Autism Daddy’s Greatest Hits!! April thru July 2011….

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Below is a list of 79 of my status updates from when I started my Facebook Autism Daddy page in mid April til the end of July. I numbered them all for easy referencing. So if you’re commenting on a specific post please include the number. 🙂

Here goes!!!!

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1)  Kyle sat on the bathroom sink again…pipes separated, water all over the floor. Happens once every month or two…and Autism Daddy is not the handiest dad so duct tape is my best friend.
April 21 at 8:56am

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2)  Kyle did it again… He put a brand new roll of paper towels in the bathroom sink and turned the water on. 🙁 At least it wasn’t something more expensive. A few times he’s done that with a whole pack of pull-ups, and one time the wife’s IPhone….
April 23 at 2:30pm

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3)  We played with fire this evening… The wife and I dragged the kid to Costco with us… Very dangerous…and on a school night no less… He didn’t love it but sometimes the kids gotta learn to go with the flow… We do everything according to his schedule, so once in a while when daddy needs 4 cases of Gatorade you gotta come along for the ride…
April 25 at 9:42pm

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4). ‎”Ways That My Life Is Different #17″… We can’t leave hand soap (or any soap) out in our bathrooms because Kyle like to eat it. He’s really tested the concept of “non-toxic” on product labels!
When guests come over we have to instruct them to unhook the child proof latch below the bathroom sink and grab the soap from down there… and replace it and lock it up again, don’t forget! 🙂
April 28

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5). ‎”Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” #23
We get a cleaning woman every 2 weeks. (It’s one of our only perks & totally worth it.). And somehow every morning after the cleaning woman was here Kyle has an accident & wets the bed and we have to rechange the sheets we just changed yesterday…

Oh and it’s the only time he has an overnite pee accident. Twice a month, right after the fresh sheets were put on.

Cleaning woman was here today & already Kyle pulled out his pecker and peed in his clean playroom. He NEVER does that!! I will report tomorrow morning if I’m changing his sheets again…
May 3 at 6:58pm

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6)  Kyle never saw a pair of glasses that he didn’t want to rip off someone’s head! I wear contacts 95% of the time, but this week my eyes have been bothering me so I’ve been putting on my glasses as soon as I get home from work. Kyle looks at me with this sweet smile, gives me the best eye contact and then proceeds to rip them off my face all the while laughing hysterically. This has been going on all week….
May 5 at 7:41pm ·

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7).  Y’all know about respite care? We get $200 per month for respite care from our local OPWDD / DDSO (Office for People With Developmental Disabilities / Developmental Disabilities Service Office) formally the OMRDD. It is not income based (unless you make ALOT of $) but it is needs based so the more severe your circumstances the more likely you’ll quality. That $200 per month can go towards at home therapy or baby sitters.

It is not easy to find out about so you really have to do your research. Google your states office OMRDD / OPWDD /DDSO and see if your state has similar services..
May 7 at 8:39am ·

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8)  We had Kyle’s 8th BD Kids Party today at the YWCA. One hour of swimming & one hour of partying. Pretty much all kids on the spectrum & their sibs. We’ve pretty much stopped inviting our friends w/ typical kids years ago & vice versa. No hard feelings but their kids wouldn’t have a good time at Kyle’s party & vice versa…But everyone seemed to have a great time! No major meltdowns…
May 7 at 8:23pm

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9)  Kyle had quite the meltdown yesterday in the car on the way to his bd party. I was so proud of myself for actually figuring out what caused it. 🙂 He was snacking on mini-marshmallows and starting playing with them. Before you know it, both his hands were extremely sticky and he went bat shit crazy and just lost it like I haven’t seen in a LONG time…
The whole drive I was going back & forth with trying to reason with him “we’re 5 minutes away & daddy will clean your hands as soon as we get there” to out & out rage cuz during meltdowns Kyle pulls down the fabric roof in the back seat. Yesterday he was pulling it down & biting it and I kinda went bat shit crazy…
May 8 at 6:00pm

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10)  There should be a sign in our house that reads “In Case of Emergency, Make Popcorn” because we always forget…
May 10

