Autism Parenting Tips I Learned From Dr. Sheldon Cooper

TV has a lot of really bad shows that are just mindless but sometimes you run into one that really strikes a chord. Before my son was diagnosed with Autism we had our suspicions. He had always had his challenges & difficulties. He had always been a bit odd or different from the other kids but in small town Oklahoma not only do you not know what to do about it you can't find anyone who knows anything about it! The turning point was NBC's show Parenthood, one of the kids was diagnosed with Aspergers on the show. After watching we realized that it fit how our son acted with a shocking amount of accuracy so that was our breaking point, we sought out someone who was familiar with Autism Spectrum Disorders & made his appointment or evaluation.

CBS's The Big Bang Theory is another one of those show that just hit the nail on the head! So after watching a run of episodes these last couple of days I'm realizing how accurate they really are & how shows like this that not only humanize people on the spectrum but also put a positive or humorous spin on it and it really does help with awareness & acceptance. I've already tried my hand at identifying cartoon characters that I think are on the Autism Spectrum, view that blog post here. In honor of one of my favorite characters on television, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, I thought I would share some of my favorite parenting skills that I have learned from Sheldon about raising a kid on the spectrum.

• Pick Your Battles - "My Shirt Is Itchy And I Wish I Were Dead!" Pants are the wrong texture, the collar of this shirt lays on my neck wrong, I can't wear green today! You learn to not only pick your battles but you learn what real battles are! This isn't even worth fighting over for me. He has a whole closet full of clothes in there so lets just find something that is going to be acceptable. As long as its not a silk button up shirt with cats & wizards on it I'm totally happy! PICK YOUR BATTLES PEOPLE! 

• Doing 'Stupid' Things - Okay, I've learned that this is a pretty big one. There are things that we do in this word that are stupid or silly when you think about it. Case in point? Easter Eggs, Valentines Day, little white liess, Elf On The Shelf, the list goes on & on but what most people don't have is the pleasure of having a kid that will be happy to point out how stupid those things are & you know what..? Sometimes I can't really sum up with a single reason why we do the things we do but we have to & yes it may be stupid but we have to do it! We all have family, little brothers, moms, school teachers, & others who have expectations & the while I expect the world to be accepting or accommodating  of my son, I expect my son to learn to be the same with the things he doesn't like or understand. "Let's do this stupid thing" for a kid with High Functioning Autism or Aspergers is the same as when other parents say to their NT kids "Because I said so!"

• Manners - "If you don't mind, I'd like to stop listening to you & start talking." How many of us can hear these words coming out of our own kids mouth? Then again, after thirty minutes or so of listening to the technical breakdown of how something works in Minecraft I am pretty close to saying something along these lines as well. I find it funny that if these words came out of my sons mouth he would probably think it was still considered acceptable manners because he said it politely instead of just starting to talk right over you. Everything is a work in progress! :)

• Celebrate The Small Things - If my son would eat a slice of pizza I would probably throw a party! Probably not a pizza party but a party none the less. I have bribed, threatened, tricked, lied, & my way to making him try new foods & you know what? None of that ever works. You have to just present opportunities for expansion of foods & reward/celebrate the small victories. Even if that victory is that you, the parent, made it through the day & the small celebration is a glass of wine & a bowl of ice cream from the pint you had hidden behind the mini corn dogs in the back of the freezer so no one else in the house would jack it from you… not that I know anything about that!

Thanks for reading & don't forget to follow me over on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, & on Instagram @AdventuresInAspergrs

Back To School Day 2, Okay The Honeymoon's Over

Remember that time a long time ago… like… yesterday, when I posted about what an awesome day he had on the first day of middle school & everything was gonna be just fine? You remember that? Yeah, the dad who wrote that is gone. Today he got kicked in the face by reality & then Autism stepped on his rose color glasses of optimism. I'm back in charge now. Regular ol' cynical Tom that is not so much a glass half full guy but not really a glass half empty guy either, more of a I spilled my glass in my lap & now it looks like I peed on myself kinda guy!

When my son got home today he was so overwhelmed & over stimulated as he tried to tell us about his day no words would come out. I sat on the couch listening to him make groaning noises like he was physically trying to push the words out of his mouth three or four times then two words would come out then groaning then two words & so on. We haven't been to that place in a long time but let me tell you it was a big punch in the gut. Probably a good one to be honest with you. I may have needed a wake up to the fact that YES we are back in school, YES you do need to get your 'A' game back out of the back of the closet & lace up your boots because it's about to get real. Not to say he had a bad day but it was obviously a lot to take in & with it being only the second day of school I'm sure the teachers, staff, & special education teachers are trying to normalize themselves as well as learn their new kids. So I'm really just at a time where all we can do is decompress him as best as we can & send him back into the lions den as prepared as he can be.

