I want to share with everyone that today is Elliott's birthday. He turned 7 this morning and I remember the day he was born, like it was yesterday. Elliott is truly our miracle baby because he almost didn't make it out of the NICU. After a very long and complicated pregnancy, Elliott was born premature and suffered 2 collapsed lungs and a nasty case of pneumonia.  He came very close to dying but fought back.  7 years later, I'm writing this post and wishing him a very Happy Birthday.  :-) I have to say that coming so close to losing a child really gives you a unique perspective  on life.  Seeing Elliott hooked up to everything in the NICU was the scariest thing I have ever experienced in my life. …

It's been a little while since I updated you in my attempt to give up all other beverages except water.  I did really good for the first week or so but caved in a few times since then.  Sometimes, I just get so stressed out and water isn't very comforting for me.  I had some root beer while we were all Chuck E Cheeses this weekend and I drank some OJ a couple of days ago.  While, I didn't remain as steadfast as I would have liked, I'm still drinking way more water than I was before.  I hardly ever drank water before, it's was always milk or soy milk.  For some time now, 95% of my liquid intake was things like milk, pop or juice.  For the last week…

I wanted to invite you all to visit by new #Autism Awareness Shop over at CafePress. My reasons for opening this store are many but most importantly, I want to spread Autism Awareness in unique and creative ways. My goal is to start dialogue with those unfamiliar with Autism and also show support for those touched by it as well. A portion of each sale will come back to me but having said that, it's not really about the money. Honestly, every little bit helps but all I'm really looking to do is help cover the costs associated with this site, the My Autism Help Forums and the out of pocket shipping costs that go along with my giveaways. Basically, I want to keep being able to do what I do, without…

We took Elliott and Emmett to Chuck E Cheeses on Saturday.  Elliott's birthday is on Monday and we wanted to do something special for him. He's going through a lot right now and we wanted to just celebrate him in a way that he would be thrilled to death with.  He loves Chuck E Cheeses and actually does really well there despite everything that Chuck E Cheeses is.  We all had a great deal of fun until I got sick.  That's right, Daddy sorta ruined things towards the end because I had to get home and lay down. The boys were really understanding and I'm really grateful for that but I still feel really bad.  I'm really glad the boys had a good time but OMFG, I friggin HATE Chuck…

Do you ever find yourself wishing that you could talk to someone that understands? Someone that get's it. Personally, I know what that's like and I decided to do something about it. I want to encourage everyone to join the My Autism Help Forums. The My Autism Help Forums are designed by me and run on the industry standard forum software, vBulletin. Because I own, manage and enforce rules in the forums, they are a safe place to speak your mind, vent or ask/answer questions. There is a zero tolerance for bullying or harassing. I want everyone to feel free to share without fear of repercussions from other members. We don't always have to agree with each other. I do however, require that you treat everyone with dignity and respect.   The forums are readable by…