Watch Me Ruin Scott's Favourite New Song.

Sometimes I'm a jerk. I have a dark sense of humour. I find joy in ruining people's favourite songs by putting my stamp on them so that every time they listen to their favourite song, they will only be able to think of me, singing along. Not nice, but I never claimed to be. In this video blog, I give my rendition of "Help I'm Alive" by Metric off their new album "Fantasies". Apologies in advance if you like(d) this song. I think Scott is still a little bitter.

Putting It All Out There.

I had an interesting conversation with Max's Resource Consultant, Joyce, yesterday. She had called to let me know how her visit with Max had gone at the daycare that morning. Since it was a beautiful sunny day, they decided to take Max over to the Intermediate playground. This playground is much larger than the Toddler playground, has better equipment, and more room to run wild. I was not surprised to find out that Max loved it. I was also not surprised to find out that he pitched a royal fit when they returned him to the Toddler playground. Once you've had caviar, who wants to return to cheese whiz? Apparently this reaction is completely normal, and most of the toddlers object strongly to returning to the Toddler area once they have experienced life in the fast lane.Joyce and I went on to discuss the recent meeting we had at the daycare, my return to work on May 1st, and the dreaded toilet training that we are slowly starting to embark on with Max. She mentioned that she had enjoyed my post about our last meeting, and she hoped it was okay that she had shared it with her manager, who in turn had shared it with her superior...and up the food chain it went. Apparently my post was well received over at the Halton Region offices and is now making the rounds. I'm thrilled that the people who work with Max are reading my blog - it is important to me that they know how much we appreciate their hard work with him. But I am even more pleased that Max's story, and our experience as a family, is being shared with decision makers, and people who can affect change.

For the most part, our experiences with receiving support from Halton have been positive. The only place where it really fell down was the intake process. I had called the Halton head office in August 2007, asking about their DEIPP (Developmental Early Identification Prevention Program) Clinic, and if there were any other dates available to get Max assessed. He was 16 months old at this point, and we knew in our hearts that something was really not right with him. Because he was so young, we were able to get an appointment to get him assessed. There are two key dates I remember very clearly when it comes to Max, (besides his birthday).The day we got the official diagnosis of Autism is one and the other is October 3, 2007, the day of his assessment by Valerie S. at the Halton Region Social & Community Services Department. She was very friendly, and took us into a little play room so she could meet Max and determine if we were correct in our suspicions regarding his development. Max ran around the room exploring, but did not gravitate towards any of the toys she had put out. He sat down and banged his head on the wall for a bit, and then went back to running around. She tried to engage him in appropriate play, attempted to get him to do some imitation, and asked me questions about his medical background. She seemed very disturbed by his behaviour, and to me, it felt like she had never seen a child with developmental delays before, like he had two heads or something.

At the end of the session, she showed me how Max had scored. He was severely behind in every area of development that she had tested him on. You'd think that with results like that, he would get immediate attention, that we would be told how to help our little boy, what to do. Sadly, when I asked "so what do we do now?", Valerie's response was that we would be referred to ErinOak, and a Developmental Consultant would be assigned to him, but the wait list for each was upwards of 8 months. I was too numb to ask follow-up questions, so I packed Max up, and left. I held my tears in until I got to the parking lot, and then I completely lost it. I felt like she had basically told me my kid was retarded (horrible word, I know, but that's how I felt), and pushed me out the door with no guidance as to how we were to proceed.

In retrospect, I know that she was just doing her job and using the resources available to her. But she could have told me about private options like Blue Balloon, where we ultimately ended up taking Max for a speech assessment a few months later. I also know that she likely knew he was Autistic, but was not allowed to voice this because she is not technically qualified to give such a diagnosis. Imagine if she had though? It would have been tough to swallow, but think how wonderful it would have been for Max if he truly had received early intervention from the age of 18 months old. The only support we received was a letter from Halton Children's Services a few months later letting us know about parent support groups we could go to while we waited for services. I think I lit the letter on fire and threw it in the sink. What a paltry offering and piss-poor substitute for what was really needed - immediate therapy for our Max.

Once services started coming through for Max, things got a lot better. We slowly learned "the system" and how to navigate it. We're still learning how to navigate it, how to milk the most out of the services available to us and to Max. I have attended focus groups for Halton, and you can rest assured that I highlighted the issues with the intake process, loud and clear. We're still waiting for the one service that Max truly needs, and that is publicly funded IBI therapy. This will come through by January 2011 at the earliest. In a perfect world, he would have started receiving it in October 2007. In a perfect world...

