AH- CHOOOOO!!!!!!

Angelina and I have terrible environmental allergies.  Yes, and like so many, the seasonal allergies have hit us hard this month. I have never seen Angelina suffer so bad. We do take prescription sprays and will be feeling better soon. I hope.

In the meantime, being prepared for an Angelina sneeze is like getting ready for a bomb to go off. Someone needs to scream "Incoming!!!!!!!"". I have just a second or so to run to her with a tissue . I am tripping over toys and chairs to reach which often is a futile attempt. Everything gets "slimed on" but the tissue.
I have found Angelina wiping her nose this week on :

-her shirt collar or sleeve... of course
-the throw blankets on our couch
-our dining room curtains
-our bedroom sheets
- her singing stuffed teddy bear
-my dish towels
-her soft covered books

and my favorite victim-

-mommies hair as I am sleeping next to her.

I know most of you are grossed out but what are you  to do.??  I wish I had this contraption I saw on another blog to attach to her head. That wouldn't attract too much attention....you think?

April Is Autism Awareness Month

Thank you to everyone who wants to know more about Autism. The more we know, the more we can understand..... and the more help, support we can give.

Many of you may have already seen this video which appeared on the news. I'd like to think this is the way most people would react in the same situation.  This is REAL life for many of us.


Click Here  to watch the video.

"Welcome to the Club"

To my fellow special needs moms...I love this post written by Jess.....

http://adiaryofamom.wordpress.com/2009/05/01/welcome-to-the-club/

Taking Trips

We visited family this past weekend. They live outside of Washington DC. Every time there is a trip planned I get anxious. Honestly I get anxious about a lot of things. Always have but more so since Angelina's diagnosis. Going places isn't always easy. Sometimes they are... but sometimes not. Packing for a child on the spectrum is a job and a half. I have to make sure we got everything that makes the  trips as close to structure and routine as possible. Familiar toys, familiar foods, familiar shoes, melatonin to sleep, extra clothes in case of "accidents", IPAD...please don't forget the IPAD.  Its our little treasure. 

Angelina loves the car rides. She puts her head out the window and its the best smile I have ever seen. She is such a cutie pie. She sings and reads and has a ball sitting in the backseat for nearly 5 hours. What a champ. I of course am not as comfortable. I am worried she will have to pee and not be able to communicate this to us ( Angelina does not able to yet communicate to us that she has to use the bathroom. We are not sure if its a control thing, or if she just doesn't know when the feeling or process is coming. It is a challenge and we have had many accidents in many different locations). or that she may get car sick since there was a period last year when she would vomit if a car ride was more than an hour. These are the many things going through my neurotic mind. Its hard to be me and have a child who doesn't fully communicate. I am guessing all the time. But...she didn't pee or trow up on this trip. She was a perfect passenger ( Daddy wishes he could say the same about mommy.)

Our trip was very nice. However, Angelina was not as comfortable at her uncles condo as she was in the car. She said " I wanna go home" at least ten times a day. If we were out and about not so bad but inside was a different story. Our last vacation to Disney last September was quite different. Angelina loved the plane, the hotel and the parks. We never heard "I wanna go home". I think that trip led us to believe Angelina was a full fledged traveler. Not quite just yet.  This weekend sleeping was a challenge as it has always been. She wants mommy and daddy to snuggle with her. Not always the most comfortable way to sleep. And then there were allergies this weekend. The spring bloom was tough on Angelina. She sneezed and scratched her itchy eyes terribly. This made her very tired and cranky.

In all honesty my sweet Angelina has been quite a trooper in most "away from home" places. She is now more flexible and more able to transition. She usually entertains herself with some help from mommy and daddy. Things are quite different from the tantrum filled screaming days we use to know.

Yes....things are getting better.

Us too...someday?

Recently I had a couple of fellow special needs moms tell me there child no longer had a diagnosis. They were undiagnosed. Wow...that's great to hear. Its always encouraging to hear such hopeful stories. See the smile on the moms faces. I am truly happy  for anyone who receives that great news.
While I feel so many different emotions on the topic, I can't lie that I have the thought "why not Angelina?  Why not me?"
I start dreaming of all the things that would be different if Angelina was undiagnosed. She and I could talk about her day...everyday. We could go shopping together and pick out pretty clothes for her to wear. We could get our nails done together. We could.....
But then I look across the room at Angelina and I know what I share with her right now in time is enough. We have our own special moments...we laugh together, we talk our own language to each other and we snuggle all the time. We love each other more than anything or anyone can imagine.

That's plenty to be happy about.

A Special Dad

Nineteen years ago today I lost my father. I loved him dearly but....
we had a different, complicated relationship. I have always wished I knew him better, understood him more, and had a closer bond. A daughter needs a close bond with her daddy.

My husband Chris and our Angelina have that bond I wish I had with my father.
There is a love there that all little girls wish for. Pure joy and deep love. Not sure who loves whom more. Angelina looks adoringly at him with a big smile that could break your heart. Chris looks at Angelina with such pride and calls her his hero. He believes there is nothing she can't do. He believes she is as special as they come. And it has nothing to do with Autism. He loves her for every little song she screams out of her lungs and every little dance she makes up. He loves her for her stubbornness and her wet kisses. He cant wait to see her everyday and loves to carry off to bed when she snuggles up to him at night. He loves her for all he knows she will be someday and all she may not be.

He simply loves her and tells her so everyday!

Even more than wishing I had that kind of relationship with my father I had always wished for that relationship to exist for my daughter.

I am so lucky!

Miss Angelina

My little princess slept through the night. AHHH! What 7 hours of sleep can do for you. I feel like superwoman today. I did a million things by 11:30 this morning. Couldn't stop me!!!
My first task as supermom today was when the princess decided she prefer to pee pee on her chair than on a potty. I guess I understand that....she was reading several different books at 6:30 AM in her playroom ( like an angel) and then the feelings comes....why stand up and tell mommy you have to pee. Why not just let it loose right there, right then. Then she proceeds to take off her pajama pants and underwear and read butt naked. As I came up the stairs with my coffee feeling like a champ I peeked in at her and saw the nakedness. I instantly knew...but couldn't find the evidence . At this point she was on her way out of the playroom running down the hall. I searched every room wondering where was the PEE???? She tossed her clothes behind her bookcase and the puddle was under her desk.Good ol Resolve carpet cleaner....we are pals. We fight in combat together against smelly Angelina odors.

I forgive Angelina as always. My lil princess is still  challenged when it comes to recognizing when she "has to go". She hasn't been able to verbalize it to us yet. But she will someday. She will someday no longer leave me pee puddles...no longer run up and down the halls butt naked..I will no longer have to buy cases of Resolve ...someday. That's ok.