Having a child with autism is all consuming. You are constantly thinking about their progress, their regressions, their therapies, their perseverations.... their recovery. Many times, if you have another child or children that are "typically developing" (whatever that means), they get left behind or "forgotten" at times because they can easily have a conversation with another child, don't need 47 vitamins in the morning, have normal poops, don't need to be driven 100 miles a day for therapies, and can already play with toys appropriately. We have a precious 3 1/2 year old Luke who is typically developing and he is imaginative, silly, sneaky, snuggly, and just plain fun... and many times, "forgotten". Often I hear him say "Me too!" when I ask Sam a question or try to engage Sam in an activity.

I have a dear aunt who is my mom's sister, and she is the second born, and her email address starts with "me too" because of that same reason... many times it's just a second born thing, wanting to do what the older child is doing! I know this can be common with families that have multiple children, but mommy guilt is strong and when you throw special needs in the mix, the guilt is even stronger.

Wednesday nights at our house are karate nights for Sam, and 6 weeks ago Wednesdays became Cooking Class nights as well. Every Wednesday night Daddy takes Sam to karate and out for fried rice at a local chinese restaurant, and I take Luke to our cooking class at Young Chefs Academy. We have a blast together making homemade pizza dough, zesting lemons, cutting tomatoes for homemade pico de gallo, and using a very cool apple-corner-peeler-slicer... just the two of us, just Luke's special thing. It's such a neat place because the children are the chefs, they get to do everything from stirring mixes ("slow is the way to go!") to measuring all ingredients to kneading dough. The messier you get, the better. And it is great fun to eat what the children cook! Luke has tried and loved things he would probably not try if I made it, like Spinach Lasagna Rolls and Taco Salad and Minty brownies. The best part of the night is that we are experiencing the class together, just my little Lukey and me, and I get to focus 100% of my time, thoughts, and attention on LUKE.

Tonight Luke looked at me and said "Mommy, I just love going to Young Chefs to cook with you." Me, too.