Autism Is Like the New Blonde!

So I thought I would have a really nice run to write about today, but instead, I'll have to rant a little about an Autism discussion I had with my good friend C.

We met up at the Rosebowl in Pasadena for a run and it started out pretty good. After a few minutes she mentioned that she had read an article that says 1 in 3 kids has autism. I said that I thought that number seemed pretty high, but I had also read more and more kids who would previously have been labelled with some other sort of learning disability were no being labelled as autistic.

Then my friend went on to add that she was certain a friend of my child's is autistic, stating that this child has all the tell-tale physical and social characteristics including deep-set eyes (or something like that). Now, I got pretty defensive about this because I adore the kid in question and find the child to be perfectly intelligent and "normal" (and for God's sake that is not meant to imply that autistic kids are not normal; I think kids are perfect just the way they are.) It's just that this kid talks, walks, interacts, knows their ABCs... So I tell her that I think the kid is just fine, but she would not relent on the topic.

So we get into this whole discussion about there being different levels of autism and how many people with it are highly functioning. So I make the point that if a child is learning at a normal level, functioning just fine and going to have a perfectly normal life, why label the kid as having autism and freak out the parents.

To make a long story short, I say that if 1 in 3 kids is autistic that's pretty sad, to which she counters: "well, what's sad is people who think that autism is a negative label." Hmmm... I feel like she's calling me sad, so I say, "So I should be proud if I have an autistic child?" And she says, "well, it's the same thing as having a blonde child or a brunette child." WHAT? I DON'T THINK SO!

Now let me be really clear here, I don't think of autism as a "negative" label and I think we all know of autistic kids who are just amazing and excel at specific things... so I am not saying that. But, are there any parents of autistic kids out there who would compare having an autistic child to having a blonde child? And if 1 in 3 kids is labelled as autistic because they learn differently, isn't that a little bit alarmist? I mean we all learn differently, and let's face it, we're all a little different. Now if there are any parents of autistic children out there who want to comment on this, please I would love to hear from you.

To extricate myself from the discussion, which was starting to upset me, I finally had to pointedly change the topic. We are good enough friends that the conversation flowed smoothly in a new direction.

Now, all that said, I figured I certainly better inform myself on the topic better, lest it come up in conversation again. So here are some facts that I gathered from Autism Speaks:

"Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person's lifetime. It is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined."

I read about the "red flags," but none of them applied to the child in question. I was unable to find anything referring to physical characteristics on this site, so I really can't speak to this. I did find this elsewhere: "Interestingly, there are a some autistic individuals whose vermal lobules VI and VII are larger than normal." I have no idea what that means.

After the somewhat tense first 3-mile lap, I went on to run the second lap on my own and sank into some music. It was just what I needed, I had a solid run and felt mellowed by the end. Oh, and I ran it a couple of minutes faster than usual too. Mama's rock!

Today's playlist included:

1. Plain White T's, Hey There Delilah (I actually listened to this twice because it mellowed me out so much.)
2. Gwen Stefani, Hey Baby
3. Black Eyed Peas, Let's Get Retarded
4. Sean Paul Featuring Busta Rhymes, Gimme The Light Remix
5. Tom Jones, Hooked on a Feeling (remember the dancing baby???)
6. Lenny Kravitz, Fly (I always feel like I could lift off during this song.)
7. Lil Bow Wow, Puppy Love (don't judge, don't be a hater)
8. The Killers, Mr. Brightside
9. Jamiroquai, Virtual Insanity
10. See #1

I just spent the last two hours wrapping presents from Santa, up next is my husband's company's holiday party... Which means I get to wear make-up, a dress AND impractical shoes!

Mommy And Me Yoga

Today the kids and I tried out a Mommy and Me yoga/pilates class. It was really great!

The moms and little babies spread out their mats on the grass at Brookside Park in Pasadena for a pilates session, while the slightly older children spread out mats (or towels) several yards away with their own yoga instructor!

