This AIN'T Nutella!

Because it is way better than Nutella!


A few days ago, during one of those rare moments when I get to sit down and not only watch television, but hear it as well, a commercial for Nutella came on. In a previous life, I loved Nutella so much that I could have eaten the better part of an entire jar of the stuff in one sitting. Okay, who are we kidding...I could have eaten a whole jar, depending on the level of comfort I was seeking at the time. But those days of eating Nutella by the jar, or at all - for that matter - since we no longer eat dairy, are gone and how I miss them so.

So when this commercial came on for that oh-so-yummy chocolate hazelnut spread I got to thinking to myself, how hard could it be to make a gluten-free (Just so that I do not mislead - real Nutella does claim to be gluten-free but because it contains dairy, it does not meet our specific dietary needs.), dairy-free Nutella copycat from scratch?

I made plans to purchase some hazelnuts on my next trip to the health food store and I would "wing it" with my attempts to create a homemade "Nutella." A good dose of hazelnuts (Nutella only claims to contain approximately fifty hazelnuts per 13-ounce jar), some cocoa powder, agave nectar or perhaps some coconut palm sugar, coconut milk (the real stuff, not coconut milk beverage), and some vanilla and I was certain I would have exactly what I was looking for and would have made it with less sugar and with real ingredients, unlike like some people whose product contains so much sugar, it qualifies for the lead ingredient on the ingredients list.

Right about now, I feel like I should be doing the nah-nah-nah-nah-boo-boo thing here.......in their defense though, at least they are using sugar and have not jumped on the high fructose corn syrup bandwagon.

Okay, so fast forward to yesterday when I got done at the Y a little earlier than expected and decided to swing by the health food store on my way home. I was in the refrigerator aisle looking at all the different bags of nuts, looking for hazelnuts, when a little voice inside my head told me to check out the regular store shelves in that same aisle - which happen to contain nut butters, jams, preserves, conserves, and other goodies I should not eat - just to see if there were any sales.

(And, gee, I wonder where my son gets his inability to stay on task and focus for any given ten seconds.)

Right there smack in front of me was a "NEW!" product and if you have not guessed what it was, I will give you a hint: I believe predestined drive exists, in this case, my drive to purchase hazelnuts led me to find a product exactly like the one I was there buying ingredients for to make from scratch.

Justin's all-natural Chocolate Hazelnut Butter contains no artificial ingredients and the first ingredient on the list is - who'da thunk?!? - hazelnuts! It tastes like a grainier version of Nutella and is not quite as sweet, which is fine by me, considering we have cut out many sugars from our diet in our house and our palates have, as a result, become quite sensitive to "sweet." The maker does not claim the product to be casein-free but the label states that it is gluten-free and dairy-free and there are no obvious casein-containing ingredients listed. With that, I consider it to be "safe" to give to the kids and gave them small spoonfuls to try, just in case they might have some reaction or intolerance to the hazelnuts (Reiss blows serious chunks whenever he is given cashews). They loved it!

They loved it so much so that half the jar is gone only one day later! We sat around and ate it by spoonfuls (or is it spoonsful? Like mothers-in-law instead of mother-in-laws), pulling a new spoon out of the drawer with each bite....no second-hand spit-containing double-dipping allowed here!

At $7.89 per jar on sale, perhaps I should go back and stock up.....????

And no, Justin is not paying me to say any of this. Just as I was not aware of the existence of his product until yesterday, most likely he has not found me yet either.

EDIT 7/7/2010: I do indeed plan to call the company to be sure they are using gluten-free vanilla and to make certain their cocoa butter is truly dairy/casein-free. Unfortunately, as I learned yesterday from a visit to a local farmers market, sometimes when people say their product is free of gluten or casein, what they don't realize is that - while their own finished product may not include gluten or casein-containing ingredients - the ingredients themselves may have gluten or casein in them. i.e. Not all brands of vanilla are gluten-free.

Where ARE You, Supernanny???

Today has been one of those days where the suggestion of having a lock on the outside of my son's door no longer seems like a joke amongst a group of moms discussing their children but like a really great idea.

Not so long ago, Reiss and Milla and I used to go to a group gathering on Friday mornings at a local church. All the mothers would share some fellowship while our children played in an adjoining room. Quite often the conversation would turn to discussing our children and the funny things they had done recently and sometimes the not-so-funny problems of disciplining children. A few of these moms told me, in all seriousness, that they had switched the door handles on their child's room to make it so the lock was on the outside of the door. I used to laugh at such a notion....

No more.

ABA therapy cannot begin soon enough for us. I was hoping it would have already begun but unfortunately, we do not have enough therapists lined up yet. Actually, there's a little more to it than that but that's the long and short of it. We should be up and running within the next two weeks. If not, my sanity may not last.

Some days we have these really great days and then other days are just maddening beyond belief. We have already started going to a social skills group associated with the ABA group we are using and Reiss does really awesome there and pays attention fairly well to the other kids' therapists who take charge of the group. Once we are up and running with our own in-home ABA program, our therapist will go with us to the group as well. Until then, I take Reiss and Milla and he has to do what the other therapists tell him to do.

Yesterday was quite interesting. We went to the social skills group. Reiss behaved pretty well but did have his moments of non-compliance. When he gets a timeout with the ABA therapists, he is generally very compliant and does his "time for the crime." Overall, yesterday was no different, with the exception of one instance where Reiss put up a bit of a fuss before his timeout. The therapist wasn't having it and seconds later, Reiss was sitting quietly in a timeout.

Fast forward to about an hour later when we got home and he did something to get a timeout here and being the observer I've learned very quickly to be, I did everything exactly as the ABA therapists, only to be met with a four-year-old putting up a fight equivocal to that of maybe someone three times his size just getting him over to the designated timeout area.

Seriously, I don't understand what I am doing wrong. I can do everything exactly the same (or, at least, I'm pretty certain it's exactly the same) as the ABA therapists, even down to the detail of showing no emotion. However, what works like magic for them most often results in kicking, screaming, pinching, hitting, and total lack of cooperation to sit in the timeout area. Reiss will sit quietly in a timeout for therapists and for his teacher at school a lot of times, yet I can't even get him to stay in the same place in a timeout when restrained in a booster seat. The only way to keep him in one place for a timeout at home is to put him in a booster seat that has buckles on it and also to restrain the booster seat to something else so that it cannot move. We have, well had - we need to refasten the straps - our booster seat sitting on the floor for safety and strapped to the posts that make up the railing around our stairs leading to the basement.