World Autism Awareness Day.

Today is World Autism Awareness Day. The optimist in me thinks this is great - the more people who understand what Autism is, the suffering it causes for the families and individuals afflicted with this devastating disorder, the better. The pessimist in feels like screaming "Eff You" to every elected official and bureaucrat who blocks funding for Autism therapy, pushes paper around instead of truly addressing the fact that our children are being denied the treatment they need to be healed, and acts like they give a damn and congratulates themselves for "fixing the problem" of shortening wait lists, when in actuality all they are doing is pitting parents of Autistic children against each other by booting kids who desperately need IBI therapy out of provincially funded programs so that kids who have been waiting for 3+ years can receive IBI therapy (until they too are booted out for progressing too much or too little). Holy run on sentence, but sweet jesus, I needed to get that off my chest.

EVERY DAY is World Autism Awareness Day in my house. Every, Freakin', Day. Not a morning goes by that I am not rudely reminded that my son is not normal. Today he woke up, and slid down the stairs on his belly instead of walking (a new behaviour). He screams and throws himself on the floor when his baby sister makes any sort of a sound (I can't wait until she really starts talking...that will be good times), and he acts like I'm trying to kill him when I brush his teeth. And that was all before 9am. So, excuse me if I don't get all excited about today. Today I will be pissed off and grumpy. I will bite your head off if you tell me that Jenny McCarthy says that if I take my Autistic child off of wheat and dairy products, he will be cured. My god - if it were that easy, don't you think that every parent of an Autistic child would change their diets in the blink of an eye? The media only tells one side of Jenny McCarthy's story - the sexy/easy solution. They don't talk about the thousands of hours of ABA therapy her son has received, and how hard she has worked to "heal" him from Autism.

What I would like to direct you towards is a pretty cool story about a 13-year-old Autistic girl named Carly Fleischman. Carly is completely non-verbal, but is able to communicate quite articulately by spelling out her thoughts on a computer. You can follow her on twitter, and she has been featured on both CTV and ABC if you want to read about her inspiring story. Most importantly, I hope you will go sign her petition to get her onto the Larry King show. While I think he is a horrible interviewer, there is no denying that her being on his show will certainly help the cause of Autism as a whole.

So, for what it's worth, Happy World Autism Awareness Day from the Carefoot family.

American Idol: Itunes Hits Week.

Hey - look at this, I'm actually getting my post up in a timely matter this week! Maybe tonight I'll do a video blog of the results show...you can see my sour expression when Megan Joy doesn't get voted off.

Anoop Desai - Caught Up: I enjoyed Anoop's performance, but I question doing an Usher song. There really wasn't much room for interpretation. He basically did a good lift of the song, but that won't distinguish him from the pack. The background singers were just awful. I'm not sure what was going on there, but they were completely out of tune. This is the second week in a row that they have botched a song up. Hey American Idol producers - if you need some good background singers, I can send you a list - these ladies aren't up to snuff.

Megan Joy - Turn Your Lights Down Low: Oh Megan, I had such high hopes for you. I was thinking you could be like a Corinne Bailey Ray, but alas, I fear it is not to be. Your vocal affectations are becoming a joke, and your pitch, oh your pitch. I'd give you a bucket for you to carry your tunes in but I fear it wouldn't help. The folks at Votefortheworst.com are doing their damnedest to keep her around and I'm wondering how long the Sanjayesque fever can hold on.

Danny Gokey - What Hurts the Most: Judges loved it, but it didn't really do a lot for me. I am not familiar with the song, so that probably didn't help, and he just looked awkward, like his hand was glued to the mic stand or something. It will be interesting to see where he lands on the results show. I'm guessing he is safe for now.

Allison Iraheta - Don't Speak: I didn't know she played guitar. Her coolness factor just went up. I loved the Gwen tribute, though she did look a bit like she was dressed up for Halloween as a Flintstones character. Loved hearing Paula call her guitar her "axe". Lol. Paula, you are so hip.

Scott MacIntyre - Just the Way You Are: Thank dog he came to his senses and did a song by a dude. Enough with the singing of chick songs! His voice sounded so much better, right from the first "Don't Go Changin'...". Now I get the appeal of this guy. I think the main problem I still have with him is how he sings his vowels - they are all jacked up. "Love you just the way you AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH(no "r")E. His mouth shape is wrong - it is far too wide to get the right vowel sound, and that makes him sing sharp. I very technical gripe I know, but I think a few lessons with a vocal coach would help him a lot.