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11) The wife, kid and I all sat down and ate dinner together at a regular dinner time for the first time in I don’t know how long… It was a glorious 17 minutes…
May 19 at 6:36pm

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12)  The wife & I are always striving for balance between our autism lives & a our previous typical(?) lives.This week shows off that balance. I bought tickets to a Laurie Berkner concert (kids singer on Nick Jr) in Jul & an autism friendly performance of the Lion King on Broadway in Oct. I also bought tix for the wife & I to see Weezer in July & Foo Fighters in Sept. 50/50 & now we’ve got 4 things to look forward to
May 21 at 8:30am ·

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13)  Two activities this weekend that should be interesting. Tomorrow we have my 13 year old typical nephew’s school play. Always a tough decision. Do we bring Kyle? How will he behave? Or shoukd the wife go solo? If we bring him what snacks do we bring? Do we bring his service dog with us? We know she will help but the stares and questions can be unbearable.

Today we’ve got a kids birthday party for one of our friends on the spectrum at their house. Much more relaxing being with others that are like Kyle, but even there he’s the lowest functioning kid at the party and we have to be on him every second while some of the other kids can play somewhat appropriately and their parents can enjoy the afternoon.

And also because he’s the lowest functioning kid at the party I usually come home from these types of events with tons of whys and how comes and what ifs and the wife has to talk me off the ledge…
May 21

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14)  TGIM!! Thank God It’s Monday!! Cmon you know what I’m talking about people! There’s some weekends where you just can’t wait for to ship them back to school… And don’t tell the wife who’s a stay at home mom, but there’s some Sunday nights where I’m thinking “yay I’ve got work tomorrow! I can get out of this insanity for 9.5 hours…” (10 hours if i drive home SLOWLY 🙂
May 23 at 8:16am

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15) It’s at this time of night when the wife and I sing “It’s Melatonin time… It’s Melatonin time…” and then we dance around the living room… 🙂
May 23 at 8:07pm

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16)  Top 9 Things We Say To Kyle Over 100 Times A Day… #9, Stop playing with your spit….#8, Sit back & fix your seatbelt….#7, Stay on the bed…#6, pick up that fork and put it in your mouth…#5, Get that out of your mouth, #4, Hands out of your pants, #3, Stop turning off the air conditioner, #2, Do you have to go to the potty, and #1 Love you buddy…
May 31 at 8:25pm  ·

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17)  I was just thinking about this today… 2 things that Kyle can do better than a typical kid? Swim… And take pills…. That’s about it… for now….

As for the pills, you can put a HUGE fish oil pill on a spoon with some baby food bananas and he wolfs it right down. Doesn’t even need water… If he went to college he’d be great at those beer chugging contests… 🙂
June 3 at 9:34am ·

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18)  It’s amazing what a nice day I can have with my son when I let him eat only cheerios & popcorn all day and throw them all over the place. He’s in a GREAT mood. We even survived a quick trip to Costco on. Saturday…of course there was a worker following us with a broom cleaning up popcorn.
June 4 at 4:49pm

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19) It’s official, the male/female, mom/dad roles have reversed in our household. I spent the day chauffeuring Kyle around (music class, swim, lunch, playground, Costco 🙂 while the wife spent the day painting Kyke’s bedroom….
June 4 at 7:35pm

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20).  ‎1:40am… Kyle just woke up. This is par for the course when he’s not feeling well. He seems to be in a good mood though. I think this is gonna be one of those LONG nights where we sit on the couch and I force him to watch something like “40 Year Old Virgin” or “Role Models” until he’s so bored that he falls asleep… he, he, he…
June 7 at 1:42am ·

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21). ‎353am… Kyle is finally back to sleep…. 2 melatonin, a bag of microwave popcorn, & being forced to watch the movie “I Love You Man” did the trick. But he’s on the living room couch. I need him to get into a deeper sleep before I carry him upstairs….
Thankfully this doesn’t happen often these days. There was a time like a year or two back where it happened 3-4 times a week. I was a mean ZOMBIE….
June 7 at 3:59am ·

