Chores For a Four-year Autistic Child

April 20, 2020November 8, 2020Leave a comment

Since being put on lockdown I have had my autistic son home with me 24-7. At first, I was quite upset about him being home simply because he was doing so well in his ABA program and it took so long to get to where we are today. I did not know how he would adapt to the change of being home with mom all day every day for an unknown amount of time.

I also was worried he would regress. Regressing is when someone goes backward with everything that they have learned and obtained; he had mastered so many goals. I was worried that I couldn’t fulfill the duties that he was used to from his teachers. It was a lot of stress for me, but he adjusted well.

I was proactive and put him into online programs where they helped me obtain his old demands and new goals. It is always a lot of work and time to change these things since there are so many loopholes.

However, since being home and working with him there have been new victories for Antonio:

He will put his dishes away and throws any leftover food away in the trash.
I have him help bring in the groceries, unload them, and put them away with me.
Antonio feeds the dogs. He will take the container of dog food and put it in the bowls. Then he will put the container back into the closet and close the door.
He puts his clothes in the hamper.
This one is my favorite, he goes to the bathroom 100% on his own. He will walk into the bathroom, then wash his hands and come back out all on his own.
Antonio can write his name. We are working on adding more vocabulary and writing to his goals.
He initiates all the things and I LOVE IT. We work on noises, sounds, and words as often as we can. He tries so hard!
He plays music and loves dancing. We work on being active as much as we can and he has grown so much with his skills.

All of these things have been so fun and important for him to achieve. He always amazes me when he goes above and beyond. I love how hard he works and how he listens so well; I give simple commands and he implements so well. It can be hard to communicate sometimes with a non-verbal child, but we have a system in place.

These are all huge praises for an autistic child. Even though COVID-19 we are still able to maintain all these things, and more. I am thankful we have had this time together.

How to See the Signs of a Divorce Early On

May 22, 2019May 24, 2019Leave a comment

You can always save your marriage as long as two people are willing. That is what they used to tell me. I don’t know if that is true anymore; I don’t know much. I thought the other person would always want to fight for their marriage.

Do you usually see the signs? Sometimes. But, we never think anything of it until it’s too late. You can search online for a million reasons or explanations, but I have first-hand experience with the state of an emotional divorce. (It’s going to emotional no matter what.)

When I look back now, I see that there were signs, but I didn’t pay attention. Why? Because we think it can never happen and we are meant to be together forever. Or so we think. What honestly is forever? How do people stay together?

I grew up with my family being successful and not having any divorces. It was something about how we were raised. I was raised to believe you can work through anything. Yes, even an affair. But both parties have to WANT to and have to forgive. I guess I always had that mentality which is why I never thought divorce was an option.

What are the signs?

– [ ] No date nights

– [ ] Lack of communication

– [ ] Arguing about small things

– [ ] Not listening to each other

– [ ] Constant nagging

– [ ] Not agreeing on much

– [ ] Not doing things as a family

– [ ] No actual support for one another

– [ ] No friends/support

– [ ] No hobbies

Two people need to understand how a marriage works and what the goals are in all fields: financial, career, family, marriage, etc. We can all get so caught up in life and work that we do not realize what is in front of us. Getting older allows us to recognize the importance of taking time out regularly for ourselves, our family, our career, and our spouse. You see how our spouse is last. They should be first, or at least after ourselves anyway. We run out of time, and we are drained and tired.

You can come up with a million excuses and reasons for anything in life. We both seemed to do that in our marriage and weren’t on the same page. Maybe it was because of my special needs son, or perhaps it was because we didn’t see eye to eye. Whatever it is, it sucked.

When you marry someone, you think you can work through anything, and it is going to be glamorous. No, it’s not. There will come a time for everyone when you need to pick what to do. Fight and get help with your marriage or walk away. Before you walk away, look at the signs. Look at how it is being played out. If there is a lack of communication – why? Take that time to sit down at the dinner table after the kids go to bed and TALK. Talk about anything other than work.

I think one of the biggest hurdles for me is what else do we talk about besides work and kids? Being older now, those two topics consume my conversations. What about the other subjects? Put together a list of ideas you want to talk about besides the standard adult stuff. I wish I had done this before my marriage crumbled. You can do it and attempt to save yours before it’s too late.

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Family Meals On The Go

May 28, 2018October 15, 201820 Comments

By: Marla Bautista Ever wanted to find easy ways to survive busy days and maintain healthy eating habits for your family? In this article, I will give you a few tips that I use to feed my family on the go, stretch my family’s grocery budget, all while maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I have a typical family size, five people; myself, my husband, two sons and a daughter. We are grazers. We like to eat small portions of food throughout the day. Which mostly keeps us satisfied. I do cook dinner every evening. On a normal week, our family’s activities include five days of therapy for my son who has Autism and gymnastics for my daughter. My normal is probably most peoples, busy.

I use Sundays to meal prep for the entire week. I juice fruits and veggies for my husband, make breakfast sandwiches, and snack items for the children. I have not started to meal prep dinners because… I have no clue why. For lunch during the weekdays my husband takes a juice that I prepare in our swanky Breville Juicer. I love this juicer because it is easy to use, easy to clean, and it is durable. I purchased it on Amazon along with glass bottles to store the juice. I use a simple recipe that includes kale, spinach, apples, lemon, cucumbers, ginger and celery. I prepare enough for the week, freeze them and take them out daily for his lunch. The items cost about $20, which is less than eating out daily.

