Worry doesn't encompass the way I feel...

Our little Elliott has been a little slow when it comes to speaking. So, about 8 weeks ago, we went and had a speech evaluation done. At the time of the evaluation Elliott had a vocabulary of about 25 words. Which, is on the middle of the low end of the spectrum for a child his age. We scheduled more speech therapy appointments, his first appointment was this past Tuesday. 

Well, in talking with his therapist, we began to recognize there are several other areas which need to be addressed. He will also need to see an Occupational Therapist. Elliott has his routines, which if you haven't spent more than 24 hours with him, you might not notice at all, you would think he just has this little quirks, no big deal, a few meltdowns no big deal, he is two. To better describe some of his quirks here are some of them:

Elliott loves to have his snacks lined up in perfect little rows. His trains, frogs, animals all have to be in perfect rows. If any of his rows get knocked over he will throw what ever he was lining up all over the room he is in. His blanket must be perfectly flat, not a ripple, upturned corner or crinkle can be in the blanket. He can spend up to 45 minutes just rearranging his blanket. We have to cross over the train tracks after we drop Malia off to school and when we pick her up from school. If, I don't cross the train tracks he will scream and cry the whole way home. We have to cross the tracks no matter what. Whenever we head down to Mom and Dad's we have to take the same route, or he will scream, kick and cry until he is in an area he recognizes, only then will he be ok. 

Elliott clings to Spongebob like a child would cling to a blanket, bear, pacifier. He also will repeat our names - Mama, Dada, Rolo, Baby and Grandma go bye bye, not wanting us to respond, but just doing it to do it. Tonight's repetition was "A, E, I, O, U". I listened to him say this to Steve about 18 times before he moved on to something else. Bedtime can take up to two hours or more. Then there is the most upsetting of all behaviors, he will hit himself when confused or extremely upset. Now watching your child do this to himself will reduce you to tears, and believe you me, you will do anything to get him to stop. 

You want the best in life for your children, I breast fed because breast is supposed to be best. He has never been hospitalized, he is the picture of health in his doctors eyes. You do all the things you think will help - eating organic, making sure he is fed to the nth degree, read every book under the moon 50 plus times in a day just to see a smile. It was only at his two year appointment when red flags started to fly. We thought and so did our family think that Elliott was just working on different things, his unbelievable motor skills - the kid can take apart and put together anything in front of him. He has the most unbelievable smile and awestruck look in his eye when he has figured out something mechanical. We figured his speech will come along with everything else, and you know it has, he has over 75+ words that I am very proud of and he spoke his first sentence this weekend. "Ow! She hit my head". I practically broke down and cried at Costco and cheered him on, like a cheerleader at a football game. I cherish each and every word, vowel and consonant like a piano player cherishes their keys, notes and chords. I love hearing him say Fish and Frog and do not tire of it. 

We thought all was ok, he is doing so well, his vocabulary has expanded from 25-75 words in 8 weeks... But something is still amiss. It took a professionals eyes looking in and for them to tell us there is something else we have to consider, Autism or PDD. Today I hope and pray they are all wrong. As my dad and Steve keep telling me take it a day at time. This to shall pass. I love my little boy more than anyone can possibly realize.

 

Our dream date!

WOOT! Well, if you haven't see Alan Jackson in concert - WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
He is seriously one of the most humble, down to earth and relaxed performers I have ever seen live. We enjoyed his show so much. From the opening song to the end, you are throw into what makes him tick. Without a doubt it is his family! Every song he played references childhood memories, his daughters, his wife, his parents and his hometown. You are throughly immersed in what makes Alan Jackson who he is, through the whole concert you get video feed of home videos and pictures of his family. What an emotional experience, unless you are emotionally inept then it doesn't really matter... lol. 
Miranda Lambert opened for AJ. I have to say, she is one eccentric chick. She has the most marvelous pink electric guitar... and she THREW it at one of her stage hands! To see a fabulous pink guitar flying through the air, CRAZY. In almost all of her songs she is blowing something up or talking about shooting someone with her guns. There is a song calleed the crazy ex girlfriend, and for some stinking reason or another, I do believe she is referencing herself. After seeing her perform live, you want to stand up on a chair and whoop " HELL YA! Go get'em girl!". Well, maybe not Steve, but by the end she had my blood flowing. 