Matt Giraud - You Found Me: I don't know this song, maybe I would have dug it more if I did? I know this guy can sing, and play, but I don't buy him as a rock star. This wasn't a standout performance for me. The judges agreed with me (of course they did).

Lil Rounds - I Surrender: A Celine Dion song? Cripes. I'm shocked that this counts as an Itunes hit! Why isn't Lil staying in her comfort zone of Mary J. Blige type songs that we all fell in love with her for? Instead she chose a little known Celine song, and dressed like someone's mom at an office Christmas party. I agree with Randy that she needs to bring back the swagger.

Adam Lambert - Play That Funky Music: Oh lawd. I thought the Roy Orbison look was just for last week's Motown performance. I know the Adam Lambert fans will love this, but I think he is turning into a caricature of himself with the screaming and gyrating. Perhaps AC/DC will hire him if their current singer chokes on his own vomit like the last one did. I bet he would rock the school boy uniform, shorts and all. Good for him for acknowledging the band for playing their asses off.

Kris Allen - Ain't No Sunshine: You know it's going to be good when a singer is selected to close the show. I didn't know Kris played piano as well as guitar - though I really wish they would have brought the grand piano back out, I'm not a big fan of keyboards. He is a very soulful singer, and one of the more talented singers in the competition. Scratch that, this guy is a true musician, he's going to do well no matter what happens with American Idol.

My prediction for Bottom 3: Matt Giraud, Anoop Desai, & Megan Joy (please!)

Going home: Matt Giraud (I know, I know, it should be Megan, but I have a feeling she'll be around for a bit more).

Week 7: Weight Loss Wednesday (aka "I Found My Muse").

After hemming and hawing for a few months about going to my college reunion this summer, I finally bit the bullet and decided to go. Turns out, this was just the kick in the ass I needed to get me taking losing weight seriously. Up until this week, I was easily tempted by anything yummy that was offered to me... or hidden in the back of the top shelf of that cupboard that I can't reach and have to get a step stool out to access. Ahem.

I have 13.5 weeks until the reunion (I took these pictures precoffee and premakeup, so be kind). That's a good chunk of time for me to trim down. Realistically, I don't want to lose all that much weight. I like my curves, and so far as I know, so does my husband, so I don't want to get all crazy and get too skinny. I mean, if I do that, then every time I cry you'll all be laughing at me.

My weight as of April 1st (and this is no joke) is 168 lbs. I'm going to set a goal weight of 150 lbs by the reunion. That's 18 pounds in 13.5 weeks, or roughly 1.33333333333 pounds per week. I think I can do that. If I manage to get any lower, then that's gravy (the low fat kind). 150 will get me back into the single digit dress sizes and will allow me to keep my curves, and it is also a weight I can realistically maintain.
My goal this week is not going to be weight focused, it is going to be water focused. As in, I need to start drinking it, and not the wine flavoured kind. Also, salads, at lunch and dinner! Nothing like a little fibre to get things moving. Maybe I'll even cook something yummy from my best friend Jennifer's food blog. That chickpea stew is calling my name and so far she has yet to deliver any to my doorstep (to be fair, Jennifer lives in Ottawa).

Week 1 Weight: 170.8 lbs
Current Weight: 168 lbs

New Invisible Sticky Labels.

The ladies at Mabel's Labels have outdone themselves with this one. They are launching a new product just in time for spring: Invisible Sticky Labels. How do these labels work, you ask? Using ultraviolet technology, Mabel's Labels has created a label that is invisible to the human eye. These Invisible Sticky Labels only become visible when touched. At all other times the labels are completely undetectable - talk about useful (wink). These Invisible Sticky Labels are only available for a limited time, so make sure you check them out.

The Blame Game.

When it comes to your kids, it's easy to take credit for the good stuff. For example, there is no denying that my son Max takes after me in the looks department. As you can see from this photo of me as a child next to a photo of him, we share the same pale skin, eyes, nose, chin, and smile. My husband Scott and I joke that he is such a physically robust child, he is our wee viking, a clear descendent from the Danish side of my family. He also has a stubborn streak a mile wide, which both my husband and I can take credit for, as Max embodies everything Taurus, just like us. But the Autism, where the hell did that come from? In the past I have joked that my son looks like me on the outside and Scott on the inside. Kind of mean spirited in retrospect, but my husband has a thick skin and (hopefully) knew I was kidding, sort of.

