Category Archives: Daily Life

My Allegiances for the MLB Play-Offs

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This is kind of tongue-in-cheek so keep that in mind. 🙂

So… here is who I’m rooting for in the division series, the championship series, and the World Series.

First and foremost allegiance: GIANTS!!!!!!! While I had an opinion on who would take the various ALDS series, I’m ultimately rooting for my Giants and hoping/praying they make it to the World Series.

Who I will root for if my boys don’t make the Series: the Nats or the Cubs (even if they eliminate my boys, they’re having a fabulous season and they’ve more than earned their place in the post-season)

Who I will not root for under any circumstances: the Losers from LA (a.k.a the Dodgers, who are the bitter rivals of my beloved GIANTS), the Indians (I hate Cleveland teams), and the Rangers (Bush Jr. used to own them and I personally love it when people mess with Texas).

This means…

Cubs vs. Giants: I’m rooting for the Giants. Duh.
Losers vs. Nats: I’m rooting for the Nats.
Indians vs. Red Sox: I was rooting for the Red Sox. Unfortunately, they’ve been eliminated. 🙁
Toronto vs. Texas: I was rooting for Toronto. They did not disappoint. 🙂

Conditions under which I will not watch the World Series period: Losers vs. Indians

31 Days of Parenting Kiddos with Special Needs: School Choices

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31 Days of Parenting Kiddos with Special Needs

If you read my post on IEP’s and 504 plans, you’ll know that all children with disabilities are guaranteed a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive setting. This can look different depending on what schools are available in the area.

Public schools: In California, the school district takes over services at age 3 and I think it is the same situation in Washington. In any case, the district would pay for certain evaluations to be done as well as accept reports from any therapists already working with the child. All of these evaluations are compiled together into a report and an IEP or 504 Plan meeting is called. The results of the evaluations are discussed and you are given a choice of programs. I think our choices for Daniel were the ABA classroom, a special day class, or neither one but to just receive certain therapies.

Private schools: This wasn’t an option for Daniel but it might be for your kiddo. If you can ensure that they have whatever supports they need and you’re willing to pay for it, go for it!

Charter schools: Sometimes a charter school exists like Land Park Campus in Sacramento. If the school meets your kid’s needs, this might be a workable option.

Homeschooling: If you feel like this is your best option, there are curricula like this one from Memoria Press. (HT: Julie.) You can get therapy services from the school district but educate your kid yourself.

What we decided to do: Jon was homeschooled from K-12 but I had no desire to homeschool Daniel, even if he had been neurotypical. With the added issues from the autism, there was just no way I could do it and retain my sanity because working with Daniel would require more patience than I possess. We were very fortunate to have the ABA class at our local preschool in Galt and that was the option we chose. I’m still in contact with his teacher and she was such a wonderful resource for me. It also gave me the morning for doctor’s appointments and to get done what I needed to get done. For Daniel, it became a fun place for him to go and meet people and grow as a child, something that doesn’t happen with a mother who is as introverted as I am. It was honestly a win-win for all of us.

31 Days of Parenting Kiddos with Special Needs: Information Literacy

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31 Days of Parenting Kiddos with Special Needs

Before I write a blog post on the lack of connection between vaccines and autism, I wanted to do a post on “information” literacy” so that people understand why getting their information on vaccines from a blog on whole foods is not an appropriate thing to do.

So.. what is information literacy? Well…

Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.” (Source)

Putting succinctly, it’s a set of abilities to process what you read and hear appropriately.

The competency standards are:

  • Determines the nature and extent of information needed
  • Accesses the needed information effectively and efficiently
  • Evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system
  • Uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
  • Understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and accesses and uses information ethically and legally
    (Source)

The part of information literacy that I want to get into today is Standard 3, Performance Indicator 2 on this page:

The information literate student articulates and applies initial criteria for evaluating both the information and its sources.

