So True!

My parents will be married for 53 years next month. They met when they were 15 and 14 and dated all through high school too. They’ve had their share of ups and downs, but were always 100% committed to their marriage.
Thanks Mom and Dad for the great example of what a strong marriage looks like. I was lucky to grow up in a house with you guys as parents.

Shattered Windshield…Vandalism or Freak Accident?

The moment when…you are leaving your kid’s school at 10:00 am after attending his preschool graduation.  You put your younger child in his carseat, get all the stuff in the car (including the felt graduation cap with the older child’s name written in glitter, so precious), and settle yourself into the driver’s seat.  You are feeling happy, your kids both behaved themselves pretty well during the ceremony, you got some cute pics, life is good.  You put the key in the ignition and check the rearview mirror just as you were taught in driver’s ed.  many, many years ago.  We won’t talk about how many  Everything looks good except the big shard of glass hanging in the frame where the rear windshield used to be, and the fact that the rear windshield is basically gone.  Wait a minute…the rear windshield of the van is freakin’ GONE!

Yup, this happened to me on Friday.  I got out of the car and realized the back cargo area was full of tiny pieces of broken glass, as well as around the back of the van (safety glass is made to break into a zillion, non-sharp pieces, thank God).  I couldn’t see any rocks, or balls inside the car that could explain how the window broke.  I got my son back out of the car and went to the office to let them know and they called the police so we could fill out a report.  We pulled my older son off the bus since I probably wouldn’t have made it home before him.

The cop showed up right away, and the custodian came and helped get rid of the glass that was around the van.  She agreed that she couldn’t see anything in or around the van that could explain the break, and when she questioned the aides that had been doing recess duty on the playground they hadn’t seen anything unusual.  She helped break the rest of the window out so pieces wouldn’t be falling off as I drove home.  Since we couldn’t find any evidence of wrongdoing, the case would be closed unless we found anything.  The idea of the car getting so hot the window broke was thrown out as a possible cause since it was only about 76 degrees out.  She gave me her card in case we needed to get in touch.  A couple of the aides from the school came out to make sure we were okay and to offer help.  They helped keep the kiddos entertained while I was on the phone with the insurance company.

I have USAA, the best bank/ insurance ever, so they were able to help me schedule an appointment for the window to be fixed at our home the next day.  When the guy came to fix it, I asked him if this type of thing happened often where there isn’t an obvious cause like a rock being thrown or something hitting the window.  He said especially in windows that have a rear defrost heating element (mine does), it’s more common than you think!  I was floored!  He says that if the sun hits the heating element just right, it can heat the glass enough to make it shatter, especially if there is a preexisting crack (mine didn’t have one).  I couldn’t believe it!

I can’t believe that a window would just explode on a day that wasn’t even 80 degrees!  But it seemed just as likely as somebody coming up and breaking it with a bat or something and going completely unnoticed in a busy school parking lot in the middle of the day.  Will I ever now for sure if it was vandalism or a freak accident?  Maybe not.

What do I know for sure?  That I shouldn’t have raised our glass replacement deductible to $1,000 a few years ago once we got an established emergency fund, thinking what are the chances anything would happen to our van’s windows?  :)

Easy Gluten-Free Chicken Tacos

Here is a super yummy recipe for gluten free, crockpot chicken tacos. It doesn’t get any easier than this!

1 lb. frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins

1 -15.5 oz. jar salsa, any brand, we like medium spicyness ( is that a word?)

Put frozen chicken in crockpot and pour salsa on top, covering the chicken. Cook 4 hours on high, or 8 hours on low. When done, shred chicken with a wooden spoon and mix well.

That’s it! Seriously. So yummy for
tacos, salad, or even in soup. Plenty for my family of four with leftovers. Enjoy!

Origami Owl Necklace

I love personal jewelry. It is unique, private, and one of a kind. In high school I had a traditional charm bracelet I wore every day. Friends and family all gave me charms that represented me, a memory or event. I love having that piece to look back on. I even have it displayed in a shadow box with a high school photo of Hubs and I. During my college years Hubs got me a updated charm bracelet. The Italian charm bracelet like, Zoppini represent my college years. Finally we move on to my adult years. Pandora was a huge hit about a year ago and now is trailing off. But I jumped on the band wagon and still love it. My kids love looking at it and reminding me which ones they gave me.

However, there is a new kid in the group. Origami Owl offers a product that is beautiful. I do have to write this with reservation. The company is experiencing growing pains. They have grown by 500% in only a few months. And due to this influx of customers their customer service has hit rock bottom. I advise waiting a few months to order. Hopefully by then they will have found their footing and be able to stand on two feet again.

