One more time

I had such good intentions when I started this blog long ago. I had planned to keep it up to date, keep it interesting, and just build something great. Then life went on and things began to change. I found myself busier and busier. This blog fell behind and was rarely ever a thought in my mind. I'm sorry for that.

A lot has happened in the last couple of years. The boys have grown leaps and bounds. Their communication and social skills have both improved greatly. I created a new PTCO (parent teacher community group) for all children with developmental differences within our county. We made it through an entire school year of events and are getting to ready to start a new year. Then the biggest change of all is that Gatlin will be starting kindergarten this year!

With all of these exciting changes in life I would like to try this whole blogging thing one more time. I think it will be good for me to write again and who knows maybe I will be able to help one of you along the way. In any case I want to try this again and hopefully this time I will do a better job at this. I have a lot I would like to share and there is no better time to start than now. :)

Autism Awareness Day 20

Autism Awareness Day 20 - Do not fear an Autism diagnosis. I have heard of family with children that are most likely on the spectrum but the family refuses to have their child tested. Believe me when I say that I understand it can be hard to admit that your child may not be typical but you don't have to be afraid of the diagnosis. When Gatlin was diagnosed I went through a whole range of emotions, I wasn't sure what to do. I wasn't sure how I was going to cope let alone be able to help with all of the daunting therapies that he was going to need.

It was beyond overwhelming and then at some point I just realized that it didn't have to be traumatic. Gatlin was still my child, still my baby that loved so much for who he was and the diagnosis didn't change that. He was who he was regardless of what you labeled it, he was still Gatlin. What the diagnosis did do was point us in the right direction of learning to understand him better and to get the help and support we needed. His diagnosis wasn't a tragedy, it was a way of getting us on to the path we needed to travel for better understanding, learning, and growing.

By the time we got Draiman's diagnosis it was no big deal, we understood our boys so much better now. We had been able to learn about Autism and better understand why our boys did some of the things they did. We had learned how to better communicate with them which led to less and less tantrums. We were learning new ways to teach our children things that we weren't able to before. We were also learning how to meet their sensory needs and life was just changing, but for the better.

So if you have a child that you or your family thinks may be on the spectrum then I urge you to follow through on getting them tested. I know it can be scary but it's a necessary step. The worst case scenario is that your child will in fact be diagnosed with Autism, but if you ask me that's not really a worst case scenario. I think it would be much worse to not have them tested because of your own fears and deny them and your family the opportunity to finally understand your child better. To also deny your child any helpful resources that may be available to them with a diagnosis of Autism. So please put your fears aside and do what needs to be done for your child's sake.

Autism Awareness Day 19

Autism Awareness Day 19 - Putting aside our adult agendas. Yes I'm still behind on these posts but it's important to me so I will continue on. Hopefully you all aren't sick of them and hopefully some of you are actually benefiting from my posts. So now lets get back to the topic of putting aside our adult agendas.

As an adult you have a lot of responsibilities, expectations, plans, etc but when you have a child with special needs you will find that sometimes it all goes out the window. Some days run smoothly and I get things accomplished that I had planned to but other days just don't work that way. Before the diagnosis of Autism I thought I must be some kind of awful parent who just couldn't get her children to do what they should. A parent who was incapable of getting things done that should be done. I was so frustrated, I was trying so hard to get my boys to do the things they "should" and to manage my household and my photography business the way I "should" but nothing was working right. Why were other Moms and other photographer Mom's able to get things done and I wasn't? Why was I failing so miserably??

Then I finally started realizing that Gatlin just wasn't a typical child, then came his diagnosis and soon after the realization that Draiman wasn't a typical child either. My boys have Autism, therefore they have special needs which means that the things that work for other parents don't always work for us. I finally started to see that things were just going to be different for us and that different is ok. It's perfectly ok that my children haven't met their milestones in the same timeline as someone else's child. It's perfectly ok that our household, our lives, are not the same as some other families. It is perfectly ok that I that I focus more on what my children need and less on what I thought I "should" be doing.

