Monday, March 1, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Low Salt Cooking to Avoid High Blood Pressure and the various meds . . .
Well, how do you like that. I thought I was the salt 'nazi' (and i'd really like a better noun there, just haven't gotten my creative juices flowing in that direction). I was looking at labels, buying no-sodium chicken broth (it really is flavorful) and beef broth, making sure we have lots of whole foods and especially produce in the kitchen. There's a huge bowl of apples, bananas and clementines on the counter. My produce drawer always has salad fixings, and if you're really lucky you can even find some of the slimy, hidden-at-the-back-of-the-drawer-variety of produce too. We've cut back on the red meat and dramatically increased the chicken and fish. Our lunch meat and cheeses include a variety of low-sodium choices as well. I thought I was doing so well. I was keeping the sodium under 2000 mg a day, and for those who really need it - way lower.
Then, the snow storm of hte century was upon us. Our idea of preparing for it was an extra large order of chinese food.
Sounds like I covered all the bases, right? Well not if you read this article in the LA Times from June, 2009, titled "The hidden salt in chicken". I was shocked, I tell you. This is outrageous!! For those of us who are trying, desperately, to create a healthy and yummy low-sodium and heart-healthy life, chicken is essential. Now to find out that most of the birds roosting on the store shelves are filled with extra sodium is really annoying. I'm not endorsing any brand but Foster Farms does say on their website that their chicken does not have added sodium. I haven't checked my local stores yet to see the truth on the labels. That's for the next post - once snowmaggeddon ends and the kids go back to school I can wander the aisles in peace. If the kids stay home any longer it will become their homeschooling project.
Then, the snow storm of hte century was upon us. Our idea of preparing for it was an extra large order of chinese food.
Sounds like I covered all the bases, right? Well not if you read this article in the LA Times from June, 2009, titled "The hidden salt in chicken". I was shocked, I tell you. This is outrageous!! For those of us who are trying, desperately, to create a healthy and yummy low-sodium and heart-healthy life, chicken is essential. Now to find out that most of the birds roosting on the store shelves are filled with extra sodium is really annoying. I'm not endorsing any brand but Foster Farms does say on their website that their chicken does not have added sodium. I haven't checked my local stores yet to see the truth on the labels. That's for the next post - once snowmaggeddon ends and the kids go back to school I can wander the aisles in peace. If the kids stay home any longer it will become their homeschooling project.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
changes are coming
I have been neglecting this blog as I ponder my future writing endeavors. I enjoy writing about my kids, but I have been feeling the need to share more of my knowledge base than this blog is really intended to cover.
As a stay-at-home mom these last 10 years I have become a expert home economist. Anyone who cuts their family budget by more than 50% and adds a mouth to feed, cloth and insure (health wise!) knows that requires some real creativity. Our family has moved twice across the country, bought in a seller's market, sold (twice) in a buyer's market, dealt with a variety of health issues, added another mouth to feed, cloth and insure - that one came with here on special needs as well. Somehow through it all we reduced our debt-load, increased our savings and still had fun!
Our income has risen over the years, but so have our financial burdens. Through it all we've learned what we really need and want to find enjoyment in our lives. We know that there are many who struggle more than we ever did, and we are always looking to share what we can with those in need. We have learned to eat healthier, reduce our carbon footprint and enjoy a wide variety of activities all on one income. How have we done it? That's what I plan to share with you. Exciting additions are headed your way - stay tuned.
As a stay-at-home mom these last 10 years I have become a expert home economist. Anyone who cuts their family budget by more than 50% and adds a mouth to feed, cloth and insure (health wise!) knows that requires some real creativity. Our family has moved twice across the country, bought in a seller's market, sold (twice) in a buyer's market, dealt with a variety of health issues, added another mouth to feed, cloth and insure - that one came with here on special needs as well. Somehow through it all we reduced our debt-load, increased our savings and still had fun!
Our income has risen over the years, but so have our financial burdens. Through it all we've learned what we really need and want to find enjoyment in our lives. We know that there are many who struggle more than we ever did, and we are always looking to share what we can with those in need. We have learned to eat healthier, reduce our carbon footprint and enjoy a wide variety of activities all on one income. How have we done it? That's what I plan to share with you. Exciting additions are headed your way - stay tuned.
storm prep - non-potable water without the waste
it's always good to have extra water on hand during hurricane season. Water for drinking, water for flushing toilets. We never knew that Fredericksburg would be such a stormy place. Tornadoes, blizzards - these weren't in the description we read! Living out in the country, or living in a suburban neighborhood - everyone can lose power in an ice storm and you never know which way a tornado will track. It's a good idea to have a storm kit - batteries, flashlights, canned food, dry food (remember to pack a can opener with the canned food!), drinking water for everyone, toilet paper, paper towels, etc.
We usually fill the tub with water to flush the toilets, but have not had to use that water so it just goes down the drain a few days after the storm has passed. That seems like such a waste when I am trying to reduce my carbon footprint, and conserve resources - especially water! So we hatched on a new idea - cheap 5 gallon paint buckets with lids. We can fill them and keep them covered. That way there is always water so if power goes out for any reason - especially the unexpected reasons, we have water and can flush away! Also, if we have gone for a couple of months without needing it - I can use that water to water my plants and then refresh it with new water so it doesn't get gross. Your local hardware store carries those buckets for around $5, including the lid so it's not a heavy burden on your monthly budget, and since you won't be drinking the water you can always use the buckets for other projects if you need to.
We usually fill the tub with water to flush the toilets, but have not had to use that water so it just goes down the drain a few days after the storm has passed. That seems like such a waste when I am trying to reduce my carbon footprint, and conserve resources - especially water! So we hatched on a new idea - cheap 5 gallon paint buckets with lids. We can fill them and keep them covered. That way there is always water so if power goes out for any reason - especially the unexpected reasons, we have water and can flush away! Also, if we have gone for a couple of months without needing it - I can use that water to water my plants and then refresh it with new water so it doesn't get gross. Your local hardware store carries those buckets for around $5, including the lid so it's not a heavy burden on your monthly budget, and since you won't be drinking the water you can always use the buckets for other projects if you need to.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Heart & Waistline Healthy Eating - yum. "But it's green soup. Eeww - gross"
Mom's Green Soup, aka Broccoli Soup (this came from about.com, I've modified slightly)
1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1-2 stalk celery, finely chopped
**1 medium Yukon Gold potato, peeled and cubed
4 + C fresh broccoli, including stems, chopped ( I had about 5 cups)
2 C no-sodium, fat-free chicken or vegetable broth (Maggi brand makes a no sodium bullion)
1 1/2 c skim milk
** I didn't have any potatoes so I substituted instant mashed potatoes, stirring them in after I processed the cooked veggies.
Preparation:
Heat oil on medium heat in a soup pot or Dutch oven. Gently saute onion and celery for 3-4 minutes, until onion is softened. Add potato and chopped broccoli, followed by the broth and milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
Allow soup to cool slightly, then transfer to a blender/food processor in 2-3 batches, and blend/process till smooth. Return soup to pot and heat gently until read y to serve. *** if using instant potatoes add them at this point.
No, the kids didn't try it. But I have to give them credit. They eat lots of healthy stuff : hummus, home made whole wheat bread, salads, just about any veggie raw, and cooked carrots (well Ellie likes french fries and catsup - other veggies she's taking under advisement right now), Weight Watchers Chicken Marsala (minus the mushrooms unless I sneak them in Ellie's rice somehow), Salmon, and just about any chicken really. They don't eat lots of junk food, and they avoid most fast food. Alex refuses to eat any fast food with two exceptions: non-chain pizzaria pizza, and hot dogs. Ellie will eat Chick-fil-a, and Alex can digest it, he chooses not to. Subway is a safe bet, we finally have one nearby but a sub just sounds, eh, not so interesting. I'm pretty lucky as a mom not to have to wage the fast food war with my kids.
That's why I didn't make them eat the green soup. "What is that mom?" Alex asked at the table. He likes raw broccoli. "Oh it's a really yummy brocolli soup. Do you want to try it?" I replied with the least amount of emotion possible. I figured a "beige" voice might encourage without any insistence. "NO. I mean no thanks." He quickly stuffed some toast in his mouth. Rats. Well, I tried. They had scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast for dinner. Our eggs are heart healthy - 1/2 eggs and 1/2 egg whites beaten and scrambled with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper at the table.
So what's the green soup like? Surprisingly good. My taste buds have adjusted to the low-fat low-salt flavor. This soup is very flavorful with that in mind. It would be wonderful in the summer, served chilled.
