Light It Up Blue!

A few friends of mine in a nail polish group were fawning over a Twilight-themed polish made by a maker I'd never heard of, Different Dimension.  Since I really don't like my men sparkly, I looked through the rest of the store.  There were Big Bang Theory-themed polishes (LOVE that show) and 50 Shades of Grey-themed polishes (Yes, I read the books), but the polishes that caught my eye the most were her two Autism-themed polishes.

I got in touch with the maker and she offered me a discount if I reviewed her polishes on the blog.  So, here we have my FIRST review and my FIRST Autism-related polishes.  I was so excited to have my two worlds come together!

First up we have Light It Up Blue (for Autism).  This bottle shot is taken from her Etsy store.

The polish has a clear base with lots of different blue, white and holographic glitters.  It also glows in the dark!

For my mani, I started with a layer of ORLY Primetime (which I use to help prevent chipping).  Then came a layer of CND Stickey since I wanted to try something new and my beloved ORLY Bonder ran out.  After that came two coats of Zoya Robyn (which is one of my favorite blues of all time).  A great group of gals and I are doing a Zoya-week challenge, so I knew exactly which Zoya to use on this mani!

After Robyn dried, I applied two coats of Light It Up Blue (for Autism).  This polish applied wonderfully!  It was thick but workable.  The glitters stayed without any issues and even the bigger hex glitters were easily managable.  A coat of Gelous and a coat of HK Girl finished it off!

I wasn't able to get the polish to glow, but I think the two top coats didn't help much.  I, however, can't do a mani without my beloved HK Girl!  You can find HK Girl here at Glisten and Glow - thanks Jill for everything you do!  If you've never checked out Glisten & Glow, check it out on Facebook!

Back to business - I LOVE THIS MANI!  It's bright and sparkly and I just know it will be a conversation piece.  The polish was inspired by Autism Speaks and World Autism Day (4/2/12) and her two children on the spectrum, so 50% of this polish and Puzzle Pieces (a future post) are donated to Autism Speaks.  WOW!

Check the polish out here and the rest of her store here.  You can also become a fan of hers on Facebook here.  While you check out Missi's page on Facebook, feel free to become a fan of Polished Pieces.  :)

From one puzzled mommy to another, thanks Missi for creating a polish that looks good and will help our children!  I can't wait to try out Puzzle Pieces!  Word on the street says she's going to help me create my dream polish (black jelly with bright pink, turquoise and holographic glitters)!

Light It Up Blue (for Autism) retails for $10, but remember that $5 will go to Autism Speaks, which really is a great organization!

Until the next mani, stay puzzled and polished!

<3m

(Note: This product was purchased by me at a discount for my honest review.)

Rolling the Dice!

As a parent, you want to give your child the world.   I want give Cristian the best of everything.  I want him to have the best experiences.  I don't want him to miss out on anything - especially memories.

Any parent can tell you that taking a child on an excursion is a crapshoot.  There are a lot of factors that go into a successful trip - a full tummy, plenty of distractions and a well-rested child.  For a special needs parent, there are even more things that need to be taken into consideration.  For instance, Cristian's senses can become overloaded faster than a Kardashian divorce.  He is also very set in his routine and the slightest diversion can become disasterous.

It's really easy to be lulled into a false sense of security.  Cristian's birthday party went off without a hitch.  We went to a family reading night at his daycare and had no issues.  Therefore, we didn't think twice about taking him to a friend's house for a pick-up baseball game with some of our favorite church people.  It's also really easy to forget that the proverbial rug can be pulled leaving us on our butts in tears.

The night started off wonderfully.  A little catnap seemed to refresh him enough to play nice with our friends.  There was a little horseplay but nothing too much.  He ate well and listened when we told him that we'd come back for dessert.  Little did we know that we'd be missing dessert when we all headed off for the field.  The four boys held hands in a precious moment that needed to be recreated about five times so everyone could get their pictures in.  We picked teams and headed into our spots.  That's when it started to go south...

Cristian's knowledge of baseball starts and ends with knowing to hit the ball.  While playing catch in the backyard, he knows the ball can always come back to him.  When we started to play at the field and he realized the ball didn't come back to him, it started an epic meltdown that did not end.  There was screaming and throwing and hitting and pinching - oh my. 

My heart broke to see my little man so upset and I had no real idea why or how to help him.  My heart broke for his friends who were upset because they were hurt - I wanted them to know that he really does love them.  My heart broke because we rolled the dice one too many times and finally missed the mark.  My heart broke because instead of enjoying snocones and an Oreo-filled donut, we ended up leaving with him kicking and screaming and me crying and apologizing. 

After Cristian's diagnosis, we struggled with issues with friends as well as family.  For many, it was easiest to push us to the wayside instead of dealing with us.  Since then, I automatically assume the worst.  I await people to end friendships and was sure as we left Friday night that we'd be back to square one.  I thought we'd need to find a new church, new friends, worst case scenario.  Blake had to head back to pick up something we'd forgotten, and the support that he experienced and relayed back to me was mindboggling.

Between the support from my parents and brother that night and the reassurance from the other families there, I felt better.  They even discussed doing it again!  It was a learning experience for us all - for Cristian, for Blake and I, for the families we spent time with.  I can only hope that things like this get easier.  It was past his bedtime.  It was against his routine.  The odds were stacked against us, but we have the control to change the outcome for the next game.

That night, it felt like the world was ending.

Now, I realize that this is just the beginning.

Until the next mani, stay puzzled and polished!
<3m