If it doesn't sound safe, I can assure you it is safe. There is no way Reiss can fall over, strangle himself, fall down the stairs, or whatever else anyone may be thinking. And just a note for anyone who may be thinking of calling Child Protective Services on me, I've checked, this is not only safe but actually what is recommended for keeping a child safe during a period of timeout.

I just keep thinking if my sanity can last until the ABA begins, we will all be fine. Reiss took non-compliance to a new level today. He peed in his pants twice. He pooped in his pants three times. He went through several pairs of pants and then fussed and complained and harassed me endlessly for two hours about how he has no pants that fit him. His ideal pants are Goodwill purhased, been through who knows how many children, faded beyond belief jeans....or home pants, as he calls them.

Now, I have nothing against secondhand clothes - they are practically all I grew up with and I still continue to buy from Goodwill occasionally when I can find something I like. However, for Reiss to say that he has no pants that fit him is simply ludicrous considering the fact that his size 4 and size 5 wardrobe has been complete since before he was even three years old, due to the fact that I exclusively buy him Gymboree clothing when it is out of season and on clearance and during Gymbucks earning and redemption periods and with coupons and using my Gymboree Visa and Gymboree Rewards program and on and on and on.....my method for getting Gymboree clothes for next to no money out of pocket is a whole 'nother post all its own and I won't bore anyone with that sort of thing today.

Needless to say, it breaks my heart when I see several pairs of excellent quality size 4 Gymboree jeans with those little marked down pricetags still hanging from them getting pushed to the far reaches of Reiss's closet all while he complains about having no home pants clean because all his crappy Goodwill jeans that cost more than the Gymboree jeans are dirty because he either pooped or peed in them.

And all this going on while Milla is trying to take a nap and keeping him at a low roar is like getting an elephant to tread lightly on a glass roof....

So going back to my original question....

Where ARE you, Supernanny???

Of all the lucrative ideas people have come up with to swindle parents of children with autism out of their dwindling financial resources, why hasn't someone come up with the idea of being a Supernanny-type professional exclusively for children with autism? Now that would be someone I would hire...

Blech Friday!!!!

Call me a scrooge, but I do not do Black Friday.

Driving and driving around just to find a parking space, mass throngs of people (some of them behaving, while others only behaving badly) crowding into stores and all wanting to buy the same items, and a bunch of stuff that just takes up space in one's house, for what? A better deal? No thanks! I'll do my shopping from the clearance racks throughout the year where most of the deals I get are better than the Black Friday sale prices, anyway. And most of the time, I don't have to worry about my life or those of my children being in danger of being lost due to a cattle stampede of a bunch of crazies trying to get the latest dancing Elmo figure at a rock-bottom price.

So there it is....some people call it Black Friday. I call it Blech Friday.

I'm not totally against going out the day after Thanksgiving though. We did go out today for some fast lunch from a drive-thru and also to pick up a few items from the health food store. With the exception of our own dish, we did not bring home any leftovers yesterday from my mother-in-law's house. We left here to go to her house with collard greens and came home with almost the same amount we left with - I have never had the same tastes in food as my husband's family but oh well, more for me!

A bit after lunch today, we went back out to go to the health food store. It was one of those go-in-with-a-list-of-three-items-and-come-out-with-two-bags kind of trips. We needed sorghum flour because Saturdays are, of course, Pancake Saturday at our house and we ran out of sorghum flour last Saturday using up the last half-cup in our favorite GFCF pancake recipe.

On the way to the health food store, we witnessed the mass chaos at the mall, which is less than five minutes from our home. Cars were spilling out of the parking lot at the mall, with people even parking in the grass just to make a space. I don't know.....I just don't get it. I know some people will read this and think, "But have you seen the Black Friday ads?" Yes, I've seen them. I still think I get better deals on things throughout the year by shopping clearance racks and by combining sales with store coupons. But whatever. To each his own.

Geez, I'm doing it again. I keep meaning to get to this part about an accident we saw while we were driving to the health food store. By the way, am I the only one who has noticed over the years car accidents have gone from being called "accidents" to "crashes?" When I think of the word "crash," I think of a plane falling from the sky. Two cars or more plowing into one another makes me think "accident" or "wreck" - not "crash."

Anywaaaaaay, so we were on the way to the health food store to get sorghum flour and two other items and I'm driving along telling James something probably of little importance when I hear this really loud noise. I thought it was behind us but it ends up that it was in front of us. A red Ford pickup truck had run smack into the back of a Mercedes SUV. Then I was trying to get around it and someone almost ran into me. What a mess. I wonder what that guy in the truck was doing to run right into the person in front of him. He must have been distracted in some way as this was no small bumper to bumper tap. I hope all of them were okay but we weren't about to stop and cause an even larger disturbance to other drivers, especially since our children were in our vehicle.

Milla "shopping" on Black Friday morning. I tried to tell her most stores have a "No shirt, no shoes, no service" policy but she wasn't having any part of abiding by the rules.


The mess pictured above is what our bedroom looks like right now while we are remodeling the bathroom. Oh yeah, I don't think I mentioned that yes, we are still remodeling our bathroom. Actually, I fired the guy doing the work one week ago today. I'm not going to get started on that in this post but suffice it to say a bathroom should not take three months to do and I should not have to be the one to tell someone when something is not right. But, that is another post.

Reiss dorking around in the hallway while I was chasing him and Milla around with the camera this morning.....

Woohoo!!! Organic GFCF Chocolate for Cheap!

Endangered Species Chocolate

If you or someone in your family eats a gluten and dairy free diet, you are probably all too familiar with the high price of getting a chocolate fix in the form of a candy bar. Right now, Endangered Species is offering their organic 1.4 ounce bars at an incredibly low price of only $0.49! If that alone doesn't set off your Woohoo Meter, consider the fact that most candy bars that fit into the category of GFCF usually cost at least $2 and aren't even made from organic ingredients.

So you can save some money, stick to your dietary restrictions*, and feel good that "10% of net profits (are) donated to help support species, habitat, and humanity."