1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1-2 stalk celery, finely chopped
**1 medium Yukon Gold potato, peeled and cubed
4 + C fresh broccoli, including stems, chopped ( I had about 5 cups)
2 C no-sodium, fat-free chicken or vegetable broth (Maggi brand makes a no sodium bullion)
1 1/2 c skim milk
** I didn't have any potatoes so I substituted instant mashed potatoes, stirring them in after I processed the cooked veggies.
Preparation:
Heat oil on medium heat in a soup pot or Dutch oven. Gently saute onion and celery for 3-4 minutes, until onion is softened. Add potato and chopped broccoli, followed by the broth and milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
Allow soup to cool slightly, then transfer to a blender/food processor in 2-3 batches, and blend/process till smooth. Return soup to pot and heat gently until read y to serve. *** if using instant potatoes add them at this point.
No, the kids didn't try it. But I have to give them credit. They eat lots of healthy stuff : hummus, home made whole wheat bread, salads, just about any veggie raw, and cooked carrots (well Ellie likes french fries and catsup - other veggies she's taking under advisement right now), Weight Watchers Chicken Marsala (minus the mushrooms unless I sneak them in Ellie's rice somehow), Salmon, and just about any chicken really. They don't eat lots of junk food, and they avoid most fast food. Alex refuses to eat any fast food with two exceptions: non-chain pizzaria pizza, and hot dogs. Ellie will eat Chick-fil-a, and Alex can digest it, he chooses not to. Subway is a safe bet, we finally have one nearby but a sub just sounds, eh, not so interesting. I'm pretty lucky as a mom not to have to wage the fast food war with my kids.
That's why I didn't make them eat the green soup. "What is that mom?" Alex asked at the table. He likes raw broccoli. "Oh it's a really yummy brocolli soup. Do you want to try it?" I replied with the least amount of emotion possible. I figured a "beige" voice might encourage without any insistence. "NO. I mean no thanks." He quickly stuffed some toast in his mouth. Rats. Well, I tried. They had scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast for dinner. Our eggs are heart healthy - 1/2 eggs and 1/2 egg whites beaten and scrambled with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper at the table.
So what's the green soup like? Surprisingly good. My taste buds have adjusted to the low-fat low-salt flavor. This soup is very flavorful with that in mind. It would be wonderful in the summer, served chilled.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Resolving to eat healthier . . . So how'sthat going for you?
Ellie is a carbaholic. If she isn't asking for french fries or pop corn then she is looking for chips and crackers. As a person with DS she already has a tendency to be heavy, so I am trying to improve her diet. We, ok, I, didn't pay to much attention as she packed away a lot of goldfish and crackers and snacks in general last year. This year I have become the snack scrooge. For several months I got her eating bananas if she wanted a snack. Her second favorite food group is meat. I used to think she was a carnivore.
On top of her desires to carb-out I struggle to find low-salt, low-fat healthy alternatives for the rest of the family to avoid issues with heart disease that are genetic in nature. Such an easy thing to do with kids. Ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Oh, hold on and let me catch my breath there.
I've been lucky though. My oldest is an amazingly healthy eater. His favorite snack is organic granny smith apples. He shuns the food at the school for homemade sandwiches, and he absolutely REFUSES to eat fast food. This includes most, but not all, pizza places. If he totally refused pizza I would wonder if he's an alien. The mom & pop pizza shops are cool with him, and he loves calzones with lots of different meats in them, so he has to be human.
Unfortunately Ellie doesn't always follow her brother's example. Veggies are a word we "whisper" in our house. Hopefully she won't realize she's actually eaten any. It may turn her to stone. I'm not sure what she's got against them. She does occasionally lick a carrot or a tomato, then she realizes it's going to kill her and she dumps it like a hot potato. Now, that's a veggie she will eat, in french fry format. Assuming there's lots of ketchup. In fact the ketchup to french fry ratio has to be just. so.
Tonight was a good night though. I made a family favorite: sockeye salmon two ways. That's actually two different recipes. One is our original favorite. I modified a recipe I got from a store in Alaska. I call it Dianne's Hawaiian Sockeye - well, that is till I come up with a better name! The other one is a recipe I got from the American Heart Association (I think) for a very low sodium salmon dish. There's about 70 mg of sodium per serving! The kids don't care for that one as much, but they love my old salmon recipe. I serve it with fresh steamed white rice, a salad and a glass of milk. All the food groups are covered, lots of omega-3's, low fat, and for the grown-ups it's also very low-salt. After that we headed to the gym for swim team and a work out for me. Finally - we are getting on track for our resolutions. Ellie loved the salmon and the rice, the salad - not so much. We'll keep working on that, we've got 11 1/2 months!
On top of her desires to carb-out I struggle to find low-salt, low-fat healthy alternatives for the rest of the family to avoid issues with heart disease that are genetic in nature. Such an easy thing to do with kids. Ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Oh, hold on and let me catch my breath there.
I've been lucky though. My oldest is an amazingly healthy eater. His favorite snack is organic granny smith apples. He shuns the food at the school for homemade sandwiches, and he absolutely REFUSES to eat fast food. This includes most, but not all, pizza places. If he totally refused pizza I would wonder if he's an alien. The mom & pop pizza shops are cool with him, and he loves calzones with lots of different meats in them, so he has to be human.
Unfortunately Ellie doesn't always follow her brother's example. Veggies are a word we "whisper" in our house. Hopefully she won't realize she's actually eaten any. It may turn her to stone. I'm not sure what she's got against them. She does occasionally lick a carrot or a tomato, then she realizes it's going to kill her and she dumps it like a hot potato. Now, that's a veggie she will eat, in french fry format. Assuming there's lots of ketchup. In fact the ketchup to french fry ratio has to be just. so.
Tonight was a good night though. I made a family favorite: sockeye salmon two ways. That's actually two different recipes. One is our original favorite. I modified a recipe I got from a store in Alaska. I call it Dianne's Hawaiian Sockeye - well, that is till I come up with a better name! The other one is a recipe I got from the American Heart Association (I think) for a very low sodium salmon dish. There's about 70 mg of sodium per serving! The kids don't care for that one as much, but they love my old salmon recipe. I serve it with fresh steamed white rice, a salad and a glass of milk. All the food groups are covered, lots of omega-3's, low fat, and for the grown-ups it's also very low-salt. After that we headed to the gym for swim team and a work out for me. Finally - we are getting on track for our resolutions. Ellie loved the salmon and the rice, the salad - not so much. We'll keep working on that, we've got 11 1/2 months!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Happy New Year, take 2
Ok. so I haven't written in a while. Life's been crazy getting ready for the holidays on top of the normal crazy school and after school activities. I've been meaning to write. Really! I've had all these good intentions, you know. You can tell there's a New Year's Resolution coming up, can't you? Of course you can. (insert drum roll) It's Resolution time of year. (drummer sighs a heavy sigh) So?
Ok, so I wrote a bunch of resolutions. I really did intend to stick with them. Really! In fact a few of them I got a jump start on before New Year's. I cleaned out my coupon binder of all the expired coupons - turns out it was more than half of them. I typed my grocery list into the computer and sorted by department, in the order I usually go through the store. (part of my resolution to find more time in the day) This saves tons of time over the long haul as I can zip through the store even faster with my yellow highlighted list. My first grocery trip using my coupons and my list was faster and saved me $20 in coupons and bonus buys!
Another resolution I made was to get my address book into the computer. (part of my resolution to keep in touch with people better) This is partially completed. My address book was double its size with lots of napkins and scraps of paper with people's addresses and phone numbers and emails. I threw all those scraps away on my Christmas vacation - hooray! They are all in the computer as well as a few of the actual addresses found on the various *pages* of the address book.
In the midst of a crazy-healthcare-crisis-week (personal family healthcare crisis, not the national health care crisis on the headlines most days) I even stuck to yet another Resolution. Getting birthday cards out on time! My sister will be opening her hand made (rather manic looking given the insanity of the weekend) birthday card on The Day. This is a first in a llloooonnnggg time. I'm very proud of sticking to that resolution so far, and hope to really make that one stick like glue all year long. Hopefully the rest of the cards I make will look a little less manic. The card's reflection off my internal thoughts was a little creepy.
Also in the midst of the personal-family-crazy-healthcare-week I did manage to cook healthy home made meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Part of the eat healthy, move healthy, be healthy Resolution. Well, till today. This was the camel's back is breaking sort of day that makes you say, "Chinese Take Out and Chocolate Chip Cookies Please." On my way to pick my son up from school, before the tardy bell had even rung, I got a call that my grandmother who was the picture of health for 92 years old, had died after a fall yesterday. Pass the chocolate chip cookies please. The rest of that resolution will have to take 2 and wait till next week.
