For Spring Break, I thought maybe I would shock my family and actually cook. I decided to blog this historical event.
Today, I cooked the recipe found here.
It was delicious. Cooking the chicken in the Crock Pot all day definitely got the house smelling delightful. I would change two things: 1. Too much pepper! I would cut it in half. 2. I overcooked the bacon. I used Becky's advice to cook it in the oven, but I need to decrease the time allowed.
It still tasted fantastic. Scott wants me to marinade some ribs in the Lawry's marinade for Tuesday. He is now a fan of that. I never would have tried it without a recommendation from someone else. Two thumbs up!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Arrogance
Just been reading some articles on autism spectrum disorders, particularly the "causes" and the "cures." Two words kept sifting through my mind, "desperation" and "arrogance."
Autism is not AIDS, and autism is not cancer. Autism is something that individuals must live with. It is a neurological disorder. It is not a disease to be cured by those so desperate to have control over "fixing" everything. There are many who are trying---desperately--- to fix their kids whom they believe are broken. Can children with autism make developmental gains? Absolutely. My sons are living and breathing proof of that. I know others who have gained as well. It was typically because of the tireless efforts of their parents to set things in place for their success. And when I say tireless, that's an understatement. But I have not rubbed crazy creams all over them to "detoxify" their systems, nor have I loaded their systems with experimental drugs. I would try a special diet if my son actually ate more than 4 things.
So, let's move to arrogance. Arrogance is putting so much effort into figuring out why your child has autism that you have no energy to put toward the child. Arrogance is believing that everything has a human fix. Arrogance is blaming the world...vaccines...food...environment...parenting... rather than just DEALING with the realities of the situation. Suing people whom you think should be blamed. What solace is supposed to come from that? Will a law suit change the child's condition? How about the arrogance of saying you are right and, no matter what, others are wrong? The courts? Biased. Scientific evidence? Paid for by the vaccine and insurance companies. Seriously? How does that help our kids?
And again, I move back to the basics. Who cares? I still have kids with mountains to climb that other, "neurotypical," kids do not have. I still have kids growing up in a world that is slow to accommodate their differences. I still have a five year old starting Kindergarten with the speech of an emerging 4 year old. I still have sons with autism.
Autism is not AIDS, and autism is not cancer. Autism is something that individuals must live with. It is a neurological disorder. It is not a disease to be cured by those so desperate to have control over "fixing" everything. There are many who are trying---desperately--- to fix their kids whom they believe are broken. Can children with autism make developmental gains? Absolutely. My sons are living and breathing proof of that. I know others who have gained as well. It was typically because of the tireless efforts of their parents to set things in place for their success. And when I say tireless, that's an understatement. But I have not rubbed crazy creams all over them to "detoxify" their systems, nor have I loaded their systems with experimental drugs. I would try a special diet if my son actually ate more than 4 things.
So, let's move to arrogance. Arrogance is putting so much effort into figuring out why your child has autism that you have no energy to put toward the child. Arrogance is believing that everything has a human fix. Arrogance is blaming the world...vaccines...food...environment...parenting... rather than just DEALING with the realities of the situation. Suing people whom you think should be blamed. What solace is supposed to come from that? Will a law suit change the child's condition? How about the arrogance of saying you are right and, no matter what, others are wrong? The courts? Biased. Scientific evidence? Paid for by the vaccine and insurance companies. Seriously? How does that help our kids?
And again, I move back to the basics. Who cares? I still have kids with mountains to climb that other, "neurotypical," kids do not have. I still have kids growing up in a world that is slow to accommodate their differences. I still have a five year old starting Kindergarten with the speech of an emerging 4 year old. I still have sons with autism.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Doctor visit
Just to be safe, Ignatius and I were checked out by an orthopedic doctor today. We both got great reviews. Ignatius is in no pain anymore, and I had what he considered "tissue pain," but the Xrays looked good. He indicated that it could either get better or worse... at which point, for the second time this week, I wondered, "Why didn't I go to med school, again?"
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Grumble, grumble, mumble...
"Mom, I need clay."
"For what?"
"I need to make a model of Mt. McKinley for math class."
"Well, how much clay?"
"I don't know."
This turned into hours of screaming, throwing things, and, well, I am not even getting to how Ignatius reacted...
Yes, this project is due on Tuesday. (No, it was not assigned on Friday.) Yes... he had to determine the % increase and % decrease between the object and the original. And yes, he himself chose Mt. {freaking} McKinley when he could have done this project on, oh, say, a FORK.
I love my son... and that is why he is still breathing right now.
"For what?"
"I need to make a model of Mt. McKinley for math class."