We can't begin to THANK Jefe and Sally enough, for watching the kiddos. I know they had a fabulous time. Malia and Rolando can't wait to do it again for sure! Kuddo's to Sally for getting Elliott down, he is one feisty little guy and bedtime is single handedly the hardest thing to do with little man. Sooo, I pumped 8oz for little Erik, thinking if I feed him before I go he will be ok... DOH, the little stinker drank the 8oz of donated milk in a swath of greediness never witnessed before in a matter of 30 minutes. What's a girl to do? Have a cow ready and willing? Nah, I will just make sure I have about 24oz in donated milk. This was our first time away from him in the evening, and least I forget - I whip out his milk about 3 times between 6:30 and 8pm every night... He stock piles the milk before he sleeps. Which I do say has it's benefits - Steve and I sleep through the night and have been since he was about six weeks old. 

Jefe and Sally - Thanks for making our night out very special! 

Mom and Dad - Thank you again, for our tickets!!! 

Nick and Kristen - We will so take a rain check :P

Love you guys!

OMG!

OK. So, Happy Mothers Day! To put a smile on your face - I need everyone to read this persons blog. 

Vanilla Garlic

Please page down to something about banging head on wall?!? Now if you have kids go home and make some cupcakes for your child!

hehe... Life is good, food is life.

Frump-a-licous?!?

So, today I woke up and took a look in the mirror and I wondered how the heck my hair has gotten to look the way it does? Mommified beyond all recognition, then I remind myself as I grab the scissors and trim my bangs, it has been 8 months. Wondered if someone has made a concealer out there strong enough to cover my dark circles/bags? Maybe, but that would mean I would have to head into the mall with two little ones in tow. Wondered when the last 10lbs will leave my body and go straight to baby? Haha, not in a million gazillion years, I will have to walk/run/dance/lunge the rest of my body back into shape. Wondered if there was anything in my closet that would make me feel better? No, not really, unless I magically went from a size 10 to a 6 in by this afternoon and can wear my Nanette Lepore tops again. Wondered when the last time I changed my nail polish on my toes, when was the last time I had a pedicure? Probably a few days before my wedding day. (sorry Cris) still haven't gotten around to using that gift card. Wondered if a cup of coffee and a shower will make me feel better? Nope, still feeling frump-a-licious after the shower and crap I am out of my hazelnut creamer.(Don't laugh, its the only creamer I like... I know big EWWWWW.) 

Then I remember, WOHOO, Steve and I are going on a date tonight! Suddenly there is hope, I see light at the end of the tunnel. We are going on a date, that will last longer than hour and half, and will take up the better half of today. I have donated milk to bottles for little Erik - and I am praying he will take them.(Thank goodness the pump finally worked! We will have a stock pile of milk by the time Grandma and Grandpa get back, because we know how much they want the babies!) 

Well, Jeff and Sal are going to have all the kids while we head down to the Tacoma Dome for Alan Jackson! Double WOOT! Hehe, hopefully we have raised well mannered children, who will listen to their Aunt and Uncle. We are doing stop, watch and listen with Elliott, when he acts up. We can't begin to THANK Mom and Dad enough for the tickets! Our form of repayment is the grandkids for a day :P.

My biggest worry right now is what I can I wear that won't make me look too lopsided? (Erik only nurses on one side, picky baby) 

Killer Carnitas!