Ok, so I wrote a bunch of resolutions. I really did intend to stick with them. Really! In fact a few of them I got a jump start on before New Year's. I cleaned out my coupon binder of all the expired coupons - turns out it was more than half of them. I typed my grocery list into the computer and sorted by department, in the order I usually go through the store. (part of my resolution to find more time in the day) This saves tons of time over the long haul as I can zip through the store even faster with my yellow highlighted list. My first grocery trip using my coupons and my list was faster and saved me $20 in coupons and bonus buys!
Another resolution I made was to get my address book into the computer. (part of my resolution to keep in touch with people better) This is partially completed. My address book was double its size with lots of napkins and scraps of paper with people's addresses and phone numbers and emails. I threw all those scraps away on my Christmas vacation - hooray! They are all in the computer as well as a few of the actual addresses found on the various *pages* of the address book.
In the midst of a crazy-healthcare-crisis-week (personal family healthcare crisis, not the national health care crisis on the headlines most days) I even stuck to yet another Resolution. Getting birthday cards out on time! My sister will be opening her hand made (rather manic looking given the insanity of the weekend) birthday card on The Day. This is a first in a llloooonnnggg time. I'm very proud of sticking to that resolution so far, and hope to really make that one stick like glue all year long. Hopefully the rest of the cards I make will look a little less manic. The card's reflection off my internal thoughts was a little creepy.
Also in the midst of the personal-family-crazy-healthcare-week I did manage to cook healthy home made meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Part of the eat healthy, move healthy, be healthy Resolution. Well, till today. This was the camel's back is breaking sort of day that makes you say, "Chinese Take Out and Chocolate Chip Cookies Please." On my way to pick my son up from school, before the tardy bell had even rung, I got a call that my grandmother who was the picture of health for 92 years old, had died after a fall yesterday. Pass the chocolate chip cookies please. The rest of that resolution will have to take 2 and wait till next week.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Bowling Was the Greatest Educational Experience Ever
I didn't think I would ever utter a sentence like that. Don't get me wrong, I like bowling. Once I get past the loud noise, cavernous environment, wearing other peoples shoes, and smoke - oh, right bowling alley's are smoke free now; well then I like bowling. I'm more of an outdoorsy kind of person. But, then something about the competition, it gets me all fired up. I walk in with a sort of, ho hum I-could-take-it-or-leave-it attitude, and then after the first 2 frames I'm hooked. Not that I'm any good mind you! I have had more (way more!!) than my fair share of gutter balls. Personally, I'm a fan of bumpers!
Maybe that's why it was such an educational experience for me tonight. You see tonight was our grand finale for bowling with our Young Athletes. We practiced for the last 7 weeks with real bowling balls and homemade pins at our usual venue at the Paragon Gymnastics. They are so generous to donate space for our athletes every week. However, the true effect of bowling is lost without the 'alley'. So tonight (insert drum roll here) we trekked on down to Leisure Lanes where the older Special O athletes practice every week. Our young athletes got (for some of them) their first chance to bowl in a real bowling alley. Sometimes our kids have sensory issues where flashing lights or loud noises are upsetting (that sounds familiar). This alley is great that they tone down the music early in the day, and the lights are up, and they don't have strobes or other flashing lights. The kids whooped and hollered just like any other folks - maybe we got a little bit more excited at our end of the alley, but hey, we were having a great time.
This was Ellie's 4th time in a bowling alley. However, this was the first time she played. In the past, she didn't know the game, and was probably bothered by those sensory things so she was more interested in running off. Tonight she stayed, sat in the seats, cheered on her team mates and took her turn. Every time she cheered and high fived whether she struck some pins or rolled a gutter ball. The excitement of the game: playing with friends, taking turns, sharing and enjoying everyone's company - that was the important stuff. Interestingly enough, the big kids (the older sibs of our young athletes, their friends, and a wonderful older friend to our young athletes who is super Special in his own way) those big kids, and our little kids - they got the same scores. So our abilities or our disabilities, when you come right down to it: they don't mean a thing. What we really have to ask ourselves is: did you have fun? did you make friends? would you want to do it all over again? And the answer is: Unequivocably, YES! I can't wait to put my feet in someone else's shoes again.
Maybe that's why it was such an educational experience for me tonight. You see tonight was our grand finale for bowling with our Young Athletes. We practiced for the last 7 weeks with real bowling balls and homemade pins at our usual venue at the Paragon Gymnastics. They are so generous to donate space for our athletes every week. However, the true effect of bowling is lost without the 'alley'. So tonight (insert drum roll here) we trekked on down to Leisure Lanes where the older Special O athletes practice every week. Our young athletes got (for some of them) their first chance to bowl in a real bowling alley. Sometimes our kids have sensory issues where flashing lights or loud noises are upsetting (that sounds familiar). This alley is great that they tone down the music early in the day, and the lights are up, and they don't have strobes or other flashing lights. The kids whooped and hollered just like any other folks - maybe we got a little bit more excited at our end of the alley, but hey, we were having a great time.
This was Ellie's 4th time in a bowling alley. However, this was the first time she played. In the past, she didn't know the game, and was probably bothered by those sensory things so she was more interested in running off. Tonight she stayed, sat in the seats, cheered on her team mates and took her turn. Every time she cheered and high fived whether she struck some pins or rolled a gutter ball. The excitement of the game: playing with friends, taking turns, sharing and enjoying everyone's company - that was the important stuff. Interestingly enough, the big kids (the older sibs of our young athletes, their friends, and a wonderful older friend to our young athletes who is super Special in his own way) those big kids, and our little kids - they got the same scores. So our abilities or our disabilities, when you come right down to it: they don't mean a thing. What we really have to ask ourselves is: did you have fun? did you make friends? would you want to do it all over again? And the answer is: Unequivocably, YES! I can't wait to put my feet in someone else's shoes again.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
What's your #? Mine is 9693
That's how many steps I took today.
My husband gave me a pedometer, and I tried it on today on a whim. I was curious just how much walking I do in an average day. Mind you, I haven't been running much at all since I got whooping cough. That's a whole 'nuther story. I'll write it soon.
So without a cardio workout I was curious how close to the 10,000 step goal I come on an average day. I was happily surprised to see that without any extra walking I come really close. If I had done any cleaning today or yardwork, I would certainly have made the 10,000 steps. Now according to this article at about.com my lifestyle is considered 'somewhat active' since I managed to wrack up 9,693 steps and that does NOT include any workout or walk. I just went to the WalMart Super Center. Woo Hoo! Guess that explains why I haven't gained any weight even though I haven't been running.
I am curious to see how many steps are in an average run. My next run is Saturday, and I will be sure to wear the pedometer and report back. But what I really want to know is why I still haven't lost the baby belly with all these steps?? Guess some things just aren't meant to be known.
My husband gave me a pedometer, and I tried it on today on a whim. I was curious just how much walking I do in an average day. Mind you, I haven't been running much at all since I got whooping cough. That's a whole 'nuther story. I'll write it soon.
So without a cardio workout I was curious how close to the 10,000 step goal I come on an average day. I was happily surprised to see that without any extra walking I come really close. If I had done any cleaning today or yardwork, I would certainly have made the 10,000 steps. Now according to this article at about.com my lifestyle is considered 'somewhat active' since I managed to wrack up 9,693 steps and that does NOT include any workout or walk. I just went to the WalMart Super Center. Woo Hoo! Guess that explains why I haven't gained any weight even though I haven't been running.
I am curious to see how many steps are in an average run. My next run is Saturday, and I will be sure to wear the pedometer and report back. But what I really want to know is why I still haven't lost the baby belly with all these steps?? Guess some things just aren't meant to be known.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Will you say Hi?
Such an easy word to say. Well, sometimes. If you see some one who is homeless, do you smile and say, "Hi." Or do you look away? If you see someone who is in a wheelchair, do you smile and say, "Hi." Or do you look away? If you see someone who appears to be Developmentally Delayed, or mentally impaired; do you smile and say, "Hi." Or do you look away?
I know that it is uncomfortable to be presented with the impairments of others. I know that awkward feeling when all is right in your world, and you meet someone who does not have the same abilities or opportunities or fortunate circumstances as you; and you just don't know what to say. Before Ellie was born I was like you. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to say the wrong things, or do the wrong things and make anyone uncomfortable. So I just didn't say anything. I looked away, or somehow avoided the situation.