 Any time we are off school be it for summer, spring break, or even Christmas break the first week (sometimes month, I know you feel THAT pain) is the real test of a parents mental capacity. Summer is a special kind of hell though because at least with the other times you know the environment they are stepping into & have a dialog. Back to school time is just a waiting game. My head tells me "You have to give HIM time, you have to give THEM time, & you have to just be there for anything that's needed" but my Dad-ness tells me "Lets take a mulligan this week, get some grilled cheese sandwiches, & watch adventure time together!" 

I know it will get better & after my wife giving me the only medicine that will cure an over bearing dad's racing thoughts (Chicken, Mac & Cheese, & 12 year old bourbon) I am feeling better. So yeah, thanks 'Kids Growing Up' you've successfully killed Doe-Eyed Dad & brought back fatty comfort food eating dad but that's okay. Tomorrows another day! 

PS just to be completely clear, because I know my wife will read this post I have to clarify: Fatty Comfort Food Eating Tom never REALLY went anywhere! That was a total turn of phrase & had no truth as to my eating habits which are…less than healthy… yeah that's the terminology I'm going to use! 

6th Grade Here We Come! {Middle School Vs. Autism}

Wow! The last bit of school was great, the summer was even better, & as I came to the realization that I was about to have a 6th grader this week I did several things. 1st. Melt Into A Puddle Of Dad Sludge  2nd. I put myself back together thanks to the nice people at Blue Bell :) 3rd. I decided it was about time to jump back to the blog! That's when I realized that I hadn't posted, other than small social media posts, since march! Wow!

Things have been good! We took the summer head on with the boys first trip to my favorite place on earth, Colorado! Pikes peak was below freezing, hiking in the Rock Mountain National Park, & having snowball fights in the middle of summer were just a few of the things we did. You can see some highlights from our trip on our photography blog if it tickles your fancy! I think I've just about got my wife convinced that if I can market our studio in CO a bit & book enough weddings as well as portrait sessions we may try to start spending a month or two in the summer there. We'll cross our fingers.

Like I said, 6th grade! How did this happen? I remember him being born, taking a first step, & then BAM here we are. Don't even get me started on the other two boys, Zion (with an anxiety disorder & MERLD) started the 3rd grade & Deano (Completely painfully NT to the bone) starts 1st grade. This summer has been so amazing, it was like we took a vacation from Autism! Granted I know we still did the same things we always do; routines, de-stressing, all of our autism adaptations. The difference this summer was it was all normal for us, no big hiccups or hurdles! We just rolled through. It was great! That's why I think it was even more scarier than I thought it was going to be when it was time to snap back to the real wold & start gearing up for middle school. All of a sudden I was all 'BACK TO THE WAR ROOM' starting to plan strategies for the transition & digging out my big boy panties to make sure we are ready to go to bat for the kid. 

When we heard that the orientation was a 'Drop off the kids, parents aren't welcome till the end of the day' style thing I went into 'Its okay, Its okay, I'll just talk it out' mode but when I couldn't get ahold of anyone to talk to I escalated to Dad-Con 4. My wife put it out on Facebook & what happened? The teachers, staff, & principal from the elementary school stepped up (a lot of them are on our Facebook) to give support as well as advice. The principal even made a call to the middle school personally to talk to them about Jayden & to make sure someone gave me a call to talk about him! It doesn't get any better than that. She really went above & beyond, I don't know what we would do with out such an amazing set of advocates in our corner! I know not everyone has that so I'm being mindful to stay thankful. 

He came from the first day excited. The fact that he has science the first hour of the day & is working on picking what instrument he wants to play in the band is great. We are currently deciding between the xylophone & the snare drum so that should be… interesting… yeah, that's the word I'll use! 

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to keep up to date on Facebook.

I love that this photo captures the boys 100% Zion makes a goofy face (his classic defense mechanism), Jayden makes not a drop of eye contact, & Dean is just as A-Typical as you can get!!

So, What's The New Cause Of Autism This Week?