One of my favorite movies that we've watched dealing with Autism is called The Horse Boy. There were so many ways in which I could relate to this family, so many things they learned that we also learned along the way. The journey was crazy and amazing at the same time. My favorite parts of the movie are when Rowan's Dad talks about needing to put our adult agendas aside and do what's best for our children and when he says his prayer for his son and everyone affected by Autism. It was a powerful movie and he makes some powerful points. Sometimes we really do need to put our adult agendas aside, and I believe this goes for special needs parents as well as typical parents.

http://horseboymovie.com/

Autism Awareness Day 18

Autism Awareness Day 18 - Have you heard of AMA? For this post I want to talk about a great place called Awakening Minds Arts & Athletics. Now I must start off by saying that I've only been there once and we haven't taken any classes there yet but we hope to at some point. What I do know is that they offer some great classes for special needs and several of the parents in the Autism group I'm in love it there. I also know that they sell some sensory toys, weighted lap pads, and pressure vests which is great for any family with a child that has Autism. Some time in the near future they will also be selling some of my hand made soaps too.

The great thing about AMA is that it provides a place for children to be creative do some sensory play. Art is a great thing for all children and I'm happy to know that there is a place that helps children with special needs to find the artist within. I also really love that they sell some of the sensory toys which are something you don't find in just any store. I bought two of the chewy necklaces for my boys and they have been great to have around.

So if you haven't check them out yet then head on over to their page. Your child or a child you know may benefit from their services. For more information please contact them directly as I'm only telling you the very little that I know. I just hope to spread the word about them.

And on a side note if any of you would like to sponsor some art classes there for Gatty then please feel free to do so. LOL

https://www.facebook.com/AwakeningMindsArt

Autism Awareness Day 17

Autism Awareness Day 17 - Teaching your child and/or providing therapy at home need not be drilling, boring, or uninspired. Today I taught Gatlin how to create art on ceramic tiles with alcohol inks. This was fun for both him and I, but it also counts towards speech therapy and occupational therapy as well as just learning colors. The occupational therapy comes into play when he was helping me unscrew the caps from the inks, touching the inks and blending solution with his hands (sensory), holding the small ink bottles to place the drops and/or draw lines with them, and also when he put the caps back on. Through out all of this he was using his hands and working on fine motor skills. 


Speech therapy was really occurring throughout the entire process as I talked to him about what we were doing and he responded when he could. He was listening to me, following directions or simple commands, and responding appropriately. He named the colors as we used them which helped further teach him about colors and he told me when he was done with each color and when he was done with the entire piece itself. So you see it was a fun experience for both of us but were still working on the skills he needs. Keep it simple, keep it fun, engage your child in their interests and they will learn. Best of all it will be a bonding experience as well.
And here they are ..... Gatlin originals .... the first of many more to come. :) Please note that even though I assisted him these are very much his works of art. I did very little to contribute to these masterpieces.

Autism Awareness Day 12

Autism Awareness Day 12 - Social skills or lack there of. A lot of children with Autism lack social skills. They do not easily pick up on social cues and they are not good at interpreting emotions and facial expressions. Both Gatlin and Draiman tended to ignore people around them in the past and still even now at times. So we try hard to work on getting them to say "Hi" and Bye" or other things like that.

At school when I pick Gatlin up I tell him to say "bye" and "see you later" to his teachers. I also say it to him when I leave or prompt him to say it when someone leaves our home. He's getting really good at saying the words but he doesn't always know to say them on his own without being prompted. Well yesterday we went to Best Buy and as we started to leave the store after checking out Gatlin suddenly yelled "Bye, see you!" It was the cutest thing and I was so proud of him for using his words and using them appropriately. We had not prompted him to say anything at that moment. He just amazes me every day.