Outcomes Include:

a.) Examines and compares information from various sources in order to evaluate reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view or bias
b.) Analyzes the structure and logic of supporting arguments or methods
c.) Recognizes prejudice, deception, or manipulation
d.) Recognizes the cultural, physical, or other context within which the information was created and understands the impact of context on interpreting the information

Why this particular passage? Because I’ve found that there are a lot of people who take whatever they read on the Internet as completely true or who go searching for things to cite that fit their actual viewpoint instead of searching for what is true and provable.

The example given in the reading comprehension thing I had to do for the college was of a student doing a paper on acne. They had to choose between a piece written by the American Medical Association, something written by the maker of Accutane, and a blog entry. The question was about which piece was a better choice based on the criteria in this performance objective. (Psst! The answer is the piece from the American Medical Association.)

So why am I bringing this up? Because parents have to sort out all the good information from the bad regarding their kids’ conditions. For example, parents need to know to dismiss it when people tell us something about autism that they learned from their neighbor’s girlfriend’s college roommates’ boyfriend’s sister’s nephew.

This post lays out the framework for some things I’ll be writing in the coming days so thanks for hanging in there with this. 🙂

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: October 9, 2016

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For Today… October 9, 2016

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… sunny though chilly (at least to me). The Grumpy Cat Weather app on my phone says it’s in the low 60’s.

I am thinking… about people who are dismissing Trump’s statements as “locker room talk” or “jock talk”. Especially odious are the people *WHO HAVE DAUGHTERS* and are doing this. His alleged apology showed no remorse — “I’m sorry if you were offended” is narcissistic crap as is his explaining away what he did and alluding to Bill Clinton. True men don’t deflect their behavior onto others when they apologize.

I am thankful… for those I follow on Twitter who are live-tweeting the debate tonight so I don’t have to waste 90 minutes of my life watching it. (Lest I be accused of creating my own little bubble of like-minded people on Twitter, most of the people I follow are people with whom I disagree on politics.) I’d love for the mainstream media to stop moderating these debates and give them back to the League of Women Voters. There might actually be some civility if each politician isn’t trying to vie for the ability to get their soundbite into the debate.

One of my favorite things… having all of my Excel work done 24 hours ahead of when it is due.

I am wearing… blue-green shirt and black capris. Church attire this morning was my burgundy shirt from Old Navy with a black cardigan and black slacks from Kohl’s. My shoes were my amazingly awesome black flats from Naturalizer that are two years old and still going strong.

I am creating… a separate page with the comment policy for this blog. It *WAS* listed on the page with the ground rules for this site but I have some readers who apparently are illiterate and *SHOCKED* when I dare to enforce it. Having it on a separate page might solve this issue. 🙂

I am reading… not enough. I need to make a better effort to commune with my e-reader more often!

I am hoping… for a relatively quiet week.

I am learning… about journalizing and posting in my Accounting class.

In my kitchen… I think Mom is making “Jimmy Chicken” tonight. It’s a family recipe.

In the school room… Daniel continues to enjoy school and even tried some of the applesauce his class made for a fall-themed activity.

Post Script… I’m hoping the research they’re doing pans out.

Shared Quote… Yay adulting!

Let them eat cake!

A moment from my day… We were blessing animals today so we sang this for our processional:

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

31 Days of Parenting Kiddos with Special Needs: Doctors

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31 Days of Parenting Kiddos with Special Needs

Given that my kiddo had his ADHD appointment and flu shot on Wednesday and I had my flu shot/pneumonia shot yesterday, the subject of doctors is fresh on my mind. I thought I’d share some things I’ve learned in having to find doctor’s and specialists for Daniel. As always, your experience may vary.

[+] Do your homework. Generally, most medical practices have a website and they usually talk a little bit about the doctor’s education, what their passions are with regard to medicine, if they do anything outside of the clinic like medical missions trips, etc. Read up on all of this so you can ask intelligent questions.

