Happy New Year

It seems kind of strange to be venting in one post already today, and in the same breath wishing everyone a happy new year, but this is the way things go. You vent, you feel better, find a little gratitude and go on.

Today, the sun is shining and my son laid down for a nap. Did you hear the angels sing?

I am making my shrimp egg rolls for New Years, and probably taking down the Christmas ornaments and hanging out tonight on the couch with my husband...and probably Liberty, too, since somehow I have a feeling he will be up.

Oh well, this is where we are today. It's not glamorous or serene or easy, but it's still our life and we are grateful for it when we can stop and take a breath and remember how much worse it could be, and how really good we have it.

I look forward to new things in the new year, including a new president.

And I wish everybody a bright and shining New Year.

The Truth

When a child is screaming and has no speech to tell you what's wrong, it wears a person out. In fact, it's hard to always be the comforting, compassionate, grown-up in a situation like this. Do it for, oh ,say about five years. See what you look and feel like.

Parents come to me for help because they think I know something. I have a blog. I make good gf/cf graham crackers their children like. I have one of the best DAN! doctors in the world now. We've been down many roads. I have tons of URLs to send out. Most of the time, I appear to keep a positive attitude.

Someone made a remark that I was somehow an expert on autism. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I don't want that crown.

Hey people, I'm out here in the trenches with you. My son is better in many ways, but he is not recovered. I'm hoping for that. I'm working toward that always. But I have my hard times, my moments of doubt, my anger at God and the world and vaccines and...just all of it. The why, why, why that never will be answered. Sure, I know better. But when you're tired, you just feel like throwing in the towel. That's where the, "Surely, I didn't sign up for this" whine comes from.

You know, depriving a person of uninterrupted sleep is part of torture. Then, making them stay up all day and keep moving, always working, cleaning, preparing food, cleaning up food, changing diapers (how many years now?), etc. How can you expect to be okay?

I think I saw at the last DAN! conference a course for parents in how to take care of yourself. If I can just get my son back into school, I can go use the massage gift certificate I got for Christmas. I need a few of those per month. Fifty pounds and he still hangs on my neck and wants me to hold him. My body is sore.

I started taking some of the good supplements that Lib's doctor prescribed for him. I've got to get a grip on my health. I have an appointment in February to get the hormones checked and balanced. The thyroid and adrenal glands are just about shot out. I saw my homeopath last year who told me to get in balance before I slide into good old menopause.

I spend a great deal of time caring for my son, but also trying to manage all of these dark emotions. Dealing with a child with autism permeates every level of your life, marriage not withstanding.

You have to find ways to deal with it, manage it. I need a break. I don't have the money to pay anyone, though. I recall that I used to use exercise as a way to feel better and maintain my sanity. I stopped that this summer when the whole DAN! protocol got put into place. I was too tired to put on my shoes and walk. I think I will bundle Liberty up today and just get out and get some good endorphins going.

A blogger friend of mine wrote today about feeling hypocritical, posting about the positive and sometimes living the negative.

It's not hypocritical. We have our good moments and our bad ones. They can't be helped. Some days we are going to allow our well-being in, and other days will be far from it. We need to be able to reach out to people who understand. I've met many moms through this blog who have helped me, albeit across the miles, just to feel a little more connected, like I'm not in this alone. We post about what helps, we vent about our frustrations.

We hope that something positive will eventually come out of this hard situation in which we are living today.

Yes, my friend, in the end, gratitude for what we do have, for what IS going well in our lives, will eventually right our overturned boat and put us back in that stream. Sometimes we just have to wait until the dark shadow passes to get there. Sometimes we need our friends to keep it in perspective.

Thank You Donald Trump!

I thought it was worth posting the link to The Age of Autism for a few articles on Donald Trump's recent comments on autism and vaccinations, if you have not heard about this already.

Trump speaking out on vaccines will give the autism community a further boost, perhaps even help the push for insurance companies to cover treatment. I'm so grateful.

http://www.ageofautism.com/

The twilight zone of Christmas vacation

I have hardly had time to post anything since Christmas, I've been so exhausted.

After Liberty lost his tooth, I never thought to expect another tooth to be pushing its way in. Well, of course, that is what they do. I guess I thought I was done with teething. Liberty developed this strange high-pitched howl about a week or so ago and now I guess it was probably this tooth pushing through, although I don't remember having pain when my permanent teeth came in. That was a million years ago, so maybe I did, I don't know. My mom is not here to ask.