That cold, snowy day in December, 2 days after Ellie was born, when we first received the news that she might have Down Syndrome changed everything. All of the sudden I realized, in a very gut-wrenching way, that people with disabilities are. just. like. you. and. me. This beautiful, joyful, smiling baby wasn't someone that should be shunned. I don't know why it took being a parent to a child with disabilities to finally get it through my thick skull. It's not that I shunned people with disabilities before. I had worked at a local printing company that had a Goodwill Worksite and I would visit with the Goodwill employees in the cafeteria. I still remember Richard. He had a great work ethic and a great sense of humor. But outside of work, I didn't interact with people with disabilites.
I have sometimes wondered if Ellie's DS is some sort of sick pay-back for my overly frequent use of the R-word as a teenager. But then I remind myself that I don't think God is vindictive or mean or spiteful. Down Syndrome is just one of those crazy quirks of genetics - if you stop to think of the odds of having a child withOUT disabilities you get pretty bowled over.
But what happens when these cute kids who stay child-like so much longer than the rest of us, grow up? Are they accepted in society? Is there a place for them in our circle of friends? Is there a place for them in our church group? Is there a place for them on our softball league? How do they make connections and friends in the community at large? I wonder about Ellie's future as an adult. Will she make lasting friendships and connections with others or will she be alone? Being an eternal optimist, I try not to worry about this. I hope that the future will be bright for her and all of our kids.
So I found this website from British Columbia, Canada through a friend in the DS community. It's worth a look: Start With Hi.
I know that it is uncomfortable to be presented with the impairments of others. I know that awkward feeling when all is right in your world, and you meet someone who does not have the same abilities or opportunities or fortunate circumstances as you; and you just don't know what to say. Before Ellie was born I was like you. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to say the wrong things, or do the wrong things and make anyone uncomfortable. So I just didn't say anything. I looked away, or somehow avoided the situation.
That cold, snowy day in December, 2 days after Ellie was born, when we first received the news that she might have Down Syndrome changed everything. All of the sudden I realized, in a very gut-wrenching way, that people with disabilities are. just. like. you. and. me. This beautiful, joyful, smiling baby wasn't someone that should be shunned. I don't know why it took being a parent to a child with disabilities to finally get it through my thick skull. It's not that I shunned people with disabilities before. I had worked at a local printing company that had a Goodwill Worksite and I would visit with the Goodwill employees in the cafeteria. I still remember Richard. He had a great work ethic and a great sense of humor. But outside of work, I didn't interact with people with disabilites.
I have sometimes wondered if Ellie's DS is some sort of sick pay-back for my overly frequent use of the R-word as a teenager. But then I remind myself that I don't think God is vindictive or mean or spiteful. Down Syndrome is just one of those crazy quirks of genetics - if you stop to think of the odds of having a child withOUT disabilities you get pretty bowled over.
But what happens when these cute kids who stay child-like so much longer than the rest of us, grow up? Are they accepted in society? Is there a place for them in our circle of friends? Is there a place for them in our church group? Is there a place for them on our softball league? How do they make connections and friends in the community at large? I wonder about Ellie's future as an adult. Will she make lasting friendships and connections with others or will she be alone? Being an eternal optimist, I try not to worry about this. I hope that the future will be bright for her and all of our kids.
So I found this website from British Columbia, Canada through a friend in the DS community. It's worth a look: Start With Hi.
Keep your eyes open: you will see some really neat things
I just never know when to expect a new skill or ability. They sometimes appear on queue while I have a planned activity. That happened with a lot of signs after we began watching Signing Time. But gross motor skills have arrived on the spot after much gnashing of teeth and screaming and fussing. In fact we have suffered through weeks and months of painful and difficult physical therapy sessions before some gross motor skills arrived. Things like crawling, walking and climbing stairs required really painful, long, drawn-out therapy sessions and lots of practice before they emerged. In fact, they even required changing therapists and approaches to therapy.
But then, there are some things that just surprise you at unexpected moments. Tonight was one of those times. We had a swim meet at our old swimming hole: the YMCA's waterpark. We were members of the team last summer and have lots of friends there. It is a 30 minute drive from our home and less than 10 minutes into that drive we pass a county pool with a swim team. We chose to try that team out this year as that shorter drive helps me with potty training Ellie. However, we miss our friends. That made tonight's meet a real treat and we sat with our old team instead of our new team. The kids had a blast. Alex got to hang with his buddies who also swim year round with him, and Ellie got to sit with some old friends who brought a bucket of Lego. Well she kept handing me little pieces of Lego connected together. I didn't realize at first, but she was putting them together herself. I caught on to this idea after a few minutes, and then she finally tapped me on the arm so that she could show me how she does it. Watching her master this fine motor skill made my heart leap with joy! She has over-pronated her hand for all grasping and drawing and eating activities since day 1. (Imagine holding a spoon with your thumb under the handle) However, watching her hold those Lego correctly I realized she CAN hold a pencil correctly and manipulate it for a proper writing grasp. I have been doing more work with her this summer and I think it is finally paying off. Yea!!!!!
Lego Rocks! And for those of you who didn't know this: looking for little Lego pieces in a pile of Lego builds your brain's synaptic connections (still searching for the link). So keep your eyes open for two reasons: you might miss something really amazing and you can get smarter looking for Lego. :D
But then, there are some things that just surprise you at unexpected moments. Tonight was one of those times. We had a swim meet at our old swimming hole: the YMCA's waterpark. We were members of the team last summer and have lots of friends there. It is a 30 minute drive from our home and less than 10 minutes into that drive we pass a county pool with a swim team. We chose to try that team out this year as that shorter drive helps me with potty training Ellie. However, we miss our friends. That made tonight's meet a real treat and we sat with our old team instead of our new team. The kids had a blast. Alex got to hang with his buddies who also swim year round with him, and Ellie got to sit with some old friends who brought a bucket of Lego. Well she kept handing me little pieces of Lego connected together. I didn't realize at first, but she was putting them together herself. I caught on to this idea after a few minutes, and then she finally tapped me on the arm so that she could show me how she does it. Watching her master this fine motor skill made my heart leap with joy! She has over-pronated her hand for all grasping and drawing and eating activities since day 1. (Imagine holding a spoon with your thumb under the handle) However, watching her hold those Lego correctly I realized she CAN hold a pencil correctly and manipulate it for a proper writing grasp. I have been doing more work with her this summer and I think it is finally paying off. Yea!!!!!
Lego Rocks! And for those of you who didn't know this: looking for little Lego pieces in a pile of Lego builds your brain's synaptic connections (still searching for the link). So keep your eyes open for two reasons: you might miss something really amazing and you can get smarter looking for Lego. :D
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Spending My Life In Plan B ..... includes skin cancer? Really?
What a crazy week. I knew it would be as hubby flew out of town on a business trip. And of course when hubby travels - things always go wrong. This time it was sick kids. Alex is still coughing up a lung every night. Why is it always 10 times worse when they go to bed than it is during the day???
It started out as any summer vacation week begins: getting ready to go to swim team. Summer swim team practice prep is easy: bathing suits. Check. Towels. Check. Goggles. Check. It also includes: jogging stroller. Check. Water. Check. inhaler. Check. Goldfish. Check. I run with Ellie in the jogging stroller every time Alex has an outdoor swim team practice.
We were also going to stay at the pool for free swim after practice, so I packed a lunch, sunscreen, toys and towels and suits for me and Ellie. We managed to get out the door on time and had a great time at the pool. Alex got a mild sunburn in spite of the sunscreen, so we skipped the evening swim team practice at the YMCA with his year-round team. Thus began a downward spiral to the week. We missed all the remaining swim team practices as Alex developed a fever Tuesday afternoon and a cough on Wednesday. The fever broke by mid-day Thursday, but the cough is still pestering him. Mostly at night when he is trying to sleep. When the cough developed I called the Doc to see if they could fit him in. Thankfully they saw him at 4pm and confirmed it wasn't swine flu or strep throat. He is on antibiotics, musinex and cough syrup.
On Friday morning I got a rude wake up call to USE SUNSCREEN WHENEVER I AM OUTSIDE. I was mentioning to a friend this funny red bump on my neck and how it had been there for 4 weeks and it's condition (color, shape, size, itchiness, & crustiness) reminded me of a Basal Cell Carcinoma I had removed from my neck 7 years ago. My friend said, "Well if you're concerned about it you should call your Dermatologist." Very good advice. Don't know why I didn't think of it first!
