calls to check on them. I told him that he was going to have to talk to his mom about Calen's diet, but that won't help because he doesn't know anything about it himself. I informed him about the incident with his mom giving Calen bread. He, of course, took up for his mom using lack of knowledge as the excuse. I talked to her about the diet 4 different times so that excuse doesn't hold up with me. I also told him about her getting out ice cream to give to the kids. I told her (again) that Calen can't eat it. Their aunt told her to put it up because Calen can't have any. The grandmother said that she wasn't going to punish Kylia because Calen can't have any. That made me angry, and I was waiting for her to go ahead and get that ice cream out, but she put it back. Calen is only 3 years old and his level of understanding isn't where it should be. All I ask is that if you want to give Kylia a treat like ice cream, don't be cruel and do it in Calen's face. He doesn't understand that he CAN'T have any. All he sees is that he's being treated different. He already has a lifetime of that crap to face due to his autism, and I will NOT tolerate that mess from family members of all people. When my voice became stern, that's when he changed his tune. He claims that we will have to sit down with her and talk about this, and I agreed to it. I don't think it's too complicated and too deep to understand, but if you're a total dumb*ss....oh well. I told him about my waiting to hear from the University of AL in Tuscaloosa to know if I was accepted. He claimed he was glad to hear that I haven't given up on earning another degree. Then he started..."WHEN WE GET MARRIED, YOU CAN GO TO SCHOOL FOR FREE". Married?? His dad works for one of the colleges in Huntsville and he said that when we get married I can go to that particular college for free. He didn't get a chance to say which one because my phone died in the middle of our conversation. Is that a sign or what!!! Married?? I don't think his current girlfriend would appreciate that!!! LOL .... moving on.... LOL

My kids and I stayed the weekend at my dad's house. My sisters and their families came. It was a houseful! We had a good time. We all haven't been together like that in a long time. I enjoyed myself. Kylia loves her cousin Dee. Dee is 14 years old. They played all weekend. She wouldn't let anyone else hold her. She also loves her Uncle David. He's my sister's husband. She went through a couple of spells where no one but David could hold her. I have her on film fighting Dee. He would touch her on the forehead, and she would hit him really hard and say "don't be hitting me!". It was so funny! They went back and forth all day.

Naps at daycare

Calen finally took his first nap since being at Just Kids. He slept for an hour and a half. Miss Lib said they usually let him play in the classroom while the other kids slept, but this time, he grabbed his sleeping bag and went to sleep. I told the teachers that if he ever grabs their hand and places it on his head, he just wants them to rub his head. I do that for him every night. His teacher said she did that for him and he slept quietly. I was glad to hear it.

I forgot to mention something in another entry when I was writing about finally talking to Mrs. Highfield. I told her about the Occupational therapist ending sessions with Calen because she felt he was not ready cognitively, and she was surprised by that. She strongly disagreed with that statement, as did I. I also made mention of the fact that the sessions started going down when the male intern left. Calen responded to him very well, and Luke (the intern) was very patient and sweet with him. He would show Calen how to do something and in 2 or 3 tries, Calen would pick it up. All we got from the therapist was a show of frustration. Kids are not stupid, and just as adults don't like someone for an unknown reason, kids can do the same thing. Anyway, I was just struck at how strongly she disagreed with that statement.

Calen loves to sing. I can rarely tell what he is singing, but he's got "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" down pretty good. He loves when I sing "Wheels on the Bus". I get real physical with that song. We also do "tickle bugs". I think (hope) I have a musician on my hands. I love music myself. I played the flute all through school. I was the youngest to ever be allowed to join the high school marching band at my school. My favorite was concert season. I really enjoyed playing classical music. My downfall was that I was terrible at sight-reading.