Autism Awareness Day 9

Autism Awareness Day 9 - Sleep, sleep, please go to sleep. I was going to post something last night but I was too tired to mess with it so I tried to get some extra sleep. I'm tired a lot to be honest and a lot of it has to do with my boys and their sleep issues. A lot of children with Autism tend to have sleep issues. For our family it's anything from difficulty falling asleep, restlessness, leg cramps, trouble staying asleep, to waking up several times a night. Now add in the fact that I have two boys that have those same troubles and you'll soon understand why I'm tired a lot.

Both Gatlin and Draiman have issues falling asleep easily on their own. This is one reason it is important to have a consistent bed time routine to help cue their bodies into sleep time. We do give our boys melatonin, though I hope to stop using it. That helps Gatty a lot which is good so that he can sleep for school the next day but Draiman fights it like crazy so at times it's almost pointless giving it to him. Then once we get them to sleep it's a matter of keeping them asleep. They both can tend to wake up several times a night. Poor Gatlin at times wakes up with severe leg cramps which then makes it difficult to calm him down and get him back to sleep. Other times my boys will wake up at around 3 am ready to go like it's time to wake up for the day.

This can be a crazy cycle for me. I tend to stay up for a while after the boys go to sleep so that I can work on things I need to get done. Then when I'm ready to finally go to sleep about half the time Draiman has already woken up or will soon. Sometimes I spend my night back and forth dealing with one child only to get him to sleep and have the other one wake up on me. Or there are those nights that one wakes up and is so loud that they wake the other one up and no one will go back to sleep for hours at least. A lot of times I wake up with a child or two sleeping with me. Just this week I woke up with both of them laying across me.

The sleeplessness can be frustrating but it's just the way it is. Some days are good and they both will sleep through the night but unfortunately that doesn't tend to happen as often. So we just do the best we can each night and hope for the best. If a night is particularly rough then there will more than likely be naps later. Although naps for Gatty can sometimes cause more bed time issues. But like I said we do the best we can, but you'll have to forgive me if I'm not the most sympathetic to others who complain about newborns not sleeping. Most newborns will eventually learn to sleep through the night just fine. We on the other hand have been wishing for uninterrupted sleep for over 4 years now and I don't see it getting better right away. It's ok though because I love my boys regardless of any sleep I lose.

Autism Awareness Day 8

Autism Awareness Day 8 - Sensory Seekers. My boys are what some refer to as sensory seekers. What that means is that they crave sensory input or stimulation. They need activities like jumping, bouncing, and rough and tumble play. Ever since my boys were very small they would always try to lift things that seemed way too heavy for them. That's because their muscles needed that input. This is why Draiman loves to jump pretty much all the time and why he also enjoys walking on his tip toes. Gatlin also loves to bounce, jump, and run around a lot.

Without these kinds of activities it is very hard for my boys to settle down and focus. They need these activities on a regular basis and when they don't get enough of it then you see them get crazy hyper or overly agitated. Not to mention that they are nearly impossible to get to go to sleep if they haven't used up enough energy.

This is why in our home we have a fairly large preschool trampoline, an exercise ball for bouncing, a crash pad for jumping and wrestling, weighted balls for playing with, and several other balls as well. We spend quite a bit of time rough housing through out the day too. My boys love to be slammed down on the crash pad or smashed against the back of the couch. We have to watch out for Draiman too because he enjoys head butting, what hurts us feels good to him. Though he has gotten much better about that.

Now it may sound odd but these things are actually good for them. They need this kind of sensory input and like I said it does help them focus better. It also provides a good way for us to engage them, to actually pay attention to us rather than just being in their own world. Through P.L.A.Y project therapy we use the rough and tumble play to get the boys to communicate with us too. Draiman rarely says anything but if I'm smashing him in the chair behind me and then stop and say "Ready, Set ..." you better believe he will yell "GO" just so I'll continue to smash him some more.

Its kind of funny how their needs sort of force us to play with them but the truth is I really enjoy playing with them. We could all stand to play with our kids more. Find those games that your child enjoys and make them a fun, learning, bonding experience.