For breakfast meal prep, I make a variety of foods. Today I’m going to talk about breakfast sandwiches. I usually make breakfast sandwiches with English muffins, every now and then I use bagels, but I feel like they are often too heavy to eat every day. I use a recipe called Morning Muffin Makers from Allrecipes, it is easy and cost effective. You can swap out the items as you please, this recipe is fail proof. Check out the link below!
I love prepping snacks, it’s my favorite, and the options are endless! My children will pretty much eat any snack food you put in front of them! The meal prep containers I use are small and colorful. I purchased them on Amazon. If you haven’t noticed by now, I kind of an Amazon Prime mom! When I prep the kids’ snacks for the week, I rotate between cold and room temperature snacks. Our refrigerator space is limited, I try to do all cold snack items one week and all room temperature items the next. Cold items are usually a yogurt or cheese, some pepperoni or salami and a fruit or veggie. Room temperature snacks consist of crackers or Chex Mix, Raisins or Prunes, and beef jerky. These are a great after school snacks, it’s budget friendly and will suffice their appetites until dinner time.
Although, I currently do not prep my dinners for the week, I do try to plan what I will cook. Some days I will put a frozen London Broil in the crockpot with some veggies and make potatoes or rice as a side dish. I am sort of envious of all the Instant Pot hype I’ve been seeing. What do you think? Should I dive in, or will I have an Instant Pout?
A few tricks or alternatives when grocery shopping can often save some families hundreds of dollars per month. Using coupons, I believe, is the number one way to save during your shopping trips. You can get coupons from your local Sunday Newspaper, Coupons.com, and many stores have a loyalty card that can be used for increased savings. Make a meal plan prior to going shopping. If you have a visual note of exactly what you need, you’ll less likely buy junk food or other random unneeded items. Try to limit your shopping around the 1^st and the 15^th of every month. My husband gets paid around those dates and the price of food is usually a little higher at this time. I like to shop on the weeks outside of payday, unless we absolutely need something during that time.

There are endless meal planning and prepping options. Try a few and choose what works best for your family. Your meals can be whatever you want them to be. If they are nutritious and convenient for you and your family, that’s what matters. Conquer your family’s busy schedule and mealtimes without a fuss!

The World’s Best Cooking Products, Recipes, and Tips Find The Perfect Cooking Product

Links

Morning Muffin Makers http://allrecipes.com/recipe/20682/muffin-morning-makers/
Meal Prep Containers for Kids
Meal Prep Containers For Adults
Digital Food Scale

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MEMORIAL DAY OUTDOOR GAMES FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

May 24, 2018May 15, 2018Leave a comment

Bring the fun to your backyard this Memorial Day weekend with yard games for all ages. While you’re grilling up hotdogs and hamburgers, friends and family will be striking up friendly competition – and an appetite.

Here are a few of our favorite backyard games.

Wild Gate Sports Stars and Stripes Cornhole Tailgate Toss

You can’t beat a classic! Not only is cornhole a universally appealing game, it’s also easy to teach new or young players – less time teaching, more time playing. Plus, this set features a stars and stripes design that is perfect for your Memorial Day cookout and other events all summer long. Pull it out again later in the summer for the Fourth of July!

Baden Champions Series Croquet Sets

A croquet set is a summertime staple for backyards large and small. Designed for 2-6 players, we especially like how this set features hardwood mallets with soft rubber grips for comfort. It even comes with a complete croquet rulebook, perfect for new players or rusty ones.

AGame 2017 Classic Ladderball Game

If you’re looking for a new backyard challenge, this ladderball game fits the bill. Friends and family will appreciate the easy learning curve to this game, but the extra skill involved to getting the golf tosses around the ladders.

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How to Deal With an Autism Child in Your Family

November 27, 2017October 14, 2017Leave a comment

It’s hard to keep your cool and stick to your regular schedule and development behavior when family is in town. I mean you know the saying grandmas spoil kids. However when you have an autism kid and are really trying to enforce things and no one wants to listen to you it’s frustrating.

Parents just brush it off instead of understanding how important the schedule and behavior is. They think that one little time wont hurt nothing, but it does.

I know that I get really mad and upset when my parents can’t enforce the way we do because they are grandparents and want to spoil them. I have a hard time communicating so I get it all, but I also know what needs to be done. Instead of yelling or arguing, here are some helpful tips for you as a parent that will help you remain calm during a time like this:

walk away: whenever I get really overwhelmed or frustrated, I walk away and let myself cool down. I think about what upset me and allow myself to take it all in. I want to be able to understand why I was upset and how to not regret saying something that I don’t mean.
ask politely not to do that: explain the importance behind the reasoning and ask to not do it that way. Show/tell what you didnt like and be upfront with them.
take a deep breath: This goes hand in hand with whenever you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, take a few deep breaths and then let them out through your mouth. This is a great way to release that stress and frustration.
take the child in the other room and work one on one away from family: When you have an autistic kid, or toddler, they get really distraction and frustrated. Allow yourself to walk away and work with your child away from everyone. This will help calm both of you!

What you can do if you are on the other side .. the family aka grandma. I know that grandparents don’t always understand things but yet want the best for their grand child. So here is what I got from my parents when I was trying to enforce certain things and we got into an argument.

ask questions: Allow them to ask questions and be open about things. This can be a new topic to them and they don’t quite understand. Write the schedule down so that way everyone knows it and can understand it better.
follow schedules and directions: Make sure to follow the parents schedule for their child and not let it slide. They have a schedule in place for a reason, so enforce it with them.
communicate: Allow both of you to chat about what makes your child sad, unhappy, and what his bad habits might be. This can help the grandparents understand more.

What are some things that you have to enforce to your parents (grandparents) for your children?