Why "Courage and Coffee"

I realized that I have never answered this question on my blog, but it is a question I get asked most often.

"Why the name Courage and Coffee?"

Here's how it came to be.....

I began writing this blog months before I actually published it to the world. I kept the settings on "private" so only I would see it, and my blog had no name at that time. I just needed a place to get out all that I was feeling & thinking before I had a nervous breakdown......seriously. I was so overwhelmed with being the main caretaker of a chid with special needs. I felt as if I was thrown into the deep end of the "autism pool" without knowing how to swim. I was over my head & didn't know how to stop drowning. All I was trying to do was just tread water & get through each day one at a time.

Breaking Bad Sleep Routine

I'm so TIRED!!! I wish I could say it was just today, buy it's been a couple of months now. I don't know WHEN it started but I know WHY it started. Ethan has been coming into our bedroom in the middle of the night EVERY NIGHT for months now. At first, it was just easier to pull him into our bed with us, but now he is doing it ALL THE TIME....and the only one getting a good night sleep is Ethan!

So, today as I wait in the town 30 minutes from home while Ethan is here for his Easter Seals Preschool program....I decided to borrow my mom's laptop & write at Barnes & Noble....where they serve Starbucks!!! And the Starbucks gal must have seen how tired I was when she "recommended" an extra shot of expresso in my latte......Thank you Starbucks Angel!

Well, this past weekend, we decided to try & break this habit. We have tried different things to see if he actually prefers our bed to his.....but it seems he just wants to be with us....regardless of the actual bed. At midnight last night, Ethan came to our door & asked, "Daddy, will you snuggle me in your chair?" LOL....ok....it's not his bed.

So, we told him that if he stayed in his bed & his room all night long, he would get 5 SKITTLES in the morning. We even laid them out the night before....he was so excited. Skittles are our currency in our house. If Ethan uses his words instead of throwing a fit, we reward him with ONE Skittle. If he does something without complaining, he gets a Skittle. We haven't had to use Skittles in awhile, but recently we have started this system again due to some undesirable behavior on his part....but that's for another day.

As we were putting Ethan to bed, he became to "recite" the new rule out loud...."If I stay in my bed all night long, I get 5 Skittles when it is day." My husband then brought in an alarm clock......BRILLIANT!!! He told Ethan that when the alarm goes off, it would be day & he could get out of bed. LOVE IT!!!!

Everything worked pretty well. Ethan got up a few times before Corey & I actually went to be ourselves, so putting him back in his bed wasn't too bad. Most of the time, Ethan would ask us to lay with him but then fall immediately back to sleep.  In fact, I think he only woke up that one time to ask Daddy to snuggle. I think that is pretty good for our first night of trying.

However, Ethan was sooooo excited for those 5 Skittles that he woke up at 5:30am....and asking for them. I reminded him that his alarm hadn't gone off yet, but it didn't matter.....he was awake for the day.....and so was I.

Ironically, I was watching the show Up All Night on Hulu before I went to bed last night, and the couple on the show was having the same issue! Something they tried on there was putting something in the kiddo's bed that had Mommy & Daddy's scent on them. And since Ethan is very sensory driven, I figured that this would be a good idea! So tonight, Ethan's stuffed Cookie Monster & Elmo will be sporting a shirt from Corey & a shirt from me....just have to decide who each of us should be! HA!

So, we will see how this goes. I really want Ethan to have a good night of sleep, but Mommy & Daddy need sleep too! I will keep you all posted on how this goes....Skittles, alarm clock, scent covered stuffed animals & all. But you tell me.....Do I really look that tired???? Wait.....don't answer that. :0)

Happy Anniversary! Here's a GIVEAWAY!!!

Apparently, it has been ONE YEAR since I launched this blog. WOW.....I can't believe it. Honestly, I feel like it has been LONGER than that because of the many topics & events we have covered in the last year. Well, in honor of Courage & Coffee's one year anniversary, I think it would be fun to do a prize drawing!!!

Sooo.......Courage & Coffee will be giving away.....

TWO $10 gift cards to STARBUCKS! 

Want to enter your name in the drawing??? Here is how you can enter your name in the drawing TWO TIMES!

1. Write a comment on this blog entry. One comment is one entry....and that is the maximum you can enter on this site. That is ONE ENTRY.

2. Want to enter your name again? Be our friend on FACEBOOK! Become our friend, and you will enter your name again for this drawing! Already our friend??? You are already entered!

The deadline for this drawing is this FRIDAY, AUGUST 10TH, AT MIDNIGHT. This is also my husband & I 10 year wedding anniversary, so it seemed like a good day to choose!

I will announce the winners here & on facebook on Saturday, August 11th, and those winners can privately email me their home address. I will get the gift cards in the mail on the following Monday.

ARE YOU EXCITED???? I AM!!!!!

In honor of this blog's anniversary, here are links to the 10 most popular Courage & Coffee posts of the last year. ENJOY! And let the entries begin!!!!!

#10 - Ethan's Sensory Diet - Smell, Sound & Sight

#9 - A New Sleeping Challenge

#8 - Dear Family

#7 - What Exactly Is Autism

#6 - Easter Egg Silly Sentences

#5 - Light It Up Blue Soap

#4 - 4th Birthday Party

#3 - Sensory Processing Disorder

#2 - One Year Later

#1 - Our Story

Coffee? Yes please!

When I talk about Ethan & his support system, I have mentioned several people......his parents (us), his large extended family, his church family, our friends, his teachers, his therapists, his previous early intervention team, etc. But I myself have my own support team. And one part of that support is something I rarely talk about, but it is very vital to my everyday life.......coffee!!!!!

I love coffee.....and that may be an understatement. I don't know what it is about drinking freshly brewed, warm coffee that takes me on a mini brain vacation, but it does! And mommy needs those moments in order to persevere throughout the day! And this week is no exception! Yesterday was a supremely awful day. Ethan & I haven't been feeling good for weeks (sinus/allergy stuff), but yesterday Ethan's mood was TERRIBLE. EVERYTHING made him cry or meltdown.....it was brutal. Last night when I came home from my Women's Bible Study, my husband had picked up the house, cleaned the kitchen, lit candles, and had my foot bath out & ready for me! It was so sweet!!!!!! So, this morning, still feeling the need to give myself a little TLC from yesterday's madness, I decided to make my FAVORITE coffee.

For my birthday this past summer, my mother-in-law bought me coffee from Costa Rica where she was on a mission trip. OH MY GOSH!!!!! This stuff is soooooooooooo good!!!! I usually use Dunkin' Donuts brand or new kinds of coffee that I have received as gifts. But this stuff, I save for those days when I need a little extra pick-me-up. And, since I didn't have a moment to myself yesterday to make a pot of coffee, I decided that today is a Costa Rica Coffee Day! The coffee is actually called Cafe Britt....which doesn't sound very Costa Rica-ish to me, but the packaging says that it is 100% Costa Rica Arabica Coffee. I actually thought that today was going to be my last pot of this coffee, but I somehow have managed to have enough grounds left for another pot in the future. YIPEE!!! And, thankfully, they do sell this stuff online at www.cafebritt.com. I was going to put this on my Christmas Wish List, but I don't think I can go that long without my special treat! HA!

Well, I need to go......my coffee is done brewing, and I don't want to keep it waiting!