Well, I remembered to call the Dermatologist after I scheduled Alex's appointment. The Dermatologist was able to fit me in on Friday. I brought the kids, thinking it was only going to be a quick evaluation. The PA came in and after a quick look-see through a huge microscope said, "That's a keritosis, and it needs to come off." Out he went, and back in as quickly he came with a tank of liquid nitrogen. "We're going to freeze this off. It will sting a little bit, and be sore for a while." My son thought that was SO COOL! He didn't know Doctor's offices had LIQUID NITROGEN. Wow! And, yep, it stung, and was sore for a while after that, but it went away quickly. I covered it with a very cool pink Barbie band-aide. I covered the rest of me with SPF 70, and back to the pool we headed.
So what is a keritosis? It wasn't a basal cell carcinoma like I had 7 years ago. I wasn't too worried about that when I learned they don't metastisize and they are "cured" by cutting them out. The one I had removed was on the back of my neck near my hair line: not even a really visible scar. The PA told me that the keritosis was not a basal cell, but pre-cancerous. So I googled keritosis, and Google was polite; asking me "Did you really mean KERATOSIS?" Oh, yeah, thanks for the spell-check. A quick trip off to MedicineNet and I have my answer. Well, there is some debate in the medical community as to whether it IS cancer, or it is just PRE-cancerous. That's maybe good. But regardless of the debate; it is definitely pre-cancerous to squamous cell. Is that good? According to the MedicineNet website "Anywhere from 5%-10% of AKs can potentially go on to become skin cancers." I guess it's not melanoma and won't turn into melanoma, so it must be good. Right? Oh. Squamous cells are all over the body. Oh. Unlike Basal Cell Carcinoma Squamous cell cancer CAN matasticize. Not so good. Also, the website says: "While AKs may give rise to skin cancers like squamous cell carcinomas, they do not turn into melanomas. Nevertheless, it is important to keep in mind that people with AKs may be more prone to melanomas simply by having more sun damage." Great.
I feel like I'm on a new journey. I imagine skin cancer is like that bear in the woods. You go hiking, knowing that there are bear, and that they are very dangerous when encountered, but you still enjoy nature and hiking so off you go. Forewarned of course and with your wits about you and the knowledge of what to do if you encounter one. I too have knowledge of what to do to reduce my risks now. I sunscreen always: SPF 30 or higher depending on my activity and repeated hourly if I'm out that long. I wear a hat, especially when I'm running or gardening. I try to avoid spending lots of time outside at the high point of the day. Instead I run and garden in the morning or late afternoon/evening when I can. But I do have two young kids, one a swimmer. So I am not going to hide inside all summer long. I am not afraid of cancer. If it does pop out of the woods on the trail ahead, I will meet it head on. In the mean time I will enjoy the hike.
Postscript:
Since I started this two weeks ago, I found another possible keratosis on my right arm, and as I was researching last night I found maybe a few more on my right leg. Guess I have a call to make today. I was hoping they were just more mosquito bites like I got on the 4th of July. But, they aren't bug bites. Mosquito bites get big and red, and REALLY itchy. So ITCHY I scratch and scratch till they open and bleed. These are small, and sort of itchy, but don't open up like bug bites. Instead they are the same size/shape as the keratosis that he removed. So to all my swim team friends past and present: get your sunscreen on!
It started out as any summer vacation week begins: getting ready to go to swim team. Summer swim team practice prep is easy: bathing suits. Check. Towels. Check. Goggles. Check. It also includes: jogging stroller. Check. Water. Check. inhaler. Check. Goldfish. Check. I run with Ellie in the jogging stroller every time Alex has an outdoor swim team practice.
We were also going to stay at the pool for free swim after practice, so I packed a lunch, sunscreen, toys and towels and suits for me and Ellie. We managed to get out the door on time and had a great time at the pool. Alex got a mild sunburn in spite of the sunscreen, so we skipped the evening swim team practice at the YMCA with his year-round team. Thus began a downward spiral to the week. We missed all the remaining swim team practices as Alex developed a fever Tuesday afternoon and a cough on Wednesday. The fever broke by mid-day Thursday, but the cough is still pestering him. Mostly at night when he is trying to sleep. When the cough developed I called the Doc to see if they could fit him in. Thankfully they saw him at 4pm and confirmed it wasn't swine flu or strep throat. He is on antibiotics, musinex and cough syrup.
On Friday morning I got a rude wake up call to USE SUNSCREEN WHENEVER I AM OUTSIDE. I was mentioning to a friend this funny red bump on my neck and how it had been there for 4 weeks and it's condition (color, shape, size, itchiness, & crustiness) reminded me of a Basal Cell Carcinoma I had removed from my neck 7 years ago. My friend said, "Well if you're concerned about it you should call your Dermatologist." Very good advice. Don't know why I didn't think of it first!
Well, I remembered to call the Dermatologist after I scheduled Alex's appointment. The Dermatologist was able to fit me in on Friday. I brought the kids, thinking it was only going to be a quick evaluation. The PA came in and after a quick look-see through a huge microscope said, "That's a keritosis, and it needs to come off." Out he went, and back in as quickly he came with a tank of liquid nitrogen. "We're going to freeze this off. It will sting a little bit, and be sore for a while." My son thought that was SO COOL! He didn't know Doctor's offices had LIQUID NITROGEN. Wow! And, yep, it stung, and was sore for a while after that, but it went away quickly. I covered it with a very cool pink Barbie band-aide. I covered the rest of me with SPF 70, and back to the pool we headed.
So what is a keritosis? It wasn't a basal cell carcinoma like I had 7 years ago. I wasn't too worried about that when I learned they don't metastisize and they are "cured" by cutting them out. The one I had removed was on the back of my neck near my hair line: not even a really visible scar. The PA told me that the keritosis was not a basal cell, but pre-cancerous. So I googled keritosis, and Google was polite; asking me "Did you really mean KERATOSIS?" Oh, yeah, thanks for the spell-check. A quick trip off to MedicineNet and I have my answer. Well, there is some debate in the medical community as to whether it IS cancer, or it is just PRE-cancerous. That's maybe good. But regardless of the debate; it is definitely pre-cancerous to squamous cell. Is that good? According to the MedicineNet website "Anywhere from 5%-10% of AKs can potentially go on to become skin cancers." I guess it's not melanoma and won't turn into melanoma, so it must be good. Right? Oh. Squamous cells are all over the body. Oh. Unlike Basal Cell Carcinoma Squamous cell cancer CAN matasticize. Not so good. Also, the website says: "While AKs may give rise to skin cancers like squamous cell carcinomas, they do not turn into melanomas. Nevertheless, it is important to keep in mind that people with AKs may be more prone to melanomas simply by having more sun damage." Great.
I feel like I'm on a new journey. I imagine skin cancer is like that bear in the woods. You go hiking, knowing that there are bear, and that they are very dangerous when encountered, but you still enjoy nature and hiking so off you go. Forewarned of course and with your wits about you and the knowledge of what to do if you encounter one. I too have knowledge of what to do to reduce my risks now. I sunscreen always: SPF 30 or higher depending on my activity and repeated hourly if I'm out that long. I wear a hat, especially when I'm running or gardening. I try to avoid spending lots of time outside at the high point of the day. Instead I run and garden in the morning or late afternoon/evening when I can. But I do have two young kids, one a swimmer. So I am not going to hide inside all summer long. I am not afraid of cancer. If it does pop out of the woods on the trail ahead, I will meet it head on. In the mean time I will enjoy the hike.
Postscript:
Since I started this two weeks ago, I found another possible keratosis on my right arm, and as I was researching last night I found maybe a few more on my right leg. Guess I have a call to make today. I was hoping they were just more mosquito bites like I got on the 4th of July. But, they aren't bug bites. Mosquito bites get big and red, and REALLY itchy. So ITCHY I scratch and scratch till they open and bleed. These are small, and sort of itchy, but don't open up like bug bites. Instead they are the same size/shape as the keratosis that he removed. So to all my swim team friends past and present: get your sunscreen on!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Astronomy Picture of the Day "APOD" - Maybe you were wondering ...
why I have the website Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) on my sidebar. Maybe you weren't. If you were: read on. Yesteryday's pic was amazing, and funny. Remember when you used to lay down on the grass and stare at the clouds trying to make out shapes? That one's a dinosaur, there's a dolphin, and look it's spongebob! Well try that with the astronomy image from June 23, 2009. What do you see? I see . . . . . chomp, chomp, chomp, . . . . . a ginormous Pacman! Then I read about the Molecular Cloud Barnard 68 (it's scientific name). How cool, and it's only 500 light-years away. I think that's close in astronomical distances. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around astronomical distances. I can handle 900 miles from home to the in-laws in Florida. I can even comprehend 5,000 miles to Alaska. But light-years? Maybe it's the kinesthetic learner in me. I just can't grasp it.
