Things I swore My Child Would Never Do........

Thing #208 I swore the Kids would never do:  Get Toys without earning them for good behavior....

.LOL

The other night while sharing a lovely appetizer at a local restaurant I look at my children lovingly as they were being oh so pleasant.  I then proceeded to look at my husband and say "Remember when we were younger and we made fun of those parents that brought portable DVD Players to the restaurant?  I take it all back".  I said this because across the table from us were two children, one using a coloring app on Ipad and another playing Star Wars Angry Birds on a Kindle.

My husband and I have been blessed to be the first children in our families to have children, the only cousins in our age range who have children and the only couple in our original friends groups with children.  With that being said we have heard our fair share of "I would never let my kid do....." or "When I have kids I will never......"  I laugh on the inside every time....

So here we go.... The official List of Things I SWORE my kids would never do: 

1.  My kid is never going to be a video Zombie when we go out to eat, they should just eat and behave.  Kids don't need technology, they need discipline.
  
     - BAHAHAHAHA.  If it were not for technology we could never go out to eat.  So use the Ipad kid, don't forget to take a bite of your chicken.

2.  My children will clean their plates of the food I give them, even if it takes hours.

       -  "Ok take two more bites.....ok one more bite.  Just, just , just don't ask me for food later when you are hungry"  I don't have hours to sit and wait for the child to eat.  Honestly I will just pop an extra vitamin in him tomorrow.

3.  My Children will NEVER be Rude.

     - "Hey Lady!  I NEED SOME MORE APPLE JUICE" ----said the child, loudly, while standing on a chair, when he finally decided to look up from his Ipad

4.  My kids will never watch TV, especially not before the age of 2.

        -  This morning, tears of Joy streamed down my cheeks when I heard that SPROUT was now available Cablevision....... that's as far as I have to go.  You can figure out my stance on TV now.

5.  My daughter will Never look like a Slob, shes a girl, she needs to look like one.

       - I have come to realize that her lopsided pony tale and chocolate covered face can bring equal, if not greater joy to my heart then when shes all prim and proper....why?....because she was probably doing something super fun to get into such disarray.

6.  My children will not be in diapers past 2

    -  Well, Frankie's issues are different, and the fact that he is still in diapers at 4.5 is not uncommon, but still it's there.  That being said, my typical 2.5 year old is still rocking diapers too.  I swore I would have this under control, that the diapers would be a thing of the past but.....yea the best laid plans...

7.  My kids will not eat in the car

      -  If you were to go into my mini van I'm sure you could find remnants of pirates booty in most of the crevices.  Last week on our drive to Pennsylvania the kids got hungry so in a moment of insanity I threw an entire bag of pirates booty into the back seat and said have a good time......messy!

8.  My kids will never run around peoples houses/ parties in a wild manner

     -  I've counted the laps they can do around a grand piano....and cheered them on

9.  My kids will never be the trouble maker

      - 5/2/13 "Your son bit another child AGAIN today".....Friggen brilliant, my kids the biter

10.  My kids will not sleep in my bed

      -  Out of 3 kids I have only ONE that prefers to sleep alone....and when I say alone I mean alone on the couch, NOT her b
ed.  It took 3 years go get my son in his bed all night every night and with a still nursing 9 month old in the bed, it looks like he will follow the same path.  I have THREE kids....mama needs her damn sleep...even if its with a foot in my face.



Feel Free to add some of your own in the  comments, I tend to forget things......

LOOK for a Part 2 Coming SOON!

Photoshoots and the ASD child

From Birth to about 18 months old my son took the most beautiful pictures.  He looked straight at the camera, hammed it up big time....I photographers dream. 

Then we hit the quintessential 18 month mark where it starts hitting the fan.  I assumed it was separation anxiety or stranger anxiety, I have no clue.  I paid $40 for a Christmas pic i never used because his eyes were red and swollen as he stared into space....not a great Christmas card if you ask me.  I ended up taking a picture at home....which went a little like this.....

Very GQ, this took forever....and he is not even looking....but still this is one of my favorites :)

There are no professional pics of Frankie after 18 months......for a while there were just pictures i took of him when he wasn't paying attention.  I would get one good picture in a batch of staring off into space and nasty face.  I'm not sure what made me think at 2 when Lia was born that he would take pictures better.  I thought maybe with an on site photographer he would bet better......not so much.

Its not a bad picture, its just the only one we have from that shoot because he was completely noncompliant.  Here is Failed attempt at Christmas 2010....He was so Pissed....

And now to the greatest blessing that could happen to a photo crazed parent of an Autistic Child.....the ABA therapist who is ALSO a Photographer!

I suppose this will only help you if you are in the Long Island area, but seriously if you are here and you need pictures, check her out.  Kim started out as Frankie's ABA therapist though early intervention around the same time she began pursuing her passion for photography.  She started taking pictures of Frankie for me as little surprises during sessions, photographs I could never get.....Apparently she told me her secret...she asks him Social Questions lol.

With Christmas Card Season approaching, i knew who I had to call.... Kimberly Jean-Photography :)  Like always, with positive reinforcement, yummy reinforcers, patience and some social questions she did an awesome job.  It takes a special kind person to work with our kids and I don't know if she realizes the advantage she has to other photographers lol.

So if you are in the Long Island Metro area or know someone who is and would like to have photos taken by a professional, kind, patient reliable, awesome, very reasonably priced person who works with Autistic children daily...... Check out Kimberly Jean- Photography on Facebook or at her Website

I never thought I could get a cards this good....THANK YOU KIM!!!

 

*EDIT*

For Some Reason Kim couldn't Comment on here so here is her response:

Kimberly Jean-Photography

Hello there...I thought I was a bit over due for a good cry.... Thank you is all I can say... It has been my pleasure to work with Frankie & teach him how to get through a photo shoot or just a quick snap shot.. He is a remarkable little boy who just keeps surprising me every time I see him! When I first took a few pictures of him to surprise you for Mother's Day, I had no idea how he would react.. However, my plan worked.. I took him outside and gave him simple directions, just as I would in therapy.. then began to ask him social questions to keep him engaged.. It worked!! With some reinforcement, I got beautiful shots that I knew you were struggling to get..
Fast forwad a few months later and It's now Christmas time.. Time to send out those holiday cards.. but knowing that you have a child with special needs, especially one on the ASD, I knew difficulty was an understatement for how Frankie might respond to a typical studio set up photo shoot.... I can't take all the credit though... Yes, I was the one behind the camera, checking my settings, angels, etc. but credit must be given where credit is due.. Keri, my sister assisted me that day and thank goodness she did.. With simple commands again and models given, she was able to help me get some of the most beautiful shots of Frankie & his sister Lia.. Happy Holidays to all! And thank you again for all of your kind words!! Kim