Read the rest of this post on Autism Sucks.

Blast From the Past - Part Deux.

Apparently I'm easily influenced. Or maybe I just have a rubber arm that I wanted twisted. After much back and forth with my friends Tanya, Michelle, and Ellen, via Facebook, I have decided to go to my college reunion in July. I would share the message stream (34 comments and counting), the private emails, and the wall posts with you, but some of the info is rather personal, and the rest of it, you really wouldn't care about (unless you were the person I just found out made out with so-and-so, and if so, you really should be blushing right now).

My friends pointed out that they too had their hearts broken in college, and that I'm not special there - that's part of college. And making bad calls, also part of college. Depression...you got it, according to them, part of college. The fact that they cared enough to harass me relentlessly via Facebook made me realize that there are at least three people (maybe four), that really want to see me at this thing. Well, flattery will get you everywhere with me, so when my friend Ellen told me about a seat sale this morning, I went ahead and booked a ticket before I could change my mind. I took a webcam photo of myself as I did it so that when I come to my senses I will have proof that I wasn't tied up and forced into it.

Wow, talk about a motivator to shed those pounds! Time to reinstate the no-carbs-after-5pm rule and stick with it. I have 3 months get trimmed down to my goal weight. Maybe I'll reward myself with a trip to the Mall of America.

Thank Dog For Monday.

How do you feel when Sunday night rolls around? Are you filled with dread that your weekend is over and you have to get back to the daily grind in a mere 12 hours? Not me. Our weekends can be intense. Max is so used to being constantly stimulated with his busy weekdays of daycare and therapy, that we have a hard time keeping him sufficiently entertained on the weekend. The fact that this winter has been brutally cold hasn't helped matters because we haven't been able to get him outside to burn off his excess energy, and the little kid gyms aren't suitable for Max as he tends to run wild and bowl other little unsuspecting kiddies over. He has also been sick with this nasty cold we keep passing back and forth to one another, and when he is sick, his behaviour really goes downhill. I do feel mildly guilty about feeling this relief that the weekend is over, but I think Max feels it too. The smile on his face as he heads out the door on Monday morning with Scott is unmistakable. If he could verbally express it, I think he'd say "thank dog I'm back to my regular routine - you guys are bor-ing". It will be easier with the warmer weather just around the corner. We will be able to take him on more walks, and to the park so he can breathe the fresh air and he'll be able to play in the backyard to his heart's content. Until then, I'm going to enjoy the last month of Monday mornings before I head back to work in May, and appreciate them for what they are.

I'm Only Happy When It Rains.

That's actually not true, but what a great song, eh? I woke up to one of my favourite sounds this morning, the tap tap tap of raindrops falling on my window. The bedroom was dark because it is overcast, and I thought "it would be a perfect morning if I could just lay here and enjoy this". Cameron looked at me and smiled, not entirely agreeing with my sentiment as she initiated her favourite game of "soo-soo dive bomb", pelting me with her pacifier and then jumping on top of me to make her point. Sunday is Scott's day to sleep in, so Cameron and left him to rest and headed downstairs.

I find the sound of the wind and the rain very soothing. I especially like it if I don't have to go out in it, if I can just stay inside, drink tea, and enjoy. It is nature's percussion, throwing me an impromptu concert. Now that Cameron is having her morning nap, I'm going to head back to bed with my tea and a book. While I'm not only happy when it rains, I am very happy when it rains.

Why Apple Will Rule the World.

In today's hard up economy, any company whose product or service is non-essential (meaning neither food nor shelter related IMHO), needs to find a way to keep the customers they have, and just as important, find new ones. While I consider my laptop, and certainly high speed internet access essential, I am a spoiled web 2.0 geek and likely not the norm.

My current computer is an HP laptop running Vista. I call it the "Kat-Box" because it really is a piece of shit. I have had it for 2 years, and so far the motherboard has been replaced, and this past month, the hard drive died. Good thing I got the 3 year warranty, eh? Apparently if it breaks down 2 more times in the next year, I'll get a brand new laptop at no cost. Not that I would wish for my computer to die again, but it makes me think about what my next computer will be.

A Mac.

I am throwing in the towel on PCs. They really are garbage and I've had enough of being abused by crappy Microsoft operating systems. If you had asked me 5 years ago what I thought about Macs, I would have said "they are good for graphic designers" and left it at that. My little brother has one, my mom has two. My musician friends have them, and you know what they all have in common? They all love their computers. They also sing the praises of the support they have received from Apple. One friend told me that Apple actually replaced his laptop's hard drive at no cost, even though it wasn't under warranty anymore. Amazing.