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22). Why does he only rip & tear apart his favorite books?! How many copies of Goodnight Moon, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, & Brown Bear Brown Bear can one family buy? Somebody needs to invent an unrippable / untearable book design. Why don’t all you autism product websites that post on my page work on that! 🙂
June 7 at 10:37am

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23) Bumper to bumper traffic + a kid with severe autism who always wants to be in motion = A LETHAL COMBINATION….
June 9 at 9:00am
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24) Kyle has just been a big old jerk tonight. Throwing everything around and squishing his food in his hands and smearing it all over him. And he’s not in a bad mood. It really feels like he’s doing it just to push our buttons and get a reaction out of us…And it’s working. There’s been a fair amount of yelling tonight…
June 9 at 8:18pm

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25)  One thing that never gets easier no matter how hard we try? HAIRCUTS. I haven’t been present for a Kyle haircut in a few years but when the wife & Kyle came home from one today I was told that I MUST be there from now on…
June 11 at 1:00pm

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26) Tonight we’ve got one of those tough decisions….My brother-in-law’s engagement party. In a small, crowded tight Italian restaurant w/ a spiral staircase. Do we bring Kyle? Or does the wife go solo & I stay home w/ Kyle.

Would Kyle enjoy it? Probably not… But all his cousins are going to be there. Oh the guilt!

But me not feeling well made the decision easier. It was gonna be hard for the wife to handle him solo. We are great at working together / tag teaming in that kind of situation.

So since I’m down for the count with a fever she’ll go without me. And everyone will ask her… “Where’s Kyle?” “Why didn’t you bring Kyle?” “He was so good at this restaraunt last time…” “I would’ve helped you watch him”

Oh the guilt!
 My favorite is always, “But he’s good in restaraunts”.

What they’re not seeing is that we’ve brought a bag of toys/books and a bag of snacks and that the wife and I are playing “goalie” the whole meal.

Yeah he was good, but most times I’m completely stressed out and taking home my entire meal in a doggie bag…
June 11 at 5:37pm ·

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27) Typical kids are so annoying. With their talking, and whining, and reading… Ugh gimme a break… 🙂  Just saw a 2 year old having a conversation! Who does she think she is?! 🙂
June 13 at 2:02pm

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28)  So we had our pre-CSE meeting w/Kyle’s teachers today before his real CSE meeting on Fri.It’s always so cute & nice how the teachers try to put a positive spin on things. However, reports that show your 8 year old still functioning at below a 2 year old level in most areas are always hard to swallow.I keep waiting for the “terrible twos”.Maybe his most recent tantrum-ing is FINALLY the appearance of the terrible twos
June 14 at 1:25pm ·
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29). ‎”Don’t take the batteries out of your toys and throw them around the room and then get mad when your toys don’t work”
June 18 at 9:26am

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30)  Is Kyle’s insatiable need for popcorn what causes his meltdowns? Or is the meltdown due to something else and the popcorn just helps him get out of it? TBD. All I know is that’s all he really wants to eat right now and all is right with the world when he gets it… And there’s a 10 boxes for $10 sale at A&P this week! 🙂
June 19 at 5:01pm

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31)  Wife is doing the semi annual thank you cards/ gifts to ALL of Kyle’s teachers & therapists. Costs me a small fortune cuz he’s got 10+ teachers / therapists in his life during any given “semester”. But it’s well worth it cuz they are all rock stars, they all LOVE Kyle…and sometimes he’s not always the most lovable. 😉
June 23 at 7:44am

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32) Kyle is so unlike your typical kid with autism. Every couple of months the wife completely rearranges his playroom, rotates out his toys, books, etc. And he LOVES it. Hangs out in there all day like a pig in sh-t! Re-discovers all the toys & books that she’s been hiding and sits in the little nook she created…
June 24 at 11:27am

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33) Kyle really does eat like Cookie Monster. For every one piece of popcorn/ cheerio he gets in his mouth he gets three on the floor. The dog LOVES him. 🙂
June 26 at 8:44am ·

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34). Kyle is 8 years old which means that I haven’t gone to the bathroom at home with the door closed in 8 years….
June 26 at 3:52pm ·