Of course the next thing that molecular cloud brought to mind was Star Trek the Next Generation. I bet they could have a great episode with one of those. It will require the deflector dish to escape of course. Maybe the already did one. I'll have to check with the ultimate ST geek: my spouse :)
This doesn't answer your question of why is it there, hanging out on a blog about kids with special needs. Well, the great questions of the universe aren't always answered here on Earth. Looking for answers in the heavens is as human as going to the bathroom (sorry - I have a 5th grader!) Ever since I was a child I loved laying on the grass on a warm summer's eve looking up at the stars and the moon. I could sit outside and stare at the night sky for hours wondering and wandering, mentally at least. APOD gives me that moment again, without the mosquitos.
Of course the next thing that molecular cloud brought to mind was Star Trek the Next Generation. I bet they could have a great episode with one of those. It will require the deflector dish to escape of course. Maybe the already did one. I'll have to check with the ultimate ST geek: my spouse :)
This doesn't answer your question of why is it there, hanging out on a blog about kids with special needs. Well, the great questions of the universe aren't always answered here on Earth. Looking for answers in the heavens is as human as going to the bathroom (sorry - I have a 5th grader!) Ever since I was a child I loved laying on the grass on a warm summer's eve looking up at the stars and the moon. I could sit outside and stare at the night sky for hours wondering and wandering, mentally at least. APOD gives me that moment again, without the mosquitos.
Friday, June 19, 2009
"All who wander are not lost"
I'm watching "The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy with my son. It's been 30 years since I first read the stories and about 2 years since I last saw the movies. 5th graders ask great questions. The reading void has been filled now with the promise of 3 great books.
Gandalf's quote has been my mantra over the past year. I know I'm not lost, but I don't know where I'm wandering exactly. It's a disconcerting feeling - like a dream where you know where you are but it looks different somehow. And like a dream I have so little emotion about it all. It's just sort of there.
This morning I watched the sun rise as I ate my usual breakfast. The sky was the clearest blue - an unending bright blue sea of possibilities as far as the eye could see. An inspiring blue. A hopeful blue. A "future's so bright I have to wear shades" sort of blue. I almost felt something.
Then a distant echoing drumbeat. Today's trash day. Collect all the trash. Clean the fridge out. What's that smell? Really is that watermelon THAT old? One sniff and my nose hairs recoiled in fear trying to run and hide. Vacuum the downstairs. Clean out the litter box. Today is a Physical Therapy/Speech Therapy day. Pack up the car: water bottles; snacks, and diaper bag. Check. Find the coupons and the grocery list. Check. "Everybody get dressed and brush your teeth. We are leaving in 10 minutes." Amazingly we do. The impossibly blue sky was covered with hordes of white/gray clouds. Marching slowly across the expanse.
Leaving early affords me the opportunity to check out the new gas station. Saved $.10/gallon there. On a full tank of gas. Love that. Maybe a few of those clouds are marching away. I am not running late. I have the luxury of driving the speed limit and not worrying about whether I will make our appointment on time. Wow - this feels great. Liberating almost. Relaxing. Especially when Jimmy Buffet crones over the speakers. "Frankenstein had nothing on this body of mine. The villagers still come out to see. To see me. Breakin free. Cuz I've got a schoolboy heart. A novelist eye...."
It occurs to me that he is a great lyricist. I brought along a couple books about writing better. I am not a good writer. Maybe someday. But not today. I wonder if that is part of my wandering. Wandering towards better writing. What else am I wandering towards? What else is out there for me? Emotionally I feel flat. Nothing excites my passions these days. I almost felt something this morning watching that Blue Sky of Possibilities. Those "marching clouds of to do's" cover up the light and impossibilities of a crystal clear blue sky. They lead me on neither happy nor sad, just there, hanging out. Near the crystal clear blue sky of impossibilities, but never reaching it. In my happy dreams I wander past those clouds and realize that impossible sky.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Long Course Swimming . . . Long Steps Forward
So, I was a summer league swimmer as a kid: starting in 8 & unders and swimming through part of high school on the high school team. But things have changed LOTS since then. I have had to learn (or re-learn) lots of new vocabulary: A, BB, B and C times, DQ (dis-qualified, not Dairy Queen), Stroke and Turn, Heat, Short Course, Long Course; to name a few. Well, it turns out short course is what I knew from my past: a 25 yard or meter pool. Long Course is what they swim in the Olympics: 50 meters for one length. That's intimidating. But cool too as you have fewer flip-turns. Today was Alex's first Long Course meet. He was nervous as he had 4 events: 100 back, 50 free, 100 breast, and 50 fly; in that order.
The coaches had to estimate what his times would be for his entry, as he had never swum long course before. Nervously he stood on the block, and jumped in for the 100 back. The starter shot the gun and the swimmers were off. This meet was a fast meet, as most (not all) of the other swimmers had A, BB and B times. Alex has just finished up his first year of swim team - he started last June with a summer team, fell in love with the sport and joined the year-round team at the Y last September. He spent the fall and winter learning the strokes and turns, and only started working on endurance and speed this spring when he moved up to a more challenging group for practice. His times have slowly and steadily improved through the year, but they are still solidly C times.
Today he took a few giant leaps forward in that long course pool. He hit the wall at the end of 100 meter backstroke 14 seconds faster than he ever did before. In that event he dropped his time to within 10 seconds of a B time. Next, he dove off the starting block (his best dive ever!) to a fastest time ever in the 50 free. He broke a minute which was a personal goal of his, and dropped his time down to 55:98; within 11 seconds of another B time! His 100 breast stroke showed a 3 second improvement and his 50 fly time stayed the same, but he looked TIRED by then :). The nice thing I noticed was that his breaststroke and butterfly stroke and kick were still together; right up to the end. No DQs! Woo Hoo!! Today he recognized the culmination of lots of little steps into one giant leap.
Friday, May 29, 2009
They grow up so fast
It's hard to believe my oldest is 9, and finishing up 4th grade. He is a young 4th grader, and in the gifted program to boot. I am so glad that we didn't hold him back a year, as he is usually bored in school. Sometimes I just have to laugh at the absurdity of having two at such opposite ends of the spectrum. Alex has been asking me if I truly believe (not just want to believe) that Ellie will speak clearly, ever. "Not just what you want to believe, but seriously." If I didn't laugh, I would cry :). Well for those of you with children with disabilities you know, we all cry sometimes. But, they do bring us an immeasurable amount of joy too.
Yesterday I helped him create his own blog. It's still in the rough draft stage. I promised to help him download some images to it over the weekend. We have taken lots of pictures of his Lego creations over the years. We also have some pictures of his Lego DNA helix from his Focus (the gifted program) Independent Study. I plan to blog about that as I am the uber-proud-Momma.
Through my son's impetus, I will finally get the hang of imbedding images and video for my blog too! My children are my inspiration and pitchfork (as in they are nudging me with it!!) to keep learning and doing new things. I have intended to upload images to this blog, but just haven't gotten around to it. Now with Alex's help I should be able to take this blog to the next level.
Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!
Yesterday I helped him create his own blog. It's still in the rough draft stage. I promised to help him download some images to it over the weekend. We have taken lots of pictures of his Lego creations over the years. We also have some pictures of his Lego DNA helix from his Focus (the gifted program) Independent Study. I plan to blog about that as I am the uber-proud-Momma.
Through my son's impetus, I will finally get the hang of imbedding images and video for my blog too! My children are my inspiration and pitchfork (as in they are nudging me with it!!) to keep learning and doing new things. I have intended to upload images to this blog, but just haven't gotten around to it. Now with Alex's help I should be able to take this blog to the next level.
Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Early Intervention - who is it really for?
This started as a response to some folks complaining about how Sarah Palin holds her baby - Trig. I am not about to talk politics on this blog (again), but I will say that I find it hard to see how the family gets early intervention services for Trig when they are between Juneau and Wasilla so often, and Sarah works full time. I assume, that Todd is the primary care giver and the one present for all of those EI services. I'll tell you that the scheduling for EI is kind of tough, and of course, in Alaska, everything is far apart so there are more to the logistics, time involved for travel and such. Not to mention, I recently read an article detailing how the services in Wasilla were being cut. It makes me wonder what, if any, services Trig, and his family, are receiving? Why?
Well, this post started after reading, again, people complaining about how Sarah Palin holds Trig: like a sack of potatoes. For all of those complaining about how she is holding baby Trig, I am not about to defend Sarah. But, I will tell you that holding a child with Down Syndrome is not like holding any other typical child. All children with DS have low tone. It varies as to how low it is. Some children with other disabilities also have low tone. Tone varies from child to child. My daughter's muscles are definitely stronger now then when she was Trig's age, but for Ellie her general muscle "tone" will always be on the low side. Luckily for her (and me) it's on the high side of low.