I go to a chiropractor on a regular basis. There is a new staff member there. The doc and I were talking about our kids, and how we have to find babysitters for them if we want to do things on weekends. His wife has a list of people she was calling so they could go somewhere this weekend. His children are the same age as mine. I said that I don't have a lot of people I call on for babysitting, especially since my son is autistic. I just hang out with my children and we doing things together. I would like to go somewhere by myself or with friends at some point, but that never happens. The conversation then turned to autism. The new staff member asked me about different things. She said her ex-sis-in-law has a 7 year old who shows signs of it, but the mom doesn't do anything about it. It's like she's afraid to take him places because of how he acts. I told her he isn't acting, he's REACTING. He has some sort of sensory issue going on. I urged her to tell the mom to go to autismspeaks.org where she can see the list of signs that her son may have. I'm shocked that this poor child hasn't been diagnosed with anything according to the descriptions from this lady. I plan to send this lady some information and my cell phone number. I really hopes she gets up off her butt. I hope I can help get her started. I pray that God will use me to help her get going. She may be one of those that is in denial. It's the child that will suffer in the long run if she doesn't try to find services NOW, and shame on the pediatricians and teachers who are in this child's life and not doing anything to help him. I hate to say it, but most of all, shame on mom and dad. I can't really speak about people and situations I don't know anything about. I'm just going by what this young lady told me.

Interesting news

I recently received an e-mail with some very interesting news. This hit home with me because my son has this very issue.....


On May 17 at the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) in London, a presentation was given as part of the Baby Sibs Consortium, an Autism Speaks initiative where researchers study infant siblings of children with autism to better understand the early manifestations in order to begin effective interventions as early as possible. A network of scientists from 11 sites across North America gathered head growth data on 761 infant siblings at risk and 400 non-risk infants. Through measuring head circumference, a proportion of children with autism showed an atypical pattern of head growth early in life. Increased head circumference has been the most consistently replicated biological marker of autism as early as 1943 when it was first described by Leo Kanner.

It was found that infants who were later diagnosed with autism had a more rapid rate of head growth in the first 2 years of life than infants who did not develop autism. For example, they begin with average size head at birth, and enlarged head size by the preschool years. Monitoring head growth, can easily be done at a well-baby visit, and could be an early risk marker for autism in infants who have an older sibling with autism.

I remember at one check up, Calen's head size compared to other children his age was in the 90th percentile. I didn't think anything of it, mainly because Dr. Huffman-Parker never made an issue of it. I thought he just had a big head. My children's dad actually blamed me for his head being so large because I didn't "shape" his head when he was an infant. While reading this, I began to cry for my son. I feel guilty because I should have been asking why his head was growing so large. I've kept an eye on my daughter's head size, and she is normal. I failed my son a little....Mommy is so sorry, Calen. I love you.

Good News

I finally heard from Mrs. Highfield today. Just as I suspected, she's been on vacation and she's been attending lots of meetings/seminars. I expected that because of the time of year, and I was glad to hear from her. She asked about how the summer was going...LOL...I'm sure her ear was throbbing when we ended our conversation. I told her about everything from Calen's daycare kicking him out to the fact that he hasn't been receiving any services over the summer. The main thing is about his new teacher. She has been training over the summer to learn ABA! She's getting ready to go to Auburn for 4 days to attend a seminar (or something to that effect) about Autism and the different methods in teaching. I'm very glad to hear about that. She also told me about the new teacher being younger, more experienced with special-needs kids, and is herself a mom. The previous teacher was not a mom. That's great that she's been training with ABA techniques, but if I'm not satisfied with Calen's progress, I will not be quiet about it. That much is certain. But I am so excited for my baby because he really enjoyed the 3 days that he attended school. I can't wait to see the progress he will make now that he will be going 5 days a week, he's on medicines that help is digestive system calm down and he will (hopefully) be able to begin B-12 shots. I'm still looking for a topical anesthetic that will not burn when the meds are injected, so if anyone out there knows of anything, please let me know ASAP!!!!

I was in shock when I opened my mailbox yesterday. I'm just now receiving the report from when Calen was diagnosed with developmental delay by Sparks Clinics back in October and November of 2007. It even made mention of the fact that I asked for him to be tested for Autism. He was 2 years and 8 months old at the time. That goes to show just how bad behind Sparks Clinic is with the large amount of children being diagnosed. They are too far behind. There are too many children out there needing help. When I requested that he be tested for autism, he was added to the list. His wait was going to be six months (at least). He was still ahead of others that had not been seen yet! Praise God...a cancellation came through and I received a call offering me the spot and I jumped on it. Calens wait turned out to be 2 months instead of 6. There were some helpful web sites on the report. I will post them on this blog. My Internet at home is down for some reason. My only chance is to do it from work.

