Autism Fund... Probably not what you're Thinking!

Two days ago Jason and I took the kids to Target to grab a few things. On our way through the store Avery picked up some Pirate's Booty and began to flap it around until the noise somehow magically made me open it for her. (Has she Pavlov-ed me?) I laughed a little and said "autism fund." Jason gave me a pity laugh and we went on our merry way.

The term "autism fund" in our little world is not some kind of allocated money from insurance to supply medical necessities for our kid or anything like that. Instead, its the stuff that we would probably not walk out of the store with if it wasn't for those sweet blue eyes that win us over in seconds.

Autism fund can also expand past simple mid-shopping trip snacks. Depending on who you ask. If you ask me, our whole trip to Disneyland qualified as autism fund, pretty much meaning its like, money we shouldn't feel guilty about spending, because... autism fund? - You're just a jerk if you guilt me for spending money to make Avery's little world easier. Maybe that's a better definition of our family term..

ANYWAYS, if you ask Jason, he is simply putting up with the term I've created and understands that it makes me feel better about spending an excessive amount of money on comforting items. Happy wife, happy life.

This one is for the ladies- You know when you have cash on you and you go to Starbucks on your way home and use the cash because its like secret money that your husband doesn't know about? You know, like its pretty much free coffee? Autism fund is like that, but on a larger scale... ish.

If you are still confused about "autism fund" for the Knoble's, and are not quite sure what the qualifications are, you aren't alone. We wing it, pretty much everyday. At this point its kind of a joke that makes us feel better about doing ridiculous things like buying TWO iPads for our children just to survive a routine outing. *Cue the evil stares from Karen across the Applebees judging me for letting my kids watch Disney+ while we wait for our food. Just when we start to feel like maybe her stares are warranted, I can look at Jason and say, "autism fund," and all of my worries disappear, it's like magic.

Last week I went to put Avery in the car and noticed that I am CRAMMING my four year old into a carseat that leaves her absolutely no leg room. The kid is long and skinny, so the latches fit, but those poor legs of hers are squished to the max. Now, before you rush to the comments to fill me in on all of the carseat laws and regulations, I know. I promise. Avery will need a tri-point harness for years and years, so you don't have to worry. The trick is finding seats to facilitate her sensory needs and height.

Have no fear! Autism fund is here!

Oliver has one of those "forever" carseats, you know, the ones that grow with you until you like, graduate college so you never have to buy another one. The trick here is when Jason and I got our foster care license, we used pretty much the most diverse and standard carseat we could find, since we never knew what age we would get next. By default Avery just used that carseat until now...so when I brought up a new carseat to Jason it dawned on us that we would have to tap into our illusive autism fund to scrounge up the money to buy a new carseat in the next few days. And not just ANY carseat, but one that would fit all of our needs. The perfect headrest, TWO cupholders, soft padding, covered buckle, and so on. Luckily being only four, the search didn't take forever, because obviously she should still be in a carseat, but i'm sure that'll be a super fun game in the next few years!

Anyways, the moral of all of this babble is simply that if you're brain needs a justification to spend money on nonsense, just create an umbrella excuse. Works every time.