What does this mean? It means a lot of things with regards to activities and how to teach your muscles. When you're holding a baby or child with low tone, it translates into "how well do they hold on to you". Kids with low tone do not hold back very well. That makes holding them all your job.
Here's what that really means using Trig and Sarah Palin as an example. I'm guessing Trig weighs about 20 lbs now. So, imagine taking 20lbs of cooked spaghetti noodles (the long thin kind) and putting them into a ziploc bag. Then carry that bag of cooked spaghetti as if it were your child. That's about how it feels on your arms, shoulders and back. So, it's easy to end up carrying a child with low tone like they were a sack of potatoes. I'll admit that on a few occasions I may have done that because I was sooooo tired. I work out and keep myself in good shape, just like Sarah so most of the time, I don't feel the weight of carrying a child with low tone. It's only when I'm tired that I feel it.
But, watching Sarah carry Trig that way, REPEATEDLY, is why Sarah Palin makes me sooooo mad. She tells us now, repeatedly, how she knew while pregnant that Trig has DS, and that she made the conscious CHOICE to have him. That she considered abortion, and she chose LIFE. God bless her, and I commend her for that choice. It's not an easy one to make. HOWEVER, having made that choice she has not shown publicly how she is following up on that choice with the other ones that would seemingly follow. She runs regularly and keeps herself in good shape. There is no excuse for carrying her son like a sack of potatoes. Unless you are putting ALL of your wants and desires ahead of your child's needs. A child with DS needs EI in order to have a greater chance at a lifetime of independence. Parents of a child with DS need EI in order to learn how best to parent their child. There are things you should do differently when raising a child with DS that aren't intuitive and are not always easy to find in a book. EI services help you learn these things, they help you become a better teacher to your child and address his or her unique learning style.
Children with low tone benefit greatly from early intervention. More importantly, their parents do too. So those parents can learn how to teach their children how to learn how to do things. What I mean is that children with DS learn one way. They don't learn by making mistakes. To Help them, you must help them "model' the right behavior the first time (and the first 100 times) they practice something new. This is counter-intuitive. As parents, we expect our children to learn FROM their mistakes. Children with DS learn to REPEAT their mistakes. So, as a parent, Early Intervention is extremely important in teaching my child how to learn new skills RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. That takes a lot of thinking ahead, and planning.
Here's a recent example of how this works. We were at school the other day. Ellie was trying to climb into the chair at a table in the library. She was struggling to motor-plan. That means she was struggling to determine where to put her hands, arms and legs in order to pull her body into the chair so that she could turn and sit in it properly. In order to help her learn how to do it right, I had to look at what she wanted to accomplish and figure out where she should be placing her body parts to effectively pull herself into the chair. Then I had to do two things. First, get her to let me help her place her legs and arms in the right spots. Secondly, I had to give her just enough (but not too much) of a boost up as she tried to pull herself into the chair. She got it! After I helped her plan it right she practiced it a bunch the right way with out my help.
If we had not had early intervention - I wouldn't know to do those things. I would just solve her problem for her by picking her up and putting her in the chair. Now she knows one more thing than she did before. Now she is one smaller step towards independence. I worry about Trig and children like him. When the parents don't get the Early Intervention they don't know how to keep helping their child learn as they grow. Those children are at a disadvantage for having the best chance to be independent as adults if their families don't know how to teach them independence as children.
Well, this post started after reading, again, people complaining about how Sarah Palin holds Trig: like a sack of potatoes. For all of those complaining about how she is holding baby Trig, I am not about to defend Sarah. But, I will tell you that holding a child with Down Syndrome is not like holding any other typical child. All children with DS have low tone. It varies as to how low it is. Some children with other disabilities also have low tone. Tone varies from child to child. My daughter's muscles are definitely stronger now then when she was Trig's age, but for Ellie her general muscle "tone" will always be on the low side. Luckily for her (and me) it's on the high side of low.
What does this mean? It means a lot of things with regards to activities and how to teach your muscles. When you're holding a baby or child with low tone, it translates into "how well do they hold on to you". Kids with low tone do not hold back very well. That makes holding them all your job.
Here's what that really means using Trig and Sarah Palin as an example. I'm guessing Trig weighs about 20 lbs now. So, imagine taking 20lbs of cooked spaghetti noodles (the long thin kind) and putting them into a ziploc bag. Then carry that bag of cooked spaghetti as if it were your child. That's about how it feels on your arms, shoulders and back. So, it's easy to end up carrying a child with low tone like they were a sack of potatoes. I'll admit that on a few occasions I may have done that because I was sooooo tired. I work out and keep myself in good shape, just like Sarah so most of the time, I don't feel the weight of carrying a child with low tone. It's only when I'm tired that I feel it.
But, watching Sarah carry Trig that way, REPEATEDLY, is why Sarah Palin makes me sooooo mad. She tells us now, repeatedly, how she knew while pregnant that Trig has DS, and that she made the conscious CHOICE to have him. That she considered abortion, and she chose LIFE. God bless her, and I commend her for that choice. It's not an easy one to make. HOWEVER, having made that choice she has not shown publicly how she is following up on that choice with the other ones that would seemingly follow. She runs regularly and keeps herself in good shape. There is no excuse for carrying her son like a sack of potatoes. Unless you are putting ALL of your wants and desires ahead of your child's needs. A child with DS needs EI in order to have a greater chance at a lifetime of independence. Parents of a child with DS need EI in order to learn how best to parent their child. There are things you should do differently when raising a child with DS that aren't intuitive and are not always easy to find in a book. EI services help you learn these things, they help you become a better teacher to your child and address his or her unique learning style.
Children with low tone benefit greatly from early intervention. More importantly, their parents do too. So those parents can learn how to teach their children how to learn how to do things. What I mean is that children with DS learn one way. They don't learn by making mistakes. To Help them, you must help them "model' the right behavior the first time (and the first 100 times) they practice something new. This is counter-intuitive. As parents, we expect our children to learn FROM their mistakes. Children with DS learn to REPEAT their mistakes. So, as a parent, Early Intervention is extremely important in teaching my child how to learn new skills RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. That takes a lot of thinking ahead, and planning.
Here's a recent example of how this works. We were at school the other day. Ellie was trying to climb into the chair at a table in the library. She was struggling to motor-plan. That means she was struggling to determine where to put her hands, arms and legs in order to pull her body into the chair so that she could turn and sit in it properly. In order to help her learn how to do it right, I had to look at what she wanted to accomplish and figure out where she should be placing her body parts to effectively pull herself into the chair. Then I had to do two things. First, get her to let me help her place her legs and arms in the right spots. Secondly, I had to give her just enough (but not too much) of a boost up as she tried to pull herself into the chair. She got it! After I helped her plan it right she practiced it a bunch the right way with out my help.
If we had not had early intervention - I wouldn't know to do those things. I would just solve her problem for her by picking her up and putting her in the chair. Now she knows one more thing than she did before. Now she is one smaller step towards independence. I worry about Trig and children like him. When the parents don't get the Early Intervention they don't know how to keep helping their child learn as they grow. Those children are at a disadvantage for having the best chance to be independent as adults if their families don't know how to teach them independence as children.
Friday, May 8, 2009
"I want popcorn"
So, at the last IEP meeting that was full of love, one of Ellie's new goals is to say sentences, or at least approximations thereof, multiple times in a day, every day for 4 weeks. WITHOUT PROMPTING. That means, I can't ask, "What do you want?" OR help her, by modeling.
So today, Ellie walks up to her Dad and says and signs, "popcorn." Dad replies, "Can you use a sentence?" Elllie, pauses and thinks for a second, "I want popcorn." Hooray! Dad makes popcorn and a smiling Ellie toddles off with her bowl of popcorn. She comes back a few minutes later with an empty bowl. She puts the empty bowl on the counter, and looks at me. I smile, and say, "Hi Ellie." She looks at me for a few seconds, and then says, "I want popcorn." WOW! Not a bit of prompting! So, I give her a high-five, and fill her bowl.
This gets repeated for a bit, and then, she even tells her Uncle Dave who has just arrived from Alaska, "I want popcorn." Wow!! She even translated it to an almost stranger. Later, she walked over to me with a DVD, Barbie in the Princess and the Pauper. I looked up and smiled. She handed me the DVD. I smiled again, and then waited. She looked at me and then a miracle happened. Ellie looked at me, and signed and said, "I want Pauper." Clearly! "I want Pauper!"
So, not only could she ask, without any prompting, for some yummy food, but also she could ask for a movie. Without ANY prompting. This is some amazing stuff. This is what I expect from a typical 4 year old. I am going to encourage this. Yes, honey, you can eat all the popcorn you ask for.