I have not had much sleep in the past few weeks. I finally realized it was probably his tooth that was causing his inability to sleep. I have also started his anti-fungal and he doesn't seem to be having much trouble stomach-wise, but who knows? He won't point to a body part. All I can do is ask "What's wrong?" over and over again to no avail, then he gets frustrated and the crying turns into a tantrum. Poor kid. He can't tell me what he needs. I wind up feeling completely helpless. And this is usually in the wee hours of the morning.

Another unusual behavior is for him to request a DVD to be played, sit and watch it once, then get to a part he doesn't like wherein he brings me the remote. I run it back for him but then he sits and cries. If I turn it off, that is worse. I have then committed the heinous crime. Then, he's just gone, screaming and crying and I'm at the end of my rope. About 20 minutes later, he's over it and onto the next thing.

He had a great Christmas and was very engagable. He has done pretend play with some of his toys. He acknowledged all of my family members, and he did seem to understand what we were saying. He enjoys having them all around.

BUT, two weeks is a long time to be off from school, that's all I'm saying. Seven more days and counting.

Last night I was up with him at 3:00 AM, then 5:00 AM, then 7:00 AM. I can barely get myself going and get things done around here, before he is pawing at the door to go. I have tried to find things for him to do, but we now have a week of continual rain and very cold weather coming our way. I can only afford to go to a bouncy place so much and play. At school, they really work the kids and when he comes home from school, he is asleep by 6 PM and sleeps through the night. This is what has really thrown me off. I want my good sleeping child back! I want MY sleep back.

And, you know how when you are tired, things don't look as good as they might be? I'm perceiving through tired eyes.

I wish I had more news to "report," or nice stories. We are back to just kind of hanging out and surviving until school starts again. I can say that Liberty is giving better eye contact and attending. This seems to be getting better with each day, and it seems his receptive language is increasing. One more week of the antifungal, then after liver function tests, we start the Valtrex.
So, I suppose we are moving forward, though I think I'm a couple of good night's sleep shy of seeing this clearly.

Merry Christmas

To my friends in the blogisphere, I wish you a very Merry Christmas. You mean a lot to me!

My focus has turned to baking, shopping, planning, and making sure I have made enough fudge for my family members to put us into our traditional sugar stupor.

Have a wonderful holiday!

Knock me over with a feather

After the last few days of Liberty's mystery symptoms, I picked him up at school today and the teacher met me and said, "Ms. K (autism consultant) was by today and she videotaped Liberty's remarkable progress." I stared at her blankly. Huh? She said he's doing marvelously in school. Making great progress.

Okay...

Then they said one of his classroom assistants brought her scissors in today and evened up Lib's hair for me (I hacked at it last night). It turns out she apparently was a hair dresser in another life. She wrote me a note that said, "I hope you don't mind I trimmed Liberty's hair, and when he is due for a trim, let me know and I will bring my scissors."

Then she said she will be glad to babysit Liberty through the long Christmas break, in fact the teacher and both assistants offered their help. They said they will miss seeing him and so they don't mind helping me. After I told them I really had to concentrate on potty training and did not know if I could really send Lib to their house in just underwear when he's not used to the potty yet, they said, "Oh, don't worry, we'll help you do that."

I feel like I won the lottery, or at least I did something good in my chain of karma.

Merry Christmas to me!

Today on Dr. Phil

I don't know if you caught The Dr. Phil Show today, but it was about families dealing with autism. He had Dr. Sears on the show. I thought he did a pretty good job, and this time I did not have to brace myself for any comments about vaccines not causing autism, or autism being incurable.

He had a couple on who were dealing with a child who was out of control and combative. I kind of had to laugh; the husband was gone 80 hours a week, leaving the wife at home to deal with the child and his other siblings. He said something like "I work a lot but it doesn't affect our relationship." Phil zeroed in on that right away, of course. This couple really had no idea the gift that Phil offered them - help from a school in Massachusetts which he says is the best in the country. I had no idea. Anyone know of this place? http://www.mnautism.org/

There was also a member of his staff who had wonderful results with what she only called "early intervention." She did not name ABA or anything, really. Would have loved to have known what she did.

And, sadly, there were a number of moms on the show whose non-verbal children had been abused at school. Chills you to the bone; you have to be extra careful with your children who cannot speak.

