bountifulplate

What if you had the chief of pediatric rheumatology at a well renowned hospital in the Midwest, look you right in the eye after four visits and tell you that even though your child had the positive genetic marker and the family history for an autoimmune disorder called ankylosing spondylitis  that wasn't what she had? What if you had been told your child was, "failing to thrive" at age 14 and you watched as her weight plummeted to under 90 pounds, feeling helpless and unable to help her? The child I am talking about is my daughter, Lauren.  When the chief of rheumatology looked at me that day and told me basically that nothing was wrong with my child, I knew that something had to change immediately. I needed to stand up and speak up. I was not going to give up, it's just not in my nature. I have advocated tirelessly for Dominic since he was diagnosed with Autism at age 2 1/2 and with Lauren it was ...

It was so much easier to dress my teenage daughter when she was little.  She would wear whatever I gave her to wear!!   She has known from an early age that my approach to clothes shopping for her is to know exactly what we are looking for, it be on sale, and to get the heck out of the store as quickly as possible. This past weekend we went looking for bathing suits and denim shorts for her.  My lone request was that both the shorts and bathing suits have adequate body "coverage."  It was a simple request (or so I thought).  Wow, has anybody out there been shopping lately for a teenage girl? Let's just say, the styles have changed quite a bit since I was a teenager!!  I can remember when she needed to find a white shirt for an orchestra performance, back when she was in middle school.  I don't even know how many stores we went to, but it was virtually IMPOSSIBLE to find a white shirt that didn't have some form of writing on it.  I th...

This is my first entry on my blog.  I have thought about doing this for some time and decided to just jump right in! I want this blog to be open to anyone!  A little about myself - I was born and raised in the Washington, DC area. We moved to the Midwest shortly after 9/11 and have now been here over 9 years.   I feel like I have experienced quite a lot in my 48 years on this earth.  I have challenges just like everyone else, but food has always been a passion of mine.  I cook and/or bake every day.  I guess you could call it a hobby :)  I plan on using this blog to connect with others out there that have challenging lives and just want to talk, be it about food or just about the kind of day you've had.   I have an amazing stepson, so I have experience with that.  I have a son with Autism, so I can speak to that.  I have experienced the loss of both of my in-laws, so I can speak to that.  I have aging parents, so I can speak to...