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35)  I don’t know how you single moms of severe ASD kids do it, or my wife for that matter. My wife had an early dr appointment so I was watching Kyle and trying to get ready for work. All I wanted to do while she was gone was shower and empty the dishwasher… Not easy with Mr Kyle… Fast forward 90 minutes and the dishes are away…probably all in the wrong places and I’ve probably still got shampoo in my hair.
June 27 at 9:51am via mobile ·

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36)  Kyle’s has 2 prominent stims lately.One is the most disgusting,playing w/ his saliva & placing it ever so gently on objects around the house.The other is the most dangerous,he pushes his belly out like a pregnant woman & holds his breath.He does these 2 ALL DAY LONG & combined they are driving the wife & me bonkers!Can I trade them in for the old slamming cabinet doors & spinning things?Oh how I long for those days.
June 27 at 7:42pm ·

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37)  I got a report from the wife today. Mark the date, Monday June 27, 2011, Kyle learned how to take his seat belt off. 🙁 God have mercy on our souls. The wife had to pull over twice on the highway today…
June 27 at 10:33pm

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38)  The bizarre negotiating at the breakfast table this morning… “I’ll give you more popcorn after you eat some more bacon… First bacon, then popcorn”
June 28 at 7:53am

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39)  I’ve been researching it for weeks and finally just bought what I hope is a Kyle-proof IPad case. It’s the “Griffin Survivor” and it says it’s “US Military Tested” and “meets or exceed US Military Standards” for sand/dust, shock/drop, vibration & wind/rain. But if anybody can break it it’s my boy. They didn’t ASD test it! 🙂
June 28 at 6:25pm

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40) ‎445am and Kyle’s awake and I’m on duty…. I’m not proud if it, but this might be one of those give him Benadryl nights. He’s off from school this week and he & more importantly, the wife could use the extra sleep in the morning. The tantrums have been rough & frequent this week…
June 29 at 5:07am

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41). My sister in laws backyard pool is open for business today! Every summer we treat their pool and basement as our own personal “club”. Kyle and the wife use it 2-3x a week after summer school and we all do pretty much every weekend. My sis-in-laws kids are teens and barely using it these days so they’re pretty much only “opening” the pool because of Kyle! Big love to them for that!
July 2 at 7:08am

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42)   I would  say a 1/4 to a 1/3 of my food intake every day is Kyle leftovers. I’m currently sitting on the couch watching Dora eating pancakes, bacon, chocolate chip cookies, and kettle corn. (All from “Trader Joes” I might add). I think I need to go for a run today…
July 2 at 7:41am

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43). 748am. I can’t believe I’ve only been up with Kyle for less than 2 hours… It feels like a full day already… He’s just being a big old all around jerk this morning…. I love ya kid but can’t wait for school on Tuesday… Maybe I’ll take the day off from work on Tues just to sit out in the sun somewhere with the wife… 🙂
July 3 at 7:54am

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44).  ‎8 years old & it seems that Kyle is finally hitting the “terrible two’s.”. Tantrums when he’s hungry, tantrums when he has to poop, tantrums when he’s tired. Throwing things around. Destroying his playroom. Trying to knock the tv down when godforbid one of our shows is on.

The positive? Well at least he’s trying to express his wants & needs. For far too long Kyle was Mr Mellow Yellow, Mr Go With the Flow. At least he’s getting his point across.

But the “terrible 8’s” are alot tougher than the “terrible 2’s”. An 8 year old is ALOT stronger. It’s not fun having a plastic cup thrown at your head while you’re driving. Or a remote control winged at you.

The wife and I have felt like we’ve been hockey goalies for years, but at least there was a break between periods. Now with these tantrums which can come out of nowhere it is NON STOP. We need to re-Kyle proof our house. Nothing can be on his reachable level… This morning I had the dining room table moved so it blocked access to the dining room & kitchen. I had my office door closed and his play room gated off because he got into his closet yesterday and destroyed it.
July 3
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45)   Kyle likes to look out our front dining room window. Most of the times he’s kinda just dazing off and/or mouthing/ licking the window. But I wonder what our neighbors think when they see him. 🙂 Cuz I’ve come home from work and seen him with his shirt off staring longingly out the front window. He kinds looks like a prisoner or the boy in the plastic bubble. LOL
July 4 at 10:30am