It happens once or twice a year. A "new" story breaks in the news about  'The Cause Of Autism" & the debate begins again. Not really a debate but more spouting talking points, for that matter most of the stories aren't really stories just buzz words, & to be 100% honest most of the articles are not really new anyway.

Never the less I heard a story about how older dads are more likely to have kids with autism & that got me to thinking. Now that its 2014, lets take a quick search to see what causes autism! Seeing as a massive amount of organizations raise hundreds of millions of dollars to fund research into the causes of autism instead of funding services I'm sure they've got this thing locked up. I mean surely if they were just going to throw out a bunch of wildly different ridiculous hypotheses with pretty thin science behind them surely they would maybe do something worth while like maybe put all cash in a big fund that just issues checks to families with kids on the spectrum so they can have a bit of help with things they need. You know therapies, weighted blankets, tuition, safety equipment for the house, anti-depressants for mom & dad, frozen chicken nuggets by the pallet load, minecraft shirts, expensive cigars & vintage whiskey for those days when grandma takes the kids to the science museum… 

Sorry, I trailed off there for a second.

Anyway here's what I found:

• Older Dads More Likely To Have Kids With Autism
• Asthma As A Risk Factor For Autism
• Air Pollution Exposure Increases Risk Of Autism
• New List Of Toxic Chemicals Causing Autism Published
• Humans Are Responsible For Nearly 62% Of All Cougar Deaths
• Mother's Genes May Explain Autism Prevalence In Boys

     & my personal favorite, an old post from THIS BLOG titled:

• Jenny McCarthy's Tears Cure Autism! {The Shocking Story Revealed}

Very informative reading in that last one but my hands down favorite is with out a doubt the story about the alarming rate of cougar deaths! Not sure why that came up when I searched for the cause of autism.

The Photographers Kids! {Taking Pictures Of Aspies}

     For couple of professional photographers you would think that we would have awesome family photos all over our home! I mean really, pictures is all we do 7 days a week 365 days a year! Nope! The last photo with all four of us in it was about 4 years ago. Not only is it hard to pay someone to do what you do for a living but it's also that fact that after taking thousands of photos a month you have a style you like. All that being said it adds a layer of difficulty to the task when you are dealing with any kid with special needs, I'm sure you all feel me there! You learn to love the picture of your little one looking off into space as long as there is a good smile or making that face that they always make! That's my style anyway, we have never been a fan of the Wal-Mart Portrait Studio 'Turn Your Head To The Right & Smile' style of photography. I hate that stuff! We did a promotion this fall where we did a massive amount of families in 30 min intervals in a pre-set scene. It was awesome! So why not throw our family in there, set the camera, & have someone push the button! (We have tried the timer function before & NOOOOOO way is that worth the trouble!) After seeing the end result as well as some others we snapped while warming up to do the family portrait I got to thinking how much easier it is now days than it used to be!
     I have photographed Jayden for a long time & we have photographed other kids on the spectrum, parents like it because they know I'm not going to get impatient or upset because I know what it's like working with autism. It's either a very slow stand offish process or a very high intensity in your face process! Either way they are some of my favorite shoots. I got to thinking, what have we done to work up to having Jayden take an amazing photo every time you point a camera in his face!

This was a fart sound induced smile!

• The camera is always around! In one form or another we always have a camera & are shooting photos! After it becomes the norm then the camera is not some scary thing or a big deal at all.
• Showing the picture! My own kids, sessions with kids on the spectrum, or even NT kids all the same I show them their picture! Let them see the end result & how great it is! Positive reinforcement!
• No forced looks or smiles. This is actually easier for families on the spectrum because they are not so hell bent on an everyone smile & tilt your head to the left photo! Call it lifestyle photography, call it photojournalism, what ever just take it as it happens. That's when the real smiles come. Then it's just a matter of a stolen glance your way that's captured to make an amazing photo. 
• Snap, Snap, Snap! I can go into a session with NT kids & come out with 700 photos & work that down to 60 amazing images. I pay my mortgage with photography & my camera cost me more than my first cars combined so maybe you shouldn't shoot 700 but always take a 'Better To Much Than Not Enough' mentality when it comes to shooting pictures. You can always delete the blurry ones & the ones of the back of their head!

