Last Minute Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

May 8, 2019May 19, 2019 cloepottorff

If any of you are like me, you forget or procrastinate until the very last moment for everything. I love holidays but sometimes I wait until the last few days to get gifts or plan a day out. I also like to give unique, meaningful gifts – the ones that are never expected. So, I’ve created a short list of some last minute, special gift ideas for Mother’s Day.

Chocolate and Wine

Every mom loves chocolate and deserves wine, so why not give her both! I found this on Pinterest and loved the idea.

Erasable Message Board

This one is simple and cheap! Grab a picture frame from the dollar store and then you insert a blank paper and attach a dry eraser marker. You can write any message on it and change it whenever you want!

Mother’s Day in a Jar

Again, grab a huge jar from the dollar store and fill with some fun items like: nail polish, candy, chapstick, etc.

Family

Autism Awareness Month: More than a Diagnosis

April 30, 2019April 30, 2019 cloepottorff

I am privileged to know so many wonderful parents that have children on the spectrum. I thought it would be interesting to ask parents of kids with autism and people with autism as well, to describe them using one word/phrase. What I got back from everyone was such an amazing array of descriptions 😊 I have listed 75 of the responses below.

Amazing and wonderful
Hilarious
Very emotional 😭 she is so extra
Crazy
Passionate
Caring
Charm
Lovable
Cannot use one word to describe my two x although my no diagnosed husband could be described with the word ****head
One twin is wild and the other is special
Thoughtful
Genius
Sweetest
Crazy, crafty, cheeky, lovely, snuggly, on the go 24/7 if he could
Happy
Intelligent
Content
Kindness
Insightful
Energized
Gorgeous
Explorer
Awesome
Perfection
Unique
Extraordinary
Compassionate and kind
Inspiring and fearless
Creative
Curious
Messy
Exciting
Strong
Outgoing
Brilliant
Worthy
Fun
Loving
Special
Empathetic
Sociable
Talented
Intense
Fascinating
Bubbly
Unstoppable
Quirky
Sunny
Happy feet
Focused
Determined
Handsome
Advocate
Wonderful
Unpredictable
Spirited
Miracle warrior
Giggles
Friendly
Innovative
Encyclopedia
Smart
Truthful
Comedian
Tinker
Strong willed
Stubborn
Exceptional

Brave
Adventurous
Enthusiastic
Quiet
Ray of sunshine
Animal lover
Best friend

All of these responses melted my heart, made me laugh and were so honest. Thank you to all that gave me their response and this shows just how an autism diagnosis isn’t all that defines them. They are so much more and I am so blessed to have the children I have. This is my last post for Autism Awareness Month 💙💙💙

Family

Autism Awareness Month: The Diet Challenges Of Children On The Spectrum

April 13, 2019April 13, 2019 cloepottorff

All kids can be picky eaters at one point or another, they want sweets over vegetables or don’t like pasta. On the other hand, parents of children on the spectrum know this is an understatement of their child’s eating habits and face daily challenges just getting their kids to eat.

Causes of Feeding Problems

There is an array of reasons a child on the spectrum won’t eat certain foods or refuses altogether. Some reasons include:

Oral Motor Skills – A child may have a jaw weakness that may prevent them from chewing his/her food. It can prevent proper chewing and processing of food.

Behavioral/Rigidity – Some kids with ASD have a form of OCD and get set in their ways when it comes to what they like to eat. This makes it difficult to introduce new foods or balance their diet.

Sensory Issues – If this is the case, they may avoid foods based on the smell, color, texture or even temperature.

Digestive Problems – If something causes stomach aches or acid reflux, a child may avoid it. By going to a gastroenterologist, parents can rule out digestive issues.

Lack of Self-Awareness – Some kids will over-eat or under-eat. They may eat until they vomit or eat a few things and stop not realizing they are still hungry.

My Own Challenges

I have two children on the spectrum and both have different issues when it comes to eating.

Leo – He is very sensory based and rigid when it comes to his eating. He smells everything he eats, even if it’s something he has had before. He can smell things I can’t even smell and we (our pediatrician and myself) believe he may have a higher sense of smell. For example, we made pancakes the other morning for breakfast and this time we added in a hint of cinnamon. The second we put the pancakes down in front of him, he started crying saying he didn’t like them. We took the plate back and added a plain pancake under the original. He literally took the top pancake off saying he didn’t like it and began eating the plain one. Also, he gets stuck in his way of having the same thing over and over again because it’s “safe,” he knows he likes it.

