Here's to 2013!

Hard to believe a year ago we were ringing in the New Year in the warm heat of the Mexican sun. *sigh*

Image from Google

Wishing you and your family the very best for 2013!

Here's to a Happy Holiday Season!!!

Lucky me got an early Christmas present last week from my new favourite niece GJ! Imagine my surprise when I opened the box (which I thought was one of R's Christmas presents that I had ordered) and in it was something for ME! Could there be anything better suited???  I think not. At a time when one might have a tendency to have a little too much cheer...this will ensure that I maintain a one glass limit.  

My NEW glass on the left holds an entire bottle of wine!

From our family to yours...have a wonderful, holiday season!

"Hallelujah": a Tribute...

Do you hear what I hear? #Monday Listicles

I think I may have put on 10 pounds reading everyone’s lists last week. Just in time for the upcoming holiday season. Hmmm…may need to revamp my Christmas list to include more of the “elastic” variety of pants.

For this week’s Listicles we were given three choices.  “10 Holiday Songs” from Rachee and her sister Mrs. RKFJ OR “10 Songs We Love, Hate or Love to Hate” from Stephanie OR a combination of both as our O’Great Listmaster Stasha suggested. In keeping with the holiday season I went with “10 Holiday Songs”. Clear your throats, put your dancing slippers on and get ready for some Rockin Around the Christmas Tree.

1.      The Christmas Song:  Nat King Cole

Who doesn’t know this song although I have to admit it was only recently that I found out the actual title. I mean really “The Christmas Song”???…whodda thunk it.

2.      Feliz Navidad:  Jose Feliciano

This song, which seems like it has been around forever, was written in 1970. Hmmm come to think of it…hardly forever.

3.      Feliz Navidad:  “Boney M” version

Ahhhh the disco era. I remember it well. I loved this version, which by the way for those who are mocking me right now, was THE best known version in the UK and Europe.

4.      Linus & Lucy:  Vince Guaraldi Trio

Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and of course Christmas were marked by the airing of a Charlie Brown special when I was growing up. Pretty sure a lot of the dialogue would not be considered “politically correct” these days.

5.      Jingle Bell Rock:  Bobby Helms

School dances were never very successful at my high school except for the once a year wait for it…Christmas Square Dance. Yup. Square Dance. I know I come across all hip and with it…this just confirms it right??

6.      Little Saint Nick:  Beach Boys

Did you know this song was written in 1963? I always associated the Beach Boys with sun, sand and surfing. Always felt like they were going to break out into a chorus of My Little Deuce Coupe. What do you think?

7.      Happy Xmas:  John Lennon

I have always loved this song. That is all.

8.      Mary’s Boy Child / Oh My Lord:  Boney M

Yes another Boney M song makes my list. You are either with me here or feel free to move along.

9.      Do They Know It’s Christmas:  Band Aid

This song was written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 to raise money for relief of the famine in Ethiopia. The well known "We Are the World" came out the following year.

10.   Home - Christmas Version 2012:  Blake Shelton ft. Michael Buble 

If you only listen to one song in this list, I hope you take the 3:48 for this version of Michael Buble’s original and one of my favourite songs. Here is a clip from Michael Buble’s Christmas Special. He and Blake Shelton performed this duet which they dedicated to all the men and women serving in the Military. Loved it!

Go to YouTube and listen to the original version of Home here and the Christmas version here. 

Do you have a memorable Christmas song?  Is it from the past or present?  Please leave me your choice and don't forget to head over to Stasha's to see what everybody is listening to.  9 more days... 

A Special "O" Visit from Santa

Sung to the tune of the "Brady Bunch":

Here’s a story,

Of a boy named Riley,

Who was 4 when we found out ‘bout ASD,

Life would never be the same,

It would be different,

Humour...it would be key.

Then came Christmas,

It was so stressful,

Santa was a stranger dressed up all in red,

Loud and jolly,

He was so scary,

Someone who Ri would dread.

Fourteen years would pass before a Santa picture,

Could be done without tears and flaying arms,

Now he laughs and smiles for the camera,

Never dreamt, this miracle at Christmas time!

It’s Christmas time…

It’s Christmas time…

Still 11 days until it’s Christmas time!



Riley's conversation with Santa went like this:

Santa:  What would you like for Christmas?
Riley:   (spoken with R's usual enthusiasm) Frosty the Snowman, Shrek the Halls, Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas and Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas.
Santa:  I will see what I can do for you.
Riley:   Yes!  (all happy and bouncing back to his seat)

We heard all about it over and over AND over all. the. way. home. The magic of Christmas never gets old in Riley World and THAT...is a good thing!  :D

Christmas Blast from the Past #Wordless Wednesday

Christmas 1999

Go for it. You know you want to. Best caption wins...GO!

Christmas 2010

We Riley still has 13. More. Days to "wait patiently"......*sigh*

Tis the Season of Eating... #Monday Listicles

And so the countdown begins. The house is decorated, the tree is up and Riley is waiting ever-so-patiently for Christmas. Baahaaahaaa…yea right. As the old Meatloaf song goes Two out of three ain’t bad right?

Bridget came up with this week’s Monday Listicles topic:  “10 Things Food” since "it’s the season of eating right?"  Why yes…yes it is. Where do I begin. 

