Rocking the Casbah

By order of the prophet we ban that boogie sound / degenerate the faithful with that crazy casbah sound
- The Clash "Rock the Casbah"

Sunday morning Mr. Little Man was in his play room playing with his trains. I was relaxing in the dining room. I had my coffee and was considering breakfast (an egg white omelet). Lena Horne was coming at me through the iPod. The sun was shining...all was right in our little world.

And then it happened.

Mr. Little Man came to me and said words I never thought I'd hear: "Rock the Casbah." Now honestly, at first I thought I'd misheard and I was trying to get him to repeat what he'd said to no avail. He very rarely says anything and most days the best I can get out of him is "no" or "juice please" so I was:

A. slightly taken aback
B. utterly confused

He disappeared for a bit and came back holding the CD.

Ultimately, I am torn. Its pretty damn cool that my kid can rock out to The Clash (later on he requested The Tubes). What is not cool is that he really likes to listen to it loudly. Its almost like I've been exiled in punk rock hell. I can't wait 'til he's a teenager.

What I am reading: An Amy Butler pattern....I am sewing the Chelsea bag.
What I am listening to: Journey - I'll Be Alright Without You

Awkward

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending my friend Anthony's wedding. Now, Ant and I go back a few years and we've been through some thangs together. Thats right, thangs. My mother thinks that Anthony and his bride Barbara are the cutest couple in the world, which they totally are. But, lets get back to the story.

The wedding was beautiful, the bride and groom looked gorgeous and it was the first wedding I'd been to in a really long time where the bride and groom actually had a great time.

I've met Anthony's (divorced) parents on several occasions and they are both really nice people. So, flash forward to the wedding reception. Everybody is drinking champagne and dancing and occasionally stepping outside to cool down. Now at one point Ant's father said to me, "You know, I'm moving back to New Jersey. You should give me your contact information and I'll call you sometime and take you out for coffee." Ummm, I almost choked on my champagne because this sounded like he was asking me out on a date.

In my social circle I'm known as the girl who misreads signals, I can't tell you how many times I've been on a date and not realized I was on a date until the poor guy tries to hold my hand, or worse yet, kiss me, so I immediately run over to my friend Eric (who is incidentally Mr. Little Man's godfather) and relay the story to him. Eric assures me that I've been hitting the crack pipe one too many times and that I'm just imagining being asked out. I calmed down and proceed to dance with whatever unsuspecting person I can get to agree. I did 2 of The Gue's patented dance moves: "Big fish, little fish, cardboard box" and "The Shovel"; both were a huge hit. I was having a great time and then Ant's dad saunters back to me and says, "I'm leaving now but I didn't get a chance to get your telephone number, address or email, but I'll get it from Anthony. See you soon." This time I completely didn't think anything about it because Eric told me I was being crazy.

Eric was standing right next to me when this happened and all I could do is smile and say "OK" and wave as he left. Eric turns to me and says, "Dude, Ant's dad just asked you out. I really need to be there when you explain to Ant that you are dating his father."



What I am reading: The Yahoo Group on Chelation. Man, does my head hurt...so many questions!
What I am listening to: Rush - Tom Sawyer

Autism Awareness Month

I can not believe that today is the 18th of April and I am just now getting around to mentioning that April is Autism Awareness Month. Do something good for the cause...if you don't know somebody with autism its just a matter of time.

OK, now onto our chelation story. We went to see the doctor, who was not much help. And actually, was a bit off putting because she mentioned that maybe I should accept the fact that my son will never be normal. Ummm, what? I hope he is never normal; I love his quirkiness, I'd just like him to be able to one day go to college if he wants. Its wierd, but I hear this alot and eventually you just learn to tune everybody out and just do your own thing. I don't want to "cure" my child, but I do want to give him the best possible opportunities in life. So, I left the appointment not feeling hurt or defeated and resolved to get a second opinion.

There is an organization called Defeat Autism Now (DAN!) that has protocols in place for chelation. The also have an online directory of members. I emailed every member in my state to ask about chelation and on overwhelming majority recommended it in conjunction with a specialty diet and constant monitoring by a doctor. SInce DAN! advocates chelation it wasn't a surprise, but I still got aot of great advice.

I also found out about a doctor in Maryland that is doing a drug trial for autistic kids and chelation and I've emailed him to see if we get more info. Drug trials are scary, however, at this stage even topical chelation (which is what I am interested in) is considered experimental.

Dateline video on chelation (part 1) here:


Part 2:


So, essentially, I'm just going to do everything I can to make sure my son has a good future; which is something that everyone would do for their child.