Everything else right now is okay. Nothing at all to complain about. I just take it one moment at a time.

Calen Not Feeling Well

I received a call from the daycare yesterday that Calen was having very runny bm's. The day before, he was only eating sweet things which let me know he isn't feeling well. I left work to pick him up. He was playing as if nothing was wrong. Kylia was sleeping. I went ahead and took both the kids home. Calen still wouldn't eat. My dad came by for a quick visit and around 7pm, Calen wanted to go to bed. We went to lay down and he started to whine a little, then a vomited all over himself. I cleaned up, then got the kids to sleep. He woke up this morning still acting as if he doesn't feel well. He drank some juice and threw it back up. I called in to work but the voicemail didn't activate. I then gave my kids some Kix, and Calen was able to keep them down. He started acting like himself again, so I got the kids dressed and sent them to daycare. I took the teachers some chocolate covered doughnuts to eat out of appreciation for being so good to Calen. The other day when Calen wasn't eating anything, Lib actually called me to talk to me about things Calen could have. That was the very thing I was asking the other daycare to do....CALL. I appreciated that so very much. I allowed her to give him half a nutri-grain bar. She read the ingredients to me...it had natural flavor and malt...two things that he shouldn't have. I allowed her to give him a little so that he will have something in his system. He ate that and seemed satisfied. I am so grateful to her and her staff for the special care they've shown for Calen. I'm concerned though about his BM. It was runny and smelled metallic. I've never smelled anything like it. It was just so weird. I hope he hasn't swallowed anything and if so, I hope it doesn't cause a major problem.

Our next appointment with the DAN! doc is on the 31st. I'm excited about going. I enjoyed the trip last time. This time, I think we will start Diflucan. I still have the b-12 injections in the fridge. I plan to start injections when school starts back. I have no idea when that will be.

Heard from Auburn

I received a call from Jennifer Sellers yesterday. She is the contact person for the Autism Center in Auburn. We discussed various issues. She said that the Auburn city school system would be the one to determine whether or not Calen needs the center's services. This will be accomplished through an IEP meeting. She stated that I will have to fight to get him in there. She said she can attend the meeting to help me present my case if I invite her. If it is deemed necessary to send Calen to the center, then the school system will pay for it. I was a bit disappointed. I wasn't expecting them to be tied in with the school system, but it makes sense to me now. The part that I'm disappointed in is the fact that I will have to FIGHT. If a need is obvious, then what's to fight about? She also informed me that she can come to Calen's schools and show the teachers how to do ABA and workstations...basically the same services that Brandy Worthy is offering.

Moving is still up in the air because I haven't heard from Mrs. Highfield. If my son is refused the ABA services offered by Brandy Worthy, then I will be leaving. I truly hate to leave because all of my family is here. Plus, the only people I trust to babysit my children are here. I won't have that support if I leave. At least Huntsville is only an hour away. Auburn would be a major move, but if it means help for Calen, then I will have to do it. I called Mrs. Highfield again to let her know about Mrs. Sellers and her services. Of course, I didn't get an answer so I left a message on her voicemail. I don't know if she's on vacation or maybe she had to attend meetings that were held out of town. It's a little frustrating.

I've finally made a decision about my college education. I've chosen University of Alabama. I will be working toward a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Human Science (General Studies). I have to get with an advisor to steer my educational goals. I'm still pretty undecided. I want to do something in the health field. I'm also interested in doing something with Autistic children. I don't know just yet. If I do something with children, I want to be able to be a better mom because of what I learn. I don't want something that will take me away from my children. In other words, I don't want something where I will be on call, or have a job where I work lots of hours. My babies only grow up once. I REFUSE to miss out on things like school plays and recitals and games my babies may participate in. I plan on being there to cheer them on with whatever they plan to do. I'm sure I'll be calling Mr. T very soon (be ready! LOL).