So today, Ellie walks up to her Dad and says and signs, "popcorn." Dad replies, "Can you use a sentence?" Elllie, pauses and thinks for a second, "I want popcorn." Hooray! Dad makes popcorn and a smiling Ellie toddles off with her bowl of popcorn. She comes back a few minutes later with an empty bowl. She puts the empty bowl on the counter, and looks at me. I smile, and say, "Hi Ellie." She looks at me for a few seconds, and then says, "I want popcorn." WOW! Not a bit of prompting! So, I give her a high-five, and fill her bowl.
This gets repeated for a bit, and then, she even tells her Uncle Dave who has just arrived from Alaska, "I want popcorn." Wow!! She even translated it to an almost stranger. Later, she walked over to me with a DVD, Barbie in the Princess and the Pauper. I looked up and smiled. She handed me the DVD. I smiled again, and then waited. She looked at me and then a miracle happened. Ellie looked at me, and signed and said, "I want Pauper." Clearly! "I want Pauper!"
So, not only could she ask, without any prompting, for some yummy food, but also she could ask for a movie. Without ANY prompting. This is some amazing stuff. This is what I expect from a typical 4 year old. I am going to encourage this. Yes, honey, you can eat all the popcorn you ask for.
Friday, May 1, 2009
You don't often hear/read this..."I l <3 my IEP Team!"
Ok, If I got the emoticon right that should read "I heart my IEP Team!"
I just came from our IEP meeting for next year's preschool (last year of preschool too). It went fabulously. I had steeled myself for a run-in with the Adminstrative Personnel. Last year they steam rollered over me on several issues. I walked out of that meeting thinking that I was not a good advocate at all for Ellie. I felt rather deflated, and doubted my own abilities as her advocate.
That was then, this is Now. About a month ago, I spoke with Ellie's teacher about the idea of having an OT evaluation. The process is:
This year, was so different. First of all, I received the OT observation report BEFORE the IEP meeting. Secondly, it RECOMMENDED OT Evaluation BEFORE the end of the 09 school year. Thirdly, the OT is rather certain that Ellie will qualify for services. I got the impression that she is going to chose the test which will show Ellie needs the services, as opposed to chosing a test where Ellie would score higher and maybe not qualify for services. We all know that "figures don't lie, but liars can figure." There's a lot of different tools for evaluating children, and where Ellie might score low on one test, she might score rather high on another. Also, she will be compared against "typical peers" in whatever test is used, as opposed to her same disabled peers. If Ellie were compared against other children her age with DS, she would score high. Very high. And probably not qualify. But against her typical peers - way low would the score be. (thanks yoda!) The OT wants to have the paperwork finished to approve OT services before the end of school this year - Holy Canoli! I love this lady!
This year's IEP was so different in another way. On the IEP (for all ages) there is a page documenting what diploma this person will be working towards. Last year they steam rollered me into an option I didn't agree with. But I finally decided that since it was Pre-K I could get over that, and deal with it next year. This year was different - they agreed (even the Administrative Rep) to checking Standard Diploma. PHEW!! I walked into the meeting prepared not to sign the IEP if they insisted on anything other than Standard Diploma. IT was the principle of hte matter. She is too young to write off. We don't know yet how far her skills and abilities will take her. I am NOT prepared to write her off before high school and say that she is not capable of earning a Standard Diploma. But thankfully the IEP team was COMPLETELY on the SAME PAGE about this. YEA!!!!!!! The ADministrative Rep told me another thing. I can keep insisiting on Standard Diploma until the Junior Year!
Another blow-my-mind moment came when the Speech Therapist recommended MORE services! Wow!!!! (surprised you didn't read this in the newspaper:"fainting mom has to be revived at meeting") I completely agreed with her, and requested, and recieved, some suggestions for home work as well.
I love this school, and these teachers and specialists. What a fantastic environment for kids with special needs. Unfortunately it is not our "home school" for elementary school. I do love our home school for Ellie's big brother (special needs on the other end - gifted). I hope it turns out to be a great place for Ellie when the time comes. I know that every year won't go as well as this one, but I am so thankful that this year I didn't have to fight. (putting away warrior mom till next year's IEP meeting - Kindergarten)
I just came from our IEP meeting for next year's preschool (last year of preschool too). It went fabulously. I had steeled myself for a run-in with the Adminstrative Personnel. Last year they steam rollered over me on several issues. I walked out of that meeting thinking that I was not a good advocate at all for Ellie. I felt rather deflated, and doubted my own abilities as her advocate.
That was then, this is Now. About a month ago, I spoke with Ellie's teacher about the idea of having an OT evaluation. The process is:
- have an OT observation
- get results in a meeting
- if results say eval is a good idea - agree in writing to eval
- have eval
- get results in a meeting
- if results say ot is a good idea then agree to it in writing
- then OT services begin.
This year, was so different. First of all, I received the OT observation report BEFORE the IEP meeting. Secondly, it RECOMMENDED OT Evaluation BEFORE the end of the 09 school year. Thirdly, the OT is rather certain that Ellie will qualify for services. I got the impression that she is going to chose the test which will show Ellie needs the services, as opposed to chosing a test where Ellie would score higher and maybe not qualify for services. We all know that "figures don't lie, but liars can figure." There's a lot of different tools for evaluating children, and where Ellie might score low on one test, she might score rather high on another. Also, she will be compared against "typical peers" in whatever test is used, as opposed to her same disabled peers. If Ellie were compared against other children her age with DS, she would score high. Very high. And probably not qualify. But against her typical peers - way low would the score be. (thanks yoda!) The OT wants to have the paperwork finished to approve OT services before the end of school this year - Holy Canoli! I love this lady!
This year's IEP was so different in another way. On the IEP (for all ages) there is a page documenting what diploma this person will be working towards. Last year they steam rollered me into an option I didn't agree with. But I finally decided that since it was Pre-K I could get over that, and deal with it next year. This year was different - they agreed (even the Administrative Rep) to checking Standard Diploma. PHEW!! I walked into the meeting prepared not to sign the IEP if they insisted on anything other than Standard Diploma. IT was the principle of hte matter. She is too young to write off. We don't know yet how far her skills and abilities will take her. I am NOT prepared to write her off before high school and say that she is not capable of earning a Standard Diploma. But thankfully the IEP team was COMPLETELY on the SAME PAGE about this. YEA!!!!!!! The ADministrative Rep told me another thing. I can keep insisiting on Standard Diploma until the Junior Year!
Another blow-my-mind moment came when the Speech Therapist recommended MORE services! Wow!!!! (surprised you didn't read this in the newspaper:"fainting mom has to be revived at meeting") I completely agreed with her, and requested, and recieved, some suggestions for home work as well.
I love this school, and these teachers and specialists. What a fantastic environment for kids with special needs. Unfortunately it is not our "home school" for elementary school. I do love our home school for Ellie's big brother (special needs on the other end - gifted). I hope it turns out to be a great place for Ellie when the time comes. I know that every year won't go as well as this one, but I am so thankful that this year I didn't have to fight. (putting away warrior mom till next year's IEP meeting - Kindergarten)
Sunday, April 26, 2009
When I wasn't looking, she took more steps
Here is Ellie showing signs of regressing by staying in my arms for most of my Grandmother's 90th birthday party. She has a big smile on her face because she loves to pose for the camera, and she loves people. Large crowds make her nervous, she's been in hotels, changed 4 time zones and frankly doesn't know where she'll be when she next wakes up.
Every time we travel or have company: two things that throw Ellie's world out of sync, her behavior regresses. Typically she stops sitting at the table in her own chair for meals. She will only eat on my lap. This gets old really quick, and causes my legs to fall asleep! The other thing she stops doing well is sleeping. Staying up late, or waking often in the night are typical behavior patterns when we travel and have company. I love coffee, so I survive with a little extra Joe. She goes back to sleeping peacefully through the night after a week or so.
Of course, I forget this little tid bit each time we have company. It's more obvious to me when we all head out of Dodge, than it is when we stay put and just add people. For instance, the last time Grammy and Pop Pops visited, Ellie spent the weekend on my lap for every meal, stayed up late, woke up often and early every day.
But, this past weekend we had a HUGE breakthrough. Ellie's Uncle Dave visited from Alaska. She hasn't seen him in 6 months. She not only slept her regular schedule, sat in her chair for every meal, but also started talking more!! Woo Hoo!! Go Ellie! That was the weekend of "I Want Popcorn" and "I want Pauper". I am so proud of my little girl. She continues to amaze me.
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