Autism Awareness Day 7

Autism Awareness Day 7 (sorry it's late) - Talk to your children, even if they don't answer you. One thing I have always done is talk to my children. I've done it since they were babies and I will always do it. Obviously when they were babies I knew they couldn't answer me but then later of course I found out that it would still be difficult for them.

Even though they can't always answer me I feel it is important that I talk to them and try to carry on a conversation so to speak. I know they hear me, sometimes I can tell they are listening though with Autism they don't always make direct eye contact or show signs of paying attention. Either way I know it's good for them and this is how they are going to learn to converse with others. Now that Gatlin talks more he will talk to me, though sometimes he just repeats what I say to him. Like I said though it's still important to talk to him so that he will learn from me.

One thing I've noticed is that when I go to the store with my boys, even when they were babies I always felt like people stared at me because I was talking to them. I always talk to them about whatever and now with Gatty I tell him what we are buying and try to get him to name some of the items. I know that this will help him learn new words and to identify different items. The thing is, I don't really see many other parents talking to their kids. It seems like a lot of them are just in a zone trying to get their groceries or whatever. Now maybe they don't want to look like a fool talking to a child who can't or doesn't answer but I'm not concerned about what others think when they are looking at us. My concern is teaching my children things throughout everyday life.

So don't be afraid to strike up a conversation with your non-verbal child. I'm sure that one day you'll realize how much they really were listening.

Autism Awareness Day 5

Autism Awareness Day 5- Consistency is key. When you have a child with Autism you soon learn that being consistent and maintaining schedules can be very helpful. My thoughts on this are that if your senses can be easily overwhelmed, the world around you can seem chaotic and overstimulating, and you have difficultly clearly communicating with others then schedules and routines probably help you to feel more comfortable and secure. I think for my boys it is nice for them to know what's expected and what's coming next so they feel safe and in balance.

It is for this reason that we have a pretty set bedtime routine and schedule. We try to keep therapy appointments on the same days and times. We use the "clean up" song to signal the boys that it's time to put toys away. (songs in general are good but I'll talk about that on another post) I usually do not take my boys to the doctor if their regular doctor is not scheduled in that day. We like to keep the same therapists and the one time that we did have to switch therapists for a bit we tried to get Gatlin used to the new one before his regular one went on maternity leave. Doing these things helps to keep it familiar and comfortable for our boys. They are less likely to be overwhelmed and frustrated if we stick to the routine.

Now I'm not saying that you should never change things up because let's face it, life is full of change. What I am saying is that you should keep things on schedule when you can and when you can't it's best to talk about it, show pictures, or do whatever you can to clue a child with Autism in on what changes are to come. For example one time we missed physical therapy for the week so then when we took Gatlin in for Speech he became very agitated because it wasn't the right therapist. He was expecting to see Miss Megan and not Miss Jessica. This actually just happened with Draiman also since he's no longer in OT.

I have noticed that the more Gatlin understands what I'm telling him the easier he handles changes. On the other hand with Draiman it is just too overwhelming because he just doesn't understand what's going on. So we do our best to keep it consistent and when we can't we do our best to explain what is going on. We do incorporate change also because that's important to learn to deal with but we keep that in smaller doses since the boys have enough challenges on a daily basis any way.

Autism Awareness Day 3

Autism Awareness Day 3 - Never mistake a lack of verbal communication for a lack of intelligence. Just because a person can not or has difficulty speaking does not mean they are not intelligent. In my opinion people with Autism are kind of like someone who is blind. What I mean by that is that a blind person tends to use their other senses to help them navigate since they can't rely on their vision in the same way that children with Autism find other ways to communicate their needs and wants since they can't rely on verbal communication. A blind person would tend to hear things that an average person wouldn't even notice and it seems that my children also catch on to things that would completely escape my attention.