Shopping Autistic {Do other parents buy 7lbs. of ketchup at a time?}

So I went shopping today....ugh!  One of the awesome things about me working a regular job was that I got to miss out of fun stuff like grocery shopping but since the big change when I left health care & went full time at our studio I can't dodge that bullet anymore. Off to Sam's Club we headed today! Who knew that little grocery elves didn't stock our kitchen over night!?! It was my wife the whole time! As we walked the isles I started to realize that this place is 1.) A must visit for parents of special needs kids who only eat a limited variety of foods. 2.) Its flubbin' ridiculous, at least I thought it was!!

As I strolled through I found myself looking at things, making off handed sarcastic comments, then realizing that's something we need! 

• "7 pounds of fancy ketchup, what kind of person buys 7 pounds of ketchup!...well, shoot, we go through a sick amount of ketchup!"
• "6 pounds of peanut butter! What? Oh yeah...I'll just put that in the basket!"
• 72 pop-tarts!!! Really...72! Wait...3 kids eating pop-tarts for breakfast every morning, IF..IF they don't sneak a pop-tart as a snack or open the two pack & throw one away because when they open two 2 packs for 3 kids they can't think of anything to do with that 1 extra pop-tart than to throw it in the trash for some reason!! aaaahhhh!!! Anyway, at that rate they will last about...drum roll please... 3 & a half weeks!! 

$200 later I was informed that we really just got a "few" things & will be going back to the grocery store shortly because apparently my kids eat a 2005 Dodge Magnum full of food every couple of weeks! (Yes, that's how I'm measuring from now on! All that food filled up the back of the car so that's how I'm measuring now!) 

.

So...this pic should get across the full scope of my life! If I was fancy...If I was an artist....If I hung the  photograph below in a gallery...It would be titled....PARENTHOOD

The Scene Of The Crime {When An Aspie's Hard Work Is Destroyed}

Okay, so I wanted to tell you about something but couldn't really bust out the camera during the moment it happened & lets just face it, I'm to much of a photographer to publish a blog post without pictures so forgive the lack of photos but read this anyway!!

If you read the blog then you know all about Jayden's favorite app PaperCraft that I posted about. Jayden's papercraft creations are pretty important to him but I had no idea! You know, just when you think you have a hold on the depth of autism that's when you get a slap in the face!

Jayden came to me while I sat at my desk last night with a devastated look on his face. Not an upset face, the "Just Shot Ol' Yeller" face! He said he needed to talk to me about something very serious in his room. I went in to find the scene of the crime! A brother Unnamed Suspect had been in Jayden's room & spilled a bottle of water on the desk, all over the papercraft figures. I immediately went into "Save The World Mode" trying to calm him down before the massive apocalyptic meltdown came on. I let him know that we could make more & I would help & I'm sure it was unintentional & anything else I could think of. Samantha, who had come in to help, & I both were sorely unprepared for what was about to come out of his mouth! With all my "Glass Half Full / Mr. Positivity" talk I think he may have thought I just wasn't understanding how big of a deal this was as his face was buried in his weighted blanket crying. "It's going to be okay, Jayden! We can overcome this & get through." He raised his head from the blanket, looked up at me with his massive blue tear filled eyes, & said words that I will never forget as long as I live! "You just don't understand! Those papercraft figures that were destroyed were like my sons!" Pardon my french but I almost lost my sh*t! I'm actually pretty proud of myself & how I kept a completely straight face, reassuring him that I understood how important they were & how much work went into them. When the tears were dry & he was headed off to the restroom to brush his teeth....that's when we both lost our composure! Really!! Like my sons!! It was like a scene from a bad movie! Maybe the single saddest & funnest moment in my life to date! I was a great dad for having so much empathy & compassion but then at the same time a horrible parent for finding the whole thing so freakin' funny! So I guess on the Good-Parent-O-Meter I'm zeroed out. Oh well!

New Friends!

In a bubble fortress of solitude

Over the years this blog has been crazy important to me. It's my therapy, my soap box, & my confessional. People e-mail me or facebook message me to let me know how much I've helped or how much just reading has be cathartic for them & I'll be honest I'm not sure how that works! I guess that's how I know I'm a blogger, I put it out there WAY more than I take it in. Don't get me wrong I have blogs that I read regularly & I've grown very attached to the people who write them &, as creepy as it seems to me at times, their families that they write about. It's kind of like seeing facebook "friends" at the store that your not really friends with! You see them...they see you...neither one of you say anything to each other & instead make the creepy "Yeah, I know who you are" eyes at each other OR you make awkward small talk with them realizing that you know WAY to much about whats going on with them because of facebook! I feel like, when I get into a blog I find myself reading it & getting super into what's going on in their life. Then I run to my wife & tell her the story about whats going on in the bloggers life like I know them & they live down the street! Meanwhile my wife is giving me this look like "Who are you talking about?" I'm creepy like that! Anyway, my point is I'm creepy attached to my readers & the people I meet via this community/subculture of special needs parents! I like that we are mostly all sarcastic, have an odd sense of humor, & are generally all a bit twisted but most of all I like that we all understand how hard being a special needs parent is at times but also how awesome it is!

