Coffee cups, crumbs, and report cards

What do these three things have in common?  They are the three things giving me a good case of the mommy guilt this week.  I smooshed some seemingly empty cereal boxes on the floor so that they'd fit in the recycling box better, and didn't notice a small pile of cereal crumbs left behind.  I found Isaac in the kitchen eating the crumbs of the gluten filled cereal.  Later that day I forgot to put my "empty" cafe mocha mug in the sink and left it on the couch end table instead.  I found him licking the rest of the milk-chocolate out of the bottom.  Two strikes, Libby!  Still, I tried not to make too much of it.  It was only crumbs and enough chocolate to cover his tongue- maybe nothing would happen.  Twenty-four hours later we were struggling with communication and hearing an increase in jibberish and repetitive language that is still continuing today.  Also, there is a rash all over his bottom.  I'm really grateful for two snow days in a row right now, because I hate sending him to school with a diet infraction and not knowing how he's going to react to other kids.  He can be sensory defensive when he's feeling "off", and that could mean some poor kid gets a good pinch, smack, or bite for crossing a line with Isaac.  Still, he's been pretty good here at home, but home is his safe place.  We've been enjoying some relaxing play time, reading, valentine making, and decent home cooked meals for once.  I miss this guy when we're running in eight million directions to school, work, and meetings.  And I'm realizing just how fast he's growing up.  Too fast.
Isaac received his first report card from school this week.  It was a basic overview of how he's been doing with their routine, curriculum, and basic pre-school markers.  Outwardly, I took it with a grain of salt as they only see him three hours a day.  Inwardly, I obsessed a little.  "What does she mean his participating in imaginative play "needs attention"?  All he does is imaginatively play at home."  The other "needs attention" marks didn't surprise me, rather they reminded me that we have more work to do.  Lots of intentional work.  Work on answering questions of all types and understanding vocab.  Work on some fine motor things like grasping crayons properly.  Our goal is that he can function in a typical kindergarten setting when the time comes.  We're realizing that we might need a little help getting to this goal and are thinking about consulting with a Defeat Autism Now! doctor in the area.  I feel like there are some things I'm missing when it comes to his diet, and researching it on my own is getting overwhelming.  There is SO much information out there.  Feeling lost, I emailed Kim Stagliano last night to get her opinion on autism doctors and vaccines, and she emailed me back this morning.  She said DAN! doctors can be helpful and to read Robert Sears book about vaccine schedules and then have a "frank" talk with my pediatrician about it.  I was very impressed that she even wrote me back- and so quickly.  So this is where we go from here.  The worth-a-try attitude hasn't failed me yet, so I guess I'll keep on with it.