I’m always on the lookout for autism related websites, organizations, groups, you name it.  Can never have too much information or support right? As I was looking over the site I hit upon their blog and their recent blog post titles caught my attention. They covered everything from clay to rewards including teaching your child to understand emotions, life skills – how to teach your child to wash his hands properly  (we are still working on that one), how to use picture cue cards to read and even what the best dog for your child with autism is.

They cover the different types of Autism (in case you are wondering what the differences are) including:

• Asperger Disorder
• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
• Classic Autism
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder
• Retts Syndrome

As well as provide information on Attention Deficit Disorder, how Autism is diagnosed, what high functioning, mild and severe Autism are, motor and sensory disorders and sensory processing disorder (as many children with Autism also have these disorders).  So much information for all those questions you’ve got.

• What causes it?
• What are the facts?
• What do you do after you get a diagnosis of Autism?
• And so many more questions.

First and foremost you need to surround yourself with others who understand what you’re going through, who can relate to what you are feeling and can help you find and understand the answers to all your questions. A community of support for those of us raising and loving our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, cousins or friends with Autism and bringing Autism awareness to the world, that’s AutismUnited.org.  Find them on facebook and join them http://www.facebook.com/theautismunited

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post but as you know, bringing Autism awareness to the front is very important to me and my family as Autism is a part of our lives as well.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

Oh boy it’s the end of January the first month of the new year and I’ve done it already. I’ve gone and over-extended myself.  Why can’t I just say, no?  I know I should. I know I have a billion and one things to do already but when someone asks me for something or help to get something done I can never say no.

I drive myself nuts and I really wanted to make this the year I don’t over-extend myself and already I’ve blown that one.  Now, what do I do?  Do I just keep traveling down this all too familiar road? How do I get off it?

I find myself working really early in the morning and way too late at night. Which works great as I don’t have to work when the kids get home from school but boy that makes for one tired mommy.  And tired mommy is sometimes a cranky mommy and cranky mommy is no fun.

I’ve got my first Blissdom conference coming up in just a few short weeks and while yes, I’m stressing about what to wear, missing my hubby and kids like crazy, but to be honest with you, I am really looking forward to the break.  Not taking work with me or at least I’m hoping not to.  Just a couple of days for me to recharge.  How about you, do you over extend yourself?  How do you pull yourself out of it?  And how do you recharge if you can?

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

FINDING NEMO returns to theatres for the first time in 3D September 14th, 2012!

Academy Award^®-winning Best Animated Feature “Finding Nemo” returns to the big screen for the first time ever in thrilling Disney Digital 3D™.    Rated G – which in this day and age is a rare but wonderful thing in my opinion. In this stunning underwater adventure, with memorable characters, humor and heartfelt emotion, “Finding Nemo” follows the comedic and momentous journey of an overly protective clownfish named Marlin (voice by Albert Brooks) and his son Nemo (voice by Alexander Gould)––who become separated in the Great Barrier Reef when Nemo is unexpectedly taken far from his ocean home and dumped into a fish tank in a dentist’s office. Buoyed by the companionship of Dory (voice by Ellen DeGeneres), a friendly-but-forgetful Pacific regal blue tang, Marlin embarks on a dangerous trek and finds himself the unlikely hero of an epic effort to rescue his son––who hatches a few daring plans of his own to return safely home.

Did you know:

• “Finding Nemo” won the 2003 Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature.
• The film won a Golden Globe® Award for Best Motion Picture–Musical or Comedy.
• At the time of its release, “Finding Nemo” was the highest grossing G-rated movie of all time.
• Ellen DeGeneres won an MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance.
• In 2008, The American Film Institute named “Finding Nemo” among the top 10 greatest animated films ever made.

Check out the official trailer.  I’m anxious to see how well they make use of the 3D effects on this movie!

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

I got to spend four and a half hours with my grandma on Sunday.  It was a quick flight in, visit and then back to the airport for my flight home but I feel so much better having seen her for myself and not just relying on others interpretation of how she was.  She’s not great no, but she’s ok and I really believe she’s going to be okay.

Princess, Buggy and hubby wanted to come with me but I just wasn’t sure so they stayed home.  But princess did send grandma a gift.  “Can you take this to great-grandma so she can get better?”  It was this cute little brown and white stuffed puppy:

Isn’t he just adorable? He was my traveling buddy too as this was my first trip away from my kids and hubby even if it was just a day trip. It’s prepping me for next month’s trip to Nashville for Blissdom.

You should have seen grandma’s face when she saw that stuffed puppy.  Her eyes just lit up and she smiled so big.  It was such a kind gesture from my little one and it is bringing my grandma so much joy. She kept stroking it’s soft fur and repositioning it so she could see it’s big black eyes and every look brought another smile to her face.  It was priceless.  What joy from the gift of a child to her great grandma.