"Well, how much clay?"
"I don't know."
This turned into hours of screaming, throwing things, and, well, I am not even getting to how Ignatius reacted...
Yes, this project is due on Tuesday. (No, it was not assigned on Friday.) Yes... he had to determine the % increase and % decrease between the object and the original. And yes, he himself chose Mt. {freaking} McKinley when he could have done this project on, oh, say, a FORK.
I love my son... and that is why he is still breathing right now.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
This is ridiculous
So, I was so excited about the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. There I sat in my overly cozy basement, watching the athletes process across the screen... and I didn't even make it to the US... I was zonked! The bad part of that was that I have shoulder and hip/back soreness from the accident, so, when I was finally awakened by a screaming Max (his father was attempting to put Children's Tylenol in his feverish body), I was a wreck!
Had a lot of weird dreams last night/this morning. Alarm went off at 6:45, as Ignatius has a Scholastic Bowl tournament today at Metcalf. I stumble into the bathroom, look in the mirror and am greeted by a blazing red eye. Isn't that special?
So, Max and I toddle off to McDonalds for his Saturday morning biscuits and "gravies," which he has yet to touch two hours later, and to pick up cash for the tournament goers (now Ignatius and Scott) so they can purchase lunch. A half an hour into my time with Max, he has diarrhea. And it wasn't in the toilet, if you catch my meaning.
Seriously, if you can reboot a day, I would make it this one. And, well, maybe Thursday also.
Had a lot of weird dreams last night/this morning. Alarm went off at 6:45, as Ignatius has a Scholastic Bowl tournament today at Metcalf. I stumble into the bathroom, look in the mirror and am greeted by a blazing red eye. Isn't that special?
So, Max and I toddle off to McDonalds for his Saturday morning biscuits and "gravies," which he has yet to touch two hours later, and to pick up cash for the tournament goers (now Ignatius and Scott) so they can purchase lunch. A half an hour into my time with Max, he has diarrhea. And it wasn't in the toilet, if you catch my meaning.
Seriously, if you can reboot a day, I would make it this one. And, well, maybe Thursday also.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Crash, bam, boom
It started off as a seemingly innocent Thursday. I was on my way to drop Ignatius off at school and then head off to pick up pal, Nancy Miller, who was attending a meeting with me for Max. Stopped in the left hand lane heading westbound on Route 9... crunch! Slammed into from behind.
I guess the good thing is we didn't see it coming. I suppose that we would be in worse shape had we "braced" for it. Ignatius and I were both a little brain jumbled, if you will. My knee and my lower back are acting weird, but that may be from working out, too. I'm pretty sure the knee thing is new, though.
Scott took the van in for an estimate. Looks like between $8K and $10K on my car. I'm sure his little Altima is much worse. When Scott went to the body shop, it happened to be the same one that the other car was towed to. So, Scott took some pics of both autos, which I will be posting shortly. The guys at the auto place were wondering what "the other car" looked like. To the casual observer (me), my car looked a lot better than I thought it would based on the sound of the crash. However, when people who know cars looked at it... it's not in the greatest condition. So now, we wait for insurance companies to chat. The dude in front of me, into whom I was shoved, had probably the least amount of problems.
So, I am saying a prayer of gratitude tonight that Max was not in the car, as his booster seat was thrown to the front, Ignatius' glasses were thrown off of his head, my iPhone was thrown out of its holster in my console, and an old Mountain Dew can was spewed across the middle seat. I am also grateful that it was a Nissan Altima and not a tractor trailer.
I guess the good thing is we didn't see it coming. I suppose that we would be in worse shape had we "braced" for it. Ignatius and I were both a little brain jumbled, if you will. My knee and my lower back are acting weird, but that may be from working out, too. I'm pretty sure the knee thing is new, though.
Scott took the van in for an estimate. Looks like between $8K and $10K on my car. I'm sure his little Altima is much worse. When Scott went to the body shop, it happened to be the same one that the other car was towed to. So, Scott took some pics of both autos, which I will be posting shortly. The guys at the auto place were wondering what "the other car" looked like. To the casual observer (me), my car looked a lot better than I thought it would based on the sound of the crash. However, when people who know cars looked at it... it's not in the greatest condition. So now, we wait for insurance companies to chat. The dude in front of me, into whom I was shoved, had probably the least amount of problems.
So, I am saying a prayer of gratitude tonight that Max was not in the car, as his booster seat was thrown to the front, Ignatius' glasses were thrown off of his head, my iPhone was thrown out of its holster in my console, and an old Mountain Dew can was spewed across the middle seat. I am also grateful that it was a Nissan Altima and not a tractor trailer.
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