GIVEAWAY: "All I Can Handle" by Kim Stagliano

I don't read "autism books".  Having spent every day of the past five years dealing with autism, thinking about autism, living with autism, the last thing I want to do in my free time is read about autism.  However, as with everything in life, there are a few exceptions.  I do take the time to read medically based books if they come with strong recommendations from my fellow moms dealing with the A word.  The other exception is books with a sense of humor.  First and foremost among those was Jenny McCarthy's Louder than Words.  It blew me away and when I passed it on to my in-laws in completely changed our relationship.  They suddenly understood better what I was dealing with on a day to day basis.  The challenges and fears that accompany parenting  a child you can never begin to understand.

But then there are those people who I can't even begin to fathom what they have to deal with on a day to day basis.  Those that whenever I feel sorry for myself I say, "Hey, at least it's as bad as ___________"  Today, I want to introduce you to one of those amazing warrior moms who I fill in the blank with.  Kim Stagliano has not one, not two, but THREE kids with autism.  And three girls to boot.  Normally when someone tells me they have three daughters, me, mother of 3 sons, jokingly says, "I'm so sorry."  But can you imagine?  Three sets of raging girl hormones.  And autism to boot.  Good Lord!




Kim has shared her journey in a fantastic new book, All I Can Handle: I'm No Mother Teresa (A Life Raising Three Daughters With Autism).  I've often flirted with idea of doing a talk or presentation on "The Lighter Side of Autism" or something along those lines.  Kim does something similar in her new book.  You will laugh along as she describes her dirty little Howard Stern secret.  You will cringe as you travel the painful path with her of missed signs.  You will experience the frustration of "normal" test results, well-meaning but clueless friends & families, undertrained teachers and a myriad of other experiences.  


If you are an autism parent like me, a parent of 3 kids (also like me), someone who is dealing with job insecurities and relocations (yup, we are three for three) or just someone who enjoys a slice of life look at a life less typical, you are sure to enjoy All I Can Handle.


I just realized I keep calling Ms. Stagliano by her first name, Kim, but that's because after reading her book, her blog, her website and being facebook friends for the last few months I feel as if I know her.  Not only do I know her, but I like her too.  And apparently she likes me a bit as well.  Why?  Because she gave me a copy of her book to give away to one of you!


Just leave a comment to this post, be sure to give me a way to get in touch with you, and on November 13th (Sparky's 40th birthday!) I will announce a winner.  No special requirements, but I would love it if you would hit up one of Kim's sites and give her some love.  Because she is no Mother Teresa, but she is a fellow autism mom and we could all use a little more love in our lives.

The past month...

It has been a month of grieving.  I didn't even realize I was grieving, but apparently I was.  I stopped cooking, stopped blogging, stopped working, stopped knitting, stopped spinning (because my drive band snapped, but still....), pretty much stopped everything.

I haven't seen my friends, I haven't gone to the library or grocery store, haven't hit my favorite happy hour spot, haven't put any new music on my mp3 player or visited my local coffee shop.  Haven't. Done. Anything.

All I could do was put one foot in front of the other & get through the day.  But today that is officially over.  I have to get my life back to where it was.  To the happy place that I have made my world.

And that all starts by getting back into my routine.  And a huge part of that routine is blogging.  So I am back -- not better then ever, but back at least.

Our regularly scheduled program will resume tomorrow. Thank you for your patience.

moving forward...

So I am mostly back on my feet after the mind shattering pain that was my grandmother's death & funeral.  She died a week ago today.  We buried her on Friday.  I now understand the saying "wracked with grief".  I didn't know it was possible to cry so hard or have my body shake so badly.  I've never experienced a headache like the one the day after her funeral.  My clinical husband diagnosed me with severe dehydration from crying so much.  Things I didn't know were possible.

I am so glad it is over.  Not grams' life, but her death & funeral.  I can go back to just being her granddaughter.  I don't need to be strong or in charge any longer.  I don't have to make decisions any more.  And most of all, I don't have to worry.  That is the most liberating feeling of all.

Her death was much like the last 16 years of her life -- on her own terms.  While she had cancer for the past 9 months -- check that, we have KNOWN about it for the last 9 months, but she probably had cancer for years -- she only suffered for the final weekend.  And she really only suffered for a few hours before we started plying her with morphine.

At any rate, she is gone.  I will never be the same.  But I have to move forward.  I am actually looking forward to moving forward.

So when I have times like this and all else fails, I go back to my zen.  The thing that brings me the most comfort.  I break out my spinning wheel.  The flow of the fiber through my fingers is a hypnotic, tranquil experience.  It helps me to find my center.  It brings me peace.

Linkie Love

I'm not feeling particularly great today.  I am filled with the owies.

I am learning all about nerve blocks.  Apparently one is in my near future.  I just hope it helps.

Since I don't have a ton to say, I'll hit you with some links of some of the people I love...

UnixSage - my husband

For the Love of Cooking - my oldest son's girlfriend

Painted Spring - my boss

Adventures of the Rock Star Dyer - my co-worker

New Horizons - my favorite college freshman

The Fix My Friend Project - me & my bestie


and last but not least, my work blog - Paca-Blog


Go give them some love.

Today's Boo photos...

medium son giving the boo his morning goodbye hug

boo in full sprint, delighting in the day

Still alive & somewhat kicking

A week with no posts -- gasp!
What happened to that new leaf thing I promised you?

Well, I have a good excuse, a really good excuse, actually.

I spent most of last week in the hospital.

Apparently my body doesn't like me very much.  Or I should say parts of my body, namely my anti-bodies and nerve endings don't like the rest of my body.

So I didn't put the boo on the bus last week.  The ever-amazing O & A took over all parenting duties as I got poked & prodded, injected & had blood draws, laid on tables & inside big thumping machines.  And spent a lot of time just sleeping in a hospital bed.  I watched more TV last week then I have probably watched in the past 3 months.  And daytime TV really sucks.  Now I know why I don't watch!

So anyway, enough about all that.  I am home, I am recovering.  I am a big fan of pain patches.  I now have 3 new doctors; a new surgeon, a new rheumatologist & a new pain specialist. I will go spend quality time with all of them this week.  Oh and I need to go have a sleep study done because they are pretty sure I have sleep apnea too.  fun.

I did not manage to get a good boo waiting for the bus photo today.  Which was a shame because he is quite cute today in his rolled up clam digger pants.  I did snap a pic while he was sitting in the bus.  Yes, that is peanut butter smudged on his face.  All 7 year old boys are allowed to be covered in peanut butter -- it's a rule.

Here is the boo's van, pulling away.  His afternoon van is a more traditional yellow special needs van.  This one is his morning van.  He gets both vans all to himself.  Joys of living in the middle of nowhere -- private chauffeur service to school.

Wanted to share a pic of the beautiful flowers my pseudo-daughter, Randi, brought me while I was in the hospital.  There were more flowers, but Lunos & the boo enjoy dissecting flowers.  Lot's of "she loves me, she loves me not" going on at my house, apparently.  Oh, and the cat is not allowed on the table.  Not that it matters at all to him, but for the record, this is a forbidden activity.

Remember those lovely Waverly printed dish towels I shared with you the other day?  Turns out they are kinda on the tiny side.  Too small to hang traditionally.  So I hung three of the 4 on my kitchen cabinets.  I'm not sure if I like them or not.  

Here is a shot from more of a distance.  Ignoring the stuff on the counter, what do you think?  Oh, and you will notice the cat in the window.  Where he is also not allowed to be.  Because it involves climbing on the table to get there.  As you can see, Lunos completely respects my authority.