Back From Paradise

Well, we are back. We are unpacked and the boys are playing with their new toys "HO HO" got them for Christmas. "The girl" is running around the house screeching about every toy in the house as if it is the first time she has ever seen them. Coming home is bitter sweet since we had such a wonderful trip. Mexico was amazing and the weather couldn't have been better, but it was the time we got to spend with family and friends that made it truly memorable.

We stayed in a small, rural area about two hours north of Puerta Vallarta. My parents fell in love with the area as soon as they saw it and decided to build their ocean-front dream home. They really have put their heart and soul into creating an amazing place. They also have a wonderful group of friends who live around them that make living there even more special.

Connor and his siblings really were spoiled at Honey and Papa's. They got to go to the beach every day, play in the pool and have hot cocoa while watching the sun set. Where we live in Colorado we don't get a sunset, so it makes it even more amazing to see the beauty of the sky and the sun as it goes "Night Night" into the ocean. My dad, "Papa" made lattes for everyone every night including Connor's hemp milk "latte". My mom, "Honey" even made a special hot cocoa for Connor using a special Mexican chocolate and hemp milk. We always gauged the time based on the location of the sun in the sky since we never wore a watch. This was a bit difficult for Connor a few times because one of Connor's biggest OCD's is his obsession with time.



I was a bit worried about the food aspect of going to another country and not having direct access to familiar food for Connor. I knew we were going to be in a rural area and that finding specialty food would be impossible. I also knew though that my mom had been stocking up on "Connor food" for months in preparation for our trip. Plus, Mexican food is one of the only ethnic food that is fairly easy for Connor to eat. Tacos, beans, rice are pretty much a staple at Mexican food restaurants and all easy for Connor to eat. Terry, my parents housekeeper went above and beyond making food safe for Connor every day. The language barrier was a bit of an issue initially since Terry only speaks Spanish and my Spanish is quite rusty, but she was very caring and eager to learn. She made everything from scratch using local ingredients that were fresh and organic. Connor never seemed to tire of refried beans though. No matter what else was made, Connor would always have a big plate of freshly made beans and corn tortillas.

Christmas in Mexico was an experience. I was able to learn about the local traditions, see beautiful pinatas being made, and hear from Terry about what they will eat for Christmas. In the end, it is always about the food. Ho Ho (Santa) even found us. The boys were a bit worried that he wouldn't find us in Mexico at first. Then they had fun trying to figure out if he would still ride his sleigh in Mexico or ride on one of the many whales that swim right outside of Casa Lagarto.



The kids had so much fun spending time outside all day. If they weren't in the pool, they were at one of the local beaches. We collected sea shells, and they took turns burying each other in the sand. They learned to boogy board and body surf. It was an amazing experience to watch their enjoyment. Connor loves being outside and being active. He has very few difficult behaviors as long as he is busy. Connor even taught himself a little "household Spanish". He gave a few lessons to all of us one evening out of a book my parents had. He told us that he was the teacher and no one was allowed to help or correct his gringo accent. He even talked to Terry whenever he could.



It was nice to spend time with our friends Aran and her family and see her son play with our little girl. Aran gave a few baking lessons and even though I don't enjoy cooking myself, I love watching and of course eating. My grandfather, we named "Papa Grande", was able to make it as well. We all love having him with us and seeing him with my children was wonderful. More life long memories were made and he reminded us of how powerful memories are. We would have all loved to have my grandmother there, but she is always felt. We even saw a hummingbird a few times to remind us that she will always be with us.



I just want to thank my parents for allowing us to share that time with them in their wonderful Mexican paradise. They are very generous people who spare no expense for the ones they love. My mom had been planning the trip for almost a year and it was apparent by the amount of care that went into everything.



My friend Aran said that her resolution for this year is going to be to live in the moment. I couldn't agree more. We only get a small time on this planet and even less time with the people we love. Between work and the stresses of family and obligations, it is the small beautiful moments that make it all worthwhile.

Have a wonderful 2009.

Getting Ready for Mexico

This Christmas is going to be a first for us. My entire family is flying down to Mexico for Christmas. We are all going to stay at my parents house, Casa Lagarto. My parents took my boys down to their house last spring break, but this will be a first for the baby, my husband and myself. When I say my entire family is going, I mean EVERYONE. I'm not excited yet since I am still plugging away getting things done before we leave. My parents have been stocking up on food for Connor to eat at their house for sometime. They also don't eat a lot of food down there that is not "Connor friendly". They have a lot of fresh fruits and veggies and corn tortillas. They eat a lot of fresh seafood and beans too. Whatever they can't get locally, my parents buy from the Puerta Vallarta Costco. Yes, there is even one down there. It makes getting diapers and such easier for us.

Next Blog Post: A Casa Lagarto Christmas!

Have a great Christmas Everyone! See you soon.