I was pretty sure that my three-and-a-half-year-old would have fun at the kid's yoga class because he's very social, but I was worried about how my ten-month-old would be. Turns out she felt right at home and crawled from one mommy to the next all during class.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was what a great workout it was. I could really feel my muscles engage! After class I loaded both kids up into the stroller and squeezed in a 15 minute or so jog around the park. I run, therefore I am.

The Mommy and Me fitness classes, offered through Mama Mia Fitness, take place everyday from 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. in the same location. The M/W/F class is a Circuit Training class and Tuesdays is a Cardio Blast class. Being that my schedule is so crazy between the two kids, and the fact that I like to run 6 miles already on M/W/F, actually making it to a class more than once a week is probably unlikely for me, but it would certainly be GOOD for me to do some cross training.

Judging from today's experience, I would have to highly reccomend this program for any mom -- especially a new mom. The moms I met today were kind and helpful and seemed very down to earth; and getting regular exercise (especially outdoors) is so crucial post-partum to get all those feel good hormones going again. Well, that and SEX! (I know, I know, who has the energy?) That's just my two cents.

After the yoga class we hit Amy's Indoor Playground in South Pasadena. Now, normally I don't like paying to go into one of these types of places when my kids are just as happy being at a park, but with Mia crawling everywhere and putting EVERYTHING in her mouth I happily shelled out the cash! Amy's has a nice little cushy enclosure that is just for the little ones. She was happy in there and it even gave me the chance to get wild in the bouncy house with my son.

Another bonus of the indoor playground with a bouncy house is that it absolutely wipes out older kids. I lured my son away from the play area with an ice cream sandwich (and they even had the 140-calorie Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, which are so much more of a reasonable "treat" than the giant 500-calorie variety) just minutes before nap time. I managed to get home quickly, feed both kids a little healthy food and get them both down for naps.

Now I have six minutes until my mother-in-law comes over so I can get my eyelashes tinted! I know it sounds very vain, but it's really because I can't stand mascara, but my eyelashes are totally blonde, so I look freaky without it! My husband's big Christmas party is tomorrow night so I want to look my best. It may be the one night in 100 where I actually get to feel a little less like a frumpy mommy than usual.

And here she is! Later!

Squeezing It All In

Yep, that's what all us busy stay-at-home-moms (and of course, working moms too) do every day. We try to squeeze it all in. Getting exercise, keeping the house clean, getting the laundry done, running mundane errands, doing something fun with the kids and trying to save some energy for keeping the hard-working husband happy too. We all know what goes first... sorry Daddy!

Well, yesterday was so busy that I didn't even have time to write about it until today. I am proud to say, however, that the first thing I squezed in was a quick and effective workout. After building a barricade around my treadmill with a variety of large hard-to-move toys, and toy chests (to keep my crawler away from the machine), I popped in a movie for my older child (in the same room where I have the treadmill) and got in a solid 5K run. Yes, I had to stop a few times to tend to the kidlets, but I did it!

My playlist for the day included:

1. Abel Kader, Algerian Mix (simply hypnotic)
2. Jamiroquai, Canned Heat (you'll love the beginning)
3. Justin Timberlake, Senorita
4. 2Pac, Daz & Kurupt, Ride With Us Remix (not my favorite of today's list)
5. Carrie Underwood, Before He Cheats (this song is great for running sprints... push to the max during the chorus!)
6. No Doubt, Excuse Me Mr. (this song never slows down, so neither will you)
7. Pink, Don't Let Me Go
8. Eagle Eye Cherry, Save Tonight Techno Remix (fun, fun, fun!)
9. *NSYNC, It's Gonna Be Me (I'm ashamed to admit this in my playlist, but it really is good for running)
10. Beautiful, Christina Aquilera (perfect for the cool down and a real confidence booster)

(I love good running music, so please always share your favorites!)