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46).  ‎”Kyle get your huge noggin away from the tv. I can’t use the remote with you 2 inches from the screen. You’re not made of glass.” 🙂
July 4 at 6:53pm

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47)  Kyle just fell asleep. What an uneventful day. And in our world lately uneventful = awesome. Pretty much had a tantrum/ meltdown free day. Stayed home all day and we even all spent 3+ hours in the backyard playing appropriately. Swing, trampoline, kiddie pool, popcorn, etc. All in all, a good day, and school starts tomorrow!! The first day of school, the true independence day! 🙂
July 4 at 8:26pm

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48)  Uh oh, Kyle can reach the window sill over the kitchen sink! He could never reach before and just nonchalantly handed me the Brillo pad… Sponges, dish soaps, Brillo pads beware Kyle is coming for you…. 🙂
July 5

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49). Alot of people have been posting something to the effect of…

“Kids with Special needs aren’t weird or odd. They only want what everyone wants.. to be accepted. Can I make a request? Is anyone willing to post this and leave it on your status for 1 hour?, etc, etc, etc”

The wife & I read that and chuckle cuz while we appreciate the sentiment we gotta admit that our kid is definitely WEIRD & ODD! 🙂
July 6 at 12:41pm

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50)  The smirky smile that Kyle gets when he finds the bag of kettle corn at 7am, opens it himself, and digs in, and isn’t stopped by mom or dad is priceless. He looks like he knows he’s getting away with something. It’s almost worth the path of popcorn destruction he leaves behind… 🙂
July 7 at 7:07am

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51).  ‎”If you didn’t CONSTANTLY play with the knobs on the air conditioner in your bedroom, it wouldn’t be so freaking hot in here and you’d be asleep already!”
July 7 at 8:30pm

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52) The wife and I have a wedding tonight without Kyle. This was not one of those should we or shouldn’t we bring Kyle occasions. Not a close close relative so the kid wasn’t invited, adults only. Fine by us… my sis is watching the dude. So the BIG question of the night is… Who gets to drink at the wedding, me or the wife? 🙂
July 8 at 2:21pm

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53)   I remember when I was a kid they had candy that looked like cigarettes. Anybody know if today they sell candy in the shape of remotes or cell phones? Since Kyle is gonna eat them anyway… 🙂

Maybe I’ll invent it for the ASD community. A high calorie GFCF bar in the shape of a remote/ cell phone with a full day supply of all the necessary vitamins & minerals. Whataya think? 🙂
July 9 at 10:22am

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54)  Heading off to an all ASD kids bowling birthday party. This is going to be wacky… Hope the bowling alley is prepared for the impending tornado…
July 9 at 1:17pm

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55)  Sunday 1130am, backyard, kiddie pool filled up with water from the hose, Kyle stepping in & out getting grass all in the water, dog jumping in & out getting hair in the water, Kyle and dog both decide they’d like to drink the pool water… Nothing I can do, at least they’re both happy. 🙂
July 10 at 12:07pm

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56).  The wife shared a funny Kyle story with me this morning… So, we keep a bunch of books and mags in our downstairs bathroom. Some for Kyle, some for us. When Kyle is going potty he grabs one of them and quickly thumbs through, mainly because he needs to have his hands occupied while going potty.

One of his fav bathroom reading materials was the People Magazine Special 80s Collectors Issue, all about the 1980s. It was always hilarious to see him thumbing through articles about ET & Boy George.

Unfortunately the People 80s Issue went missing for a few months. The wife found it yesterday and put it back in the bathroom. While Kyle was sitting going potty, he saw it, grabbed it, and had this look, like “There it is! Where have you been?! I’ve missed you!”

🙂
July 12 at 7:39am ·

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57)  EXAMPLE OF KYLE BEING A JERK #17 🙂
“if you’re starving why can’t you hold the bag of popcorn on your lap? Why do you have to take a few then throw the bag out of reach, then unbuckle your seat belt 20 seconds later to get the bag?”