By the way, I am not being compensated in any way for this plug for Endangered Species.....I saw a good deal and thought I would pass it on to others. If anyone is in the same boat my husband and I are in, you can sympathize with needing a good deal when it comes to providing a candy bar bribe for a poop on the potty (versus in the pants!) by a four-year-old. :)

*Only the dark chocolate bars are gluten and dairy free.

A Monkey's Birthday

In this week's news, Milla turned two years old! We had a very impromptu party for her with only Daddy, Mommy, Reiss, Grandma Marie, Grandpa Phil, and Grandma Elaine as her guests.

We weren't going to do anything at all except make a cake but then I had James invite his mom over for dinner and cake and ice cream (all gluten-free and casein-free, of course!) and then I invited my own dad and step-mom for cake and ice cream. My dad is retired but he and my stepmom came just after she got home from work, not giving them time to eat dinner and I then felt bad for only inviting them for cake and ice cream. Once I got to feeling bad for that, I then began to wonder if I actually invited them for dinner and then didn't have dinner waiting for them when they got here.....who knows, I'm getting old. Should that be the case and if you are reading this, Dad or Elaine, my apologies because I really did think I only invited you for cake and ice cream.

I should have just invited everyone for dinner and I wouldn't be wondering like this now. Anyway, on to the photos............

First, we opened gifts and Milla received six books total. She loves, loves, LOVES books, which I love, love, LOVE that she loves them! Here we are looking at one of the board books she received that has flaps in it with toys and people and assorted other things hiding behind the flaps.

Here she is pointing to the baby in the book. She also loves babies and ducks and always points them out whenever she sees them, no matter where they are. We have a car dealership close to our home that has a big duck on the sign and she always yells out "Duck!" whenever we pass by it.

Milla's birthday cake.
I made the cake, frosted it, did the little stars on it and wrote her name. Next I let Reiss and Milla take turns placing the pure sugar (yuck!) ducky decorations on the cake. Notice the one that is upside down? Each child then placed a little duck candle wherever they chose. I'm not bashing those who buy store-bought cakes, but I'll take the fun of having the kids help out over paying for a fancy cake any day!

Milla blowing out her candles. Actually, I did it for her but she has plenty of years to get the hang of it.

"Let me at it!" Milla talked about her cake all day after we made it. When it finally came time to eat it, I don't think she could believe it.

Picking off the duck candles.....I also let Milla and Reiss pick off a few sugary ducks before slicing the cake into pieces.

Reiss helping with the first slice....

Milla helping with the next slice....
Happy Birthday to our little monkey!!!

Wintertime at the Pumpkin Patch

We froze our buns off taking the kids to a local pumpkin patch yesterday. Honestly, I can't remember the last time it was this cold in October for so many consecutive days. Enough complaining, here are the pics........

Reiss trying to pick up a pumpkin. This is not the one he ultimately ended up choosing. That came later.....

Milla venturing into the little pumpkin area.

Milla holding a pumpkin and being silly with Mommy. This also was not the pumpkin she chose. She wanted one that was much bigger.

Reiss....just being Reiss.

The kids could choose a pumpkin from this area but we decided to let them choose from the actual pumpkin patch that you had to get to by hayride.

Reiss patting the head of the cutest little baby cow ever!

Milla on top of the world.

Reiss on top of the world.

All three monkeys being silly.

No pictures to post of the hayride. Well, that's not entirely true. We have two photos from the hayride but I'm all slouched over trying to hold Milla and not bounce all over creation from the rough ride through the mud out to the pumpkin patch.

This place we went to is a landscaping place where we usually get mulch by the truckload every year in the springtime. When we were coming back from the apple orchard with Reiss' class field trip a few weeks ago, we noticed this place was doing a kid-oriented pumpkin patch and hayride sort of thing.

For $4 (over age 2) per person, we got a hayride, corn maze, petting zoo (which only had four animals) and a straw bale mountain. The $4 did not include our pumpkins, which were $3 each. For what we got, I thought $4 was a bit much but it was fun for the kids. I know other people probably don't think $4 is much....but then, I don't think like most people. I expect more for my money than most people....but that's another post.

Easy Readin'

You know how you get those flyers in the mail asking you to join this book club or that?

No? Well, I do, and they seem to come almost weekly. Back in the day - that is, before I became so frugal that I rarely purchase books - I used to take these companies up on their offers.

Not anymore. No, I got smart and now whenever I receive one of those flyers I mark the pages with all the books I'd like to read. I then set it aside and place it on my to-do list for me to log on to my library account and put holds on the books that sound interesting to me.

On Thursday, my number came up for two of the books I had placed holds:
The Duggars: 20 and Counting! by Michelle & Jim Bob Duggar
Hungry Girl by Lisa Lillien

After taking lunch to Daddy's work on Friday, the kids and I headed to the library to pick up the books. Anything Duggar-related always gets me a little excited so I was eager to get my hands on this book.

Did I mention we have a Duggar dance in our house? Yes....It's a bit hard to visualize but it basically consists of waving both arms above our heads in a strange fashion while half-yelling "Duggar! Duggar! Duggar......" over and over. We do this on Tuesday evenings just before 18 Kids and Counting airs on TLC. Call us weird. I know and I don't mind.

I finished reading the Duggars' book yesterday. This is unheard of for me A.C. (after children). During my B.C. years, depending on the book, I could breeze through most books in less than 24 hours. A.C. I am lucky if I finish most books in 24 weeks. Sad. I miss reading but what can ya' do?

The Duggar book is a very easy read and flows nicely in an almost-conversational tone. Here are some of the things I liked, disliked, and couldn't get enough of...

While I have been a Duggar fan for quite some time and knew a lot of the information surrounding how the Duggars became self-sufficient and debt-free, it did not make me enjoy it any less reading the minute details of each investment and sale the couple went through to get to where they are now. I really wish more of the public would pay attention to this amazing story not only because so many people seem to think this family must be destitute with that many children, but also because I think a good percentage of Americans could learn a lot from people who truly live debt-free lives such as the Duggars do.

In the book, Michelle not only provides organizational tips for how she keeps it all in order but the names of the resources from which she borrowed the ideas and customized to fit her family's needs. There is an awesome resource list in the back of the book that I actually plan on having James make a copy of at work (he owns the business - we're not stealing office supplies from someone else).

The book answers many of the most frequently asked questions the Duggars receive via email. And although many of the questions were very good ones, I was still left wondering some things.