This is why it is important to show a child with Autism the same respect as you would show anyone else. Do not talk about them in any sort of negative manner in front of them. They can hear you and even though they may not understand every word you say they do understand a lot of what goes on around them, much more than you may realize. For example one time when I was talking to John, Gatlin got very upset about something I said. It took me a bit to figure it out at first, but once I did I realized how much he really listens to what we are saying. You see I was telling John that I need to go to the store to buy something for a recipe I was making. Right after I said that Gatlin got very upset and started telling me "NO" and "ALL DONE!" Finally I figured it out, even though I wasn't talking to him or even looking at him, he had heard me say the word "buy." He was upset because he mistakenly thought I said the word "bye" and he did not want to leave the house. He did not want to go "bye bye."

Now in this example he had my meaning incorrect but the point is that he was listening and paying attention to what I was saying. This is just one example I can think of but there have been many times that he's caught on to what we were talking about. A lot of times he gets it right too, he knows exactly what's going on or about to happen. So never under estimate a person with Autism. They are just as smart as you or I, maybe even smarter from what I've seen.

Color Cards

     Lately we've been working a lot with Gatlin on colors. He's getting pretty good at it but he still needs some help. So I decided to make him some flash cards and games. I did a quick search to see if there was anything I could print online for free but I didn't really see what I was looking for. In the end I decided to make these cards for him.
     Pictured is a full sheet that I laminated to use as a game board. I'm going to color code some milk jug caps and have him match the colors with the board. Then I printed out two more sets which I will use for flash cards and also as a memory matching game. I think these are going to be really good for him. He was already very excited when we played the memory game the first time.
     If you would like to use my flash cards with your own children you may go ahead and download the free pdf file. These did take me some time to make so please do not post them for sale or anywhere else on the web. I am offering you them for free because it would have been nice if I had been able to find them for free also. I didn't want to have to buy cards because my boys are very rough on things so they will need replaced quite often. So here you go, my gift to you. Just click the link below. I would love to see some comments about how you choose to use these cards. ;)

Color Flash Cards

Birthday Break and Paintings 25 & 26

     Well I really wanted to keep on top of my painting but I also wanted to do something special for Gatlin's birthday so I ended up taking the weekend off from painting. That way I could spend more time getting ready for Gatlin's small birthday party and make his special cake. So at this point I'm still behind one painting but that's ok because my little guy had a fun evening.
     Pretty much every birthday party that Gatlin has had before always ended up with him being very upset. I could never understand why he would always be so grouchy and crying. He wouldn't want to open presents, blow out candles, or do much of anything for that matter. This never made sense to me until we were on the road to getting his Autism diagnosis and I finally started to understand  my baby better.
     When we started the process for Gatlin's diagnosis it was February of last year and he had recently turned 3 years old. I had always known that my boy was sensitive and that he saw the world a little bit differently but I was only just beginning to understand it all at this point in time. During one of our visits with a specialist I started telling her about how Gatlin always hates his birthday parties and how the last one had been a little stranger than before. You see Gatty has always collected and carried special toys with him at all times since he was really little, and at that point it was some Handy Manny tools. He kept his tools with him at all times and he was all about Handy Manny. So in an effort to try to do something special for him I had my friend Sarah decorate a cake with Manny and the tools on it. I thought Gatlin would love it.
     What I did not anticipate was that Gatlin would not understand that the tools were just cake and not his toy tools. He immediately became very upset as we started cutting the cake and he kept trying to take the tools. It was my Aunt Dona that first commented that he seemed to think they were real. In order to calm him down we just gave him pieces of cake with the tools on it and he carried them around for a while until he dropped one and the cake fell apart. He then looked at it puzzled and then started to smear the frosting all over the floor.I felt like the worst Mom in the world! Here I had tried to do something special for him and instead I just upset and confused him. I felt like a complete failure, so much so that even writing this now brings tears to my eyes.
      As I told this story to that doctor she explained to me that birthday parties may not be a good idea for Gatlin. She said that although I had the best intentions I had basically put his tools, his prized toys, up on this pedestal that he couldn't get to and then it fell apart on him. She also said that all of the commotion of extra people and the expectations put on him to open presents and blow candles was probably just too overwhelming for him. She continued to say that probably the best party for him would be just us with plain and simple white cake. I was finally starting to get it when she explained that a lot of times birthday parties are really for the parents and not as much for the kids. I understood now that I needed to do what was best for him and not what I thought was the perfect party.
     Fast forward to this past weekend. A whole year has past and Gatlin has grown and changed so much. He's doing great in therapies and preschool. He's even beginning to interact more with other children in his class. We knew that he had come a long way and that more than likely this year a birthday party would be much easier on him but I did not want a repeat of last year at all. So with that we decided to do things a bit differently. This year we only invited a select few very close relatives, the ones who come to our house regularly. We told everyone ahead of time that it would be a relaxed event and that we would be following Gatlin's lead to make sure he was comfortable and happy. If he did not want to open presents or blow out candles then we simply would not do it.
     Now me being me, I still wanted to make a special cake for him. You know sometimes we as parents just can't let things go. I really didn't want him to have a plain white cake and I was confident that he understood things much better now so that he wouldn't be confused with his cake. I mean now I can tell him if something is to be eaten or not and we've even looked at cakes in the bakery section at the store too. So I decided to go ahead and make him a special Buzz Lightyear cake but I reminded myself the whole way that if he didn't like it that was my problem and not his.
     I am pleased to say that his birthday party went over very well! He was in a good mood, when we asked him if he wanted to open presents he was excited to do it. He did very well sitting at the table when it was time to blow out candles too. My brother sat with him while I was taking pictures and tried to explain to Gatlin how to blow out his candles. After a few tries I noticed Gatlin start to put his head down so I immediately sensed that he was headed for frustration and told my brother to just blow them out for him. That was that and Gatlin was happy again. He even helped me cut his piece of cake. I was just beyond proud of him. He amazes me every day and I love him so very much.

