Webkinz will be my downfall

Meet Lizzie and Rex. They are the reason all of my laundry is piled to the ceiling.




Seriously?! Could I get a little less done around the house because I am obsessed with earning points for these silly little creatures? This is my guilty pleasure at night when the kids go to bed. I've even got my mother and sister in on the quest for points. It's a sick, sick addiction. If you don't see or hear from me for a few days, please send someone over.

Comedy Break

So I am a bit overwhelmed. As usual, my quest for knowledge/truth continues now with a different disorder. We got a handle on the ADHD, now we must get a handle on the Autism. I'm knee deep in articles, books, websites, message boards and I just need a break!!!!!! One interesting thing I keep bumping into is that on some of the message boards I am posting questions from a parents perspective but many people who have Aspberger's are answering me as if they are offended that I want to help my child. (They take offense b/c they don't see a need for the child to be helped) Two problems with this -- 1) My child doesn't have Aspberger's and 2) the people offering up opinions do NOT HAVE CHILDREN!

Ok, rant over.... I have been working on a slide show for when our family comes to visit this summer. I am going to do a music montage/show of the brothers (as in Mike and his) growing up. My mother-in-law sent me a bunch of great ones but this is one of my favorites of Mike:

Statistically speaking

I believe we may officially be a statistic by next Friday -- 1 in 150. I spoke to Mason's itinerant teacher who comes out to visit him at his private pre-school program and she confirmed that the diagnosis from all of the testing they have been conducting will probably be autism.

I am choosing not to type much about my feelings surrounding this information. It has been more than an emotional week for all of us. Though we are struggling some with the diagnosis and all that it involves, there are some exciting positive possibilities for him. We are still unclear about a plan for Mason next year, but it is between 2 options:

1) 5 day, full day school through the school system where he would have up to 15 children in his class (most of whom are typically developing) and special ed and speech teachers in the classroom.
OR
2) 4 day, half day private pre-school with an itinerant teacher coming out to service him 3 days/week plus speech through the local elementary school. This classroom would be all typically developing children except Mason but have only up to 10 kids in the class. This has been the school he has been attending and they have bent over backwards for us.

Additionally, he has been enrolled in a program through the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (go heels!) that will do some early intervention and include parenting sessions for us. It sounds like a great program and his intake appointment is in August which is much sooner than we had expected (we heard there was a long waiting list for this program).

I am both excited and exhausted. The testing process has been a bit involved and taxing on both Mason and me. Additionally, his differences are only becoming more pronounced as he gets older. Having some answers will be nice, but also means I will need to fight harder to navigate through the system and get him the help he needs. On the up side, NC is a great place to be for autism research and services.

So, keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We are trying our best to focus on the positive and action that will best benefit Mason.