For instance, Michelle discusses "correction" which is Duggar-ese for disciplining bad behavior. She also described "blanket time" (which I may even begin training Milla on) for infants and toddlers in order to keep them occupied. But many times when Reiss is misbehaving I ask myself how Michelle Duggar would handle such a situation when timeouts and taking toys from Reiss is not effective. Michelle doesn't have any autistic children (that I'm aware of!) and has probably not been in a situation where she's had to handle a child who is wired so differently than typical children but I can't help but think whatever she would do would be done in a very peaceful manner.....which can prove very difficult for me when Reiss continues to say, scream at the top of his lungs in the car even after having a timeout, after having whatever toy he has with him taken away, and still even after we have given up and decided to go home from wherever we were going.

Sometimes nothing seems to work. It's hard to stay ahead of the game when even the professionals working in the field of autism and teachers of special needs children tell me they have to switch things up often because many times disciplinary methods become ineffective after a period of time with autistic children. Just the other day, Reiss' teacher was telling me how they sometimes have to switch their disciplinary method two, three, or four times throughout the school year. Right now they use a stick system (where the child starts the day with three popsicle sticks in their wall pocket) but she said she is usually surprised if they make it to Christmas without the children making every day a challenge against the system.

Getting off-track here, as usual. Seriously....sometimes I don't see how you guys can even stick with me through to the end the way I so often get off-topic.

Long story short, regarding discipline, I was left wondering if there are never any serious disciplinary issues in the Duggar household or if they were simply not discussed.

I wish Jim Bob and Michelle would have gone further in-depth on things like how they handle going places with all the kids. Do they try to stick to naptimes? Or do they just go and if the kids take a nap, great, if not, whatever? How often do they leave the house? With that many children, even with older ones to help out, it seems like leaving very often would sometimes be more pain than it's worth. What about family planning? Do they really try or not? I was aware prior to reading the book that they do not use birth control because of the miscarriage years ago that their doctor felt happened because they conceived while Michelle was on the pill. Michelle briefly discussed their views on birth control and some things mentioned in the Bible but she never came out and said one way or another if they actively try to conceive or if babies just seem to happen easily for them.

Moving on to the topic of the Duggar mansion....I don't know that I would call this house a mansion like many people do. There is a floor plan of it in the book and yes, it's a large house but when I hear the word "mansion" I tend to think of a grand estate with lavish furnishings - something the Duggar house is anything but. Their house is very child-friendly, as anyone would imagine it to be.

Would I love to have their house? Honestly, I don't know. It has many features I would love such as the industrial size and equipped kitchen, the huge laundry room and amenities, and the indoor playground that is comparable to some businesses where outlandish admission fees are charged for children to spend an afternoon, but beyond that, it is missing some other things I would love to have if I had a house that large. I mean, if I'm going to have a 7000 square-foot house, it had better at least have a larger master bedroom than the Duggars made theirs. And I would want a library. And a media room. Yes, I know the Duggars don't watch a lot of television (and neither do we, for that matter) but now we're talking about MY 7000 square-foot house now, not theirs. Or, at least, the one it would be if I had one.

And oh yeah, I forgot, I'd want it to be somewhere other than Arkansas. Hey, I'm just sayin'......

Baby Steps

It is way too late, yet here I sit. On the computer. Slouching and wide awake. Guess that's what I get for eating three fun-size York Peppermint Patties less than an hour before bedtime. What can I say...we don't keep candy around here much anymore but when we do, I go cuckoo for cocoa puffs.

I will pay tomorrow morning for this late night rendezvous with my laptop but who cares - the patties were darn good and I'm getting in quality computer time in utter silence. Forget York, quiet is the real treat in this house. No dishwasher running. No dryer tumbling. No air conditioner humming. But most importantly, no children hanging on me nursing, whining, crying, pulling my toes apart (Reiss), or otherwise making it impossible for me to savor my surf time.

Today we did the Walgreens and CVS runs. Both were fairly uneventful except for the entertainment we provided for the elderly couple in the candy aisle at CVS. Reiss kept alternating between "I gotta poop!" and "I wanna go get french fries!"

The older gentlemen found this quite amusing and Reiss asked, "Why was that guy laughing?" Hmmm....I don't know, Reiss. Do you think it may have been the fact that you were announcing to the world that you have to poop at a volume of about twenty-seven when you should be at about a two?

But of course I didn't say that.

We did go get french fries afterwards despite the fact that it was a reward promised only on the condition of good behavior. Really, neither of the monkeys behaved especially badly, just not ideal. But then, I've gotten used to things not being ideal when we go out.

Unfortunately, I wonder if I will ever know if I'm being too picky and this is the way most (almost) two- and four-year-olds act or if this is just the way things are because of the autism. And no, I'm not referring to the poop announcements. I'm talking about how things never seem to be just fun and carefree for us, like they seem for so many of my friends with children. They talk about all their adventures out and about with their kids and when I try to visualize my family doing the same kinds of things, I practically have an anxiety attack just imagining the outcome because of so many past experiences we've had. That's not to say we don't take Reiss places and keep right on trying.

However, here's a "for instance"...........

A friend of mine recently took her own two sons to an amusement park. Now, both of her sons fall in different areas of the autism spectrum but they are very different from Reiss - as all children with ASD are. Anyhow, she told me all the rides the boys went on and how they just loved the excitement of it all and had a ball.

Now, my visualization.....And remember, I am trying to remain positive but I also know Reiss and I know our past experiences and I also know things he tends to like and dislike and what will usually cause a tantrum.....

Let's imagine an amusement park setting and the most non-scary ride possible. A ride made just the perfect size and with just the right amount of fun for a four-year-old.....I'm thinking something like bumper boats. With that in mind, the first thing that comes to mind is Reiss having a fit because a drop of water will get on him. Should we actually get past the water on him and make it into the boat, there will probably be some water lingering in the bottom of the boat that will get his shoes wet. And if we make it past that even and get moving in the boat without any water tantrums, it will probably then be a matter of there only being one steering wheel in the boat (I'm imagining a boat that holds two people).

Again, I really do try to stay positive and even my fears like the above do not keep us from taking Reiss places just in case that one time is the time when he is compliant and ready to have a good time. However, so far, that has not been the case at amusement parks.....To be honest, we haven't even gone to an amusement park with Reiss yet. We haven't gotten past going to the little church fairs and carnivals yet because I figure why waste a boatload (no pun intended here, given my above example) of money on admission at a large theme park when we can't even get Reiss in the silly rides and amusements of a dinky little church fair? Yes, believe me, we have tried.

