Back to school blues-

This time of the year is always bittersweet. Our babies are growing up..

A little old lady in an elevator told me when I was pregnant with Alex to enjoy every moment, because in a blink they start to walk, in a blink they graduate high school, and in a blink they have families of their own. As we left the elevator, I thanked her, and thought to myself how easy that would be, he was my baby.

Having a child with special needs- especially one who wasn't diagnosed for so long- is hard, I'm not going to lie. Having a child who's smart is hard, too. One way or another you're looked at weird. Your child is different. As a mom, we encourage our children to be different, but when they're born different, most try to shelter or hide that. Why is it?

I love my kids. All three of them are so unique and so special.. They all have different strengths and weaknesses, they all have different features and different voices. Different attitudes, and different skills. I can't wait to see how the baby grows up and the little person he becomes.

But I can.

It seems that it was just a few months ago, when I held Abbie to me as an infant. She's now going into first grade. She's got a brand-new-to-teaching new teacher. She seems very sweet. I'm not bothered by the fact that she was only hired a week ago. She's still young enough, and new enough to have that passion for teaching, to not be burnt out like so many teachers we've crossed paths with, and is still excited about teaching. That excites me.

Alex has the same teacher he had during the last semester last year. This is our first full year in a self-contained ASD class. I'm excited for him, but nervous. He adores his teacher, and actually seems excited that he's going back there. I think he's more excited that his buddy Jonathan is back in his class.

This is the first year that I'm not up, literally making myself sick over worry because of his placement, since he started school.

None of my family and friends understand it. Heck, I don't even think my husband understands it. For the first time since the first day of Kindergarten, I'm excited for back to school.

But then I step back, and watch the both of them get ready. They get their shoes on, make their hair perfect, eat some breakfast, and kiss me good bye as they climb on the bus. And I stop. I remember them little, holding my hand while they drank their bottles, promising them I'd love them forever, and treasure every moment always.

Sometimes it's hard, but I think that's truly being a mom.

Read more...

Let the most wonderful time of the year begin!

As a native NYer, this time of the year makes me miss home the most. All over Facebook and Twitter, my friends are starting to post gorgeous autumn trees and their changing leaves, stories of their excursions to apple orchards, pumpkin farms, and the best pie place on Long Island. Pictures pop up daily of little ones who are growing in leaps and bounds surrounded by the largest pumpkin, on a haystack, and bundled up to battle the crisp air.

To say I'm jealous, is a humongous understatement.

This week, my husband and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. I cannot believe how fast life is flying by. This anniversary really made me stop and think about where we are, and where we wanted to be, when we were preparing to start our lives together- and how drastically different they were from each other. It was actually kind of a downer... we've been through a lot together. But at the same time, it totally gave us hope.

Then the hubster and I took a moment, after the kids were at school, and talked about life. We talked about and set new goals. I applied to go back to college. We're still "officially" waiting on financial aid to say 'yay' or 'nay', but I will be starting on November 9th. I'm excited. Hubster is too. The kids.. well, Babs loves her school. She's a kindergartener. Aside from Alex's experience, I've never heard of a horrible kindergarten experience. Alex loves his teacher and his classmates, and is making amazing strides. We're still trying to learn as much as we can about Aspergers, and his teacher is an awesome addition to our worlds. There's one little problem. She's moving to teach 5th grade, so Alex will have a new teacher. We're hoping that he makes enough growth between now and then that it doesn't send him on a downward spiral. Friday is our first Odyssey of the Mind meeting- (I'm a coach this year!)- and I'm nervous, but excited. So is Alex.

The hubster is actually looking at going back to school within a year of my start date. Our goal is to see how I'm handling everything, and go from there. Marissa is rocking at her University courses. We are busy preparing our Holiday Gift Guide, so we can share with you some of the coolest and hottest toys for this upcoming season. We've found quite a few different items, perfect for stocking stuffers for all ages, and some awesome boys toys.. we're just looking for those perfect girl toys to share with you! Along with our gift guide comes our giveaway extravaganza- be sure to bookmark our site, and share it with your friends. As soon as we have an official date- I will let you know!

