PETA is stupid.....

There is no nice way to say it. PETA is stupid. I have seen many stupid suggestions and ads from these folks over the years, but their latest----an ad campaign suggesting cow's milk causes autism----really has me worked up. As the parent of a child with high-functioning autism, I find this appalling and offensive on so many levels it isn't even funny. There are studies about eliminating casein---which is not just found in cow's milk, but other products as well----along with wheat gluten. Personally, that diet did not help my son and many others who have tried it have not had success with it, either. So PETA is being very irresponsible by stating this as fact when the studies they are using to back it up are sketchy at best. PETA seems to care more about animals than they do about their fellow human beings. Here is their latest ad, along with a story on it, if you've not heard of this yet. If you find it offensive, tell PETA. I know I have.

GOT AUTISM?
Parents, heads up. Recent studies have suggested a link between dairy consumption and autism. Since many people don't know this, PETA is planning to run a billboard in Newark, New Jersey. Even though it won't please the billion-dollar dairy industry, parents have a right to know the truth about milk.

In a study at the University of Rome, researchers noticed a "marked improvement" in the behavior of autistic children who were taken off dairy products, but how dairy might worsen or cause autism is still unclear. Some suspect that casein (a component of cow's milk) harms the brain, while others suggest that stomach problems that are often caused by dairy products cause distress and thus worsen behavior in autistic children.

Not so surprising, considering that milk has already been strongly linked to Crohn's disease, certain types of cancer, and other serious health problems. But I digress.

Thankfully, there is hope. Testimonials suggest that some people with this devastating disease may be able to find relief by simply removing milk from their diet.

There's a whole world of information out there for parents and for women who are pregnant or nursing about how to raise their kids dairy-free. Be an informed consumer and check it out!

*The Newark area had the highest rates of autism occurrence among 14 states studied in one report.

There's no place like home.....

It's true what they say: There's No Place Like Home! And boy did I miss mine over the last week.

I had to spend the entire week at my parents' house in Blairsville, PA because the incompetents that are Duquesne Light did not have my power on until late Thursday night. Then they turned it off again to do more work. The long and the short of it is, I was without power for a week. It was ridiculous. If there is ever a real disaster around here, I am quite certain we will be in the dark for months.

It was a fun little vacation at my parents' house for me, my son and our cat. My husband was in Canada, so it was nice to have some extra help with my son while he was away. And even though I am eternally grateful to my parents for putting up with me all week, I was really glad to sleep in my own bed last night.

But you HAVE lights, dumb lady!

That is the motto on the top of Duquesne Light's website. I laughed really, really hard when I read that. And then I got mad and yelled at my computer. Sure, it's not my computer's fault that Duquesne Light is incompetent, but I had to yell at something.

We haven't had power since Sunday night. But that's news to Duquesne Light. Our entire neighborhood is on save six houses on my street. Our transformer blew. We've tried to tell them that. But because their computer says our lights are on, we must surely be mistaken. I don't know about anyone else, but I remember how to throw a switch to turn the lights on, so when I do that, and nothing happens, GUESS WHAT? IT MEANS I HAVE NO POWER! But tell that to the electric company. I actually had a so-called customer service representative tell me this morning that she would not put a work order in for our street because the computer shows power has been restored there! Me and my five other neighbors are very upset, but we don't know what to do at this point. There's no chance our power will ever come back on when the power company refuses to acknowledge that it's not on, despite what their computer says. This is so frustrating! Where is that "bang head here" sign......I need it again. :(

Bang Head Here.....

Those of you who know us know we've had a spate of what could only be called bad luck lately. Or, as one of our friends at church put it Sunday, "the Devil is really at work here." No kidding.

My husband was without work, I've been really sick and we've had some problems getting our son the therapy he needs for his condition.

Then my uncle died, out of the blue. No one expected it. We were all shocked.

My husband's grandfather died Friday. He had had a stroke 10 years ago that left him pretty much unable to do anything. It had been hard to see him like that, because he couldn't talk. The most he could do was squeeze your hand and make some facial expressions to let you know he knew you were there and to communicate with us. He's finally with his beloved wife, Vi, who died 3 years ago. We're not sad for him, we're glad. Now he can be free of the body that has held him captive for so long. So my husband is on his way to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for the funeral. We had to stay behind because, sadly, airfare is ridiculous. No one offers bereavement fares anymore, and only two airlines fly into Canada. So we had little choice.

Add to our woes the fact that we've had no power since Sunday, and you can imagine, I'm banging my head A LOT. Our entire neighborhood now has power save the five houses near me. Our transformer blew. We've been trying to tell the electric company this, but they keep telling us THE POWER IS ON because their computer says so. Gee, I guess we all just forgot how to turn our lights on, then, because they aren't working. No matter who we call, we can't seem to get them to put a work order in for our transformer. Looks like we may never have power. I'm currently at my mom's house, because being at home with a 3 year old and no power is just not a good thing. But at this rate, we may have to move in here permanently since, you know, our power is really on, we just can't see it.

So if the next time you see me, I have a huge bruise on my head, you won't even have to ask what happened.

"C'mon, Mom, let's go back to kid school!"

That's what my excited 3 year old shouted at me yesterday afternoon. Repeatedly.

Yesterday was his first day at The Preschool Place. He had attended a different 2 year old program last year, but as you may remember from an earlier blog post, that experience was very bad thanks to an ill-equipped teacher. But this new place seems like it's a perfect fit.

For starters, his teacher has a master's degree in special education. The aide is special ed certified, too. So children who have special needs don't phase them. They reported Connor did well on his first day. And he must have liked it, too, since he demanded to go back less than an hour after he had come home from there. It's a shame it's only 2 days a week, because I think he'd go there every day if I let him!

He Peed On The Potty!

I have been trying to potty train Connor for quite some time now. He has shown all the signs of readiness for months now, but we haven't had much actual success sitting on the potty. A few times, he peed or pooped in the big potty, but it seemed to scare him, so he didn't want to do that anymore. So I bought him this cute little potty here. He liked it. But he wouldn't actually use it.

All of last week, I took him about every 2 hours to sit on the potty. He did really good. Never peed or pooped, but at least he was sitting on it. Today, before his bath, I sat him on it. One of his biggest challenges has been holding down his pee pee when he pees. Usually, he won't do it and well, I probably don't need to tell you what a mess that makes. But tonight, he held it and he sat there quite awhile. When he got up to get in the tub, I realized he had peed. I whooped so loud and clapped my hands that I scared the poor kid. Who knew you could get so excited about a little pee?

Hopefully, this is just one small pee in the right direction...... :)