[+] Look for doctors who can think out of the box a little bit. Daniel hates doctors. He HATES them and part of it is that he hates being stuck in an exam room or restrained for an exam. Dr. Phenomenal, his pediatrician at UC Davis, used to have them schedule us for her first appointment of the morning when part of the clinic would be empty. We’d go for a walk around the empty part so that Daniel could open/close doors to his hearts content and she and I could have a conversation about whatever was concerning me. We’d pop into empty exam rooms every so often so she could do things like check his ears or listen to his heart, but she was more than happy to let him run. In return, he was slightly better about her messing with him to check his ears.

Dr. Awesome, his pediatrician here in Washington, is similar in that her approach is not to mess with him unless she has to. She lets him play with the automatic paper towel dispenser and turn off the computer screen for her which probably makes him like her because he *NEVER* gets to do stuff like that when it’s just me in the room!

[+] Find a balance between respecting their education but also not letting them speak down to you. Remember that your technical degree or bachelor’s degree in the humanities is not equivalent to their medical degree. This means that while you can ask questions about that blog post you read on the Wheatbelly blog that talks about how all gluten is bad for us, they’re going to tell you that only around 1% of the population actually *HAS* celiac disease and the Wheatbelly people are quacks and you should *LISTEN* to them. (Dr. William Davis is a cardiologist, not a gastroenterologist. There’s a difference.)

By the same token, don’t settle for doctors being condescending to you. You know your kid and they need to treat you with respect, even if you come across as a hysterical mom. One of Daniel’s pediatric neurologists had a resident working under her who treated me like I could only understand one-syllable words. Later, I mentioned to the neurologist and her entourage that Daniel was starting an ABA preschool program and Dr. Condescending asked me what ABA was. The rest of the entourage was similarly clueless so the neurologist asked me to explain it to them. It was fun watching their faces when I told them that “ABA is a methodology of working with kids with autism in which you achieve the desired behavior by modifying the antecedent.” They looked at me as if to say, “oh crap… she has a brain!”

This is all for now. Leave me any questions you have.

31 Days of Parenting Kiddos with Special Needs: Blogger Spotlight on Kelly of “This Ain’t The Lyceum”

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31 Days of Parenting Kiddos with Special Needs

It’s technically 12:06 a.m. on the 8th as I’m writing this but… today was kind of a crazy day with a doctor’s appointment (flu shot AND a pneumonia shot — my poor left arm and shoulder!, a meeting with my conversation partner at school, and me trying (in vain) to concentrate on my Excel classwork/homework so you get another “cheater post” on a blogger.

Why I’m spotlighting this blogger: Kelly is another one who seriously needs to move to northern Washington because I need her level of awesome in my life outside of blogging! We got to know each other through the “7 Quick Takes” link-up over on Jennifer Fulwiler’s blog and got to be good friends that way. (Kelly is now the hostest with the mostest of the link-up.) Her two youngest kiddos Fulton and Teddy have spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and their level of care varies between the two of them. (Fulton is a weak Type 2 and Teddy is Type 2.) Both are in power chairs and it’s been entertaining to read about some of the more “interesting” ways that changes things. (Some parents put their kids in time out. Kelly parks them.) She has blogged very honestly and authentically about her life and how their diagnoses have changed things for her. Honestly, I wouldn’t even know about the existence of SMA if not for her blogging and being open about her life.

Some of the cool things she has done:

[-] Run 7 5K’s to raise funds and awareness for the condition

[-] Create a science and adventure club so that her boys can have something cool to do with other boys their age — I wish we lived nearby because I am the world’s biggest introvert and I would totally be there with Daniel! (Kelly’s son Fulton has suggested we travel there by jetpack. If only, Fulton. If only.)

Some fabulous posts on the subject that she’s written recently are here, here, here, and here.

And honestly, I love her not only makes me laugh when I *REALLY* need it and she keeps me organized, but also because she and her family have prayed me through so much in the last 5 years. There have been times when those prayers, as well as the emails from her, have been one of the few things that have kept me from being hospitalized with depression. I can’t put into words what those prayers and emails and her friendship have meant to me.

So please, go check her out!