This brings me to the concept of "Customer Experience". It is a concept because so few companies have mastered it (I'm looking at you Microsoft). When companies master the customer experience, they find ways to surprise and delight their customers. Their customers become advocates for their products, sing their praises to anyone and everyone. They treat their customers with respect, provide excellent and reliable products and in turn, they are rewarded with customer loyalty. Seems win-win all around.

With my last computer crash, I lost all of my songs in my itunes. Mind you there were still on my ipod, but I am a dumbass and as much as I dig Apple, itunes is not the easiest program to navigate. I messed up the sync and instead of putting all of the songs on my ipod onto my computer, my computer wiped out my ipod. I purchase most of my music from itunes, so you can imagine my distress when I realized what I had done. Hundreds of dollars of music, gone.

But I had faith that the folks at Apple would rise to the occasion and help me out. They would not punish me for being an idiot, they would make those downloads available to me again and be nice about it too. I am happy to report, I was correct in my positive outlook.

My first email:
My computer crashed and I got a new hard drive. All of the music I have purchased through itunes is no longer there, and I want to download it from itunes again. How do I do this?

itunes Response (less than 24-hours later):
Dear Katrina,

My name is Barbara and I have been lucky enough to receive your email. I hope you are having a great day so far. Now let me see what I can do for you.

I understand the titles you purchased from the iTunes Store with account "youremail@gmail.com" were lost. I am sorry to hear this occurred. Thank you for reporting this concern.

iTunes Store Customer Support will let you download (at no charge) all the titles you purchased on this account that are still available. This does not include any item that has been modified or removed from the store since you purchased it.

Please note that you may download your purchases only once, so this is an exception. Also note that Apple does not offer protection for the loss of data from your hard disk, so I recommend that you back up your iTunes library as soon as possible and thereafter on a regular basis. I'll include backup instructions in this email.

Any movies you may have rented will not be made available for you to download again. If you rented a movie and were unable to finish watching it, please reply to let me know.

Follow these steps to download the 262 available items:
(....directions followed, blah blah blah)

I would like to hear back from you on this, if only to ensure the download of the replaced items is successful. Please do let me know if I can be of further assistance. Here's wishing you a wonderful day from iTunes Store Support.

Sincerely,

Barbara
iTunes Store Customer Support
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes

Please Note: I work Wednesday - Saturday, 8 AM -5 PM CST

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you. You may receive an AppleCare survey email; any feedback you provide would be greatly appreciated.

That, my friends, is terrific customer support. She followed up with me a few days later to ensure I had been able to download my songs, and I responded telling her yes, and thank you for the wonderful support. My Michael Jackson "Thriller" and Rihanna "Good Girl Gone Bad" recordings could not be recovered, but I can live with that. Because of this positive customer experience, I'm not only spreading the word on behalf of Apple (free advertising and a testimonial to boot), I am going to continue to support them by purchasing their products. I have one more year on this laptop, and then I'll be joining the MacNation. Maybe I should add a countdown ticker to my homepage!

Foot Fetish Fodder.

This is for Scott, who has a bit of a foot fetish. Especially in summer, when all the ladies get nice pedicures and wear strappy sandals, showing off their toes.

American Idol: Motown Week.

I had a hard time focusing on the singers this week because the camera kept panning back to Smokey Robinson sitting in the audience. Damn, Smokey - how much work have you had done on your face? You look like you got flash frozen in a wind tunnel. Is that your belly button in the middle of your forehead? Best part of the night? When Simon drew a mustache on Paula's face. LMAO.

Matt Giraud - Let's Get It On: I thought he started out really nicely, but I wish he would have kept his ass behind the piano. Nobody needed to see him do the white man dance, and he sings much better when he's playing piano.

Kris Allen - How Sweet It Is: Kris is really growing on me. I dig his guitar playing, his voice, his look. While Paula thought his last note was technically sound, I felt like it was really forced...that's really my only complaint.

Scott MacIntyre - You Can't Hurry Love: Oy. What is with singing the chick songs week after week? Enough. Also, the background singers were a mess.

Megan Joy - For Once In My Life: I agree with Randy, this was a train wreck. She sang much better when she had the flu.

Anoop Desai - Ooo Baby Baby: He did a nice job, crooned in tuned, but I was left feeling kind of bleh about this. I hope he brings back some personality next week.

