antonio Archives

I always say that I love the age Antonio is at all the time. Truth is every day he changes and I LOVE IT. I love seeing him grow. Isn’t that what parenting is all about? I am SO proud of this kid.

Lately, he is SO independent. He literally doesn’t like to ask for help unless he HAS to. He loves getting dressed, undressed, putting his clothes away, and giving himself a bath. There are so many chores that he has to do each day and really likes it. In fact, he really LOVED setting up the Christmas decorations all by himself. I let him decorate anyway he wanted to because he really enjoyed it. I couldn’t pull him away from the Christmas tree; I am excited for Christmas this year with him.

He is a good listener. He literally is a rule follower and listens *most* of the time. I mean he is a toddler and sometimes I have to say things a few times, but he will listen and do what is asked. He is very curious about so many things. When he wanted to help with cooking I had to make sure that he knew the kitchen was not okay to be in without mommy. He picked up on it pretty quickly.

He is so creative. Back to his Christmas tree.., it does not look professional but it looks adorable and he used his imagination. He put a Santa hat on top of the tree, he wanted it. I am very open to allowing my kid to use his imagination and think outside of the box. Even, when he plays with his Legos he has so much imagination and creates so many amazing things.

All of these things might not seem like a huge deal, but as an autistic mama, IT IS. He is still incredibly behind with so many things and whenever I see progress improve, I get so excited.

It makes my heart so happy to see him growing each day and having fun. I love seeing how much progress he has made every day. Hang in there mama’s this too shall pass.

After working in the agency and corporate world I saw so many businesses missing out on creative opportunities. There is nothing worse than going to from a website to social media only to think to yourself “is this still the same company?” Because their branding isn’t consistent! This is how businesses lose leads.

I help mid-size businesses bring in new leads because of their digital branding.

I turned my passion into a profitable business as a single mother to an autistic kid. I love filling in the gaps that are missing in businesses I crave this!

I am the Art Director of visions2images & invested over a decade mastering the digital design world and was an early insider to the Digital Marketing space learning the twists and turns of exactly how to bring that physical brand to the online space.

Susie helps businesses grow their brand presence and connect with their target audience.

The Ultimate Branding Guide to Win New Clients in 7 Days

Lately I have been so hard on myself since Antonio is dealing with autism much more. I can’t help but feel like a bad mother even though I am far from it. I feel bad that I have to enforce and wait for him to let me know that he understands things. What does that even mean? It got me thinking why do we beat ourselves up as parents?

So since he got diagnosed with autism, we have been working with some great speech therapists. We have had to learn how to be more patient. Whenever he wants something he has to point to it or make a noise. This is hard because I need to have time and patience for myself and him, but it is also hard because sometimes he gets mad and frustrated which causes him to cry. I don’t like seeing my kid unhappy and having a meltdown. Which in turns causes me to break down.

The even harder part is when we are out in public and I have to discipline him and not give in. I know this sounds like a duh moment as a parent, but the truth is it’s harder than you think. We went to the playground with friends who have kids and the minute we got there he through a tantrum. He had some major social anxiety and separate anxiety. He was super whining the whole time and didnt want to be a normal kid. Instead of just giving into him and letting him leave the playground I worked with him and kept re directing him to the playground. Some might say this is normal for a two year old but he was showing signs of autism by not wanting to play with the kids and covering his ears etc. I kept encouraging him and talking to him. I stood by his side for every single step. This is how I dealt with autism. I literally came home and cried. I cried because I felt like a mother who couldn’t help her son. I couldn’t understand what he was upset about.

Another scenario .. My kid sometimes just stops in the middle of a store, sits down, and laughs, or screams; he even tries to lick the floor. Which is when I lose it and scream because in public like no the floor is NOT OKAY! He likes to lay down and not get up! People stop and stare and then look at me. I get it, but I am doing the best I can. At the end of the day I see his smile and it makes me know I must be doing something right! So I beat myself up because I get frustrated and wish my kid could communicate and understand better, but the reality is he can’t and this is acceptance. I have to work with him slowly and be patient.

I want to be able to get through to him more than anything in the world! All in time I keep telling myself! What are some struggles that you face with being a parent?