Ringling Brothers Presents DRAGONS!

I remember going to see the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus when I was little. It was a big deal. The venue seemed like the biggest place on Earth to me, and I was captivated into observant silence as the show unfolded. I got one of those spinny light things at some point, and I remember playing with that contraption for months afterwards. Good times....

I'm hoping to recreate that magic for my kids next week. We've been invited to see the newest Ringling Brothers show, Dragons, at the Jacksonville Veteran's Memorial Arena. Doesn't the name just sound like it's going to be a cool show?! It's a once in a millennium event, honoring the Year of the Dragon. I can't wait, you guys!!!

You can find the Dragons touring schedule on the Ringling Brother's website. If you go to the show, be sure to get there early. An hour before show time there's an all access pre-show for all ticket holders! Aaaaand if you're a Jacksonville area local, you'll want to head to The Landing on January 18 from 5-7 p.m. to celebrate Barrack the elephant's third birthday. It's not every day you get invited to an elephant's party! And it's FREE!

I'll be sure to report back after we see Dragons and let you know how the show was. You can find out more on the Ringling Brother's Facebook page.

Have you ever seen the Ringling Brothers Circus?

SUBSCRIBERS: Click through to view two Behind the Scenes videos embedded in this post!
Keeping it real: My family will be receiving a behind the scenes tour of DRAGONS and complementary seats to the show. All opinions are my own.

The Eval; Part One

I made the call.

Surprisingly, we were able to get in really quickly. Other places I'd called over the last few years had waiting lists over a year long...which I personally think is shameful. These kids and families shouldn't have to wait that long.

As the big day drew closer, I wasn't worried. I didn't feel any anxiety. I actually felt...dare I say...excited? I was so eager to know what a professional thought about the situation. I've spent so many years diagnosing my son by myself and with Dr. Google, that I was very very ready for a professional opinion. For someone to tell me that either I'm just making a mountain out of a mole hill...or that there really may be something going on with my boy.

When we arrived at the office I knew we had chosen the right place. I spent some time checking out different websites...looking for the one I felt would give us the "best" eval. And by "best" I mean thorough. I didn't want to march in to a local shrink and walk out with a rubber stamped autism diagnosis. I wanted someone to take their time getting to know my son, really analyzing him and his quirks, and making a sound decision about any potential diagnosis. I wanted someone who had worked with autistic and special needs kids for awhile...someone who knew what these "disorders" look like in real life (not just what the DSM says). I wanted a cross-disciplinary team to back up any evaluations, just to cover all bases.

And I found all that in the office we chose. Granted, it's over an hour away. And out of network for our insurance. But that's the way it always goes, isn't it?

As we sat in the waiting room I noticed a handful of families come and go for various types of therapy appointments. I saw speech therapists signing to their clients. I saw a family present their OT with a Frappucino as they arrived. I saw professionals who seemed to have genuine relationships with their clients, and families who seemed to be fully comfortable with the staff. Bingo. I was on the right track.

Our Psychologist was just as friendly and interacted fabulously with the kids. My son, who doesn't always take well to new people, was soon playing right next to her and talking to her, which was a very good sign. We spent a few hours answering a ton of questions about Aiden. Questions about my pregnancy, questions about his birth, questions about his toddler years and diet and potty training and play habits. A million questions, that when looked at as a whole made me realize there really is a lot going on with this little man. I knew we had a lot going on.....but when I spent two hours discussing every single thing in minute detail...well....it was quite a picture.

Thankfully, Aiden demonstrated some of his troubling behaviors in front of the Psychologist. I swear, that was the first time I was happy to see him get all spun up or be oblivious to his sister's emotions. But I wanted to be sure she saw the things I was talking about...because some of this stuff can be difficult to describe in words.

At the end of our visit, the Psychologist said she did see several red flags for the Autism Spectrum.

This is when I think I was supposed to feel horrible. Hopeless. Devastated.

But instead I felt validated. I felt like finally, someone said, "I see it too."

From here we move on to testing.

And then at the end of all that we'll have an answer.

And regardless of what that answer is, I'll be relieved. I can stop worrying about the what ifs and start focusing on the what IS.

Making The Call. Again.

This boy.

This boy of mine is my heart...has my heart....

I'm anxious. Worried. A little mmmmm not really scared; more like concerned. Concerned with a huge massive oversized helping of guilt.