It was a wonderful and heartbreaking visit.  So hard to see her hurt and in a strange place.  She seemed to remember me and when asked if she knew who I was she responded that she did.  I showed her our family photos, she smiled and seemed to recognize us in the photo and commented on how pretty we all were.  She’d look up at me and smile, that same smile she always did, with lots of love behind it.  She’s lost a lot of weight and doesn’t exactly look how I remember. The blonde hair is now white.  The strong husky woman is much more fraile and thin now.  All this in just a matter of weeks. But one thing hasn’t changed. She’s always been a strong willed, strong minded, feisty woman and that she still is.  I’m hoping to visit with the family again soon cause seeing the kids would make her happy.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

Got a call last night, my grandma is in the hospital. I’m 300 miles away and I just feel numb. I’m fine for a bit then then lose it and cry then I’m ok again for a little while then I cry some more. I hate being so far away from her especially now.  I’ve been sitting here all day trying to make myself do something, think, get up and move, something, anything but I just can’t. I just want to hold her hand.  She’s afraid and she’s hurt. She doesn’t know who anyone is anymore, what time of day it is or where she is.  She’s just scared being in the hospital. Strangers all around her even though those who love her and wish she could remember are right there by her bed side.  I just want to hold her hand.

I’m so grateful my dad and mom can be there for her. They can hold her hand, they can rub her feet. They can feed her. They can do everything I wish I was there doing. They can tell her how much I love her but it’s not the same. I want to hold her hand. I want to be the one who is there to help calm her fears.  I want to be able to tell her I love her. Will she remember me? Probably not but that’s okay. I just need to be near her. I need to hold her hand.

She needs to be cared for and that means a nursing home after she leaves the hospital in a day or so.  It breaks my heart to know she’ll never return to her home, her safe place. But I know this is best for her well being. She can’t be at home anymore, she just can’t. I worry, will she be able to adjust, will she be taken care of well enough. I can’t be there everyday to go see her. I don’t want her to be alone. I don’t want her to be scared.  I know dad and mom will be there everyday to see her, I know they will but I also know what a toll this will take on them.  Just let her find peace, somewhere in her mind, a time when she was happy and all in her world was peaceful, let her live in that happiness for the rest of her time here with us.

I love you with all my heart grandma. Te amo con todo mi corazon abuelita.

Grandma and I on my wedding day.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

Do you open up more around other special needs mommies and dads? I don’t often share too much of my life and the things going on it in. That is of course, unless you happen to be at the therapists’ office.  Then it just seems to flow right out of me.  I talk about the last or upcoming ARD.  I talk about what’s in the IEP and how it’s written. I talk about the meltdown or stress or the exciting new thing my kiddo said or did.

I talk and talk and talk . . . .

My husband even pointed that out to me when we were at the therapists office waiting for our kiddo.  He’s like man you talk a lot when you aren’t home.

The fact that I work at home and don’t have but maybe one offline friend who lives fairly close isn’t really the reason though.

I mean, there’s something that gets rid of the fear, something that connects me to these moms and dads.  Is it because we both have children with special needs?  Yes, it probably is.  Why?  Because they can relate to what I’m going through, they can celebrate with me the little accomplishments because they do that when their children get those too.

We provide information for one another. What happened at your ARD meeting may be an issue at mine. Or maybe something that happened at mine can help you. Or maybe you know something I didn’t know of  or have ideas for therapy to do at home that I hadn’t thought of. A book recommendation, a doctor’s name, an idea, a food to try, something, anything.  We get frustrated and vent to each other, we celebrate our kid’s little victories, we support each other and offer to help when and however we can even if only a listening ear.

I may have just met them but when you hear us talk you’d think we’ve known each other for years.  It’s a wonderful, beautiful community of  a very special life, unbounded examples of love and the strength not only of our children but ourselves we share.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

I think we’ve been bit by the travel bug!  I really would love to travel this year.  Let’s see, I’m going to Blissdom and that takes place in TN.  I’m hoping to go to BlogHer with a friend and that will be in New York this year.  My kiddo wants to go back to Alice Cooper’s Cooperstown restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona and hubby mentioned Sea World in Florida.

I don’t think we’ve ever thought this much about travel.  I have a feeling our trip last year to Disneyland/BlogHer got that travel bug in us going.

Of course, I’ll have to make the Blissdom conference without the family but still it will be nice to travel.  I wish we could travel more and all together as a family, visit family oriented hotels, events and amusement parks.  We are very much a tight knit, do everything as a family family.  It’s just one of the many things I love about our family.

Will we actually get to make any of these dream trips?  I don’t know just yet but maybe.  It’s just kinda nice to know we’ve all been bitten by the same bug at the same time.   Who knows I may get to share some adventures this year with you.

What about you?  Have you thought about any travel destinations you’d like to visit this year?  Where would your dream vacation spot be? Is family travel your thing or do you take those occasional trips away without the kids?

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.