And here's the positive....Baby steps.....that's all I can say. Not terribly long ago, Reiss wouldn't even let go of James or me out in public. Now he fights to have his hand held in a parking lot. He would cry hysterically when we would take him to the indoor bounce house place. You know, the kind of place typical three-year-olds beg to to be taken? Nope, not Reiss. We were just lucky that the employees were so willing on many of those visits to let us go in without paying admission to see if Reiss would "warm up" to the place....only to leave with him crying - and not because he was leaving, but because he didn't want to be there to begin with. Now he even sees the place when we are out driving and he wants to go there.

Baby steps......While others are out living it up with their children, I'm being thankful that Reiss is as fortunate as he is. As depressed as I sometimes get, I really do realize how fortunate he and we are. Reiss does talk, albeit too much, but thank goodness, he is not non-verbal like so many autistic children we know. Reiss doesn't have nearly the physical problems many autistic children have. Yes, we have our bouts of constipation and he's on more supplements than most professional athletes but Reiss is generally healthy. Reiss lacks back and forth conversational skills but at least he answers different types of questions (think "who," "what," - "why," "when," and "how" are still areas of confusion for him) many times now when asked. As short as a few months back, there were times when I wanted to rip my hair out because he wouldn't even answer "yes" or "no" questions. Baby steps........

Blah, blah, blah......is anyone still reading?

By the way, am I the only one who doesn't have a clue what to put in the "Title" box when I start writing a post, but then figure it out once I've started or just as I'm finishing? Yes? No? Anyhoo......guess you see where the title of this post came from. And I bet it has nothing to do with what you imagined it would be when you began reading.

Nuh-night!

And The Award Goes To......

ME!!!!

Which award, you say? Why, only the most suburban housewife coveted award, of course! No, not the Soccer Mom-of-the-Year trophy. This award is much more well-deserved, yet achievements leading up to it are never thought out or planned for in advance. I'm talking about the Public Mommy Tantrum Medal of Honor.

Yes, my motherly patience was put to the test today while waiting on a cash register error to be corrected at Walgreens (only one of my most favorite stores in the world) today. This week's ad clearly states the new product by Soft Soap called Nutri Serums Body Wash is free after $3.99 in Register Rewards.

Before paying today, I specifically requested to pay in Cosmetics because there was a girl working over there and I had seven coupons and just about every time I go to Walgreens, I have a problem. And really, who wants to be that person at the main register at the front of the store holding up the line because the $.50 coupon for tampons (or whatever) didn't ring up correctly? Not me! I love my coupons and I can be maniacal about them (just ask my husband) but I'm also not going to stand there while twenty people are rolling their eyes at me for wanting to get my fifty cents deducted (hey, I worked hard for that!). Cut me some slack - I'm not a masochist.

Yes, Walgreens is one of my favorite stores in the whole world but it doesn't change the fact that there always seems to be a problem every single time I pay them a visit. Really....every time. My husband knows better when I say, "I will be right back" as he drops me at the door and waits in the car with the kids. I never come right back and unfortunately, it's almost never by any fault of my own.

Oh no - No, when I'm at Walgreens, if it's not an item ringing up incorrectly, it's something else. Sometimes they scan all my coupons (oh yes, I do watch them!) but then I get my receipt and something is missing from the coupon deductions. Today's issue was my Register Reward did not print for the body wash.

By the way, body wash is one of those things on my list of toiletries where my motto is as follows: "If you're paying for it, you're paying too much money." Between all the freebies I've gotten over the years from CVS Extra Care Bucks and Walgreens Register Rewards (formerly from their rebate catalog), I haven't paid out of pocket for razors, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, or body wash (and the list goes on and on) in years. And I have enough stocked to keep us in business, or clean at least, for a few years to come.

Anyhoo....getting off-track here as usual. And gee, I wonder why my kids can't sit still for five minutes just to watch some cartoons and give me a break.

So my Register Reward did not print and Lucy Loo Hoo, the cashier, had to call the 12-year-old manager over to get the problem fixed and of course, that meant waiting for what seemed like an eternity.

Somewhere in all this, my monkey children saw the opportunity for attack. Or more specifically, Reiss saw his window of opportunity to grab about twenty gossip rags from the rack fastened to the checkout counter and have his own little drugstore party. I've never seen so many photos of Jon Gosselin all in one place! He was on the floor, in the cart, on the counter. It was like a Jon-apalooza!

After cleaning up the Gosselin mess (I bet Kate wishes it were this easy for her too!), I had to enforce the one-hand-on-the-cart rule, which is almost always a sure sign of a coming tantrum. Luckily, this time it wasn't. Instead of a tantrum, Reiss started grabbing bottle after (breakable) bottle of brightly colored nail polish from a display and placing - or perhaps, dropping is a better word for what he was doing - them on the floor at his feet. Thank goodness, none of them broke.

All the while, I was doing my best Michelle Duggar-esque picture of saintly motherhood while waiting on the manager to get her butt over to Cosmetics. Seriously, I think they must have had to call over and get her from the neighboring Steak~N~Shake or something, as long as it took here to get there.

Eventually, the manager arrived.......E. Vent. Ually.

Frankly, I thought I was doing a pretty good job of being patient and staying calm while my little angels (I have to use the plural form so as not to sound as though Reiss was the only guilty party - but for the record, he was) attempted to bring Walgreens - or at the very least, the entire Cosmetics department - crashing to the ground.

However, maybe my version of the story is skewed and/or biased because I witnessed no less than three gawking individuals quickly turn their heads as I rose from picking up the fingernail polish bottles. They were all older folks too, so I'm sure they were doing the "Parents these days, good grief...." line in their heads. I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself for using restraint and not using the "He's autistic, you ___hole!" line I learned from one of Jenny McCarthy's books.

Several strewn magazines, unbroken fingernail polish bottles, and maybe all of ten minutes later we were on our way out the door with our $3.99....in cash, because 12-year-old manager girl didn't know how to make a Register Reward print after the fact.

Oh yeah...I forgot to mention the best part of our Walgreens trip. As I was picking out candy bars for Daddy for free ($.49 each plus a $1 off 2 coupon = FREE!), Reiss said "Why are we getting dog food?" Oh, I've taught him well! And this is why my kids never - really, NEVER - beg for candy in the checkout lines.