All in all, life is good. 

Share with us- what upcoming holiday is your absolute favorite? What is your most favorite activity/pastime to enjoy??

Read more...

Life... it has a habit of just happening, doesn't it?? Our Journey..

So my job is one of the coolest. I get to stay at home with my kids, enjoy being a mom, witness all of their "firsts", and blog about products or companies I like, love, or recently tried and think is pretty cool.

For my loyal readers that have been around with me for awhile, you may know that I have a son who... well, is quite a different boy. We've had problems with him at school, and switched him several times trying to find the right placement for him. I've never felt that he was being academically challenged, and he wasn't getting along well with his peers.

As a mom, you always know when something's "off" about your child. It might be something like the way he says certain words, or the way he learned how to take apart the VCR by the time he was three, or the way that he doesn't look you in the eye when you're talking to him. We've always known that Alex was "different". In kindergarten he was tested, and they found him to be 'gifted'. I delved into the world of giftedness, trying to understand the positives and the negatives of having a gifted child.. how their minds work, the way they think out situations I'd never dream up in a million years. It's been quite the journey, and the learning experience.

For the most part I've learned that society sees gifted children as "smart". They don't realize there's a whole list of underlining difficulties with writing, and learning styles, the speed of absorbtion during learning and thinking outside the box. Our state sees giftedness as a qualifying ESE program, but it has limited support, and the children often don't get truly needed services or programs. Most just get extra work and are encouraged to fit in the box.. survive with the monotany of the "normal" school setting, and parents are left trying to find more ways to enrich their child's growing mind. I still believe that this is a situation that needs to be changed at a state, and perhaps even a national level.

I've personally been fighting with the school because I've always felt that there was some sort of a processing delay happening in Alex's head. His mind moves 150 miles per hour, but his mouth and his hand (when writing) doesn't. In fact, it's difficult sometimes, (unless he's 100% versed on the topic of interest), in having the patience to sit and listen to his opinion on the topic. Sometimes, it's REALLY difficult.

The school kept telling me that it's "one of his gifted quirks", and that he may grow out of it. This year, he started having behavior issues- which he had never had, to this magnitude, EVER- and we were even seeing it carry on at home. It worried me.. I requested in writing, (from the advice of a friend who was sick of me verbally requesting it), a psychoeducational assessment. It was finally granted.

Twelve very long weeks later, we've got a diagnosis.. or at least a highly probable diagnosis. My son has Asperger's Syndrome.

As a mom, you never want to hear that your child has anything- even if it's a fever or a bad grade on their test, never mind a possible life changing "Syndrome". While I understand- please do not get me wrong- that if anything, this 'diagnosis' will help him in ways I've been craving the school to help him for three years, it's still very hard to digest.

So I do what every computer-literate person does.. I googled it. What is AS? How does it affect my child? (It's wild to see the progression through the years, reflect on the early signs and symptoms that I missed, or misinterpreted.) How did I miss it? Then I begin to question my parenting.. Every choice I made. Suddenly, I feel like the worst mother ever, when I know I haven't been anywhere close to it- ever. Everything became clear to me, like a rebirth, seeing why there was a conflict here, or why he had an interest in this, or why he doesn't seem to "get" some things that instinctively my daughter, and his peers possess. He doesn't have the skill. He needs to be taught it, and carefully molded, so he has a better understanding of all of the "WHY'S" he's been asking since he could talk.

I'm excited about what this diagnosis means for him. I'm excited and optimistic that next year, in third grade, he may actually be given the opportunity to be amazing for the first time in his life, in a school setting. I'm hopeful for school personnel that will understand him, and work with him through his defecits, his weaknesses, and his strengths.  I'm eager to see the way he interacts with peers that are "like" him, instead of completely surrounded by neurotypical peers that just don't get him. I truly hope that no other parent ever has to go through the very rocky, extremely bumpy journey we had to endure so far, but I know that this new section of our journey is going to be a new learning experience for all of us.

We've turned a corner, and are excited about what the world has in store for us.

Read more...