Michael Sarver - Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Not nearly gritty enough, he really was just going through the motions. I get that he was sick, but I wasn't feeling it.

Lil Rounds - Heatwave: Bad wig. It took me half the song to get over it. There is no doubt in my mind that Lil is a terrific singer, but she keeps picking songs that are duds.

Adam Lambert - The Tracks of My Tears: This guy is a chameleon, and he really knows how to pick songs that show off his "artistry". I put that in quotes because I actually find him kind of cliched, but he is very talented.

Danny Gokey - Get Ready: I usually like Danny, but he didn't pull it out tonight. I think he was trying to make it fun, and I just wanted to hear him croon.

Allison Iraheta - Papa Was A Rolling Stone: This girl can sing the shit out of pretty much anything. She rocked this and proved why she is one of the only girls left in the competition.

Bottom 3: Matt Giraud, Scott MacIntyre and Michael Sarver. (I'm really surprised Megan Joy didn't end up in the bottom 3, as much as I like her.)

Voted off: Michael Sarver. It's about damn time.

Blast From the Past.

My college reunion is being held this summer on the July 4th long weekend. I have mixed emotions about going. While part of me would love to go, and catch up with everyone from my college days, another part of me has no desire to relive what was one of the toughest periods of my life. Don't get me wrong, I learned a lot while at SWCC and made some great friends. I also suffered from a horrible bout of depression, got my heart broken for the first time, and made a bunch of really bad calls.

This picture was taken in my freshman year, before classes had even started. I was renting the first floor of a dilapidated house with another girl from Canada. Interestingly enough, this girl is on Facebook and she won't friend me. Makes me think I must have been a real treat to live with, or maybe she is just a jerk. Who knows? I really have no hard feelings towards her, but maybe my memory is selective and it may in fact be that I was a rotten roommate. Though I do recall deleting a message when one of her boyfriends (Dave, I think) tried to breakup with her on our answering machine, calling him back and telling him that he needed to man up and do it in person, that I would not allow him to dump her that way. But I digress.

SWCC is the place I credit with making me a musician. While I don't work professionally as a musician, I still consider myself one. Most of the people I went to school with are doing something music wise with their careers. When I reconnect with them, the inevitable question that comes up is "What are you doing for a living?". I dread that question because a) I feel like they judge me when I say I am working in Marketing, and not in the music field and b) what I do from 9-5 is not what defines me as a person, just like how much money I make does not equate my worth as a human being.

I guess what I'm saying is I really don't want to take a trip down memory lane, go backward instead of forward. So why am I even considering going? There are a select group of friends that I would love to reconnect with. I would also like to see my professor Phil Mattson, and thank him in person for the music and life education he gave me and for helping me battle through my depression, never giving up on me. And also, I want to see that roommate of mine and find out while she won't friend me on Facebook. Kidding. I don't really care about that, I mostly just want to stalk her profile to see wtf she's up to. Perhaps I should just try to reconnect with these friends individually. It's tough though, because they are spread out all across the United States - literally from coast to coast. I could get to see them all in one shot, while it will take me years to get the chance to catch up with them one by one.

What would you do? Go? Not go? What's your take on the whole reunion thing? Do tell...I clearly need some advice.

Cameron Update.

When your firstborn child is Autistic, you really have no idea of how a "neurotypical" child is supposed to develop. Cameron appears to be neurotypical, and her development is blowing my mind. Most parents would think nothing of a child responding to her name, objecting to strangers holding her or getting upset when you try to put her down. For us, each new development is a novelty, something we have never experienced. This morning, as I read Cameron a book about animals, making animal sounds as we turned each page, she pointed. She pointed with her index finger at the horse, the dog, the chick, and the pig. She pointed and then looked at me every time I made the corresponding animal sound. I know I overuse this phrase, but all I could think was "awesome".

America's Next Top Model: The Benny Ninja Show.

Benny Ninja drives me a bit nuts. He is completely absurd and over the top. I suppose I understand why ANTM keeps having him back - he provides great entertainment value. Every season he shows up and runs a "Pose Off", which inevitably makes most of the girls look like they have no clue of how their bodies work, let alone how to show off the clothes they are supposed to be modeling. This season they dressed the girls up like a bunch of blonde drag queens and put them on a super skinny runway so they could get cheered or booed by "New York's Elite Fashionistas". Colour me bored. They all pretty much sucked and Granny-Celia won the day by default.