I love all things Christmas! I remember the magic of Santa growing up, playing Blackjack after Christmas dinner with the adults when we were kids and best of all being able to eat whatever we wanted and not having to worry about those ummm 5 or so…wait…who am I kidding here…10+ extra pounds. *sigh*

So in the spirit of Christmas I am going to take a walk down memory lane with some of my favourite memories of Christmas foods when I was growing up and how things have evolved over the years

1.      Pop and Bits & Bites:  A treat on weekends when we were growing up was “a” as in one pop. However at Christmas…the pop flowed freely along with the very seasonal Bits & Bites. Pretzels were the first to go leaving a bowl of undesirable Shreddies. Who even likes Shreddies... well besides G’s brother?!?   

2.      Wine and Cheese:  Now that I am all grown up…wine flows freely and I have discovered fancy-schmancy taste treats like brie and my new found favourite “Applewood Smoked Cheddar”.

3.      Icy Cups:  Who remembers these foil wrappers?  We used to save them, pound them flat and make crafts with them. Stores like Michaels did not exist and if you needed popsicle sticks for that log cabin…get licking!

4.      Toffifay:  “Toffifay is too good for kids!”  Advertising in the 70’s…it’s no wonder I stockpile these as an adult.

5.      Mixed Nuts:  You knew Christmas was close when the bowl of mixed nuts and crackers appeared. All natural and childproof. 

6.      Pistachios:  The senior-friendly nut. With an increase in age comes a decrease in fine motor skills so back to the basics of using your bare hands to crack these suckers. Salt being an added bonus.

7.      Cabbage Rolls:  My mom used to make cabbage rolls only at Christmas. I guess because she was the only one who ate them. It wasn’t until later that I realized it was not just a Christmas food.

8.      Sweet Potato Pie:  Listed as one of the 10 everyday super foods, sweet potatoes have now become one of our turkey side dishes although I am pretty sure it was meant sans the melted butter and brown sugar topping.

9.      Japanese Oranges:  If you were really, REALLY lucky you might find an orange or two in the bottom of your stocking on Christmas morning. Back when I was growing up mandarin oranges came from Japan, were individually wrapped in green tissue, were packed in a wooden box and only available at Christmas time (or that’s how I remember it).

10.  Santa Strawberries:  Something new for 2012! Saw these on Pinterest or FB and had to give them a whirl. So cute and pretty darn tasty too! Yes I made these ones.

What do you like to indulge in over the holiday season?  Don't forget to head over to our hostess extraordinaire Stasha's place to see what everybody else came up with.

10 Reasons I am an Awesome Autism Mom! #Monday Listicles

This week’s topic “10 Reasons I am Great” was suggested by “Bonny” who blogs over at The Bonny Bard. I am sure many of you are thinking this would be a snap for me. Right?  Ummm…haaallooo?? 

Well like Stasha, I was in a panic. My very first Listicles topic was “My 10 Superpowers” which I pretty much nailed I mean…where I shared my not-so-hidden talents. That’s better. Having to come up with even more ways that I am great was a little too much for this old brain.

Since I have been *ahem* neglecting my blog a little lately, I have decided to kill two topics with one post and go with 10 Reasons I am an Awesome Autism Mom! *patting myself on the back*

1.      I still cut the crusts off Riley’s sandwiches and cut them into quarters. Yes I know he is 18. Need I remind you any visible signs of brown are unacceptable and will result in that quarter or likely the entire sandwich being tossed in the garbage.

2.      I use a small sieve to catch the green flecks in the seasoning packets of R’s Mr. Noodles.

3.      The first time Riley lied to me I was so excited and wanted to high five him! Did I mention he was around 12?  OK slight exaggeration but not too far off. R is brutally honest and the idea of intentionally lying in Riley World well...does not really exist. 

4.      I answer and ask the same questions over and over and over again. Every. Single. Day.

5.      I shop at multiple grocery stores because R only likes certain brands of food.

6.      I sit in the backseat so Riley can ride shotgun.

7.      “If it’s not too late you will call me?” Whenever I go out Riley likes me to call him on my way home and pick him up McD’s (medium fries in a small brown bag and small sprite with no ice please). The reception when I get home is SO worth the $4.35 every. single. time.

8.      I am constantly offering to buy Riley things because, until recently, he NEVER asked for anything…EVER. I would even buy the same DVDs over and over and over again as gifts because that was all R wanted/asked for. You’re welcome Disney.

9.      I am a short order cook and make R a separate dinner pretty much every night. Thankfully he only has about 3 items on his “menu”.

10.   I am only an awesome autism mom because I have practiced the same things over and over AND over again! Need I say more. Oish.  

  Could you say no to this face???

Helloooo December!

I can’t believe it has been almost 2 weeks since my last post!  Were you worried???

December has finally arrived which means Christmas in Riley World. Oh joy. Nothing has changed in the patience department for Riley since last year. We STILL get to hear over…and over…AND OVER that it is December and he is waiting patiently for Christmas.

For those new to our adventures it goes something like this:

It’s December. Is it Christmas?  Waits for a response from someone…"No not yet”.  I need to wait patiently.

What do I want for Christmas?  No response necessary as he rattles off his list of desired DVD’s.

I need to wait patiently.  What do I need to wait?  Slight pause but no response required.  Patiently.

It’s not Christmas yet.  Followed immediately by…  Is it Christmas yet?  Not yet.

When is Christmas?  Christmas is in December.  A response is required here so R waits for someone to ask “When is Christmas?”   December 25^th.

What do I want to open on December 25th?  Puurrresents.

Pretty sure I will be out looking for some noise-cancelling headphones for MYSELF this weekend and the Magic of Christmas...well that hasn't changed much since last year either.  *sigh*

24. MORE. DAYS.......