The best way to get my kids to eat healthy is to lead by example.  This is my dinner tonight. 1 Cup of frozen,  mixed berries 1 Cup of fresh strawberries 1 Banana 1/2 Cup of low fat yogurt (plain) 1/2 Cup Kashi granola/oatmeal 1/4 Cup Raisins I think this is pretty healthy.  The boys see me eating Fruits and want to do the same.  Leading by example is always the best way to teach your kids something important.  :-)

I want to express my pride in Emmett's both trying something new and discovering he actually likes it. Jiff has put out a new peanut butter.  It's actually chocolate hazelnut.  They were on sale for $1 each at Walmart.  I figured that if the kids liked it great,  if not,  it was only $1. Anyway, I made little sandwiches with graham crackers and the chocolate hazelnut peanut butter and Emmett loves it.  This is a victory because we can add a new food to his diet. How much did he like it?  Judge for yourself.

My kids are very picky eaters,  with the exception of Gavin.  Gavin used to be horribly picky but has really made progress over the years and is by far the easiest to feed. I have to give mad props to Gavin for that.  :-) Elliott and Emmett are a different story all together. They are extremely picky and getting them to eat fruits or veggies is quite often impossible. I have been doing something lately that has really helped.  I mentioned before about banana ice cream but I wanted to update you all as to how this is going. Basically,  I freeze bananas and strawberries,  blueberries etc. Then I take them and stick them into the blender and let'er rip. Frozen bananas taste like ice cream and when you add…

I hate this zero tolerance policy for touching.  It's a necessary evil but at the same time it's a huge pain in the ass. We have to do zero tolerance because Gavin simply doesn't respect a broader boundary. We've tried it for years and he always tries to take things,  just one step further. He was supposed to get his privileges back this morning,  and honestly,  I was excited about that. However,  not only did he touch Elliott this morning but he was also sneaking TV as well. The touching was not inappropriate,  aside from the fact that he's not supposed to be touching his friggin brothers. It was however,  totally avoidable but instead he choose to touch Elliott. Before that,  he came downstairs and wanted to help clean the…

Today's Friday Forum topic is once again, something I think is important to discuss. Respite care is something that so many of us desperately needs and so few of us actually get. I actually just posted about this and I discussed my concerns with respite and I have heard from a few of you expressing the very same concerns. I decided that this would warrant further discussion and a sharing of experience. While this Friday's topic is the main discussion for the week, please feel free to jump in on the previous discussions as well. The discussion will take place in the #Autism Help Forums. Registration is simple, fast and free. You will need to confirm your email before being allowed to actually post anything. Can’t be at your computer today?…

We celebrated the end of the school year for both Gavin and Elliott.  Gavin,  I'm extremely proud to say made Honor Roll for the entire year. Amazing job Gavin. Elliott did just as well and received an award for the Best karate Kick. I'm so proud of both of them for all there hard work this year. Tonight we celebrated with a little cookout. It was pleasant and everyone had a relatively relaxing evening.  I even burned about 500 calories doing yard work tonight.  I didn't get to walk but exercise is exercise.

In the decade or so that my wife and I have been special needs parents,  we have never had respite care. People ask me about it all the time and want to know why we don't have it.  Well,  it's complicated but I want to explain probably the biggest reason we don't. Most people probably think that we would kill for respite care. The truth is that while we would benefit from respite,  it's just not that simple,  at least for us. There's something that you need to understand about being a special needs parent.  Please understand that I mean you in general.  I know many of you out there understand this.  :-) We looked into respite many years ago,  when Gavin was having upwards of 6 or 7 huge…

I don't remember when I actually got this.  It was a long time ago but it's probably my most frequently used material possession,  aside from my phone. I have this on the wall, positioned so that I see it every time I come down the steps in the morning,  or walk into the kitchen. It's meant to be a constant reminder to always keep perspective. I can't say how well it works all the time but it does help to remind me that some things are simply outside of my control and that I should focus on those this that I have power or control over.  I just thought I would share this with you all.  I'm not overly religious and I'm certainly not preachy.  I just think this is…