Foodie- quinoa salad

This is a pretty easy one and so yummy.

I make quinoa and mix with black beans and corn then throw on this orange Vinaigrette.

Orange because I'm lazy, I have them and did I mention I'm lazy???

Toss together and serve warm, or cold! Oh, this needs salt but it's SOOOOOOO good!!!

Playdates

Playdates are just so awesome. Seriously. Letting the kids wander and play and be kids while parents get some much needed adult time.

It also gives me time to look at my son with his peers. How he does with them. Does he play with them? Does he stay alone? Does he follow and try and engage?

My life, always on.

More of that "HURRY UP!!!! WAIT!!!" Crap.

I really doubt people who do this therapy bullshit for kids have had to navigate this shit.

Honestly.

Today's Therapy eval did not go well. I am not happy and I'm left feeling more alone and frustrated.

The first thing they did was tell me 'Since your son has high functioning Autism e qualifies for supplemental visits.. . .'

I stopped her right there and asked who said that. Who diagnosed him? She couldn't tell me. She implied that I told them that he has been diagnosed.

Since Theraplay doesn't diagnose, they only treat, they can not give him a diagnosis. Without a diagnosis my insurance will not pay for anything. It would be $100 out of pocket for every visit, if I purchase a block of 10 visits, it's only $850.

Wait, there's more.

They recommend that he has, to start, 12 weeks of biweekly visits, so 24 visits.

IF we get a diagnosis that contains ASD we would have our visits covered. Ok. Who gives that diagnosis? The Developmental Pediatrician who has a wait of 8-10 months. 

What else can I do?! "Oh, you might qualify for state insurance, we take Keystone Mercy, but they just closed open enrollment so you'd have to go on that waiting list too."

What about IU? "They don't diagnosis either, and they have a long wait."

Can I try another pediatrician? "CHOP is an 18 month wait just to get on the list to get an appointment." (WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.)

Or, they told me, that I can go to a developmental pediatrician that doesn't take insurance and get the diagnosis from them or from a Pediatric Psychologist.

Well, itsn't that fucking lovely.

I want to give up, but I won't. More than likely I will flick them all off and go at this alone. 

Theraplay

Today is our second screening. I've been talking it up for 24 hours.

I'm quite apprehensive but keeping it to myself, gotta point that out lest someone mentions I'm projecting it onto him.

I don't care what he has, really. Just please, Universe, make this painless. 

Foodie- Oven Baked Fried Chicken

 Hubs makes some amazing fried chicken, but that is in the deep frier! I wanted to try to make something more healthy, like oven baking it.

Well, tonight I made this oven baked fried chicken and it was quite good!!!

I used three chicken breasts, corn starch, eggs, corn flakes, pink salt and EVOO.

That's it.

I sliced the chicken into strips, dipped them in corn starch, then beat eggs, then rolled them around in ground up corn flakes and I put them on a cookie sheet.

PRO TIP: You know those cooling racks you use to cool off cookies? PUT THAT ON THE COOKIE SHEET. That way the bottom of the chicken doesn't get mushy or wet! They cook evenly!!

 Doesn't that look awesome? 25 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit!!

I also made sweet potato fries and cooked them at the same time! Everything in the oven at once!

Gotta love easy cooking!

Zoo Day

 Today was a Zoo day. We are lucky enough to have a zoo membership pass so we can go as often as we'd like. I prefer to go on days that are cooler than 90 degrees Fahrenheit, but we braved it anyway. When we first got there it was a little bit of a transitioning issue. First he wanted to see the 'nakes' and turtles and frogs but then was quickly over that.

I was stressed because we were there with friends and who really wants to hang out with a child who is constantly melting down and a mom who is trying to not cry because she doesn't want to loose yet another friend.

We sat and had some lunch and both the boys started flipping out because they didn't want to sit and eat, they wanted to run and yeah. We sat.

As soon as we were done eating the other kids wanted to go on the Train (our Zoo has a kids train) but my son didn't want anything to do with that.

Then we came to the Lorax kids area. The other kids were off and running and Liam hung back for a bit until he saw his friends having a really good time. This is why I often beg for kids to come out with us, so Liam has a transitioning partner. Someone to mentally hold his hand as he leaps off.

 And leap off he did.

Once upstairs he found a puddle to splash in and wheels to turn. Things to climb in and on and that was the turning point. He was out of his shell, no longer afraid, he wanted to GO.

 And go he did.

 Our zoo also just added a kids zoo called 'Kids U' (or kids university) and it's really awesome. In it they have rope ladders, slides, all kinds of things that let kids be kids. And he loves it.

 This is above me, I was sitting on the ground with the baby trying to convince him that having some boob was a grand idea. I failed.

TA DA!!! Down the slide!

 And inside Kids U there is a rat farm full of these lovely female rats that know how to go in the litterbox!!! He wants one. Truth be told, I kinda want one too.

All in all we had an amazing day! He had fun and really enjoyed himself!

Freak Out

I'm trying to not freak out right now. I called to 'verify benefits' with our insurance company and I was sent to a page that said this:

Aetna policies typically exclude coverage for services, treatment, education testing, or training related to learning disabilities or developmental delays.  When the policy has such an exclusion, occupational therapy is not covered when the primary or the only diagnosis for a member is mental retardation or a learning disability such as a perceptual handicap, brain damage not caused by accidental injury or illness, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, or developmental delay. 


What the actual fuck!?  They acknowledge that they are learning disabilities, something that places a child at a disadvantage but they refuse to cover it?!

I'm just going to sit here for a moment, cry and then pull up my superhero panties and kick some red tape ass.