Jayden & His New Friend Nicole

All that rambling out there & aside; I had the opportunity to photograph a great family recently who found my blog shortly after their daughter was diagnosed. After following my blog for a while & realizing both our families live in the same state (about an 45-hour apart) mom sent me a message via our Photography Studio's site to ask about a family session. I visited them at their house & we had a great photo shoot. While I was there we set up a time to all get together & visit a local children's museum. I was excited to get Jayden together with another kid with Aspergers with the hope that they could find common ground. Man did they find some common ground! It was great! Not only did they all have fun (siblings included) but it was great to see the two of them migrate to the same interests in the museum like the "Ball Maze Machine"..... yes, I'm aware that sounds like a really bad Sci-Fi movie. Anyway, they really hit it off. Usually we spend like an hour & a half in a place like that until we are all ready to get out but today we stayed almost 3 hours & had a great time! Jayden got a bit overload stimulated & shutdown right before we left (got a bit testy) but so goes life! We had a blast.

I think when Jayden talks to other kids, even kids that really like him, they sometimes get tired of what he is saying &....stop. It was nice for him to meet someone who's mind works more like his & listen to them talk & talk & talk & talk & talk. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't snuggle fest 2013. It was more like "Okay, when the next ball comes down, if the pendulum swings to the left be ready to pull the lever." & "Lets build up all 7 balls to get the whole release valve filled before releasing it!

See...Ball Maze Machine!

They had a great time trying to arrange the balls to all drop at the same time.

Replacing the muffler...if it were Velcro in real life I'd be way more of a car guy!

Deano Blowin' bubbles like a boss!

Probably his favorite part!

A very content kid at this moment.

Oil & Gas Deano!

Judge Jayden!

 I have to add that Jayden really wanted to take Nicole outside to the maze but I told him it was just to hot today. (Almost 100 degrees) So I told him maybe next time. Flash forward an hour late while he is dressed as a judge, he asks me to sit next to the bench on the witness stand. When I ask what I'm charged with he slams the gabble down & proclaims "Daddy, for the charge of not letting me & Nicole go outside to the maze, I find you guilty." All the while having a creepy smile on his face. I thought, okay, I'll bite "What's the punishment?" I asked. "Execution!" He laughed. I asked how & he said "You will have vinegar & baking soda mixed into your belly....you're going to explode!" Funny....a bit disturbing....but funny....kinda scary....but funny.....seemingly a lot of thought put into it....but funny, wait not really funny just scary.

On a bed of nails

Special Interest Alternative {Turning Off MineCraft Without A Fight}

Special Interests, I love them & hate them all at the same time! I'm happy there are things that he gets into but sometimes wish it were something other than video games. Yeah, there are other things he has an intense interest in but video games over shadows everything; eating, sleeping, school, even going to the bathroom. There are very few things that work when trying to get his mind off a game he is into, right now MineCraft, but we have found one thing! (Other than playing like we are characters from video games on the trampoline & do battle)

Anything I see that says MineCraft get a second look. While we try not to play into it to much because he will go overboard if you don't keep a pretty close eye on him. PaperCraft is an app for the iPhone & iPod Touch. (Not sure about iPad but probably that too) PaperCraft allows you to design your own MineCraft blocks, chests, guys (or what ever they are called), & anything else then you can print them out on paper. The app lays the 3D Mincraft object flat & gives easy to cut out & fold directions so you build it out of paper! It's pretty awesome! The one we downloaded is called Papercrafts for Minecraft & its free. There are many other including the official MineCraft PaperCraft Studio that costs $3.99. Now that I know what it is & how great it is we will probably be buying that one soon. It's a small win but a win I'll happily take to see him smiling & giggling to show us these little figures he has cut out, folded, & sometimes taped together. Before I let him download the app but after he had studied the info page for the app he even cut out & folded his own minecraft guy & was so proud of himself! I couldn't help but download it! When he is good, does something he is supposed to do, or is rewarded in anyway it's usually with video game time. (Usually on his iPod Touch) There are many times when he doesn't even play minecraft he just designs objects & then asks to print them out. I print out 5 or 10 & then the iPod gets put away by his own hand without me telling him to! That's a win!