Lexi – She is behavioral, rigid and lacks some self awareness. We can trick her into eating something as long as she doesn’t know. One example, she will drink the kids Danimals yogurt but won’t eat a regular Yoplait yogurt. However, if I put the regular yogurt in the Danimals container, she will eat it. Just like Leo, she gets stuck in the habit of wanting the same things over and over again. Now with her lack of self awareness, we have to make sure she doesn’t just eat chicken nuggets all day long. She could have that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – no problems. Obviously that isn’t a great diet, so we have to tell her no and deal with a bit of a crying fit before she will accept something else.

Their diet is limited because of these issues and we try to balance it out as best we can with supplements. But the list of foods they will eat is pretty short for kids their age

Breakfast

Eggs
Pancakes

Lunch/Dinner

Chicken Nuggets (Only Chick-fil-A or Dino Nuggets)
Danimals Yogurt
Nutella Sandwich (we are working on PBJ)
Plain noodles
Mac n Cheese

Snacks/Treats

Apples, bananas and strawberries (so thankful for this!)
Muffins (only chocolate)
Cookies (only chocolate or peanut butter)
White rice
Chips (only plain or cheese)
Ice cream (vanilla or chocolate)
Cake pops (they each have a specific one)
Popcorn
Goldfish/Graham Crackers

This is a Complete list of what they will eat!

A Few Helpful Tips

Keep mealtimes calm and stress-free.

Set a routine for mealtimes.

Create a visual plan around mealtime.

Teach rules about serving sizes.

Look for signs of food intolerances.

Look into supplements to fill in the gaps.

Well, I hope y’all enjoying reading through my own experience and tips. If this was new information, then I hope it helps you understand other that deal with this daily.

Thank you so much! Please feel free to post your comments or questions below!

Cloe 💋

Family

Life: Then and Now – 10 Year Challenge

January 15, 2019January 15, 2019 cloepottorff

Everyone has been doing the 10 year challenge on social media this past week. I don’t feel like a picture of 2009 self vs 2019 self does justice of all that has changed in my life over the past 10 years. I figured a bit more detail would really show how much life for me has evolved.

2009

I was going to college, taking GE
I was single
I was working at a restaurant as a server
Enjoyed staying out late
Living at home
Shy and trying to find myself

2019

I have 3 Associates Degrees, still working on my BA and eventually my MA
I’m married with three wonderful little ones
I am currently a stay at home mom
Enjoy my early evenings
Looking to buy our first house
Confident in who I am

I am so happy with how my life has gone. In these past 10 years, I have married the funniest, most loyal man and had three crazy and sweet kids. There is nothing I would change. The good, the bad; it all made me the person I am today and I would love it all again if it meant being right where I am now.

Advice/Tips, Family

Mama Motivation

November 19, 2018November 18, 2018 cloepottorff

Life as a parent comes with joy, humor, excitement and love; but it also comes with frustration, exhaustion, stress and sadness.

In those low moments as a parent, finding a silver lining can make a world of difference to your outlook on life and family.

Being a mom of three is crazy; being a mom of three and two have special needs – insane! However, I always find a positive outlook to all the negative that comes with disabilities.

Just this past week, I had an early IEP (Individualized Education Program), scheduled a 3 day EEG and scheduled an audiology appointment (daughter might need a hearing aid). To top it all off, I took my daughter to the ER for a severely infected ingrown toenail, which they had to scalpel open. This is not including our regular schedule of therapy and preschool.

When I tell anyone about all this craziness, they always have some of the same questions for me. How do you do it all? Doesn’t this stress you out? Don’t you get worn out? Honestly, motivation is all that keeps me going.

My motivation is my children. I have to push past my stress of all I need to do, push past my sadness for what my children are going to have to endure; and give them reassurance that everything is under control and they will be okay with anything that comes our way. I show them that just because something bad happens, it doesn’t mean I give up or break down. That doesn’t mean I don’t take small moments to deal with my emotions but I get my feelings out and then get back to work.

The silver linings I found in the possibility that my daughter might be partially deaf in one ear – she can still hear with her right ear and once we get a hearing aid for her, her speech with improve as well!

The silver lining in going to the ER today – I was forced to make all my calls and schedule appointments since there was nothing else to do. Plus, some focused time on how my daughter felt while my son spent some quality time with grandma.

In all that happens in our life, we can learn from the struggles and help others in the same situation. Be thankful for what you have and realize that there is so much more to be thankful for than we give credit.