I faxed an application to the Madison Co. Commission a couple of weeks ago. It's for a Probate Clerk II position. I have the qualifications. God will point me in the right direction. I will only walk through the doors that are opened to me. I won't try to force one to open. If it is His will for us to relocate, then the opportunity will present itself. If not then I will stay here and fight. As long as there is options, then there is hope.

I share an office at work with a lady named Alicia. She has got to be the sweetest person I've ever met. When someone is going through something, she goes through it with them. Not to share all of her personal business, but the strength she has is amazing. She's lost her mom, and she shares custody of her daughter with her ex-husband. She doesn't get to see her daughter as much as she wants. Yet everyday, she comes to work and she smiles and laughs. She brings smiles to other people. She cracks jokes and makes people laugh. She showed me a picture of her mom. What a pretty lady she was! Alicia looks just like her. I told her that she honors her mom everyday with the goodness in her heart. The reason I'm talking about her is because when I'm feeling a little down, unsure of myself, depressed...this woman inspires me to carry on. She is such a great person and a true friend. I pray that everything will work out for her and her daughter. Alicia is a great mom and she loves her baby girl! She reminds me a lot of me when it comes to being a mom. She does the best she can. If she can do it, then I know I can do it, too. She makes me want to be a better person.

Sensations

I read a post from Nancy Kale's daughter on a site I think is Froggy.com ( I can't remember). She came up with the idea of writing a thank you note to people or businesses who show kindness and willingness to help/understanding toward customers with autistic children. I like that idea. There are a lot of cashiers at Wal-Mart and various places that I have thanked a thousand times for little things that are actually big things for us. When we shop, Calen will take strong interest in something I place in the buggy. I don't know why or what it may be about some particular object, but he will hold on to it as if his life depended on it. One time, it was a box of blueberry waffles (this was before the gf/cf diet). Of course, he would have a minor meltdown at the register when I had to take it away from him so it can be scanned. One cashier at Wal-Mart came out from behind the register and used the scanner gun so we wouldn't have to upset him. That was so sweet. Sometimes, I will just pick up an extra of whatever he has taken hold of so we can avoid the screaming altogether. Then, there are times where people make me so angry. My baby did not have a nap all day at the daycare, and we HAD to go to Wal-Mart. When we got inside the store, he saw the bananas. He wanted one (they're his favorite snack) and I walked past them without getting him one. Normally this isn't a big deal, but this time....COMPLETE AND TOTAL MELTDOWN. I've never seen him have one this intense before. I decided to take him to the bathroom by electronics. One lady actually stopped in her tracks and gave my son a dirty look. I became overwhelmed with anger at her...I couldn't hold it in even though I wanted to. I said, "What the hell are you staring at?! You've never seen a child cry before?" Her dirty stare was now focused on me and that made me feel better. Glare at me....NOT my baby. I took him to the bathroom and inside the largest stall, there is a seat with safety buckles. I put him in the seat and strapped him in and allowed him to kick and scream all he wanted. I wanted him to get it all out. I also wanted him to wear himself down. After about 10 min, he was still going but not as intense. When I saw him wearing down, I unstrapped him and picked him up and just loved on him and talked to him. He stopped crying and we were able to check out and leave the store. The only reason I didn't leave is because we were totally out of food and I had to get us some things to eat. Otherwise, anything else would have been left behind. When we got home, he wouldn't eat or drink. He took me by the hand and led me into the bedroom. That's his way of saying he's ready for bed. I undressed my babies, washed them up, and put them in the bed. I have to lay down with them or they will get upset. Calen was asleep in less that 10 minutes. My poor baby was worn out. I hope I did right in the store that day.

Dr. Kalb is Calen's DAN! doc from TN. I e-mailed him about the show my sis saw "How It's Made". They featured canned veggies and the fact that they are cooked in the can. He responded and stated that he isn't aware of any tests for tin or aluminum levels in the veggies. He advised me to stay away from canned veggies as best we can. No problem for me! I also purchased a stainless steel saucepan. The Teflon coated cookware isn't good to use. The Teflon has things in it (I just read it and can't remember exactly what's in it) that can get into the food and into our bodies. I also read that microwaving food in plastic bowls isn' t good either. The ingredients in plastic can latch onto the food during cooking and get into our bodies. This is stuff I never thought about. I've changed a lot of things in my kitchen that will be better for all of us. For more information, go to GenerationRescue.org Defeatautismnow.org