Anyway, you can check out the show and message boards here:

http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/974

Here's a quote offered by a Mom on the show regarding dealing with autism:

Don't wait for the storm to pass. Learn to dance in the rain."

Multiple Guess

We're back to some unusual behavior that is appearing with some progress, as well. This seems to happen whenever my son gets sick and/or when he is really making some big strides.

For example, he is really into learning numbers, shapes and colors. Even though he is still non-verbal, he is pointing and "counting" along with the DVD he has. It's his favorite suddenly and he must watch it when he comes home from school and before he goes to school. He likes it when we sing along. He looks at me and smiles and waits to hear the cue to start counting and then he runs up to the tv and puts his finger up to the shapes to count them when they light up. This has never happened before. He's so bored with all of his puzzles and things at home, that I feel I need to ship them all out and get more challenging things. It looks like we are moving up to the next level of his development. This is very positive.

But then...there is some toe walking, and a little hand flapping, a strange howl he has perfected as an attention getter and a few fits. Hmm. Suddenly, he cannot stand the seams on his shirts, or on my shirt and fusses and picks at them. I have taken to turning his shirts inside out and letting him wear them that way. Suddenly, he won't let me cut his hair, can't stand the brush on his head. This is the kid who had minimal sensory issues. Dr. Bock said this is common. One step forward, two steps back. Still, it throws me off kilter when it happens.

It has happened so much that I am able to tell myself not to dwell too much on the new "negative" behaviors. We have introduced some new supplements. Maybe that's it. I know that things change quickly; maybe this is just a phase.

It's hard when he's sick, though. He has been dodging a cold for a week. The homeopathic medication works pretty well, but the little tike still cannot blow his nose.

For the past few nights, he has awakened with a scream. He wants me to pick him up and rock him. Then he starts laughing and wants me to tickle him. This is not so cute at 2 AM. I am truly exhausted this week.

Sitting in the rocker, my mind goes through the possible things this could be:

a. his tummy hurts
b. he is constipated.
c. his nose is stuffy.
d. he is having a reaction to something I gave him.
e. he's too cold.
f. he's too hot.
g. he's hungry.
h. he's scared of the dark.
i. it's too light in his room with the Christmas lights outside.
j. he somehow was exposed to gluten.

Still, it's anybody's guess and I've run out of intuition at 2 AM.

Down the Rabbit Hole

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

"I don't much care where-" said Alice.

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

"-so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation.

"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."

And so it is on this daily sojourn with my son and the diagnosis that changed our lives, that I must remind myself over and over again, we are getting somewhere. True, life is not the destination, it IS about the journey. But the reality is as John Lennon put it so well, "Life is what happens when you are making plans." None of what we have experienced with our boy, or our marriage, was in our "plans." Stuff happens and that is just the way it is. How you respond, how you perceive it, is up to you.

For us, our journey and destination are now one: Simply, the state of well-being.

I didn't know we were part of an autism epidemic three years ago. I didn't know what a road lay before us. Had I known then what was going to transpire, I think I might have jumped off a bridge because it's only in looking back that I see more clearly just how much we have been through. I didn't see that giant boulder rushing toward us. We suffered a lot in the beginning. We were so confused and did not have the resources that are available now. As little as four years ago, information about biomedical treatment was just not available to the mainstream.

My son did not sleep through the night from his birth until the gluten-free, casein-free diet he went on this past May. For four years, I was physically and emotionally exhausted and actually am still recovering my health now.

Even so, I think it took me awhile for an understanding of this thing called autism to sink in. Now, that my son has turned five, I see it so very clearly now. When he was a toddler, it was harder for me to pinpoint, it was not so glaring - at least to me, an older mom at 42 with no other children, no friends our age with small children. It was something that slowly dawned on me. Now, I can see it in the children of others; can spot it almost immediately - still many pediatricians do not know how to diagnose it, or drag their feet.

Pediatricians were of absolutely no help to me at the time of Liberty's diagnosis, so I turned to the internet, like so many others and discovered "The Underground" as I like to refer to them now - those pioneering families of children with autism who were recovering their kids on their own. This is how I found the DAN! doctors. No one in my vicinity had ever heard the word.
So, the parents of newly diagnosed children will begin now to have more resources available, at least in the form of information. Jenny McCarthy came along and made the CDC shake in their boots; she spread the hope of recovery, made more people aware of the diet, and dared to say on national television that "no way in hell" would she vaccinate her child again. I respect her a lot for putting herself on the line. But she knows her mission.

