{HIS moments}

Extraordinary moments, captured by Little Man on his very own camera.  This boy may very well have "the eye" for photography.

Yo Betty!

I took the boys, plus one, to Yo Betty tonight.  They were upset that the owners replaced the colorful chairs with standard chairs - so they sat at the window tonight.

As we were walking through the parking lot past the corner grocery mart, an older lady was gingerly putting her groceries in her car.  She was smiling at my pack of boys.  As we got closer, I was thinking she needed help with her gallon of water, but instead, she said, "Oh my, are those all yours?"

"No, two are."

"Is that little one yours?  He is handsome.  Aren't you a good looking boy!"

"(blank stare)" from Little Man.

"Oh, you two aren't bad looking either."

I giggled to myself.

Then enjoyed my New York Cheesecake Frozen yogurt with fresh blueberries and strawberries.  YUM.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Let's Talk Lunch

I'm in a mood that isn't conducive to writing anything meaningful.  It's been a rough week.

I tried a little experiment with Big Boy this past week.

I've been an advocate of the gluten free diet.  I agree that artificial food dyes cause hyperactivity and aggression in children.  Not to be a hypocrite, I put Big Boy on a gluten free diet this week, in addition to his no artificial food dyes (which has been working for over a year).

I knew it had to be more fun.  I couldn't expect him to be okay without his really good bread and all the same accouterments.  So, I took a page from the traditional Bento Box lunch and found a divided container with a freezer pack lid.

Packing these lunches are much more fun for me, than the traditional "throw stuff in a baggie" lunch bag.  I saved four snack sized baggies that I normally would have used in this lunch.  Also eliminated the packaging on the Luna Protein Bar and the Baby Bell Light Cheese.

And the results?  He loved the presentation.  Liked most of the foods.  Everything but the bread.

That's how it is with gluten free.  Everything but the bread.  Now, I will contend that the bread used in his lunches was pretty good, it's not gluten bread.  There isn't a match for pre-made gluten free bread as of this day.  They are close, but not quite.  For me, I don't care.  I like my rolls and I always warm them, so I don't have an issue with cold, hard, stiff bread.

And most importantly...did removing the gluten benefit Big Boy's demeanor?

No.  Not at all.

In fact, this has been a pretty horrible week.  Anger, defiance, talking back, repetitions.  It's been a rough one.

So, tomorrow, it's back to real bread for the boy.  Maybe he'll cheer up.

{this moment}

 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

The Trip that Launched Tears

It started out okay.  Not great, but okay.

We had the typical, Are we there yet? and How much longer? but the boys were watching movies, so it wasn't too bad.

I'm not going to tell you it was the best trip ever.  Because, although what we did was fun and the family we stayed with was fantastic, the behavior was less than enjoyable.  We drove from Buffalo to Maryland.  Maryland to Philadelphia.  Philadelphia to New Jersey.  New Jersey to NYC.  NYC to New Jersey.  New Jersey to Buffalo.  I should have expected it was too much.

I knew we would have bouts of anger and frustration. 

I just didn't think they would be as common place as a tourist in DC.

I made changes in diet and timing and 'free play' each day after the day before didn't work in attempt to make those bouts of anger diminish.

 Sometimes the anger was short, single phrases.  The type of talk that my mom would say, "Don't smart mouth me" - which is something I can't say to my Asperger Boy because literally he will comment about how a mouth can be smart.

Sometimes the anger lasted a long time.  I struggled with what to do.  I couldn't send him to his room.  I couldn't deny him the opportunity because it would take that same opportunity away from his brother, our family and me.  It was a challenge.

I learned a lot last week.





On day four, I broke down.  My patience was depleted.  My drive was halted.

I cried.

Big Boy noticed.

He cried and said, "All I wanted was a hug."

We hugged.

And we cried.

And we were okay.

Until the next day when it began again.