Lugnuts N Such

My sleepy, heavy summer drones on. I am having fun here and there, but I am more than a little cranky because of the heat and the lack of a strict schedule. I am trying to remind myself I would have killed for this a few years ago! Erik is tolerating my ever lengthening workouts in the morning beautifully, and we have set our own pace. While I don't feel like I'm doing much of anything, we seem to be doing the same sort of nothing on the same schedule every day and accomplishing things in the process.

Erik's current obsessions:

1. Lugnuts
2. Things that are broken (and asking 1200 times if they are)
3. Vacuum cleaners
4. Sirens/fire trucks/fire alarms (good during the day but terrifying at night)

Yes, he is STILL asking whether or not the Jeep will start and puts his hands over his ears. His obsessions/fears are becoming more interesting to me because of his ever increasing language skills. He can now have a converastion with me about them. While the reasons for each obession remain completely mysterious, I can now ask him questions about the objects he fixates on to try to gain some insight. As the grief recedes, my fascination increases regarding how my son's brain works. He is an amazing little soul.

My current obsessions:

1. Canadian whiskey
2. Daily exercise
3. Grilling
4. Reality television
5. My Aerogarden (now with 45 different types of lettuce)

In regard to number three, I'm a Daddy's Girl for sure. In honor of this, I will share my latest tried and true recipe for you. Brian and I both gave it the thumbs up.

GRILLED FLANK STEAK SOFT TACOS WITH AVOCADO-LIME SALSA

STEAK:

1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp grated lime rind
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chipotle chile powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 (1-lb) flank steak, trimmed
Cooking spray

SALSA:

1 cup diced peeled avocado
3/4 cup finely chopped tomato
1/3 cup finely chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp grated lime rind
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

REMAINING INGREDIENTS:

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
2 cups very thinly sliced green cabbage

To prepare steak, combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Score a diamond pattern on both sides of steak. Rub chili powder mixture evenly over steak. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Prepare grill to medium-high heat.

Place steak on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 8 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices.

To prepare salsa, combine avocado and next 7 ingredients (through pepper sauce) in a medium bowl.

Warm tortillas according to package directions. Top each taco with 1/4 cup salsa and 1/4 cup cabbage.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size 2 tacos)

CALORIES: 353
FAT: 16 g
FIBER: 6.8 g

(8 Weight Watchers points -- I also added 2 Tbsp of fat-free sour cream, which is free)

Obsessions 2009

Erik's current obsessions --

* Vacuum cleaners. The first thing he usually asks a stranger is whether or not they have a vacuum cleaner. If the answer is yes, which it most likely is, he will ask if there is a light on it. I'm surprised how many don't these days. I bought him his very own toy vacuum cleaner (with a light on it) and let him use mine from time to time.

* Lights. Especially lights on vehicles, my camera, and, of course, vacuum cleaners. He likes flashing lights, especially on emergency vehicles. Our neighbor is a policeman, and he stops occasionally in front of the house to turn on the red and blues for Erik. Many people who visit have learned Erik watches them back out of the driveway when they leave and will turn on their hazards or flash their headlights for him. His daycare provider even reminded me to do it the other day when I dropped him off, as Brian apparently does this as well when he takes Erik on a regular basis.

* Wheels. This used to be number one. He will still stim from time to time by spinning the wheels on toys, but not nearly as often as he used to. He inspects the wheels and tires of vehicles in parking lots and likes to say "lug nuts," which always makes me laugh for some reason.

* Fire alarms. I am unsure how he knows what a fire alarm is, but he does. He locates them in each new building we visit and points them out to me and anybody else who passes by. He seems to want reassurance from me that they will not make noise.

* Whether or not our vehicles will start. Yes, he is STILL obsessed with this. A friend of mine was helping me put him in the car the other day and was surprised when Erik freaked out as my key entered the ignition. He also closely watches the dome lights in my vehicle. They apparently flash on and off briefly when I start the engine, which is apparently an indicator of whether or not my Jeep has enough juice to run. He wakes up sometimes talking about my Jeep and if it will start.

* Sirens. This is also making its way down the list. While a siren used to send him into hysterics, making fire season hell on earth in our house on the edge of town, he usually only obesesses about whether a siren might sound when he is very tired or half asleep. He still wakes up from time to time speaking about sirens. I'll never forget the afternoon lightning was striking everywhere and all I could do is blast his stereo and hold him while he sobbed. Thankfully, that usually isn't the case anymore. Sometimes he even enjoys a siren that is far enough away that it doesn't hurt his ears.

There are other things he enjoys but that do not qualify as obsessions. Normal things like going outside, eating a nice, steaming bowl of Malt O Meal, holding Stinky-Dog, or visiting his grandparents. His obsession with tweaking doorstops has finally faded into history. He will occasionally tweak one on his way by, but this doesn't make the list anymore (Note to Self: Locate and replace missing doorstops).

I would bet that a lot of your children have had these same obsessions, diagnosis of WS or not. I find this fascinating. I wonder what Erik would have done before the invention of the wheel. I can just see him wearing a brontosaurus skin diaper, rolling the roundest river rocks he could find around over the ground in a stimmy trance.

It's Okay, Honey

I strapped Erik in the Jeep one morning last week to take him to school and then indulge in a hair appointment at the salon across town. I realized that after I had vacuumed up the petrified fruit snacks from the back seat of my vehicle the day before, I had forgotten to turn one of the dome lights off. Because of this, the engine would not fire up. Instead, it tried its best to turn over, creating repetitive waves of noise that accompany a slow, low-voltage death. I bit my lip to keep expletives from escaping and smacked the steering wheel. I glanced over my shoulder at Erik, and the flesh of his face had molded into scarlet crinkles. Tears were squirting from his eyes. It was obvious the combination of strange noises coming from the car he loves so much and my sudden drop in mood had sent him into a hysterical fit. I told him to hold on and tried a few more times to get the thing started while he shook with fear. I rolled my eyes and pulled the key from the ignition, sagging back into my seat. What a way to start the day.

Between heaving sobs, Erik seemed to attempt to reassure himself. Strangely, he seemed to be using words I might have said to him in the past during an upsetting situation.

"It's okay, honey. It's okay, honey. It's okay, honey."

It was strange to hear him chanting this phrase over and over. I felt horrible. Finally, I gave up on the whole thing, walked around the vehicle, and opened his door. He looked up at me. Tears continued to roll down his face. He asked to go to school. I said that I would try my best to get us there but asked if he wanted to run around outside for a bit. He seemed relieved. After I extracted him from his car seat, he ran off into the front yard while I called everybody I could think of who could transport us across town in time.

I heard Erik's voice again from the yard as he sprinted around on his long, clumsy legs. His toes caught on rocks and cracks in the sidewalk, threatening to topple him over, but he defied gravity and righted himself repeatedly as I winced each time. I yelled at him to watch where he was going. I listened more intently with the ear that wasn't pressed to my phone and heard him continue to reassure himself. He seemed to be chanting once again.

"I'm so happy today. I'm so happy today. I'm so happy today."

The agitation lasted for a couple of days before it began to fade. He asked me hundreds of times if the Jeep was broken. Finally, the questions ceased and morphed into repetitive statements. He still insists on knowing which car we will be driving when we leave the house, with or without him.

As time goes on, I seem to be witnessing the birth of little obsessions fueled by his blooming anxiety.