BWA-HA-HA-HA!!!!!!

A Review: Tide Stain Release In-Wash Booster

Although Gymboree provided this sample to me free with my Gymboree purchases, I am not being compensated in any other way for this review.

Pretty, isn't it?

When I saw the in-store display of Tide samples all stacked and ready to go home with their perspective recipients, I have to admit my heart did a little flutter. Call me crazy but I'll take just about anything when it's free - even when it's a product I know I will never purchase after the free sample is used. Sorry, Tide, but we go au naturale with our laundry in this house.

Aside from the sign stating "Free with any purchase" posted beside the neatly displayed stack of Tide samples, I suppose another reason for my excitement was the fact that, upon first glance, the sample I would be getting seemed like something so big. Who knew with all that packaging that all I would actually be taking home was a one-time dose of laundry booster the size of a single-use dishwasher detergent blister pack? But who am I to complain? Generally, I do not complain when someone gives me something free.....generally.

Unfortunately, I do indeed have a gripe with this sample. Actually, a few of them.

First, again, look at all that packaging! How much of one tree do you think died in order for me to receive that sample? Seriously. Couldn't they have put the coupon that came with the sample inside the plastic tear pouch the sample was packaged in and call it a day? No, that would be much too simple and so less attractive. They had to make a fancy schmancy box with an inlay just the right size for the pouch and a little flap with a photo of the Gymboree models in their Gymboree fashions.

Second, for the makers of Tide to tout this as a stain booster seems a bit ironic to me considering the stuff actually turned my son's formerly white underwear a yellowish orange color. And yes, I didn't think there was a way to misuse the product but I did make certain to read and follow the directions.

This product's one redeeming quality? It smelled nice and we are not used to our laundry coming out scented around here. When I make my homemade laundry detergent it consists of washing soda, borax, and natural soap. Because there is so little actual fragrance from the soap going into each load of laundry, basically our clothes come out smelling like......well, nothing.

I haven't decided yet what to do with the $1.50 off coupon. I could always place it in the recycle bin along with the rest of the packaging in an attempt to "give back" to nature in exchange for all that was taken by the manufacturing process in the making of the aforementioned package. Or I could also take it to the store and leave it next to the product for some "lucky" coupon scavenger. However, considering it stained our clothes, is that really doing someone else a favor? Or a disservice?

Boots, Beds, and Black Forest Muffins

Reiss in his new rain boots

I went shopping at Gymboree this afternoon armed with my 20% off coupon, my Gymbo Visa that gives me 5% off all Gymboree purchases, the knowledge that they were having a semi-okay sale and, last but not least, were also a few days into Gymbucks earning period. Generally, I only shop the clearance racks there but these boots were too cool to pass up. They were more than I would typically pay but after all was said and done between the sales and discounts, I still got them for less than half-price. They are a camouflage print with a strip of rubber jagged edging meant to look like dinosaur teeth going up the back of them.

No significance to this picture really....I just liked the cute little smile on Milla's face. It's more subtle than most times when she smiles so big, her eyes squint almost closed.

Isn't that just sweet? No, Milla is not just bent over towards Reiss. Yes, they really are smooching! I will confess though....I told Milla to kiss Reiss.

Tomorrow morning's breakfast is going to be a breeze! I made muffins using THIS recipe. I substituted one cup of zucchini (which is something the original recipe owner suggests in a later post of hers) for the applesauce, added chocolate chips as she mentions and took things one step further by adding about a cup of pitted and quartered cherries. Of course I couldn't go to bed without trying one...gotta make certain they are edible for tomorrow, you know. With my addition of the cherries, I thought they tasted a lot like Black Forest Cake so I am calling this version of the recipe Black Forest Muffins. I love it when I am prepared ahead of time!!!

Milkshakes and Product Reviews

Last night after dinner we took a short drive out to go scavenge some bikes out of someone's trash pile that James had noticed on his way home from work yesterday. I'm always a sucker for anything free that is in any condition to be recycled or reused. There were three bikes there but we only took two....no need to be greedy - I just hope someone else did get the third one before it met a trashy destiny.

And yes, you can rest assured knowing that they were indeed someone's trash and not just some bikes the children living in that house had parked by the trash, as James had to remove some mangled tomato cages and rotted lumber to get to them. I feel I have to mention this because it never crossed my mind that someone might actually think we would just take some children's bikes from a stranger's curb. However, it must have crossed at least one person's mind because when I posted on my Facebook page about our trash-picked treasure and how I absolutely love heavy trash day, a friend posted "I hope those were really set out for trash! lol" Yes, Jen, they were in a pile. And we rescued them.

So what in the world does this have to do with milkshakes?

After completing our task of being the neighborhood nuisances by picking through others' trash pile, we were driving home when out of the blue I asked, "Who wants milkshakes? Raise your hand!" This was totally spur of the moment and I wasn't even certain if we had the right ingredients on hand to make them. To be accurate, I knew we had milk replacer (since we do not do dairy) and GFCF chocolate syrup but I wasn't terribly sure we had any ice cream - just the main ingredient - no big deal, right? Way to dangle a carrot in front of a four-year-old, hunh?

It ends up we did have ice cream, thank goodness. Since making such drastic restrictions to our diet around eight months ago, I've not made milkshakes. Smoothies, yes. Milkshakes, no. So where the thought to make milkshakes came from is beyond me.

Here are the ingredients I used, their specific brand names, and a brief review of each. They are in no specific order and please don't ask me the measurements. When making something simple like this, I just wing it going solely by the look of things! By the way, I am not being paid or compensated in any way to tout the benefits of the products.

AH!LASKA Organic Chocolate Syrup - This isn't Hershey's but it's pretty darn good. Considering it's organic, gluten-free, dairy free, and "free" of a few other undesirable ingredients, it's actually better than Hershey's in some ways. I do feel I use more of this than regular Hershey's or store brand syrups though and at more than $5 per bottle, that is somewhat of a drawback. Overall, it gets a thumbs up and hey, I'm getting pretty used to spending a lot of money in order to stick with our dietary restrictions. What's another five bucks for a bottle of chocolate syrup? It still beats the price of getting an ice cream treat out and about somewhere.

Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream - Technically, this product is not called ice cream. It's a "non-dairy frozen dessert." But how appealing does that sound? It is made with coconut milk rather than full fat dairy cream. In my opinion, this stuff is better than real dairy ice cream. It is so incredibly rich and yummy.

This makers of this product claim it is "dramatically lower in fat, calories and sugar than most premium ice creams" but honestly, I wouldn't know because I don't know about you, but I've never actually looked at the fat count, calorie count, or sugar grams on any regular premium ice cream packages. Most times when I have eaten "premium ice cream" it has been to satisfy a craving, not to see how much of it I could eat without expanding my waistline. That said, this ice cream is awesome and it contains a healthy dose of fiber! How cool is that? Fiber in ice cream! Does it get any better than this?

Depending on where I purchase this product, I pay $4.99-$5.79 per pint. Not cheap, but not really any more expensive than other "premium ice cream" pints in the grocery store. My gripe? There aren't very many flavors. The vanilla bean flavor is spectacular though, and even better than the chocolate flavor. That's a lot coming from someone who would choose chocolate anything over vanilla any day.

DariFree Non-Dairy Milk Alternative - This milk replacement product is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, as well as "free" of many other commonly avoided allergens. It tastes great on its own and in most recipes. I have found it works great for baking but does not taste so great in some savory dishes. I can use a little of it in mashed potatoes without tasting strangely, however, the results were not quite as stellar once when I used a tiny bit in some eggs for scrambling. Let's just say I'm sure the raccoons living in the woods behind our house thought they'd died and gone to heaven when they awoke that evening and went scavenging for some midnite munchies.

DariFree isn't just an ordinary milk replacement product either - it packs a hefty punch in the way of vitamins and minerals. Although its main ingredient is maltodextrin derived from potatoes, it is surprisingly low in sugar grams at only two grams per serving.

If you purchase this product in 25-pound bulk containers from the manufacturer (in the link above), the savings are more than worth having to pay for shipping over buying it by the canister from a local retailer.

Last ingredient for the milkshakes? Ice! No link needed - just look in your freezer!

Milla Monkey and Her Barnyard

Remember a week or so ago I mentioned the fun fair/rummage sale we went to? I just came across this recent photo of Milla with her new-to-her Little People barnyard and remembered I mentioned the barnyard awhile back but never posted the photo of her with it. She is pictured here playing with it and her Little People zoo.

By the way, ignore her visible collar bones - she is very well fed and definitely not lacking any baby pudginess.

I Do Not Like Stuffed Animals

Anyone who knows me at all knows I love, love, LOVE Gymboree clothes. And not because I have to have my kids in the latest kids' fashions but because of their quality. Ever since I learned about Gymbucks a few years ago, I have done my best to buy Reiss and Milla Gymboree clothes at the lowest prices possible. By combining their clearance rack prices, 20-30% off coupons they send me, my Gymboree Visa 5% discount AND Gymbucks, I am usually able to get Gymboree clothes at prices that beat those of KMart and Walmart for children's clothing of lesser quality. Please don't think that makes me a snob - I just love that Gymboree clothes keep going and going and going just like the Energizer bunny.

Gymbucks redemption officially started today but most stores will allow redemption the day before the first official day and so I went last night to redeem mine before all the clearance racks were picked over. With my Gymbucks, I was able to get eighteen pieces of clothing for $82.53 That's an average of $4.59 per piece of clothing. See why I have to laugh when people say they can't afford Gymboree but yet they go and pay twice that amount for something elsewhere that is not as high-quality? Seriously....

So this morning I was rearranging all the Gymbo loot I got last night in Reiss' and Milla's closets and they were helping or rather, playing with all the clothes (a.k.a. unhanging them) on the lower rack faster than I could hang clothes on the top rack. In the far depths of the closet was a forgotten bin of stuffed animals.

I do not like stuffed animals. I repeat, I do not like stuffed animals.

I do not care for stuffed animals because they are little dust factories and safe harbors for all kinds of creepy crawly things and just not my favorite type of toy. Oh, and if they came from Goodwill, eeeuuuwww.....just EEEUUUWWW. If someone gives a Goodwill purchased stuffed critter to my children, those immediately get tossed in the Goodwill pile.

I am not a germaphobe but I know the kinds of things I have given to Goodwill - yes, I have occasionally been guilty of taking off a shirt and throwing it into the Goodwill pile without laundering it - and I also know there are people out there who are not nearly as clean in their daily habits as I am. So if I'll give an unlaundered shirt to Goodwill, what are people of less conscious level than I giving? I can't help but think that maybe someone's dog has peed on some of the stuffed animals before they made it to Goodwill or even more realistically thinking, by how many dirty mouths that stuffed lion or tiger or bear has been bitten or chewed. Oh my!

With the Gymboree loot stored and arranged by size (I have some clothes for Milla all the way up to size 6!), we pulled out the stuffed animals for a romp in the playroom.

Here is Reiss chewing on Uniqua's tag. See what I mean about little mouths chewing on stuffed animals? My own children do it so I know others must do it too.

Milla carefully making her selection.

You should probably be made aware that my camera never seems to snap the photo when I want it to, so anytime you see a photo on here that's actually pretty cool, it's almost always by mistake. I was probably trying to catch a different memorable moment that ended up being another memorable moment by the time the camera decided to act. The photo above is one such instance. I was trying to take a picture of Reiss running from the scene after he had just dumped everything but instead, got a pretty swell photo of Milla looking like she was ever-so-delicately touching the bear's tummy. We will let her believe we don't know the truth about how she gets a little excited and not-so-delicate.

Stuffed critters everywhere! This photo doesn't do justice to the enormity of the mess, as there were many more critters all around my feet from where I was acting as photographer.

Not really related to the stuffed critter play session but seriously, could I not post this photo? She's looking about as devious as a toddler can get. This photo reminds of those "Pi$$ on" window cling things you sometimes see on cars or trucks that have the little character who looks like the comic character, Calvin, doing something that's not-so-nice.

The stuffed critter play session was part of this morning's festivities. Later on, in the early afternoon, we went to a friend's house and played with the kids there and swam in our friend's pool. Our friend has been doing this regularly schedule playdate and swimming for a few weeks now. We love it and they are so generous to share their home with us every week.