Guilt because I should have done something about this by now. Guilt because I've let it go for far too long. Guilt over what help we could have been receiving all this time.

Guilt guilt guilt.

I was going to do something about it a year ago. And I did, actually. I made the call, I filled out the volume upon volume of intake paperwork. And I waited. And waited. Christmas came and went. And I waited. Long story short, they lost our paperwork and had no record of us wanting an evaluation but would be glad to resend us the paperwork and start over.

Sigh

To be perfectly honest, things were so drastically better after Christmas last year that I was trying hard to remember why I so desperately wanted the evaluation in the first place. Things were calm, things were...dare I say...normal?! So I went with that.

And here we are, a year later, and I'm in the same damn place I started in. The quirks may have changed but they're still there.

And what's really hard now is that this boy...my boy...is a whole year older. And he's at an age where people start to have certain expectations about his behavior and social skills. And over and over he doesn't meet those expectations. I see him through their eyes and the guilt slams me hard. "Why have you waited so long?" screams through my brain as I watch him make the most bizarre facial expressions at the woman who just asked him, "How are you?". As he tells everyone he comes in contact with, "I'm five years old" but then makes sounds like a monkey when they make any sort of reply. Oh the guilt.

Then I found #youmightbeanautismparentif on twitter and holy hell. Tears, people. Tears and belly laughs alternating so fast it's like I'm on bad drugs. All the tweets....all things we have lived with for the last five years. Things I thought were just Aiden being Aiden. Things I explained away as quirks. But it turns out other kids are doing these things too. And these other kids are on the spectrum. The Spectrum. Just like I've suspected Aiden is for far far too long.

I need to make that call. Again. I mean it this time.

We've Been Busy

I haven't been writing much on this blog lately. It's not that I don't have anything to share, because I do. I just can't tell you about it yet. And seriously, who wants to read post after post after how stressed out I am over something I can't tell you about yet?! That's right...nobody. But this stuff...the stuff which can not be named...is equal parts terrifying and thrilling. And it's heavy. Heavy heavy stuff that's taken awhile to wrap my head around.

But. Since I can't tell you.....

Let me share some other non-super-secret stuff, shall I?

The end of July was amazing. My teen came to visit and we spent a small fortune (by our standards, anyway) to see Britney Spears. It was my daughter's first concert and I was so excited to share that with her! And man, talk about setting the bar high...Britney puts on a show that won't soon be forgotten.

Britney...flying through the air....with wings!

 My BFF from 5th grade also came to visit and see Britney with us. It had been...oh...about ten years since we'd seen each other, and about seventeen years since she'd seen my daughter...so it was an awesome reunion.

In August we had what I've come to affectionately call the "big ass tree" fall in our yard. It was huge, ya'll. That blasted thing literally took months to get rid of. I'll spare you the boring details, but basically every weekend from August through October was devoted to that damn tree.

 In September we had a little staycation on Jekyll Island over Labor Day weekend.  If you're ever in the area, you HAVE to check out Jekyll. It's a gorgeous place, with so many great places to explore.

Adorable Sea Turtle

Gorgeous Drift Wood Beach

Down in The South we make "sand angels"

Don't worry, Jekyll has a regular sandy beach too!

Also in September my baby girl started dance classes. A two-year-old in ballet shoes is just about the cutest thing in the world.

Still in September....we won tickets to see Sesame Street Live. I was so excited I actually got a little misty eyed during the opening act. I can remember being a little girl and wanting so badly to see Sesame Street Live, but we always lived too far away from the bigger cities. It was, in a silly way, a dream come true to see the show. The kids seemed to like it too. Ha!

Moving into October, we went to a local car show and met Mater. I think that was easily the highlight of the kid's year!

Also in October we went to an Open House at the PBS station in Jacksonville, where we saw a Sid the Science Kid show and met Clifford and Curious George. The kids met them last year, so the celebrity meet and greet is old hat for them. (I kid!)

In October we also welcomed our first family pet. I introduce you to Herbie the fish.

And finally, the kids donned their costumes and we went to Spooktacular at the Jacksonville Zoo. 

I started November off by taking a truffle making class at Sweet Pete's, an all-natural candy shop in Jacksonville. If you're ever in the area you have to stop by. And if you're local, go there NOW! They have a snow blower set up over their front door. It's simply magical.

And finally, we celebrated my little man turning five years old.