Hope this gave you a more positive outlook and some ideas for your own motivation in life!

Family

Long Lost Family, Finally Found

September 6, 2018September 6, 2018 cloepottorff

My father was never a part of my life growing up. My mom told me about him and always said that once I was older she would help me contact him and reconnect if I ever wanted.

Through the years, my mom tried to keep as much current information on my father available for when the time came. In her searching, she found out he had another child. I had a half brother and we were close in age.

My mom contacted his mother and told her the situation. She did not want us to tell her son until he was 18 years old. So, we played the waiting game and when he turned 18 we started the search for him. After a couple weeks of sorting through what must have been hundreds of Facebook accounts, we found him!

I sent him a message explaining everything and it took a bit to finally confirm that we were related. He is in the Air Force so it was difficult to set up a time and place to meet. So over the next 6 years we kept in touch and finally, over this last summer, we met face-to-face.

My half brother spent a little over a week at our place, spending quality time with me and the kids. We share so much in common that I don’t share with the siblings I grew up around. He got to celebrate Lexi’s birthday and we surprised him on his birthday. Also, we got matching tattoos together. It is in Japanese and means family – he got it on his left chest area and mine is on my left shoulder blade area. We chose Japanese since that is the strongest shared ethnicity between us.

While he was here, my mom was able to find and get in touch with our paternal uncle. We all met up and got to meet his daughters too, so our cousins. It was a crazy few weeks meeting all this new family.

A couple months passed and in that time, my mom got a hold of my biological father. We planned to meet for dinner and to make it less chaotic, my husband kept the kids while I went with just the baby. I was nervous to meet him and hoped things would go ok. When I got to the restaurant, it was like seeing an old friend. We hugged and just started talking right away about what our daily lives are like and about ourselves. We ended up having so much in common! It turned out to be a great meeting and we plan on more in the future.

He works a ton and usually is out of the country which means long periods of time between us seeing each other. But we keep in touch, by text and email. Another thing to look forward to, he visits Japan often and said he’d love for me and my family to go with him sometime so I could meet other relatives that live near Tokyo, Japan.

From all of this, I learned a lot about my family but also about myself and where I get certain characteristics. I now have even more family than before and am so thankful for each of them. I keep in touch with all of them and am looking forward to what the future may hold. I even learned about my extended family.

Some of the most interesting things I learned about my family and ancestors was that many were put into camps on Hawaii during World War II due to being Japanese. My grandmother also witnessed Hiroshima but was far enough away to not suffer the aftermath. My grandfather was close friends with Jimmy Hoffa and supposedly worked with him. All of these things amaze me and really strengthen my pride in each nationality.

I am so thankful to have been given this opportunity to meet them all and get along with each one. I am also very proud of where I came from and the journey to this point that has made me who I am. I never would want to be different than who I am today.

Family, Opinion

Autism: Different Therapy Options

April 17, 2018 cloepottorff

April is Autism Awareness Month so I have decided to go into the different therapies that my son receives and just explain the purpose of each.

All of the following are my own personal experiences and understanding of each type of therapy. None of this should be taken for what you will experience. This is for informational purposes only.

ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis)

I feel this one is the most important for kids with autism. It is an in-home therapy that works on behavior, areas of developmental delays and almost any issue that your child is dealing with that is not age appropriate.

Right now, my son receives 10 hours a week of therapy and during those sessions, they work on:

Speech
Fine Motor Skills (Cutting, coloring)
Basic Social Skills (His name and age, turn taking)
Self Care (Washing hands, brushing teeth)

Speech

This one is a given since our biggest issue with my son is a speech delay. He has broken sentences and about 50 to 75 words but most people have a hard time understanding him since he has a mild slur as well.

He goes to individual speech twice a week for half and hour each time. Plus, an hour once a week as preschool.

Since he started speech, I’ve notice an improvement in his receptive speech, expressive speech and articulation.

OT (Occupational Therapy)

This one is helpful for some of my sons more mild challenges of sensory issues.

They help him with eating – he is a VERY picky eater and does not like too much variety. When I say this, I’m meaning he I’ll only eat a few things.

Chicken nuggets
Apple sauce pouches (only in the pouches)
Bananas, strawberries, apples
Muffins
Eggs
Nutella Sandwich
Chips

That is it. No other foods. So daily, this is all he will eat. He won’t try anything else.

So they help try to expose him to new foods and get him to at least taste the food. He goes to OT once a week for an hour.