The photo concept this week was a new one I haven't seen before. The girls were supposed to be posing as immigrants, new to America, on Ellis Island. I'm not sure how the Benny Ninja angle worked in, and he looked a little odd in the pictures. I hated the clothes - the models looked like they were wearing sacs. Tahlia, who had been bitching all show about how she wanted to go home, seemed to have the best picture, which clearly pissed off all of the other girls. ET-Tiana also had a terrific picture, but ultimately, Tahlia won the day with her hot mamacita photo, and Nascar-Kortnie got the boot.

Best part? When after Tyra booted Nascar-Kortnie and Granny-Celia was a total bitch, ratting Tahlia out to Tyra, saying it was "unfair" that Talia got to stay when she didnt' really want to be there. Tyra smacked her down hard, which I loved. Granny-Celia is now on my shit list and I hope that she gets booted out pronto for being a bitch and a backstabber. Can't wait to see how this plays out next week. Drama!

Disability Awareness (Are We There Yet?): Part 2.

In Part One of this post, I discussed the issues we face as parents of a child with Autism. The constant worry of how he is treated, ensuring that we surround him with people that love and support him, and how we know that ultimately, we can only control his environment for so long.

This is Part 2:

This morning I met with what I like to call "Team Max", or at least the daycare component of "Team Max". There is also the Blue Balloon component of "Team Max", but I'll save that for another day. Today I sat on a little plastic blue chair, at the head of a table that barely reached my knees. The five other adults at the table included Max's daycare teacher Jennifer, Occupational Therapist Kathy, Resource Consultant Joyce, Speech Pathologist Michelle, and Behaviour Consultant Esther. Team Max indeed.

We were meeting to review Max's progress since the last time this team met, 6 months earlier, and to discuss our strategy for moving him from the Toddler room to the Intermediate room where he can be with his peers. I expressed that my main concern is that he will get lost in this room, and that these older children will not be as kind to him as the toddlers are. Maybe they won't want to play with him because he rarely seeks other children out. His crying when he gets stressed might scare them, his need to sit alone in the corner and bang his head on the wall will likely be misunderstood. There will be 23 kids for him to navigate. The noise of 23 other kids to filter out. 23 other kids in the cloak room when they get ready to go outside. 23 other kids eating lunch with nobody necessarily focusing on Max to make sure he is eating. 23 kids and all of their parents. 23 + 46 = 69 new people in Max's world. My heart is speeding up at the very thought of it.

Each person at the table comes with a different area of expertise. His current teacher will continue to visit him, brief his new teachers on all things Max, and make sure that he is doing okay with the change. His Occupational Therapist is scoping the room out to make sure it is safe, that he won't get himself into trouble, and is proactively looking to find solutions to problems that haven't arisen yet. His Speech Pathologist is sharing tips with all of us on how we can promote more language with Max, how we can help him make his needs understood. His Behaviour Consultant helps us all to remember that there is always a source to behaviour, be it good or "bad", and to look for the source when Max is acting out so we can better understand the cause of his frustration. His Resource Consultant helps us put the puzzle together, and has even applied to Halton Support Services for someone to come into the daycare for a month or so when Max finally does move to help him transition and to make sure he has the support he needs to settle in. And me, I'm just his mom - the one with the PhD in Max and the heart that worries so much.

The main thing I want to do for Max before he moves into this room is to write a social story for him to help him understand how his world is changing and to prepare him for it. The other key component is preparing the children and their parents for Max's arrival so they can understand him better, and make an effort to include him in their play. I am going to write a letter to each parent, letting them know about Max, his diagnosis, and what a wonderful little boy he is. I am also going to highlight some of his challenging behaviours for them, so they will know what is going on if he is having a meltdown, banging his head, or just sitting in the corner tossing toys over his shoulder. I will include a story about Max as well, and encourage each parent to read the story with their child so that they can understand why Max is how he is.

What does one say to a group of three and four year olds about Autism? I am thinking the story will go something like:

This is your new friend Max. He is three years old.
Max doesn't have a lot of words yet to talk with, but understands most of what you say.
Max likes puzzles, cars and trucks, books, bead toys, and balls. He also likes to run, listen to music and sitting for circle time.
Sometimes if it gets too loud, Max gets sad. He will be okay, he just needs to be sad for a little while.
Sometimes if Max gets worried, he bangs his head. He will be okay, he just needs to work his wiggles out, and he isn't hurting himself.
Max seems like he is shy, but he would like to play with you. If you invite him to play, he may not always come, but we hope you will still ask him. The more you ask him to play, the more he will want to play with you.
Some days Max has a hard time sleeping at nap time, and he cries. He does not mean to wake you up, he is just having a hard time.
Max is funny, and a very nice boy. When you see him, you can say "Hi Max!" and he will probably wave hello to you.