I love his face while he is crafting! That's a happy kid!

Our First Bully {Sometimes Real Parenting Sucks}

The 4th of July, it's usually a time of on edge ear holding while watching the fireworks.  I'm not sure what clicked this year, maybe it was his cousin being there that help give him drive & confidence or maybe it was the fact that he is ten years old.  While Autism is a beast that can stop him from doing a lot of things in life the inner workings of a ten year old boy who REALLY wants to blow something up were just a bit stronger this time!  Some parents let their kids run wild, some parents trust their kids to do the right thing, & some parents are "helicopter" parents that hover over their kids.  Not only am I a helicopter parent, I'm a freakin' backpack parent! I would shove this kid in a fanny pack so he never did anything on his own if I didn't have a wife who was good enough to slap me in the back of the head & say 'Hey! He's 10, I think he can do that himself! You have to let him go a bit!" So, while I was excited he wanted to shoot a roman candle like the big boys do & shocked at the idea that he had already prepared himself for it, he was sure! I was, at the same time, just about 30 seconds from wetting my pants event though I was just far enough away to pop up the camera & snap the pic above. It was terrifying & exciting all at once, for both of us!

All that being said, we started the day with maybe one of the hardest situations we've found ourselves thrown into in a good long while. I've blogged about the kids from the neighborhood who come by to play & it has been such a great thing! Most all of the kids are very respectful & we love having them over. The morning of the 4th a couple of kids stopped by to play just like they have done many times. Both my wife & I have to watch the boy a bit close because he plays a little rough but that's okay, our kids a kinda wimpy & its good for them to play like boys every once in a while but none the less we keep a pretty close eye!  I passed by the play room to get something out of the kitchen & noticed Jayden laying on his belly on the floor with a look on his face. Not a mad but not really sad either, it's that look that he gets when his mind is in overload & he is still working out what is happening. It's not normally a good thing. I asked what happened as he stood up & he said "He put food in my pants." I was a bit confused by this & didn't really know what the heck was going on so I told them to give it to me & I was handed strawberry Swiss roll wrapper that had a bit of cream residue on it. While that was probably inappropriate it didn't seem crazy out of the realm of kid play. I figured the kid probably touched it to his back or even  slipped it down his waist band. As I said, inappropriate but still not drag the kid back to his house by his hair crazy if you get my drift. {Admittedly my first thought was to take that wrapper & hold the kid down to make him eat it! But self control & the realization that I would NOT do well in prison got the better of me.}  I told the kids they needed to leave & I told my younger two boys they needed to go get their shoes so we could have them when it was time to head to the 4th of July party. When jayden & I were alone in the room he broke down & started to cry. After a bit more looking I found that the rest of the Swiss roll was in the back of his underwear smashed all over the top of his butt. My heart immediately sunk, I can only think of one other time in my life I have felt sad enough to cry & mad enough to fight all at once but that story involves the boys biological mother & that's a story for another time.

I tried my best to comfort him & then let him go to his room so he could start to change cloths  (& so I could catch my breath). I picked my jaw up off the floor & put it back on my face, then I headed to his room to give him a hand. Slipping through his door so his brothers wouldn't follow I found him naked & sobbing alone, still covered in Swiss roll cream.  He ran to me, hugged me, & as we stood there all I wanted to do was make it better right & make sure it never ever happened again! At that same time, as I ran my fingers through his hair comforting him, wiped him clean, & dried his tears I had the sobering realization that this would not be the last time & theres not a damn thing I can do about it!

Okay, so now that I've had a day to think about it I realize that while the kid that did it was WAY out of line, if the same thing would have happened to Deano (our 5 year old NT kid) he would have told the kid to stop or moved or very possibly decked him! I'm not saying it was okay but I am saying I had to stop, think, & take my 'Killer Dad' goggles off to realize that while we need to watch what goes on we also have to talk, work with, & equip OUR son with the tools to speak up to say NO! Don't do that! Jayden just laid there & let it happen. In fact he was laughing. I know that was a fake "I'm overloaded & don't know what's going on" laugh but this other kid didn't know that! I'm sure all he heard was jayden giggling. Not a justification, just a realization! I made sure he knew that I was there to protect him, we had a good talk about what a friend is & what to do in situations like that, & as you can see by the pics from the big 4th of July party all this passed very quickly turning into smiles! Not to say that for the first hour after it happened I didn't want to do horribly mean things that may or may not have included a city wide rampage of destruction "Rampage" style! *Geek-tastic 1986 Video Game Reference Score!! *  Live & Learn I Guess!