Here is a picture of Gatlin's birthday cake.

At the end of the weekend I finally got some time to work on my paintings. This first one is Fireworks, a 5x7 on acrylic paper. I supposed I made this because I feeling such excitement over birthday party gone right for once.

This next painting I call Perfect Puzzle, it's another 5x7 acrylic on paper. This one is inspired by my boys. You know a puzzle piece is the symbol for Autism and I honestly have mixed feelings about that and anything else that holds any negative connotation towards Autism. I know very well that Autism can make things more difficult but it is also very much a part of who my boys are. It makes them see the world in a different and amazing way. My boys have taught me so much and made me a much better person. Learning to understand their perspective has humbled me and made me more understanding of everyone around me. I thank God for them everyday and I do not feel the least bit upset about having children with Autism. If my boys are a puzzle then they are a perfect puzzle to me and I love them just the way they are.

Paint Bag

      It took me a while to even get this image because Gatlin kept moving every time I tried to take it. Finally I won though! Here he's playing with one of those paint bags that I had mentioned in a previous post.
All I did was pour some acrylic craft paint into a quart size Ziploc freezer bag and seal it. Then I taped the top of it shut with clear packing tape to prevent the boys from opening it. Now with my kiddos I still don't intend to leave them unsupervised with it because I know they'll just rip the bag open if I don't watch them.
      I orginally saw this idea on pinterest, here is the LINK. I really liked it because it is sensory play and also along falls in line with occupational therapy. These simple little bags allow the kids to "paint" without making a mess and experience the feel of the paint (sensory) without having to actually touch it. They can also practice drawing lines and shapes in the paint. Its really kind of fun.
      I think I will make some more paint bags in different colors so that we can work on colors also. I encourage you to try this idea with your little ones. I'm sure they will like it and its a great step towards finger painting if you have children like mine that are weary of new textures.

Day 7 - Northern Lights - acrylic on paper

     First off I seriously considered not posting this one. I just am not happy with it but I decided that this whole experience is about personal growth and the truth is that I did learn something from it. Besides that it still probably better than day one. LOL So here it is.