Calen loves to be in closed, tight spaces. I don't know what it is, but he will run to something that he can crawl into or under. I have a little pool I blew up for them. Everytime we get ready to use it, it rains...but that's another story. Anyway, he will get the pool and flip it over and lay under there. He loves it. The slide outside has an area underneath that he loves to crawl in and sit. He will come out and slide a couple of times, then he will crawl underneath and sit. He loves when I pretend to be a monster. I will roar real loud and reach in to try to get him. He giggles and moves away from me. Then he will come out and I will chase him around the slide, then he will dive under the slide again. He giggles the whole time. He his so funny. He cracks me up. I love playing with my babies.


Thank you Mr.T for your help

Some Cute Progress

Yesterday while picking up my babies from daycare, the teacher said she had something to show me. She made a "crawling" action with her fingers up Calen's right arm. She went all the way up to the back of his neck. He flinched and giggled. Then, she held her arm out and he repeated the same action!!!! I could have fallen over! I was so excited, I yelled out "I'm so proud of you!" and gave him a big hug and lots of kisses all over his face. He giggles when I do that. I am so happy for him.
I would recommend this daycare to anyone with a special needs child. They don't specialize in such care, but they do such a great job anyway. Calen gets one-on-one attention, too. I made a surprise visit to the school and saw him receiving special attention from his teacher. All the other kids in class were sitting at the table doing puzzles and my baby was in his favorite high chair with Nikki (teacher) right there at his side playing with his toy...a yellow school bus filled with little children. I am so pleased. The daycare is Just Kids on Kelsey Ave. (the street running beside Swamp John's). The owner is Lib Grissom. She has very low turn over. These young ladies have been working for her for at least 3 years.

I made a call to Lisa Highfield. She's the Special Ed. Coordinator. I left a message because no one was in the office. I'm waiting to hear about whether or not she will provide ABA therapy or at least training within Calen's class. This decision will affect our willingness to stay in this area. Huntsville schools send their children to the local ABA center (The Riley Center) at no cost to the parents. If Mrs. Highfield says no, then I'm moving Calen to another school. My friends are encouraging me to stay and fight for it. I would, but I already know that the other parents are acting as if they are afraid to stand up for their children. I would have no support, not that I need it. The main reason I'm saying no is because my son deserves the most help as soon as possible. I would be taking that away from him if I stay and fight. He could be getting therapy now rather than a year or two from now. This area is behind because it CHOOSES to be behind. Mrs. Highfield is a part of the Autism Coalition. There is no excuse for not having any active movements going to help our local autistic children. The way I see it, she should be sitting down with the parents of the special needs children and discuss the various options, such as diets. Muscle Shoals should be "the place to be" for autistic children locally due to her efforts, if any are made. Maybe I'm expecting too much or maybe there's some legal issue preventing her from doing certain things. I don't know. We need to ban together and attempt to get an ABA center here. Or even better...a center that provides various types/combinations of therapies for autistic children. There's not just ABA. I'm also still waiting on someone from Auburn to e-mail me. Their Autism Center has openings for 3 to 5 year old children. I'm interested in getting Calen in there, but if it costs money then I won't be able to. Right now, I'm looking toward Huntsville, Franklin Co, TN, as well as the town of Franklin, TN (right outside Nashville). If Mr. T is reading this, he will be glad to know that I've gotten the FAFSA and student loan paperwork in for Athens State and University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for their online degree programs. Thanks for all your support. Kind words and encouragement can do wonders for a person feeling burdened. Now, no matter where we may have to move, I can still earn my degrees!

I have Calen on oral B-12, but Nancy Cale from GenerationRescue.org told me that injections work a lot better and get into the system quicker. I called my neighbor who is an RN and asked about numbing topical. When I had my gastric bypass, a nurse rubbed some numbing medicine on my hand when starting an IV on me. I didn't feel a thing. I was hoping my neighbor would know what this stuff was. She didn't know, but volunteered to come over anytime and help hold Calen down while the shot was administered. I said okay. She said that she knows of some numbing med but it would burn if I used it and then opened the skin with the needle.