I have been wanting to make a new meal in our house for sometime, we've eaten everything in our repertoire a thousand times. Okay, maybe not a thousand times, but it surely feels like it. I was scouring the web for recipes which incorporated Pork Shoulder Roast as the main ingredient. After hitting several sites I landed on my most cherished foodie site, Simply Recipes by Elise. She has some of the best recipes I have ever come across, by far my favorite website to sit and browse for something new to try. It just so happens she has several recipes that use pork shoulder. After taking stock in what I have at home, I finally decide on her recipe for Carnitas - they sound enticing. Well, just as I am about to commit to the recipe, I see a link at the bottom of her post for some cook in Alaska. OK, so I have to check it out. Coming from Alaska, curiosity gets the best of me - always has and always will. The link is called Carnitas with chipotle and coke a cola. Hmmm, sounds interesting enough. I hit the link and my eyes beheld a picture that is worth a thousand words. The ingredient list, far shorter, which is wonderful, the technique - simple enough. How can I resist? I don't. I set off to the store in a mad dash, searching for dried chipotles - the smokey flavor is coveted, no other chile pepper will suffice. After hitting up two stores in the area, I surrender to canned chipotles in adobe sauce by San Marrco. Slightly frustrated but not defeated. Why? I had read if you are to buy any canned pepper - this is the label of choice. I have to tell you the smell of all the flavors melding together in the oven, is heavenly. It is so tempting to call it good after being in the oven for two hours, to throw in the towel and call it DONE. All, I can say is don't, do yourself a favor and let it cook, bit by bit, little by little and you will have a delicacy on your hands. Well, After 4 hours of cooking, shredding and more cooking. Steve is blow away by the aroma wafting into our living room from the kitchen. Can I say SCORE! We finally sit down and eat. All I can say it was well worth the wait. If I had to choose one word for our meal, I would have to say SCRUMPTIOUS!

 

Carnitas:

3 lbs pork shoulder

2 tbls vegetable oil

1 tbls salt

1 tbls ground pepper

1 tbls paprika

1 tbls cayenne pepper

1 tbls oregano

2 bay leaves

2 cloves garlic chopped

2 large dried chipotle peppers

2-3 tbls Brown Sugar

1/2 can coke

1/2 cup milk

Trim the fat and silverskin from the pork roast and cut it into a few manageable pieces. Preheat the oven to about 250 degrees. Heat the vegetable oil in a deep, heavy stock pot with a lid for about 10 minutes, or until the oil begins to smoke, over med-hi heat. While it is getting hot, mix in the spices together on a plate and roll the pork in them. Gently place the pork chunks in the hot oil and sear all sides until browned. Keep your fan running! By the time I got to the last piece of pork to sear, I was coughing up a storm from the cayanne.

Cover, pop it into the oven and cook for one hour, then add the coke, milk, bay leaves, brown sugar and chipotle. Continue cooking for another 2-2 1/2 hours. It's done when the pork starts to fall apart when poked with a spoon. Remove the meat from the stockpot with a slotted spoon and shred it into small pieces. Strain the left over juices and return to pan. Add the meat to the pan and fry until all the juices are gone. (about 20-25 minutes later) 

You must serve with:

1. Warm corn tortilla's 
2. Diane's amazing PICO and some 
3. Sally sauce.... (yummy!)
   

Then you have a meal worth savoring. Thanks for the pico Di! 

AlaskaCooks website

What a week! Elliott is doing both numbers on the loo and dressing himself up. WOHOO! His outfits have been strange to say the least. I am a perfectionist, have been and always will be about CERTAIN things. Being neatly dressed, pressed and ready to go are numero Uno, frosting a cake dead last on my drive for perfection, the latter I call lack of patience! Now, with Elliott exerting independence towards getting dressed, I have had to change my perfectionist mindset. Slightly painful, but its so darn funny you have to let go. Today's outfit consists of black and white polar bear underwear on backwards (they look like speedo's and the back half is so tight his butt checks are hanging out), a maroon/cream sleeper top as an undershirt, a long sleeve brown and white check top layered very nicely over the sleeper top, a pair of Erik's denim overall's (they look like skin tight shorts and it's almost reminiscent of something out of the 80's). Quite the combination, all I can do is smile and say what a great job he has done getting himself ready for the day. 

I finally added music to our blog page, the first song reminds me of Malia and will always bring tears to my eyes when I hear it and think of her. Love my little girl!