Glad you read my warning. Now I can get to the good stuff. And that’s their product. It is a charm locket. Charms are suspended in a two sides clear locket. Metals include gold, rose gold, silver, chocolate and black. There are 4 sizes – large, medium, small and mini. There are numerous charms including Autism Awareness, support ribbons and Greek letters. I don’t care for their narrow selection of chains and have emailed them several times for more options for rose gold. So when I finally added more to my necklace I changed over to silver until Origami Owl adds more chain options to their line.

They also have dangles and tags and several other options, to the point I can’t list them all.

Overall the product is great and I did have a quality issue with the first chain I received a year ago, which was shortly replaced at no cost.

Zac Browser – Internet Browser Designed for ASD Kids

I am excited this new find called Zac Browser.  I have some great teacher friends who often think of me and pass on anything they find might interest me. Recently, one of my friends shared with me a interesting site designed for ASD kids to use.  I havent yet introduce my kids to computers or the internet. They do have a Leapfrog Leappad2, a Leapfrog Explore and we upcycled our old iPhones. So I cant say I have downloaded and tried this specially designed internet browser yet, but I am hopefully going to be introducing our kids to computers over the summer to help with their summer education.

FREE TODAY ONLY- Big Red Safety Box

Run to a computer and order a free Big Red Safety Box from the National Autism Association. There will be link posted on their page to link you to order a free one due to a grant the National Autism Association was given. If you are unable to obtain a free one the cost is $35 per kit.

Per the National Autism Association website -

“The National Autism Association is committed to those with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who may be prone to wandering off or eloping from a safe environment, and may be unable to recognize danger and/or stay safe. Wandering, elopement, “running” or fleeing behaviors among those within our community not only present unique safety risks, but also create extraordinary worry and stress among caregivers. Drowning fatalities following wandering incidents remain a leading cause of death among those with ASD.

As such, the National Autism Association provides direct assistance to law enforcement agencies and caregivers. FOUND supplies funding to search-and-rescue agencies in need of tracking technology and training, and the Big Red Safety Box is a free-of-charge toolkit given to autism families in need as a means to educate, raise awareness and share simple tools that may assist them in preventing, and responding to, wandering-related emergencies.”

To find out what in included in the kit visit the National Autism Association at http://nationalautismassociation.org/

Updated Review – “For The Earlier Riser In Your life”

This is a updated review to a post I wrote last week about the earlier riser in our home. We ordered a alarm clock from Live Love Dream Inc. and revived it last Thursday.

The set up was slightly difficult. The directions were a little unclear and not written out well. But after about 30 minutes I was able to figure out the two alarm times and able to set the clock as well. Took me several times reading over the directions to understand how the 4 (!) settings work. For the alarm setting you have to select the bottom choice, which is a little unclear.

However the most amazing part of this clock? It worked! I coincidentally woke up a few minutes before I knew her alarm would. She of course was already up. I walked into her room and she was quietly sitting on her bed. Telling the the sun was already awake so she needed to me to. Pray I did that it worked. At 6:40 am her alarm went off. A loud choir of birds and woodland animals started to sing. The photo changed from a sleeping hippo to a awake and dancing one. After a few minutes the choir stopped and she eagerly asked is she could get up now.

I have to reset the button every night before bed by flicking it from the alarm (4) to the off switch and back. I don’t think there is a way for it to reset itself.

Overall the think the product works well and would definitely recommend it to other parents who have some early risers.

New Autism Diagnosis Criteria Published this Saturday

I recently read that on Saturday May 18 the new DSM-5 (Autism diagnosing criteria) will be published. It will include two new changes to the criteria to diagnosis Autism. This could mean major change for you and your children. They say it should not effect anyone, however, each government and provider can choose to re-diagnosis.

I have already seen this happen. My son was diagnosed a few years ago and we went through a lot to get him a IEP. It was a ridiculous fight with the school that lead me to threaten legal action. After my daughter was diagnosed, we went through the same IEP process at the same school. She has the same issues and then a few different ones than my son and we assumed there would not be as hard of a issue to obtain a IEP because her brother paved the way for her. HOWEVER, even though she did have a diagnosis and meet the qualifications, they used the new guidelines that are not even in effect yet to determine she did NOT fit the criteria for a active IEP. When in reality, had they used the current guidelines, she WOULD have qualified for a IEP. We tried a second time for a IEP for Diva, and again she was denied. After the year I had, I gave…I cant even say that. I will never stop trying to obtain the services my children need and deserve. I plan on fighting for a IEP for Diva again this summer in hopes we can finally obtain one.

I highly suggest you read over the new guidelines when they are avaiable to make sure nothing will effect your child.

A Kleaner World

This is a follow-up post to my blog post “Teaching Lessons? Not Yet.”

I was at school today waiting to pick up Bug when I sat next to his art. This artwork was posted the same day he decided to throw his trash on the ground. Ironic?

Thought I’d share.