After squeezing in the run, I had the energy to shower, dress, get kidlets ready and make some quick PB&Js so that we could get out the door and off to gymnastics class. After class we hurried back home to meet up with a friend/colleague of mine who was in town visiting. (I made sandwiches on the buns I made on Saturday. How cool is that?) The visit with M. was great; thanks to sunny so. cal. weather we were able to hang on the deck and talk about life with kids. M. is planning to adopt a child from Uzbekistan. You can read all about it on her highly informative blog: Uzbek? Ubet!

We had a great time chatting and catching up while the kids napped, and wouldn't you know it, five minutes after she left my littlest woke up -- so no down time for me! But I did have something to look forward to it. My hubby called to say he planned to be home around 6 (which is super early for him), so we decided to check out this place called Barn Burner in Pasadena. I'd heard it had mediocre BBQ, BUT kids eat free Monday - Wednesday!

We met up at the Barn Burner with a friend and his three-and-a-half-year-old -- who is also my son't best buddy. It was great! An extremely kid-friendly place, which can be really hard to find. It's really loud. It's a big wide open room. They have balloons. There are games (including air hockey) tucked in the back where it is impossible for the kids to escape without detection. The wait staff didn't even bat an eye when our kids went whizzing through their service station and the service was really good. They even give the kids soft serve ice cream cones after their dinner.

Now about the food. Not the *best* BBQ. The meats were a little dry, with the exception of the chicken which was moist, smoky and simply superb! Luckily the BBQ sauce is really good, so you can simply drown any of the dry stuff with it and it's still quite good. The sweet potato fire fries were also excellent. They also served up quart-sized mason jars of beer and a perfectly palatable house wine.

We left at bed time full and relaxed. It was a busy day -- but a fun day!

Barbie Cake & Buns

'Tis the season to bake... and I love to bake -- mostly because I love to eat. Anyway, my latest two attempts were to make homemade hamburger buns and a Barbie cake.

I decided to make the rolls because I had hamburgers, but no buns and I didn't want to go to the store. I'm so glad I tried it... I'll never buy rolls or buns again! It was not only much easier than I thought it would be -- but they were delicious too!

The Barbie cake was really fun. I'm trying to come up with a special cake for my daughter's first Birthday. It's still more than a month away, but I thought it would be fun to at least try it out a head of time. It was really easy to make this version.

I started out by baking a cake in my oven proof batter bowl... it works best to turn the temperature down a bit and cook for longer. I also had to scoop off some of the cake batter that bubbled up in the middle about half way through cooking... that turned out to be a delicious treat with some cold milk.

To decorate, I simply snapped the legs off of a Barbie doll and shoved bamboo skewers up the torso then stuck the whole thing into the cake. I used frosting to decorate the doll's body and cool whip to cover the skirt. I also sprinkled pink sugar on the skirt to try and give it a more ethereal look. I'd like to geta little fancier with the decoration on the dress but the cool whip isn't strong enough to hold any more decor so I will either have to use buttercream-style frosting or try using rolled fondant. I really think the fondant would make the most beautiful cake, but it's a little pricey... so we'll see.

Soft Serve Snafu

I love soft serve, so I went online and ordered a soft serve mix for home ice cream machines.

The product description for the mix I bought reads like this: With only 22 Calories per serving and 1.7 Net Carbs Per Serving, Carbawhey is a delicious soft serve dessert specially designed for low-carb, low-lactose, and "diet conscious" consumers. This healthy alternative has no unpleasant after-taste or side effects.

Read the full description.

Hmmm... sounds good, I thought. So I ordered the multi-apck and paid for the shipping.

Holy christ the stuff was bad. A very weird sticky consistency and just terrible flavor. I tried making both the chocolate and the vanilla flavors. The vanilla required using a neutral base mix and adding French Vanilla flavoring. There were two different sets of directions for ho wmuch flavoring to add based on how much mix you were using. I ended up with an orange concoction that reeked of alcohol and was totally inedible.