I only call him a jerk when he’s being a jerk… when he’s doing something foolish that he should be able to control…. like breaking his unbreakable mirror which is one of his fav toys, or putting my iPhone in the sink and pouring water on it, or throwing a soda can at me while I’m driving.   Maybe he can’t help it, but it’s still a jerky thing to do…
July 13 at 7:31pm

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58)  Conversation today between me and the wife while at the beach just as Kyle was ramping up to a meltdown…

ME: Maybe we should get going?

WIFE: But I didn’t have my lunch that I packed. I’d like to have my lunch in peace.

ME: What are you living in a fantasy land?

WE BOTH START LAUGHING

THE END…
July 13 at 7:35pm

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59)   Report from wife, things Kyle ate/drank/tasted today in addition to his usual meals and snacks:

Purell, chlorine pool water, grass, Aveeno Baby Wash & Shampoo, a rock…

Stay tuned more items to come… 🙂

July 14 at 7:47pm

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60). ‎”Your obviously hungry. You’re wolfing down your pancakes & bacon. So why do you need to get up from the table? Why can’t you stay in your seat?! I’m tired of having to strap you in like a little baby. You’re 8 years old…”
July 16 at 7:52am

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61)    I want to believe that Kyle has better receptive language than it appears. I want to think that he’s a little Carly Fleischmann and is understanding everything but we just haven’t found the vehicle or device for him to get it out. But then something small will happen that makes me wonder if he understands much at all.

Like today, we’re leaving the car and he’s got one shoe on and one shoe off. And I say “Kyle pick up your shoe.”. And he picks up the roll of paper towels. “No Kyle. Pick up shoe”. And he picks up and hands me a book. He understands pick up but is just going thru the motions. Finally I point at the shoe and say “Pick up shoe” and he gets it.

Whew…

Things like that make me realize just how behind Kyle is and how profound his autism is… 🙁
July 16 at 3:15pm

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62). ‎5 books that we’ve purchased 5 times for Kyle (cuz he destroys his favs)… Goodnight Moon… Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball… Brown Bear, Brown Bear… Polar Bear, Polar Bear… One Cow Moo Moo…
July 17

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63)   Anybody else have an autism service dog? We’ve had ours for 14 months. We just booked our summer vacation & I have to retrain myself to get used to the stares in restaurants & on the beach.If you think a kid w/ autism gets stares, imagine a kid w/ autism tethered/attached to a black lab.I get it, it’s not something you see every day.I’d probably stare too but I just need to prepare myself for a weeks worth of stares

Don’t get me wrong. Tons of smiles. Tons of parents explaining to their kids that it’s a working dog. 90% of the people do the right thing. But still imagine walking into a restaurant and all eyes turn to you and your family. Takes some getting used to. And it’s more intense on vacation cuz we are out all week.

The blind can’t see the stares. 😉
July 17 at 2:49pm ·

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64)   Blue cotton candy + playing with saliva = Blue Saliva!!! YUCK!!
July 17 at 3:01pm

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65)  Kyle lost / hid the remote to the tv/DVD combo in his room. Maybe he ate it cuz it’s been MIA for 6+ months. This really sucks cuz we are forced to sit thru 5+ minutes of previews before his Sesame DVDs…
July 18 at 6:55pm

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66)  Tues, 815am, dad driving Kyle to school today, Kyle in the back seat happy as can be munching on popcorn & cheerios that he spilled on the seat & floor the last time dad drove him to school…7 days ago. Why didn’t I clean it up? For exactly that reason… I knew Kyle would enjoy it. I think he likes the challenge of finding food in the crevices and reaching as far as he can for a kernel.
July 19 at 8:38am

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67).  Friday, 820am, dad driving Kyle to school. Kyle throws his shoe at me from the backseat (probably because i wasn’t handing him fistfuls of cheerios quick enough). The shoe hits the gear shift and knocks my car into neutral…while driving on the highway!

Happy Freaking Friday!! 🙂
July 22 at 8:33am

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68).  Friday 912pm, Wife and I are about to sit down to one of those “let’s eat dinner after Kyle goes to sleep” dinners…
July 22 at 9:13pm

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69)  Heading out in a little while with Kyle to see our 6th (?) Laurie Berkner concert. Yes we are Laurie Berkner groupies. 🙂 And in a few years Kyle will be that creepy old guy at the toddler concert. LOL.