     I was excited last night to get started painting, the boys had fallen asleep fairly easily and I thought I could possibly get my painting done early and catch up on some much needed sleep. Yeah right, what was I thinking? Just as I was about ready to get out my paints Gatlin woke up crying. He was having one of his leg/foot cramp nights and it was really bothering. So after a while of massage and pain reliever I finally got him back to sleep but at this point it was now about 11pm or just past.
     I was pretty tired already and had other things to do yet before heading to bed so I considered not evening painting at all. Then I decided that I would go ahead and do but not be too hard on myself about it. (Again who am I kidding?) So I got started, worked on it for a while and had my sky pretty awesome looking but I still hadn't put in the northern lights. As I start to add them I realize my paint (the sky) is drying and I'm getting even more tired. It's almost midnight now and I just can't get this blend right and my awesome sky is looking rather un-awesome to say the least. So I kept trying and trying to get those lights just right when finally I decided enough was enough. It was just getting too late and each stroke seemed to be making things worse and not better. It was time to call it quits.
     So even though I am less than happy with this I am still glad that I did it. I continued on my path of growth and I learned that I really need to keep my paint from drying up on me. Every day is a new day and a new chance to start again. Just because I don't like what I painted today doesn't mean I won't paint something fabulous tomorrow. That's the beauty of a new day, it's always a fresh start.

Day 5 - Comet

Sorry I'm a bit late with this one. Last night Gatlin and Draiman decided to take shifts and keep me awake until almost 4am. Since they wouldn't go to sleep I did not get my painting done last night but here it is now.

Day 5 - Comet - acrylic on paper

New chair

My photographer friend Sarah dropped off a chair this morning for me to use as a prop. Immediately the boys took to it and have been sitting in it since it got here.  :) Of course I should mention that this chair spins so it's even more fun to play with than our other furniture.

I'm back!!!

     Well it's been a long time since I've posted anything on this blog and I apologize for that. Life got busier and more interesting to say the least. We had a lot of adjustments to make but it has been a great journey. I'm hoping to get back into blogging this new year, as well as lot of other things.
     Before I start any new posts let me give you a brief recap of things since I last blogged. This blog is aptly titled BrothersBad because it's really all about my boys and life with them. At the same time my boys are the reason I took such a hiatus from blogging. In February of 2012 Gatlin was diagnosed with Autism and with that we as a family had a lot to learn. Shortly thereafter we started noticing the huge similarities between Gatlin and Draiman. Then in August Draiman was also diagnosed with Autism. Since that time Gatlin has started preschool, Draiman has started early intervention home visits, and we have lots of therapy appointments as well. On a regular basis there are appointments for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. We spend a lot of time working on sign language at home as well as other things and we also have a P.L.A.Y. Project consultant that comes to our home to teach us the P.L.A.Y. method of engaging our boys.
     So as I'm sure you can tell it's been a busy time for us but it has been wonderful as well. Our boys have progressed so much this past year but more importantly they have taught us even more. We are blessed and honored to have them in our lives. For us Autism has not been a tragedy but rather a wonderful learning experience. We have learned new ways to understand and connect with our boys all while they have taught us so many valuable lessons. I am thankful for them everyday and proud to be their Mama.

Halloween Fun

Well I know I'm late with this post but you know what they say... "Better late than never." I would like to share a couple of the boys in their Halloween costumes. This year I made their costumes. Draiman was Gnomeo and Gatlin was an Alien from Toy Story.

Halloween was a lot of fun and I truly enjoyed making costumes for my boys. Now it's time to work on Christmas stuff though. I have lots to make and little time in which to make it. It will be fun though and I can't wait to share some pics with you.

New skills

Recently I taught myself how to crochet hats. I'm still very new to crochet but I'm steadily getting the hang of it. When I decided to learn to crochet I wasn't really sure what all I would do with this new skill but now I am so glad that I learned. I can see that this is one skill that is definitely going to come in handy. Check out a couple of the hats I've made so far.