So, I decided to write to the site where I purchased the mixes from just to give my review and I was even thinking that *maybe* they would offer to make an exchange. My product review must have felt more like a personal attack to the vendor. This is our exchange.

Here's what I wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michelle Unrot"
To: "'Douglas A. Bouma'"
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 7:02 AM
Subject: RE: Order Update


> You should put a note on the website that explains how AWFUL this stuff
> tastes! I'm sure it is very healthy, but at what price? YUCKY! We're so
> disappointed. And the directions that came with the French vanilla flavoring
> were totally wrong too... there were actually two different sets of
> directions that didn't match. Anyway, no personal offense, but I find the
> product to be really terrible.
>
> Sincerely,
> Michelle Unrot

Here's what he wrote:
(Take note of the last graf, and please, tell me what you think it means.)

Good morning,

Thank you for the kind words and the input towards the product. All criticism is welcome, and we do have someone here at all times of the day to answer any question that you may have.

We do have customers that rave about this product and they have had some variation in texture and taste. Of course the machine that you use typically has something to do with the outcome.

Once again thank you for your kind gesture this morning and I hope that you have the same type of success with your daily ventures in life.

Happy Holidays

Doug
Owner
Soft Serve Depot


I think the moral of the story is one we've all heard before: When something sounds too good to be true, it is.

I believe I'll just be heading to Pinkberry next time I want some soft serve.

Santa Clarita Half Marathon

I ran the Santa Clarita Half Marathon on Sunday morning. I can never sleep the night before a marathon... that means I didn't really get to take advantage of the fact that we got to turn the clocks back on Saturday night -- I mean, I couldn't sleep anyway! Oh well, at least it wasn't pitch black when I had to leave the house and head out for the race.

It was unseasonably warm too. As I ran the first few miles on the streets and trails winding through the Santa Clarita Valley the sky turned from fuchsia to a lighter pink to a brilliant blue with streaky white clouds almost imperceptibly. The air was crisp, but not cold. Perfect running conditions.

I love running in organized events because I don't need to worry about carrying water or snacks or if there's a place to pee along the trail -- all that is taken care of by the organizers. But, perhaps the best thing is the buzz of energy that surrounds you. I feel like I am literally pulled along almost effortlessly (but not quite) by the rest of the runners.

My mind slips and slides while I'm running long distances. Sometimes I am extremely focused on a single idea: I'm going to pass that guy with the red dolphin shorts and hairy legs before the next song starts OR I'll plan an elaborate dinner party (that I'll never throw) down to the minutest details -- think personalized place settings and a different beverage for every course.

Then sometimes I find that miles have passed and I've noticed nothing except the texture of the bridge boards I crossed earlier in the run. I can't recall where I'm at in my run, what songs I've listened to or what I've been thinking about.

Other times I run like a kid... I clear my mind, smile (at least to myself, no need to look like a complete dork), and kick out my feet and swing my arms and just have fun!

Regardless of how a run goes I almost always feel the same at the end: energized, a little high and extremely sexy and strong.

I finished in 2 hours and 9 minutes, about what I had expected based on my training and bout with illness in the weeks preceding the race.

While I was running, my little boy participated in a Kid K run. A Kid K is where the kids run in a one kilometer race (that's a little over a half-mile for the metrically challenged). It's a great way to get kids excited about running and to keep them busy while parents are running longer events. My little tike had a great time, it was his first event, but hopefully not his last!

The Oddest Interview

Yesterday I had what was perhaps the oddest interview I have ever had, save for one I had during the Internet boom in which the barefooted person interviewing me was playing ping pong, likely high and most likely making a six figure salary for doing not too much.