Thanksgiving

I realized recently that I never wrote about Thanksgiving. We had a great day spending time with family. We all decided this year to not cook. None of us were particularly interested in hosting this year and spending a lot of time and money to make a bunch of food that would barely get eaten. Instead we met my family at a restaurant for lunch and met with my husband's family for dinnertime snacks.

Connor is really into seafood right now. Since Disney World, Connor has only wanted to eat seafood. He asks all the time if I will make crab legs or shrimp for dinner. Since I don't eat seafood (nothing from the sea) that has been quite a challenge.

The restaurant where we had lunch was a buffet and traditionally buffets are a nightmare for us. There is very seldom anything without gluten or dairy for Connor, and the contamination factor is huge. I called the restaurant first thing in the morning and asked about the menu. I spoke to the manager who informed me that all the seafood would be plain, without butter or anything else. There was going to be plenty of fruit and meats also. I would always ask to speak to either the manager or the chef directly. I always stress the allergy and ask for specific dishes that would be safe. If there are no choices available for Connor, I would just bring as much of his own food from home as possible. The nice thing about this particular restaurant was that the seafood was in a different area than the other food. The fruit and meats were also all separate from things like bread or cheese. It was nice and easy. Connor had a good time and loved his crab legs! It was a nice way to spend a holiday. With no clean-up either...

It has begun...

I started Connor on Valtrex yesterday. He immediately starting letting out toxic smells. He was off but nothing major. Today, on the other hand, was pretty major.

Connor has OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder. I feel like most of what makes him different is linked to his OCD. When he was little, two or three years old, we were living in fear that anything we did could lead (and usually did) to a major meltdown. We couldn't turn on or off any lights. We couldn't turn the TV on or off...so on. We couldn't even flush our own toilet. My grandfather made the mistake one time of flushing the toilet with Connor around. My grandfather still carries that baggage. It isn't pretty. Connor would be fixated on it and would want you to undo the act. Of course we couldn't undo some things and really couldn't or we would be feeding into the obsession. Connor hasn't behaved like this in years, until today.

Today I saw so many of these behaviors return. He wouldn't let me put his bowl on the table. He wanted me to do it a certain way. When I refused, he snapped. After an hour of screaming irrationally for an hour, I finally had to put pressure on his torso. I learned about this from Temple Gradin in a conference one year. She is an adult with high functioning autism, and she talks about pressure and how it soothes the brain when "short circuiting". It kind of "reboots" his system. He is still off, but nothing like before.

I have to say, as much as I hate going through this, and hate Connor having to go through this, I hope this means he is "a responder". Stan Kurtz talks about the first week being the worst. I just focus on what will hopefully come out of this and am glad Connor is on Thanksgiving break.

Autism Warriors

I have to pass on a great news site devoted to autism. It is a very informative site and the writers, I believe, are all (or most) parents of autistic children.

http://www.ageofautism.com/

I think we all need to become aware of a serious issue going on with the Somalian immigrants living in Minnesota. The rates of autism in their children are 1 in 28 children! Yes, I will repeat that, 1 in 28 children! I know the national rates of autism is supposedly 1 in 150, which is an extremely conservative number, but 1 in 28?! The government is dragging their feet (no surprise) to gather data to try and figure out why these particular people, in this particular place, are seeing such catastrophically high numbers. Please read in more detail about this story and the fight ahead for these people at these great sites:

http://www.ageofautism.com/

http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/


I also want to mention a fight going on between a great autism advocate, JB Handley and the man I refer to as Da Devil (He da devil) Paul Offit. Please go to Age of Autism and read about the lies DD is spewing now. He has even written a book talking about us "parasites" and how we are ruining the world. I hate to type the title, but I think most of you will enjoy the irony, Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. Only Da Devil would consider a cure for autism wrong. By the way, for those wondering who DD is, he is the "brilliant VACCINE INVENTOR" who is mentoring Amanda Peet and encouraging her fight against Jenny McCarthy and other "parasite" parents like me.

Visiting the Doc

Yesterday Connor had his first doctor's appointment in years. He doesn't get sick, and traditional doctors aren't very knowledgeable about autism, so there is never a reason to go. I decided a couple weeks ago to go back to our DAN! (defeat autism now!) doctor to see what was new with DAN! and to get a new perspective. Connor is doing so amazing, but he is not recovered. He is still awkward with peers and gets obsessive about topics. I was very interested to see what the doctor would say after seeing Connor. Our DAN! doctor has been our doctor since the beginning. We were one of his first autistic patients in his practice. He didn't know a lot about autism back then, but decided to dedicate his practice to treating kids with autism.

He had a couple of new ideas that I had thought of a few years ago and never pursued. Since many of our kids have viral issues, we are going to test for viruses. In Jenny McCarthy's latest book, "Mother Warriors" several parents talk about how much their child improved after addressing viruses. Please consult your DAN! doctor if you are interested in more information on getting rid of viruses. (check out Stan Kurtz's info at TACA)

We also talked about Hyperbaric Oxygen treatments. Our DAN! doc has done a lot of research into HBOT and feels that it is a great treatment for autism. He had also traveled to Fresno and visited the facility that we are going to go to in March. He was impressed with the facility. We are going to do some testing to ensure maximum benefits from HBOT.