Reiss and Milla love the pool, which surprises me a little. Reiss takes awhile to warm up to anything new, no matter how fun it is or how much he likes it later. He loved the pool from almost the get-go....so why won't he play in the sprinkler at home? He loves the pool and he loves to stand in the shower but can't stand when I put the kids' sprinkler on the hose. He's a tough nut to crack, for sure.

After swimming, we came home and had a snack and Milla was so tired she could barely walk. I hate to admit it but I sometimes think it's kinda funny when she gets that tired because she's like a little walking zombie. Don't get me wrong, I would never let her fatigue-induced stupor allow her to fall down or run into a wall....I'm just sayin' it is funny. Bellies satiated with tortilla chips and drinks, off to nap we went.

And that brings us to now. Reiss is snoring like an old man on the couch. Milla is asleep on my lap. She was in the chair but sat up wide awake so I let her nurse a little while and she is back to sleep again. I may have to move her, as now my leg is asleep too.

Friday Night Fun Fair and PHOTOS!!!

Last night we went to a fun fair/rummage sale combo that was held at a church near our house. The tickets were CHEAP and the people were sparse. Reiss and Milla pretty much had the run of the place as far as the fun fair attractions were concerned - always a good thing when your child tends to be apprehensive around crowds of people.

I didn't intend to buy anything from the rummage sale area but they did have a toy section which, I might add, was very obviously strategically placed where one had to walk through it to get to the fun fair attractions for the kids. That's how they get you...You think you're not going to buy anything and they're one step ahead of you. It was all good though, because I found a Little People barnyard with Little People animals and some miscellaneous animals that didn't really go with it. We got that for $5 and another truck for Reiss for $0.50

One good thing about Reiss' particular autism - at least for now - is that Reiss doesn't understand the concept of money or "things being equal" yet so he doesn't know that Milla got something big and he got something small. And before anyone accuses me of picking favorites or cheating Reiss out of something, most often Reiss gets something and Milla gets nothing. I figure I can ride that one for a little while longer until she understands money and getting things and equality...you know, all the things in which little children are the ultimate experts.

Anyway, about my Milla's Little People barnyard......I'm all excited about this find for two reasons. First, I love anything Little People! They are such awesome toys to use as learning tools. And second, Milla's speech therapist is forever bringing some type of animal-related toy to assist in Milla's therapy sessions and I really believe Milla gets the most enjoyment out of the animal toys. Her therapist brings a barnyard similar to the one we got last night so now we have one to play with any time we want and not just a few minutes during therapy each week.

Enough of my meaningless rambling and on to the main course - the PHOTOS!!!

Reiss coming through the tunnel on the obstacle course.

Reiss sqeezing through the pillars....shouldn't be too difficult - he's a twig.

Forget the games! It's all about getting to choose a prize....

Milla getting ready to throw a bean bag in the bean bag toss. (Just pretend you don't see all that extra fat flesh on my arms!)

Not sure what Reiss is doing to Milla's bum-bum here but she doesn't seem to mind. This is the two of them in the jousting pit inflatable. They're obviously too young to joust so the guy just let them run around in a million circles in there.

Reiss with a jousting mask on his head.

I really think we may have discovered a future career for him....

I had to take a photo of this because it's not something I often see. This isn't just Milla sleeping - it's Milla asleep where she fell asleep. On. Her. Own. That's right! No help at all or any soothing methods necessary....she just went over to the beanbag, plopped down, and was out like a light.

What is a Date?

No, not a Medjool date or even a Halawi or Thoory date. What do you and your spouse or significant other do when you get that ever-so-rare (for us, anyway) treat of a few hours of childless retreat?

Don't get me wrong. I love my children more than words can express but even the best parents need a break now and then. My husband and I do not get anywhere near the number of breaks our friends who are parents get from their own children. Occasionally, I will browse a local mommy message board and read about people who even go on vacation without their children - definitely not for me but I'm also not criticizing.

(Now why would I ever want to get away from someone who looks so sweet???)

Anyway, James and I had such a moment of childless bliss yesterday afternoon when my dad and step-mom came and watched Reiss and Milla. James and I get a break so seldomly that we usually don't even know what to do with ourselves when we do get one.

Yesterday's date was a late afternoon lunch at Ruby Tuesday. We both got hamburgers and I was pleasantly surprised when our food showed up to see that the buns were wheat buns (no, we do not ordinarily stick to GFCF when it's just James and I going out to eat) without us making any special requests for something other than white. James had a regular burger and mine was turkey with bacon and avocado. It was so good and so huge and I certainly should not have eaten the whole thing and the fries with it but I did AND also had a drink called a Ruby Relaxer.

After I ordered and received the drink, our server informed me that the drink had four ounces of alcohol in it. I have serious doubts because I drink so little when I do drink that if I had consumed four ounces of alcohol yesterday I would not only know it when drinking it, but my legs would have known it as well when I got up to walk. It was an excellent drink and I don't drink to get drunk so I didn't mind that it didn't have all the alcohol in it that Andy proclaimed it to have. All was well and it served it's purpose: I was a little bit more relaxed after the last sip.

Following lunch we went to go get some Pull-Ups for little Miss Big Girl who is now potty-training right along with her big brother. I hate to think that she may be fully potty-trained before her older brother but if that's the case, that's life. Less diapers for me to change. We got them at Babies R Us because I had two stackable coupons - one for $2.50 off and one for $5.00 off. I never buy diapers at Babies R Us because they're too expensive but darn CVS and Walgreens have not had any good diaper sales lately. I gotta go wherever the deal is and yesterday, that happened to be Babies R Us.

After BRU, we went and bought another potty-chair and some white underwear for Reiss and some boxer briefs for James and candy bars. James got a Butterfinger and I had a Twix. Then we headed home.

To sum it up, our Sunday afternoon date consisted of having hamburgers and fries, buying diapers, underwear, a potty-chair, and candy bars. Do we know how to party or what? We are walkin' on the wild side now!

A New Look

Yes! Finally!!!

I have finally revamped the look of this blog. Honestly, I don't know what took me so long. Probably just my ignorant belief in doing so would require a lot of "know how" that I do not possess. However, it was so incredibly simple, and because of that, I'd like to thank The Cutest Blog On The Block for offering adorable FREE backgrounds and making things so easy for the dummies out there by providing detailed step-by-step instructions that even I could not mess up.

If I do say so myself, the monkeys are quite fitting for a blog about my two little nutballs.