I plan to order a gf/cf cookbook. I attempted to make some cookies for him but it turned out to be a crumbly cake. He ate it all up though! I think he misses that bread texture. I've also come up with a barbecue sauce that he can eat. It's my mom's recipe and all I had to do was change one ingredient...the ketchup

Gf/Cf Barbecue Sauce
2/3 cup Organic Ketchup
1 12oz can cola
minced onion to taste
minced garlic to taste
sea salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Mix all these ingredients into saucepan and allow to cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes. It will thicken as it cools. As for the cola, use Coke or Pepsi or any type of cola. Diet or regular, caffeine or caffeine-free...doesn't matter. DO NOT USE DR. PEPPER!!! All you will taste is Dr. Pepper. I use regular cola because Calen can't have the artificial sweetener in the diet drinks.

More Crying at Daycare

Yesterday, when I picked up my kids Calen's teacher told me that he was upset for most of the afternoon and they couldn't figure out why. I just called to check on him about an hour ago, and again, he's been crying "real tears" for most of the day according to Miss Lib (the owner). I'm very concerned about this. Either it's because of the lack of structure with the activities, or he doesn't feel good. I asked if he had a bowel movement today, and she told me no. I'm guessing he may be constipated again. I've made an appointment with Dr. Erica Crenshaw for this Thurday. I will also get her to check his ears again, too. If it is the constipation, then I will notify Dr. Kalb in TN to see what to do next. I'm thinking that the meds Calen's on may be working almost "too" well. He's had good normal (solid) bm's lately. I'm hoping it's not constipation. I'm very nervous right now.

I've ordered a few things from AllergyFoods.com yesterday. I plan to start baking my babies some cookies and breads. I even found a recipe for gf/cf cornbread! I had some baking powder from Aldi's but it has aluminum in it. Since I can't use what I have, I'll give it to my sis who loves to cook. I've got some without aluminum on the way. I also ordered him some choc sandwich cookies that look and taste like Oreos. He loves them!! I know my baby is probably sick of eating fruit. I want to put a lot more variation in his diet. That will take a lot more cooking and time on my part, but it will be well worth it for him. I'm also looking for other meals we can eat at home as a family. I don't want him eating his own "special" plate. There are a lot of meals that we can't eat at home anymore. But I'm working on that. I still haven't asked about the canned veggies yet. I will probably have to write myself a note or program my cell to remind me. This morning when I dropped him off, a little boy had a pop-tart on the table and Calen ran for it. He grabbed it, but I caught him just in time to keep him from eating it. I felt terrible because they're one of his favorite snacks. Here's a great website I found for recipes:
glutenfreecookingschool.com

Today, I looked in the yellow pages for speech therapists. Helen Keller has not called us yet, and the summer is almost over. Calen has gone all summer without any speech therapy. I hope this doesn't affect in a bad way when school starts next month. I will be so glad when it does. My baby really enjoys it. I still haven't talked to Mrs. Highfield about ABA therapy. If I can't get what my son needs from Muscle Shoals, then I will start looking to Huntsville. Even though I don't want to move there, I will do whatever it takes for Calen to get all the help he needs. Besides, it's only an hour away.
Kylia is doing a lot more mimicking of Calen's behaviors. I hate that, but she doesn't know any better. She's doing great with potty training too. I'm excited for her. I bought them a baby Einstein CD about counting to 5. They love it. Kylia enjoys it a little more, I think. She counted to 3 this morning while clapping her hands. I'm going to video what she does while watching to show.
There was talk at my job about switching to 10 hr shifts. That way we can come in 4 days a week and have an extra day off. They said it was to help out with gas. I wanted to add my name to the list, but in the end, it wouldn't be worth it. My evenings with my children will be practically taken away. Plus I have to get my son back and forth to school this fall, so I have to say no. I sure could use that extra day off though. It would help with doc appointments too. I would be able to work 40 hours and still get things done! I would also get a much needed day all to myself! But I can't for right now.
I've signed up for 2 colleges. I've signed up for UA majoring in Human Science. I also signed up for Athens State majoring in Management of Information Technology. It's nothing definite. I've still got to pay the app fees. I hope all turns out great with my education.
I'm also looking to buy natural foods. I'm alarmed at the news I heard that little girls were maturing at a much faster rate due to the hormones in meats. I have two co-workers with 4 year old daughters with a small amount of hair on their privates already! I hope I can stop Kylia from having to go through that.