Eventually, our voices will be heard. I wonder how loud we have to get, though? Maybe one day insurance will actually cover services. Perhaps these parents won't feel so alone as we did. I do my best to try and connect parents, basically to hope, where the "action" is, where the truth is. I did not want to join any groups in the beginning. I was too scared that if I joined a group, it would seal my little boy's fate. He was only 20 months. It was almost unthinkable to hang a diagnosis of "disabled" on my sweet baby. It still is, even today.

Thank God, I now have a doctor who said to me the other day, "If I wait for the hard science before I treat a child, I will lose a whole generation of kids, and I'm not willing to do that."

It really is like we fell down the rabbit hole and, as things keep getting "curiouser and curiouser," have spent our time ever since wandering around, this way and that, asking for the way through, the way home. It does feel like a dream, but it's a very large collective dream, now, isn't it?

So, we just keep walking along, following the well-worn paths through the woods that other parents have made for us, and in that way, ensure that we will, indeed, get somewhere.

Love.

Getting the Bugs Out

I had a great follow-up appointment with Dr. Bock. I actually had it early this time because of the snow storm that was rapidly moving into the New York area.

Basically, he said Liberty showed some lead and mercury, but nothing terribly significant where he would push the DMSA chelation right away, and that Liberty could have been detoxifying all along (I did some Bio-Chelate at one time) and also the MB-12 shots help.

[I have to stop here and advise anyone who has received results in the mail from France not to try and interpret them themselves...I was convinced my son had lead poisoning!]

Dr. Bock, however, did think that the Virosis findings on the lab results from France were significant and, since I told him about Liberty still having some cradle cap, too, we are going to first do an anti-fungal with Diflucan, and then an anti-viral with Valtrex. We tweaked the supplements a little again, too. After our next follow-up appointment we will discuss doing an IV chelation in another DAN! doctor's office in New Orleans. I will cross that bridge after the virus issue is addressed.

I will have to get liver function tests to make sure those are okay while giving Liberty the Diflucan and Valtrex. I just hope we don't have any severe reactions of die-off. I am sure we had some when we went on the gf/cf diet (7 months ago). I had about 3 weeks of all sorts of wierd acting out, then peace and sleep reigned. Well, that hell was well worth it.

Anyway, I love the fact that I enjoy talking with Dr. Bock and when I get off the phone I feel encouraged and supported. Dr. Bock is really a cool guy. He also has my son on some fantastic (green) superfoods which I appreciate. Liberty's appetite has doubled and he has gained weight.

So, I am particularly excited about doing the anti-fungal/anti-viral routine because of this article by J.B. Handley entitled, "Is Autism an Infection?" that I read about a month ago over at The Age of Autism:

http://www.ageofautism.com/2007/11/is-autism-an-in.html#more

When I read it, something about virus/fungus/metals just rang true. Jenny McCarthy talked a lot about anti-fungals in her book, too. We will see. I know I will have to be careful. The only side-effects that Dr. Bock said he has seen are mainly agitation with some rare stomachache and headache. The nurse told me to get some charcoal to use if Liberty has an upset stomach.

By the way, I had to sign a consent form for Valtrex being "off label" since it is used to treat the herpes virus.

Onward, and hopefully upward, we go.

A Different World

Tomorrow is our appointment with Dr. Bock. Let's hope he's on time. Okay, I can always hope. Love him. Appreciate him. He is so busy, though.

I am eager to talk with him about Liberty's test results. I don't have them all, and I am avoiding thinking too much about them today. I have to keep telling myself that this is why we "hired" Dr. Bock - for his expertise. Still, it's one thing reading anectodal stories and researching the DAN! protocol, etc. and quite another to look at your child's tests results in your hands with metals glaring back at you. I knew it and thought I'd be relieved. Initially, I was. Then, the questions started rolling in. Where did he get lead, PCBs, mercury....from vaccines, sure, but lead? That much lead? Is this really lead poisioning I'm seeing?

Yesterday, I was in Target, and on my way out the door, I stopped at a wall of Christmas lights, thinking I might get a cheap set and throw some on our big evergreen out back. I flipped the box over and on the back there was a warning, paraphrased as something like this:

Warning, handling these lights exposes you to lead. Lead has been shown to cause....[all sorts of nasty stuff]...make sure you wash your hands before eating or touching a child....