What I am reading: I am temporarily out of reading material. It's freaking me out.
What I am listening to: Rihanna - Umbrella ('ella, 'ella)

Incommunicado

I keep getting emails, text messages and phone calls asking about my whereabouts. Fear not, gentle readers, I have not fallen off the Earth. I was really busy with Easter and a friend’s wedding....and then my mother came for an extended visit.

Its very weird for me to have someone in my house. I’ve lived alone for such a long time that it’s odd to have someone else using my shower and reading the paper in the morning. We did do a lot of things while she was here: we toured Mr. Little Man’s new school, and went to NYC to see The Color Purple (which was way better than I imagined...I actually cried at the end), we went to the “Master Painters of Puerto Rico” exhibit at the Newark Museum, visited my favorite herb farm and a whole bunch of other stuff. I barely had time to check my email and coincidentally I didn’t watch any TV. At all.

It was probably the best visit we’ve ever had. I think she has finally accepted that I’ve built a life for myself in New Jersey. I believe she thought I’d move closer to where they life because she thought I’d need a lot of help with my son, but I’ve managed to make a family for myself here in New Jersey. I know all my neighbor’s names and can’t go anywhere in my neighborhood without meeting someone I know. I am a member of the Begonia Society (we meet the second Tuesday of every month in Manhattan...email me for more info), and the PTA. I help raise money for autism awareness and research. The Food Club meets almost every week lately. Clearly I am not going anywhere. I am very comfortable. And now (FINALLY!) My mom is as well.

And don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about what happened when we went to see a doctor about chelation soon.

What I am reading: I’m actually writing...my school district is looking to start a Special Education Parent Advisory Council and I am in list making mode. I have a lot of ideas.
What I am listening to: Bubba Sparxx - Deliverance

Trainwreck

I just got the following email from JL:


Subject: please blog this
Message:

I just don't know how to blog it tastefully.

I was searching for sites on adbrite.com to advertise on and i found this
write-up:

Wifeups.com is a free community photo gallery where users can upload
original content of women in diapers to share!

JL

Did you notice that she said she couldn't figure out a way to blog it tastefully? Apparently that is code for, "It's funny; everyone already thinks you are a trainwreck, so YOU should post it".

Just call me the Mayor of Freakville.


What I am reading: Gabriel Garcia Marquez - The Trail of Your Blood in the Snow. I got a papercut yesterday and afterward I could not stop thinking of this story.
What I am listening to: The Game - Wouldn't Get Far

Today is the day...

...that we go see the doctor about chelation. I am both nervous and excited because if Mr. Little Man is a candidate and this works out well for us I may be able to have a conversation with my son by then end of the year. Keep your fingers crossed.

I also had a meeting with our school district last week, which usually entails 4 or 5 staff members and myself sitting around a table. Generally, they'll tell me all of the "great" things that they are going to do for my son. Their idea and my idea differ in every conceivable way. Generally, I just smile and nod and then tell them what I want. It's not pretty. The legal system has time limit parameters in place for special education. Usually the school district doesn't do what they are supposed to do in the alloted time so we end up getting everything they never wanted to give us.

If chelation works well for us I am hopeful that Mr. Little Man will be able to integrate into a school for normally developing children. And as I was sitting in this meeting last week I was looking at all of these people around the table and saying a silent prayer that I'd never have to look at any of them again.

What I am reading: Brushing up on all my questions for the doctor.
What I am listening to: Philip Glass - Metamorphosis One. I don't listen to alot of classical music, but Philip Glass' Solo Piano is stunning.

Thank God I'm Fat

I somehow managed to stab myself with a seam ripper and not notice until the following morning. Seriously. If I were a thin girl I'm sure I would have bled to death (That's sarcasm. I think.).

I know you want to hear more. And before you ask, no, alcohol was not involved in any way.

Sunday night I decided to make my mother a cross stitch for Mother's Day. I like to cross stitch, but I like to stitch while watching TV or listening to a book on tape or something. In this instance I decided to....wait for it...watch an entire season of Buffy whilst stitching. I just bought myself a new seam ripper; the blade is only about an inch long and I had all of this stuff spread out all over my bed.

And what do I do? I fall asleep. In bed. Surrounded by needles and my seam ripper. When I awoke this morning I thought that my side felt really sore but it never actually occurred to me to look at my side, you know? I had my coffee and decided to do some stretches to work out the kinks and thats when I noticed that my white tee had a hole and a huge red spot on the side. Then I noticed that my actual flesh also had a matching hole. Then I notice that the seam ripper has blood all over it and I came to the only logical explanation: sometime during the night I impaled myself on the seam ripper. Who here can say that they've ever had a stab wound that they managed to sleep through?

What I am reading: Oh dear, absolutely nothing. For the first time in a long time.
What I am listening to: Carole King - Tapestry