I always feel like you need to go back and readdress things that didn't make it on your plate before. One great way to do this is to keep a journal. I always tell new moms just starting biomedical or ABA treatments with their kid's to write everything down. Sometimes years later you will finally get to something. We are always going down a path, and sometimes we find a fork in the road. Sometimes we go left and sometimes we go right. That path takes us down another path...and so on. We need to go back now and again and readdress the other direction, the path we didn't choose. Sometimes it just wasn't the right time.

We are going to do some new testing. I will let you know how it goes, and what path we decide to go down...

Our Trip to Disney

My family and I returned from our week-long vacation to Disney World. This year was the best family trip we have had. My parents decided to join us for four days this year. They are a lot of fun to have with us, and the kids love having their "Honey" and "Papa" with them. Our great friends, Aran and Chad also drove up to meet us. It is great to see them and their little one, Jon. Connor also had his best trip ever. He was much calmer and more in the moment then he has ever been on a trip. He wasn't consumed with what was next, or overwhelmed by all the excitement as much as usual. He did have a couple moments, but by far he did great.




I must say that going to Disney World with my family is a really fun thing. To be able to go into any restaurant and say we have a gluten, dairy, and soy allergy and still be able to eat fun, new and tasty food is amazing. Connor never had to go without or not have what everyone else was having. We wanted ice cream the first day and sure enough the ice cream stand at Animal Kingdom had gluten free rice dream ice cream. I highly suggest becoming acquainted with what the parks carry that is gluten, and dairy free. If you call or email any of the parks special allergy staff, they will send you a list of every park and what they carry. They even have links to the product websites so you can read the ingredients and become acquainted with the brand.




I did a couple of things this year that I think were helpful. The first thing I did was have every park mapped out for Connor. He and I sat down and decided what rides we were going on and when. He loves roller coasters, so I knew we had to get to those first. Also, I made meal reservations at sit down restaurants (as apposed to the quick service places) so that we could all relax a bit and not be rushed to find a table or to eat. The prices are a bit more, but if you budget for at least one sit down restaurant a day it is worth it. Depending on the park, time of year, and restaurant, you will want to make reservations at these places as soon as possible.

Another reason Disney World is such a great trip for us is because of the special needs pass. This is a pass they give people with special issues like people in wheelchairs or people with autism. Waiting in line is the number one reason people tell me they don't want to try a place like Disney. I will tell you that the day we went to Magic Kingdom, we had a big sit down breakfast in the park (Crystal Palace Character Breakfast) and took a lot of breaks, and we still rode every ride, and some twice, before our six o'clock dinner reservations.



I can not say enough about the food at the parks. Connor is so use to having a hamburger with no bun at every restaurant, that he goes crazy in the restaurants at Disney. Disney also takes food allergies very serious. The chef comes out at every restaurant to to talk about the allergies and discuss food options. One of Connor's favorite dinners was in Epcot at Japan's Tempenyaki restaurant. First the manager came out and talked about the allergies, then the chef cleaned the grill really well, then she cooked Connor's food in front of us first. He is on a seafood kick right now so he got the kid's shrimp meal. She cooked his shrimp and veggies in front of us on the big grill tempenyaki style. He loved it!





Connor celebrated his birthday while on vacation. We actually plan it that way every year. October is one of the slower times a year, so we plan our trip to coincide with his birthday and Halloween. This year, Connor chose to go to Hollywood studios for his birthday. We have never been huge fans of this park in the past, but this year we loved it. I made reservations for breakfast at a Little Einsteins character breakfast for that morning. Connor danced with the characters and had a great breakfast. We had dinner at a place were you sit in cars and watch old sci-fi movie clips like in a drive-in. The food there isn't the best, but Connor gets a rice milk shake, so it is cool. We also had a birthday cake for him. I ordered it about a week in advance. I told them the allergies and that was it!! They did a wonderful job. Connor also got a "It's My Birthday" button with his name on it, so every time a staff member walked by they would say "Happy Birthday Connor". I can't tell you how amazing it was to see the look on his face. He really felt special...in a good way.




Disney does not skimp on anything. My husband and I always say that it is in the details. They really made our life easier for the week we were there. If you have a chance to go, please do. I would recommend staying on Disney. They have great transportation that takes you anywhere on Disney's grounds. Not having to get a rental car saves on the stress and the budget. We are already talking about next year. I am already saving for our trip. I don't want it to be a financial burden, so we use airline miles and start saving the moment we get back.




Our next trip is Mexico for Christmas. My entire family is going to my parents home in Mexico for Christmas. Even my Papa is going to make it. We are looking forward to that. Connor is using that trip as a way to focus. Check out my mom's new blog too www.casalagarto.blogspot.com