No Money After All

I finally got a chance to go to the web site that Mrs. Binger sent to me. It is the one I referred to previously about getting up to $5000 for speech, occupational and physical therapy for Calen. Well, in order to qualify Calen must be covered under some type of COMMERCIAL insurance. If an applicant is covered under Medicare or Medicaid, they automatically don't qualify. I don't quite understand the concept in behind that. I was disappointed. The grant is through United Health Care. I will get on the phone today or Monday to find speech and occupational therapists that will accept Medicaid. Otherwise, my son will continue with absolutely nothing (accept the few activities I do with him) until school starts back in August. I'm hoping to get him and Kylia into the CP center in Sheffield during the school year. I don't know for sure about Kylia just yet. It will all work out somehow.

I need to make more things for him that will help his fine motor skills. I don't want to spend money on something I can make at home out of everyday things. I'm just not a very creative person when it comes to things like that. He really enjoys stringing things, so I bought some gluten-free penne at Wal-Mart and I have some old shoe strings. I haven't tried it yet, but I hope it works. I also want to get him things that link together. I want to do therapeutic things with him that BOTH the kids can enjoy and learn from. When I was telling the OT lady Calen used to see (Britta from Helen Keller) about how hard it was to spend some one-on-one time with Calen doing activities because Kylia tends to get a little jealous, she actually said that Kylia will just have to "get over it". Spoken like a true woman whose never raised children. I don't want to exclude one child or make one of my babies feel like the can't play with me and the other one. It breaks my heart to think of purposefully excluding one of my children when they want to join in. We're a FAMILY...we are ONE. I love my babies.

Late Night Fun

Yesterday after picking up the children, we went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. The kids are always pretty hungry when I pick them up, and having to go through the grocery section is torture. Everything they recognize, they reach for and begin to whine or even cry. Calen will scream and hit. I opened a bag of the Puff Corn for them to eat. I was so busy trying to hurry up and finish shopping so I can get home and cook them something that I wasn't paying close attention. Calen (with a small amount of help from Kylia) ate the ENTIRE bag!!! When we got home, I quickly mixed his medicines in his juice and he drank...and he drank...and he drank. Of course, he wouldn't touch his chicken, corn and mandarin oranges. Around 11pm, he woke up and began to whine a little. I was awake anyway. I was scared he was about to have an episode. I quickly realized he wasn't because he let me hold him and rub his head. He wouldn't lay down without me, so I let him lay his head on my arm. I could hear his tummy making noises, and I became a little worried. He began whining a little again then it happened....he vomited all over my arm, the pillow and the fitted sheet. I screamed! LOL I could actually smell that Puff Corn! It was gross, but I was glad he got that off his tummy. I cleaned up by wiping away excess, washing with warm soapy water and rubbing baking soda on the stain to absorb smell. Then, I covered it with a towel. He went right to sleep. I, on the other hand, was up until 2am. Kylia never even budged.