I thought about decorating the Christmas tree the other day with our gazillion lights we store in that box in the garage. Did I wash my hands? Eat a Christmas cookie while decorating? How many times did I touch Libby or did he touch the lights? Even the cute little figurines they sell that light up and have the train going around the track and Santa flying overhead with his reindeer have the same warnings on the box.

It's getting so I just can't keep up.

Now, they say don't microwave anything. I told the teacher the other day to take Lib's food out of the plastic and put it on paper plate when she heats up his lunch. He won't eat a sandwich, so what am I to do? You don't eat cold spaghetti (well some of us do, but that's beside the point), or pot roast or chili (his three major foods) cold do you? I could send water in a glass bottle, but they frown on that because it can break.

I just watered my lawn and touched the lead-infested hose. I forgot to wash my hands. Now my keyboard is probably covered in lead dust.

I just want someone to tell me how to live so I am not further contaminating my environment anymore. I like to stay in the solution and not dwell so much in the problem. I know there must be a new habit or routine I can get into. I've bought Seventh Generation products. I read labels. I clean with Simple Green. I guess I need to get a shower/water filter for bathing now.

Some people say, live your life and don't worry about it. I used to think that way. But now that I have Liberty and he is living proof of our toxic world, I think we have to, not worry so much, but be conscientious and take appropriate measures. Thing is, where do you get reliable information about what is toxic and what isn't? I don't have a lab in my home to test everything.

I know to wash my hands a lot and especially now because of the Staph bug. Do I just swab the house down routinely and vacuum a lot? I think so. I mean, it's all I can think to do.

I think I will ask our homeopath what he thinks about this and report back about it. Save time scouring the internet, like I have that kind of time anyway.

I would love to hear about what kind of measures you have taken to "detox" your family from these environmental assaults! We need a new way to live in this obviously different world.

Results Finally In: It's Metals!

It's very odd to be doing a happy dance over finding out your son's metal load is off the charts, but I'm thrilled because we know what to do about THIS, for certain!

Our appointment with Dr. Bock is Thursday. The results of the metal challenge we did with the one pill of chelation he has in his office, so I don't know the results of that.

But, in looking at the porphyrins/pterins test from France, I see that lead is the highest, and mercury second. There are also other things that I truly don't know how to interpret, including his creatinine level and a viral load.

I will wait until Thursday, but I just had to shout it out people:

I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT!!!!

This validates for me the vision I had when I was meditating after a yoga class some time back in March or April. I silently asked what Liberty's problem really is...and I saw an image of THE FTD MAN. I thought it was just something crazy, or what I ate for lunch that day, but then some time went by and it hit me:

The FTD Man is Hermes in mythology......The God Mercury.

That's all I'm saying.

Setting the record straight

My answers to common questions from well-meaning people who don't "get it":

1) Why don't you just accept your son the way he is and quit worrying? (This is usually in response to telling them about the DAN! protocol, which apparently seems too fussy or too hard):

Answer: I do accept my son the way he is; however, my son has an illness most doctors do not know yet how to treat. To the best of my knowledge, he didn't come into the world with it, and it's my job as his mother to help him ever-increase his well-being and his ability to adapt and live in this world as it is. Us mothers know when we are really worrying. But, what you may perceive as worrying, is just our forward-thinking minds anticipating what could be coming down the pike and to help our kids be ready. If we didn't do that, we would be negligent.

If you spent a lot of time in my world; that of IEPs and therapists and teachers and doctors and articles and the media, you would probaby "get" us mothers and why we do what we do.

2) To the probably not so well-meaning occupational therapist who brazenly announced to the entire waiting room that Liberty was crying because, "he basically has had everything done for him..."

Response (which is late in coming because at the time, my jaw could only drop in incredulity at the insensitive remark from the therapist with five neurotypical children at home):

The thing about my kid with autism is that, one week he might suck at fine motor skills and, therefore, I cannot spend 8 hours making my son pinch his tiny fingers around the top of his socks and pull them on his feet. I have things to do like pay bills, cook, change diapers, go to the grocery store, cook ahead GF/CF stuff, and work. That's just the way things are.

The next week, his skills might have changed, and even, perhaps, his listening skills, and he might be able to do some motor planning and actually pull his foot up towards his little fingers that are trying to hold the sock for him to stick his toe in...he might get that, but he might not be able to actually pull it on.