7 Quick Takes: Flu Shots, the VP Debate, and Other Fun Topics

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

The hazards of sleeping in. Daniel’s quarterly ADHD appointment was yesterday and I somehow set my clock forward an hour while trying to turn off my alarm so I was an hour early getting dressed, getting my latté, and arriving at school to pick up the kid. Of course, I discovered this when I looked at my watch while signing him out… and had to tell the secretary (who was on the phone with his teacher) that I was an hour early and would be coming back an hour later to get him. (I ended up going home and doing accounting homework.) When I came back to get him, his incredibly awesome teacher managed not to laugh when she brought him out and I explained what had happened. I’m also very thankful that she came out personally to bring him to the office because other schools would just send an aide. (Then again, his classroom is right across from the office so it was a matter of just popping out of his classroom.)

— 2 —

Blown away. We managed to get what I thought was the first appointment after lunch because the waiting room and office were pretty empty. (I later learned that his pediatrician takes a late lunch.) Kiddo was in a relatively good mood because it was a school day (he would go to school seven days a week if we let him) and was unusually chill when Dr. Awesome and her medical student came in and talked to us. (As it was an autism appointment, she just needed to make sure the meds were working and continuing to be a blessing for Daniel instead of a curse.) He was totally happy with her until she wanted to take a listen to his lungs. He was not amenable to this but having her listen to his lungs was not negotiable, so kiddo ended up on my lap with me holding him and telling him over and over that she was not hurting him. Other than that, she was fine with just watching him play tablet, talking to me, and surreptitiously observing him.

The nurse had asked when we came in if I wanted my kiddo to have a flu shot and I said “yes” because having to come back again for it was not going to make me happy. Once Dr. Awesome and her student were out the door, two nurses came in and while one of them prepped, the other one explained the game plan to me: put the kid on the table and have me hold down his upper body while one nurse held down his legs and the other one gave him the shot. I’m not even sure that more than five seconds elapsed between me setting him on the table and them being done with the shot — they were that fast! (Then again, they do this all the time so they have a good system.) In any case, I was incredibly impressed and told them this.

— 3 —

Baseball!!! DIDJA HEAR ABOUT MY BOYS ANNIHILATING THE METS IN THE NL WILD CARD GAME?!?!!?!? DIDJA?!?!?!? DIDJA?!?!?! The trash-talking has already started in anticipation of their play-off games with the Cubs starting Friday.

— 4 —

My pretty notebook. Jenny of Unremarkable Files asked for pictures of my notebook. I aim to please so here you go, Jenny! I apologize that my lines aren’t straight — I’m drawing all those things freehand and I’m incapable of drawing a perfectly straight line.

My pretty notebook
My pretty notebook
My pretty notebook
My pretty notebook

— 5 —

Prerequisite take on the VP Debate. I didn’t watch the debate for obvious reasons (as in, I already know who I’m voting for) but I find it amusing that two of my friends who are on opposite sides of the political spectrum and who don’t know each other came up with the same suggestion: each candidate has a shock collar and gets shocked every time they interrupt the other candidate or the moderator. Shocks also happen if they go over their allotted speaking time. THAT would be entertaining!

Another friend (completely unrelated to the other two) suggested that the moderator should get a taser. I’m thinking I like this one better?

— 6 —

Worth a read. My priest shared this piece on the art of condolence by Bruce Feiler on Facebook this week. I thought it was pretty awesome and a good read for people of every age group.

— 7 —

You mean my college education is actually a good thing? I saw this story on the news a few days ago and it reiterates why a college degree or at least *SOME* form of post-secondary credential is essential. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a bachelor’s degree but at least some kind of specialized study is needed. So, if you’re going to claim that “not every kid needs to go to college”, think again. 😀

As for my “useless” degree in Religious Studies, it taught me how to learn, how to find research (a skill which I have heard my professors here say is sorely lacking across the board in students from homeschoolers to public schoolers these days), and proves to employers that I can stick something out long-term. If I was still at the import brokerage in Montana, I’d be eligible for management training simply *BECAUSE* I have a bachelor’s degree.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.