Special Autism Preschool (IEP)

This may be my favorite therapy for Leo. He gets to go to a preschool, specific for kids with mild disabilities, for a little over two hours every day during the week.

I enjoy knowing Leo is getting social time with peers, he is out of the house and they work on things to prep him for kindergarten. Plus, they incorporate speech and OT into his learning to help reinforce what he is learning outside of the classroom.

I’ve notice a boost in Leo’s confidence and all other areas since he started preschool. Also, he loves school! He will get sad when I pick him up and is so excited when I drop him off. Knowing he loves school makes it easier to drop him off.

Well, that’s all the therapy Leo gets but I know there are a ton more out there for kids with different issues or more severity. Currently, Lexi is also taking part in all these therapies but for slightly different reasons, she does not have a diagnosis yet.

If you have any questions or would like to share a different therapy you, a family member or friend takes part in, feel free to share in the comments!

Thank you for reading!

Cloe 💋

Opinion

Autism Awareness Month Q&A

April 16, 2017April 16, 2017 cloepottorff

So I’m just going to post a few questions I received and my answers. All answers are my opinion or point of view, not all my experiences will be the same for someone else dealing with autism. No two people with autism have the same symptoms or issues.

Q: What did you think when you found out he had autism?

A: Surprisingly, I was more relieved than anything because now had a plan of how to deal with whatever was thrown my way. If you are wanting more of my diagnosis experience, check out my past blog post on it.

Q: How has that changed your life?

A: It hasn’t changed that much. He goes to preschool like other kids but it’s a mild special needs class that works on speech. My life with autism isn’t that much different besides making sure he gets therapy to help in the areas he has delays.

Q: Is there anything he isn’t able to do since he’s autistic?

A: Not really. The only thing I can think of is maybe some independent things since he can’t talk too much yet and isn’t potty trained yet.

Q: Is he on a special diet?

A: Yes, but very mild restrictions. He can’t have dairy but that is it. I substitute milk with coconut milk and chocolate with carob chips. Cheese is the only hard one since there are substitutes but he doesn’t like the taste.

Q: How did you know he was autistic?

A: When he was about 1 years old, he was very antisocial, didn’t babble or make eye contact, didn’t play with toys but was fascinated by wheels and light up toys. He didn’t respond to his name or understand simple instructions. Had issues with textures and restrictive clothing. They just seemed odd and I asked to make sure he was ok. Nothing wrong with those behaviors unless they would interfere with his future life. Started therapy and saw major improvements.

Hope this was informational and thank you all for the questions. Let me know what you thing in the comments!

Happy Easter!! 🐣🐇🐰
Love, Cloe 💋

Family

World Autism Awareness Day

April 2, 2017April 2, 2017 cloepottorff

Today is World Autism Awareness Day and you can show your Awareness by wearing blue.

April is Autism Awareness Month, so for this month I’ll be posting about autism and doing a Q&A for any of you with questions.

Autism has good stories – thankfully. But it also has its heartache, challenges and tireless effort. I’d like to share both sides to having a child with autism.

Many people don’t understand autism in the least. I’ve had my share of experiences with people not knowing what it is he has.

Autism is the least funded disability in the U.S. effecting the most children.

So, please send me your questions for me to answer and I’ll be posting more soon on autism.

Love, Cloe 💙

Family, Relationships

Family Reunion: 100 Years, 5 Generations, 1 Blessed Family

March 13, 2017January 4, 2019 cloepottorff

My family is close and we all keep in touch no matter the distance between us all. So it was no question whether or not we would be flying to Texas for a family reunion that was taking place along with my great grandmothers 100th birthday.

We planned to fly out there a few days before the reunion/birthday to settle in and plan everything. We wanted to make the most out of a 4 day trip without too many complications.

So when it came time to fly, it was my whole family all together on the same flight; this includes my mom and sister, younger brother and niece, my husband and our two toddlers plus myself. It was a large party all trying to rearrange our seats so the kids were happy but had an adult with them.

Once we landed, my aunt and grandpa were there to drive all of us back to my grandpas place for the night. We all stayed up late talking and just spending quality time together.

The next day was spent with my grandpa since he wasn’t able to make it to the reunion. We had dinner with my aunt and her kids; we were a huge group considering it was just my mom and aunt with their kids.

The next morning, we packed everything up and drove from Dallas area to near Waco for the reunion. It was a blast being reintroduced to distant relatives and getting to reconnect with others since we all live far away.

And lastly, celebrating My great grandmas 100th birthday was an amazing milestone and quite the experience.