The next week, he might get it, but maybe he can only put his sock on halfway and then take it off and throw it across the room, about 300 times before I finally put the damned shoes on the feet and head out the door...to see you, by the way, the therapist WHO HAS MORE TIME THAN I DO AND AN ASSISTANT TO TEACH HIM HOW TO PUT HIS SOCKS ON!!

I mean, come on people, give me a break. I do it all, and I try and spend time and teach, and show and talk and demonstrate, and then show again....but don't tell me it's my fault because he has had everything done for him. That is total bullshit and the people who know me and see me in action and know my son know the truth. I try to help him to be as independent as possible. In our situation, I don't know how much understanding there is when we talk. He gets things more when you demonstrate, but having speech and understanding other's speech comes in handy when you are trying to TEACH a child how to do something. Attention span is extra nice, too.

Most therapists and teachers I have contact with know that I am more than willing to accept constructive criticism and am always open to ideas for improvement of what I can do for my son on a daily basis. I don't dig judgments from a "professional" who has no idea what she is talking about. Perhaps being smug makes her feel important.

3) What bedtime stories does he like?

Answer: I have never read my son a bedtime story because his attention span is so short, he cannot allow me to read and turn pages. He also likes to look at books by himself. The moment an adult shows up to help, he's not interested. Shocker, isn't it?

4) Don't you know that you have to take time for yourself before you can really be of help to anyone else?

Answer: Come live in my world and then say that to my face without bursting out laughing.

My version of "taking time" for myself is different from yours because I rarely get a break by myself. I rarely get to go out to dinner. Have not been to the movies in years. Forget "vacation," what's that?

School has been a blessing because I know my son is with people who understand what he needs for most of the day. But, I don't get to take a class or get my hair done or anything like that unless it's during school time and I don't have to work. I definitely don't get to go out of town and have never been away from my son all day or overnight. I've never even slept in since he was born. And even though I might have a babysitter for a short time, any longer and it gets difficult for the babysitter and for Liberty. Most of the time when people ask me, "Why is he crying?" I don't know. It's real simple, I just don't know most of the time what is really going on with him, but I am skilled at knowing what to do to redirect him. I make him sound like he is a behavior problem, but he is far from that. He is a delightful child. He just gets frustrated, like anyone in his situation would do, when he cannot communicate his needs.

Taking time for myself now means I pray. I do a nanosecond of yoga. I sometimes get to get out and walk a little. But, I pray a lot throughout the day and I meditate a lot and always ask for spiritual Guidance and to stay connected to Source, and I'm telling you, that is one "muscle" that has gotten a lot of exercise over the past few years and it helps a lot.

A Whole Big Lot.

I guess I needed to finally got that off my chest.

Have A Lead-Free Christmas!

Here are some links to toy companies who sell safe toys. I particularly loved Ebeanstalk which looks like it is for young children, 4 and under, but I found some things that my son would love like their cars and garages.

http://www.ebeanstalk.com/

Blue Dominoes site lists about six more links of safe toys and is a nice site itself.

http://www.bluedominoes.com/kids_gift_ideas.php

http://www.grandrivertoys.com/

And, here is a list of safe toys from Fox News:

In light of the recall of nearly 1 million Chinese-produced toys tainted with lead paint, below is a list of toys made in the USA:

• Battleship• Bicycle Playing Cards• Boggle Jr.• Candyland• Chutes and Ladders• Clue• Connect Four• Crayola Crayons *• Life• Louisville Slugger• Monopoly• Mouse Trap• Operation• Parcheesi• Play-Doh *• Pop-O-Matic Trouble• Radio Flyer Discovery Wagon• Scrabble• Sorry• Stratego• Tri-ominos• Trivial Pursuit• Yahtzee• Melissa and Doug U.S.A. Floor Puzzle (Most puzzles are made in the USA!)

* Note: Not all packages of Crayola Crayons and Play-Doh are made in the USA -- please check the label.

Also, anything you buy from the American Plastic Toy Company is made in America.

You can also find American-made toys on these Web sites:

• www.ShopForAmerica.com• www.ZebulonUSA.com• www.usmadetoys.com•

www.unclegoosetoys.com• www.holgatetoy.com• www.maplelandmark.com

Finally, for more information on how to buy American, visit: www.howtobuyamerican.com

Anything's Possible!

A 10-year-old girl raised money for research for her brother with autism. A lovely story in case you missed it...

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=3950843&page=1

After complaining about blasted hot summers...

Beautiful Gulf Coast winters!