That's just off the top of my head. I'm sure there is more that I will want to say to Max's new classmates. Suggestions are always appreciated!

CVS Caremark - All Kids Can

Notice the Stylin' New Header? Hawtness.

If you haven't noticed, my blog header was updated yesterday. Yes, I know, it is incredible, and I had absolutely nothing to do with it. Well, I did, if you count emailing my über talented designer friend Chris Mendoza of Designmojo.net. I gave him no direction, just the copy (30 something mom of 2, blah blah blah). And this is what he emailed me. Yes, I almost fell off my chair I was so happy with it. I am guessing he used my Facebook profile pic as a starting point and went from there.

I have been fortunate enough to know Christopherr (yes, 2 R's), since my days at Digital Cement. While things didn't turn out there as I would have hoped, I made some terrific friends, wonderful professional contacts, and had the best mentor/manager of my career to date. I learned something new every day, got to do some very interesting work, and billed a lot of hours (such is the agency life).

Chris is now located in London, England, with his fabulous girlfriend Lulu. We miss them both a lot, but they are living the good life and we can't blame them for that. They're both too big for Toronto anyhow.

Thank you Chris for pimping out my blog! Can you do business cards too??? Kidding...

Successful Canadian Mompreneurs.

As you know, I am Mabel's Labels "#1 Blogger" (well, maybe #2, right behind Julie Cole, one of Mabel's founders). And before you go thinking, well of course you are a fan of Mabel's Labels, they are sending you to BlogHer in Chicago to be their blogging correspondent, I'll have you know that I was a customer long before I entered their Benefits & Rewards of Blogging contest.

The reasons I have a soft spot for Mabel's Labels, are as follows:

Their products are wonderful. Their labels are best in class bar none. I can't live without them.

Their products are relevant, and created by moms that understand the wear and tear that kid stuff takes.

They have a specific group of products for kids with Autism, and they donate a portion of their profits to Autism Speaks.

Mabel's Labels is a successful Canadian company run by a group of really smart women who are experts at not only being moms, but brilliant in business, law, marketing, social media and whatever they put their minds to.

They are featured on People.com this week! How cool is that? Check it out and show them some love!

Wake Up Call.

Sometimes life reaches out and shakes the shit out of you. Wakes you up. Reminds you of what is important. After driving for more than 4 hours, I was only 16 kilometres from home. My car rubbed the back of a transport truck and I lost control of the vehicle. As my car swerved back and forth, I tried in vain to regain control, and failed. We spun around and around on a busy highway and it wasn't my life that flashed before my eyes, but my baby's. It happened so fast, but as the car spun 360, and 360 again, I prayed that when we got hit, it would be on my side, and not the side that Cameron was on. And I was so, so, sad for Max, and for Scott. And then the car stopped, faced in the right direction, and I was able to pull it over to the side of the road.

Cameron was screaming, and I sat there, unable to move, numb. I saw a car pull off the road in front of me, and a man got out, looking concerned, rushing towards me. I managed to roll down the window as he leaned over, asking me if I was okay. He looked in the back and saw Cameron's car seat, heard her screaming. He said "I'm going to check on your baby, make sure she is okay," and I nodded, unable to speak. He walked around the car and checked Cameron, smiled at her, and reported back that she was "mad" but okay. His name was Joe, and he wrote his phone number down on my box of Tylenol. I need to call him to thank him, and let him know we're okay. He stayed with us until the police arrived. An unlikely angel, but my angel.

A lot of folks give police officers are hard time. One of my best friends is a police officer, so I tend to view them in a positive light. This officer was kind, and supportive, took care of me and Cameron, lifted her out of the car and carried her to the tow truck, steadied me as I got out of the car, shaking so badly that I could barely walk. The tow truck driver was a true gentleman, giving me privacy in the cab of the truck so I could feed Cameron, soothe her out of her hysterics.

Cameron and I, while shaken up, are fine, and that is what truly matters. She was very clingy today, and I was out of it for sure. Max and Scott are just happy to have us home, in one piece. We must have had an angel looking over us yesterday. We spun out twice, but nobody hit us. We hit the median, but that's it. The front of the car is chewed up, but can be fixed. We were left whole, and for that, I am truly thankful.