(if you don’t know Laurie search for her on YouTube and she’s all over Noggin/ Nick Jr or at least she used to be….
July 23 at 1:18pm

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70)   I F–KING HATE BLUE MOON SAND!!! Thank goodness it’s non toxic (they claim). I wonder if Kyle’s pees or poops will be blue (or sandy)… 🙂
July 23 at 5:43pm

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71)  What do they call it when the military guys & gals get a break? A “48 hour leave”? Well I just sent the wife off on a 24 hour leave. She’s going into NYC for dinner, dancing, drinks and a sleepover reunion with some of her ol’ sorority sisters. But just like in the military if she’s not back EXACTLY 24 hours later (6:52pm) there will be repercussions. 🙂

Kyle and I solo for 24 hours! Let the madness begin! LOL
July 23 at 6:58pm

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72)  Tues, ‎730-8pm. Kyle actually plays with the IPad somewhat appropriately for a whole half hour?! WTF?! Thanks to my friends at Sesame Street for their “Count TV” game/app…(continued in comments)
Autism Daddy ‎…my boy held the iPad correctly. Didn’t just press a bunch of buttons but kinda knew what he was doing. Don’t get me wrong there was still spitting and flapping, but for 30+ minutes he stayed in one little area in the dining room engaged with the thing the whole time…and when he couldn’t point properly to get it to count properly he grabbed my hand and pointed me towards the screen asking for my help.

The only bad thing is that he got so excited and flappy at one point that he flapped me in the eye and I might have a bit of a shiner/ black eye… but I’ll take a black eye under those circumstances any day….

🙂
July 26 at 9:00pm ·

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73). Kyle was in a phase where he LOVES mozzarella sticks. Won’t each much else. The nuggets and fries went uneaten for weeks. So daddy goes out and stocks up on mozzarella sticks… and the phase is over. Today all he wanted was fries. And guess what we’re out of fries…but we got tons of mozz sticks. These phases have been going on for years…but i never learn. 🙂
July 27 at 7:23pm

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74)  List of ingredients in “Trader Joe’s Next To Godliness Dish Soap”

Coconut Oil Derived Surfactant
Earth Salts
Lavender Oil
Tea Tree Oil
Grapefruit Seed Extract
Water
FD&C Colors

Why did I list you ask? Cuz the wife reported that Kyle drank 1/4 bottle and spilled 1/4 bottle on kitchen floor. Kyle’s and the dog’s poops might be interesting tomorrow. 🙂
July 27 at 8:07pm

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75).  ‎”Kyle why can’t you keep headphones on? Most kids with autism wear headphones… Cmon!” 🙂
July 29 at 7:34pm

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76). We have a sitter tonight so the wife and I can go out for her birthday. The house is a mess and the wife is still sleeping and I’m trying to make the house look somewhat presentable for the sitter. Kyle is having a path of destruction right now and needs constant attention and then it dawned on me… I need a sitter just to help me get the house in order for the other sitter. 🙂
July 30 at 8:46am

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77)  As Kyle is jumping on and slowly (quickly) destroying our couch and love seat it makes me think of the debate my wife and I have… Do you spend alot of $ on good furniture that you think is gonna better withstand the beating that Kyle is gonna unleash on it… Or do you buy cheap furniture (Ikea/ Bob’s) that is more disposable and you just replace it every couple of years? The same debate can be had about our tv
July 31 at 8:02am

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78). There really is no balance in my life… Yesterday I got caught in the middle of a Kyle “I’m starving” meltdown. So today I tried to overcompensate and give him whatever he wanted (cheerios, nuggets, fries), the way he wanted it (in the car, dad handing back one at a time). And now I think I’m in the middle of a I’m full/ constipated meltdown.
July 31 at 12:28pm

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79)  Kyle and I are sitting in front of our house, in the minivan, strapped in and safe, with the AC cranking watching Elmos World & drinking coffee. (Yes Kyle LOVES coffee 🙂

I will gladly stay out here all day if he lets me…
July 31 at 2:14pm