Massive Water Slide! Yes, I did think about getting on...No, it wouldn't have supported my fat butt!

OOOHHHH! AAAAHHHHH!

Good Show!

Started off with smoke bombs & worked our way up to big stuff!

The Big Show! We watched from the patio while the Manly Men blew it up out by the pond! (I'm with the kids, I'm not a manly man! I'm the guy that fixes the manly men when they burn themselves)

THE END! The fireworks go so quick no matter how much you spend on them! This is Dean's 'What the hell do you mean there's no more fireworks' face!

Exploring the Asian Grocery Market! {A Full Day Of Fun On The Go!}

Today is our 5 year wedding anniversary!  We never really celebrate it but seeing as this is 5 years we thought we would set out with the kids & just go, so we did. I got her a trip for next month to a nice B&B with a private hot tub & she got me probably the best gift I've ever been given! Are you ready to see it....I don't think you are.....it's so awesome!

Probably the best mug ever made....ever!

 Jayden loves anything to do with pretty much any kind of Asian culture.  His favorite gift, I think, he has ever received was a bamboo plant that is somehow still alive after 7 months in his room.  So, on our adventure today we decided to stop off in the Asian district of Oklahoma City & visit a grocery store called The Asian Market.  Right off the bat he was excited when he saw the large statues & fountains outside. As we walked through the doors it quickly became a different story!  Instead of the sweet smell of awesomeness he got the very real smell of fish, very fresh fish!  His face went from 'This is gonna be the best' to 'RUN AWAY!!' in 2.8 seconds.

Despite the fear & disgust we pushed forward.  All three boys were excited to find everything a kid could want (well, an odd ball kid like mine) bamboo plants, jade statues, & hats!  After looking around for a short bit we hurried out as to avoid the fish but all in all a great time! When we were getting ready for bed this evening he snuggled himself under his SensaCalm weighted blanket & talked about the experience.  I thought, after asking him, it would be cool to film our talk so I grabbed the camera.  He loves making videos &, as you can see from the video below, he was super animated this evening. I think that's a mix of being excited for being on video, still being a bit over stimulated from the busy day, & the fact that I rib him a bit. Check it out below after the photos documenting out day, he is priceless! Also, if you haven't already, you can subscribe to us on our YouTube Channel as well.

Dean(5 years old) says "Daddy, why are their eyes open!?!"

A happy camper, an overstimulated but happy none the less camper!

Zion shows off his tiny cat & Dean shows off his green vampire teeth. We have a....unique....crew.

Maybe the greatest tip jar EVER!!

As a reward for being great today, we stopped off at the TILT for some games

What does this have to do with the blog....nothing but its awesome!

Not sure why I need these but I'm pretty sure I need them!

Here is our video from before bed.  Our talks while driving in the car & the talks right before bed are always my favorite for some reason.  

Welcome To MAA {Minecraft Addicts Anonymous}

Minecraft! I'm not sure what to make of it. For the longest time everything was super realistic & the graphics blew my old video games out of the water but even my original Super Mario Brothers on Nintendo had better graphics than this. They love it though! Not only does Jayden love to play it but he also wants to watch it on YouTube. Just random other kids taking a videos of themselves playing minecraft is apparently almost as enjoyable as playing it.....what does that say about the game....

It's pretty well known, I spoil my kids pretty bad. If they are into something I usually find a way to be into it too. Minecraft is a bit tricky for me because its just not my thing but when they showed me a video from youtube some little genius put together that is him playing minecraft while another sings new words to I'm Glad You Came by The Wanted. Now, just to clarify I have know idea what I'm Glad You Came by The Wanted is but I think I've listened to it on a radio somewhere because it seemed very familiar. I'm a big fan of changing the words & making funny songs so this thing really got me! It's hilarious! You need to watch this video....your kids have probably already seen it but show them to, if they are into Minecraft! You will be a cool parent for about 3:18.



The boys asked to download an app on the iPod Touch so they could 'Mincraft' pictures that they take. Below are some of their proudest moments.

Zion in full MINECRAFT mode!




Samantha & I were Minecrafted!