Calen recognizes McDonald's logo. We can pass by and if he sees it, he will start to kick and whine. When we pulled into the parking place at Wal-Mart, someone had left a McDonald's bag in the buggy next to our car. Calen actually saw the bag, recognized it, and began to whine and become upset because he was hungry. He LOVES their french fries. He can't eat much else from there, and I will not allow my kids to eat any fast-food burgers. If it comes to the restaurant raw, my children aren't allowed to eat it. When I was 18 years old, I heard about a 2 year old that died from food poisoning after eating a fast-food burger. I have never forgotten that. My point in all that is my son has made a new advancement...he has the ability to identify colors and shapes, I think. Regardless, I'm happy and proud. He's been getting oral b-12 and I'm still waiting on something to happen. What..I don't know. I've heard that injections have a better effect but I can't do it. I've heard that b-12 had made a huge difference in some children. I know that Calen has had a normal bowel movement for the first time in a very long time. It used to be extremely loose and very messy. Now it's more solid like it should be. I'm pleased at that. I just don't want him to become constipated. The bottle of magnesium glycerate he takes actually has a statement on the bottle saying that the medicine could cause a change in bowel habits and if that occurs, I should report that to the doc. Calen's on several different meds. He's been taking them for about a month now. He's on omega fish oil 3-6-9, peptizyde, b-12, multivitamins, magnesium glycerate and lactobaccillus acidophiles or something like that (a live strain requiring refrigeration). That last med is such a long word and I'm unable to spell it. All this aids in his digestion. Our next visit will result in a couple more meds for his digestion. I know one is Diflucan. I can't remember the other one. I've read that some children do so well while on these meds that they can actually go back to eating regular food and abandon the gf/cf diet! That would be such a major accomplishment in my house! That would also be about 100lbs of weight off my shoulders.
The daycare has been doing great with his diet as far a sticking to it. I've met them halfway by bringing meat for his meals since everything they have on hand is processed, and that's a no-no for Calen. For his breakfast, I buy Wal-Marts precooked bacon strips. The hickory smoked flavor is the best. 30 seconds in the microwave and they come out perfectly crisp. I checked the ingredients to make sure the bacon was safe to eat, and in big bold letters the most beautiful words I could have ever hoped for...GLUTEN-FREE. I also buy Jimmy Deans precooked saugsage patties. Again, a few seconds in the microwave and they come out delicious. They also make turkey sausage that tastes great!
I've tried finding some precooked meat for him to enjoy for lunch, but so far I haven't been able to find anything. The meats are all coated with ingredients that he can't have. So I prepare his food ahead of time, when possible. I take care of the meat, and the daycare takes care of veggies and fruit. I bake him some chicken tenders (Aldi's - $5.99/bag). These tenders are raw and the perfect size for my kids. I have a cabinet full of McCormick's spices. They use only 100% ground spices. Some other kinds use fillers derived of wheat to prevent clumping. McCormick's doesn't, so I have a cabinet that is well-stocked with various seasonings. I bake the chicken and I flavor it up real good so he'll eat it. I also buy Talapia from Aldi's ($5.99/bag) to bake. The kids LOVE it! I also buy Wal-Mart's Philly steak to include beef in his diet. I thought the meat was precooked for some reason. I was disappointed to see that it was raw when I opened the pkg. But I seasoned it up and cooked it, and the kids love it! It took maybe 10 minutes.

My sister was watching "How it's Made". It's a program that shows how various things are made. She saw an episode where they showed how canned veggies were made. She informed me that the veggies are cooked INSIDE the can! I don't like the sound of that because metals can get into the food and into our bodies. That is especially not good for Calen. I used to cook on aluminum foil to keep from having to scrub pans, and Mrs. Binger told me to stop that RIGHT NOW. As the food cooks, the aluminum actually cooks into the food and gets into our bodies. I only use glass cookware now. I also went out and bought an iron skillet. That brought back memories as a child helping my mom cook! Anyway, I plan to ask the DAN! doc in TN about Calen eating canned veggies. I will switch to fresh if need be. I will also make sure I find somewhere that will sell organic veggies. That will be added to my extremely long list of things to do around the house for the weekend...cook veggies and feeze them for later. Whatever my baby needs I will see to it that it gets done.

I also discovered the ease of cooking with fresh herbs. My sis, Amy, is a good cook. She's the one who told me about it. She went with me and we bought fresh parsley and cilantro. I baked some chicken with it and WOW! The kids loved it too. It made a difference. Now the trick is to try to get some veggies in my son. Kylia eats hers with no problem, but Calen is another story. He loves Glory collard greens, but they have vinegar and he can't have that! I'm working on it. It can get pretty frustrating sometimes in the evening. Both of them hungry, and I've got 15 different things to do plus cook. I've tried giving them a snack to tie them over but it resulted in no dinner being eaten. I can't remember what I gave. Sometimes, I wish I had someone to do the cooking for me. I've been trying to cook ahead of time, so that things will be easier and it makes a huge difference. It takes effort, but it pays off. I love being a mom. It's a challenge, but man...it's worth it!