A couple of weeks ago I applied for a job at a big satellite entertainment company where I did some freelance work in between having my two kids. A week ago I was informed that someone from Human Resources would be calling me to conduct a "screening" call. When I asked what type of information I would need ready and how long it would take I was told that I didn't need to have anything ready as it was a background interview and it would be a standard list of questions. Not so.

A very nice woman from the company's HR office in Denver called me with a long list of very specific job interview questions that had been prepared by the person actually doing the hiring in Idaho. As I was answering each of the questions she was typing away at her keyboard, periodically asking me to pause or to repeat things -- which was really awkward. Aside from not getting any body language feedback from the interviewer, I knew my answers would seem flat without my own witty tone. Plus, when I asked for clarification on one of the questions, she said, "Well, I don't want to give anything away."

I really liked my response to one of the questions. The HR rep. said, "This job is described as hectic, busy, requires overtime and some weekends... Describe your current work schedule." To which I replied, "I'm a stay-at-home mom so my schedule is hectic, busy, requires overtime, working weekends -- AND I don't get sick days!"

Of course, I don't get paid either, but I didn't think that would be a good thing to point out. Anyway, wish me luck.

Hello, Doctor, Are You In?

Yesterday I went back to the doctor for a flu shot. The doctor walks in and says, "You were right, you did test positive for mono!" Ummm... Okay, well that certainly explains why I was feeling so run down and why I still wasn't feeling 100% even after antibiotics. What it didn't explain is why no one had called me from his office to let me know. I'd taken the test a full week earlier, surely plenty of time to give me a ring, right? Wrong, apparently I should have called in to the office to get the results two days after the tests. Argh.

The Cold That Wouldn't Leave

So I'm finally feeling better today after two weeks of a cold and sore throat that just wouldn't go completely away. The baby still has some nasty congestion, which is particularly sucky because when she's stuffed up she has trouble sleeping. You see, when you have a baby who sucks on her fingers for comfort, and said baby can't breathe through her nose, she either gets no comfort or gets no oxygen. Meanwhile, mommy gets no sleep.

I finally decided to get back to my normal jogging routine today following my two week hiatus. The break was unfortunate because I am running the Santa Clarita Half Marathon this Sunday. This will be my first distance race since having my little girl and it will be my son's first time participating in a Kid K. I ran the full marathon a couple of years ago and actually managed to place second in my division! Because I have had so little time to train, I don't expect to do well this time, but I'm hoping to have a good time anyway!

Now that I'm back on track, I should be back to posting too!

My Employer Doesn't Give Sick Days

Man, I sure could have used a sick day this week. My son got the flu on Sunday and by Monday morning I had a nasty cold with sinus pressure so intense I seriously considered drilling a hole in my head! Meanwhile, my 9-month-old also had a runny nose -- either from teething or a cold, I don't know. (BTW, when I say runny nose when referring to my baby, I mean snot running like so much water from a faucet, only it's snot so it gets smeared into hair, onto toys/clothes and dripped all over the carpet.)

So we were literally drowning in tears and snot! I didn't feel like moving, let alone dealing with two sick kids, but that's the catch when you are a stay at home mom -- you don't get sick days! Really, I just don't know how I got through Monday. How do other people do it?

Today is the first day that I am feeling sort of back to normal... and the first day that my son went back to school. So I managed to go for a jog, hit the grocery store and do some laundry. The little one with the shiny new tooth is napping soundly and I have the chance to rest up a bit too -- but of course this isn't when I NEED the break, that was on Monday when I just couldn't catch one to save my life.

Blogging Like a Newbie

I've been thinking about starting a blog for ages, but like most anyone with kids knows, there just aren't enough hours in the day. I'm more likely to write out a menu for the week with the accompanying shopping list (that almost invariably involves running around to a mere minimum of three stores) than I am to actually write something for fun!

Yet, here I am, on a day where I have spent nearly three hours in nasty L.A. traffic, getting my very own blog started. Apparently traffic is far more draining for infants and little boys, so while my two little ones nap I'm gonna get this party started.