I told you we've been busy.

Now we're getting ready to head back to Callaway Gardens for Fantasy in Lights. I am super excited for that, as you probably can guess (since we tend to go a bit overboard with Christmas lights ourselves). We even put lights up for Halloween.

So, tell me..what have you been up to?

The Education I Never Had

We have many reasons for choosing to homeschool our kids. But if I can be candid here....one of my reasons is purely selfish. By homeschooling my kids I get to read all the books I always wanted to, learn all the things I never got around to, and do all the experiments I never had a chance to try. It's a win-win situation, really.

I'm a fairly educated person if I do say so. I have a couple of fancy degrees and went to some pretty good schools. Yet my education is sorely lacking in the basics. I could discuss criminological theory all day long. But please don't ask me what year a major war was fought. Or who the 12th president of The United States was. Or what 392 times 6 is. Or what happens in Moby Dick. Because I haven't a clue.

I'm not sure how I got through so many years of schooling without obtaining a solid education in the basics, but there you have it. I was in gifted programs and honors classes too, but it didn't really do me any good. From what I remember, my gifted and honors classes had a heavy focus on creative writing and not much else. And math? Ha! I was placed in higher level math courses which means I can work the heck out of an Algebra equation but can't figure out what to do with fractions to save my life.

As a child I didn't really care about all this. But as an adult there are a million things I wish I knew more about. I want to read the classics. I want to understand history and really be able to see how the past has shaped the present. I want to be able to read a biography and not feel totally lost the entire time because I haven't a clue about the historical facts the author alludes to.

So homeschooling serves dual purposes for me. I can get the education I wish I had received, and I can make sure my kids get it the first time. Learning is fun! And unfortunately, a lot about our school systems saps the fun out of learning. Not always. But in many cases it's true. Since we decided to homeschool, it's amazing how our whole family has became enamored with learning. Just this afternoon we were driving around and found ourselves admiring the clouds in the sky. Which led to a discussion about how clouds are formed and what they're all about, and questions about how come clouds don't fall to the ground if they're full of water....which led to some googling and research when we got home. I love it! We're always learning and discovering..as a family.

Keeping it real: This post was inspired by the September From Left to Write book club pick Cleopatra: A Life. In this book, Stacy Schiff digs into the history books to share with us who the true Cleopatra was. As a member of From Left to Write book club, I received a copy of this book for review. You can read other members posts inspired by Cleopatra: A Life on book club day, September 27 at From Left to Write.

A Good Imagination Is a Sad Thing To Waste

As an only child, my imagination was my best friend. I didn't have siblings to entertain me, and I grew up without cable TV, video game systems, or the Internet. The horror, right?! I also lived deep in the woods and didn't have neighbors. And we lived on the edge of my school district, so all of my school friends lived too far away to come over and play.

So my imagination was quite developed.

I had a wooden swing tied to an old tree where I spent hours upon hours singing, reading, or talking to the trees. I had a swingset with a basket seat swing where I'd pile my baby dolls next to me and rock back and forth while reading to them. We had a hilly section of our driveway where I'd race my bike, pretending to be in a big race and narrowly taking the lead!

My overactive imagination provided enough entertainment that I was rarely without something to do.

I want my children to have that same experience. I want them to learn to use their imaginations and lose themselves to flights of fancy. I don't want them to need to be plugged in to an electronic screen for entertainment. Watching TV and playing video games is such a passive experience. I want them actively engaged in their play!

For the last few years I've been collecting costumes. I scour post-Halloween sales, buy discarded costumes at thrift stores, and repurpose items as needed. Daddy's old Karate uniform? It makes a great Doctor's coat! Our costume collection has grown so large that I have to store it in a suitcase...and it's becoming difficult to zip closed! We have pirate costumes, bat costumes, fairy costumes, Doctor costumes, knight costumes, bumblebee costumes.....my kids can spend hours in make believe play. Sure, some of our costumes are inspired by movies/TV...we have a Lightening McQueen costume, and a Woody costume (although they don't know it's from Toy Story...they just think it's a cowboy!). But when they're in these costumes, they're engaging their imaginations, not plugged in to the TV.

A well developed imagination is such an important part of childhood. How do you encourage imaginative play with your kids?

Keeping it real: This post was inspired by the July From Left to Write Book Club Selection The Costume Trunk. Be sure to stop by the book club and see what other members had to say!

The Kid Wash That Gets The Kids Dirty, Not Clean

Awhile back, I was flipping through Family Fun magazine and saw something that looked like a lot of fun. Okay, seriously, that entire magazine is chock full of fun things. It's one of my absolute favorites! But this particular fun thing looked like something my husband would enjoy building for the kids. Family Fun called it a Kid Wash and it was built from PVC pipe. It was designed to look like a car wash that the kids could run through, and it was connected to a hose so they would get soaked.

I didn't really expect my husband to actually build it. Goodness knows I've shown him so many project ideas over the years that have never materialized. But something about this one spoke to him. I'm guessing it was the PVC piping...I mean, the entire project looks like an erector set for grown ups.

So the other day he went to the hardware store and got the supplies. The original Kid Wash in Family Fun had sponges and whatnot hanging from it, to look more like a car wash. We decided to forgo all that since our kids are pretty young...and because we don't have a garage to store this contraption in. I imagine sponges left outside in the swampy weather would get pretty gross after awhile.

A few hours of hard work fun, and we had this in our front yard:

I was impressed. It's pretty darn cool! And the kids were so excited!

Since we have more dirt than grass in our yard, we soon had this to deal with:

...which led to lots of this:

This is what Summer memories are made of......

It's A Mini-Graco-GOGO! (CLOSED)

I've been very fortunate to have generous souls around me when I was having babies. People (some I barely knew) have given my children clothing and all manner of baby "stuff". My favorite memory is when I was pregnant with Aiden, and had my heart set on a specific baby swing. It was over $100, and so far out of our budget it was not going to happen. A coworker of my husband's invited us over one evening to give us a bunch of clothes his son had outgrown, and he said he may have a few other things too. When we got there, his wife told me we could take the baby swing because her son never used it...and it was the exact same one I had fallen in love with but couldn't afford!

Things have a way of falling into place sometimes.

Because others have been so generous to us, we make a point of returning the favor. Every item of clothing or "stuff" my kids have outgrown has been given to someone else. Clothes, swings, carriers, toys...it's all gone to friends and family, or those in need. For many, babies don't always come when we're ready for them. So I like to do what I can to help, since baby gear and clothes can be so expensive!

I'm proud to represent Graco as a Graco Ambassador for this very reason. Graco hosts a GOGO giveaway on their corporate blog every so often; GOGO stands for Get One Give One. They giveaway all sorts of great Graco products (the most recent GOGO included carseats and baby monitors), and the best part is that they give the items to people/organizations that their readers suggest! Readers enter on the Graco blog, saying who they would give the prize to and why that person or organization deserves it. If their comment is randomly selected to win, Graco not only sends them the prize, but also sends a second prize to whoever they mentioned in their comment!

I'm super excited to tell you that Graco is hosting a mini-GOGO right here at Lattes and Life! They have offered up their Direct Connect Digital Monitor as the GOGO prize.

You want reassurance that baby is resting safe and sound. Fortunately, our Direct Connect Digital Monitor operates on a 900 MHz frequency, so you can clearly hear even the quietest whimper, without fear of interference from your phone, wireless network or home electronics. What’s more, our exclusive Graco vibration notification technology allows you to feel baby’s call, should you be unable to hear it for whatever reason. With its extended 2,000 ft range, you’ll have plenty of room to roam. And if baby needs some reassuring words, the talk back feature allows you to offer them from wherever you may be.

Here is how the mini-GOGO will work:
Winner has been notified. Thanks to all who entered!

1. Leave a comment letting me know who you would give the Direct Connect Monitor to if you won, and why they deserve it. You can choose an individual or an organization...totally up to you!

2. If your comment is randomly selected as the winner, you'll receive a Direct Connect Monitor for yourself, and Graco will ship a second Monitor to whoever you mentioned in your comment! (So be sure you have mailing information for whoever you decide to "give one" to!)

Comments will close at midnight EST, July 17, 2011. A winner will be randomly selected on July 18, 2011 and notified via e-mail. Winner will have 48-hours to claim their prize. If not claimed within 48-hours, prize will be forfeited and another winner will be randomly selected. Graco can only ship products to US addresses for this promotion, so contest is open to US addresses only, please.

Keeping it real: I was not compensated in any way for this post or for hosting this giveaway. I have no personal experience using the Graco Direct Connect Monitor.