Posts Tagged "books"
Cookbooks
I am addicted to recipe books. My gram likes to remind me that when I was a kid I told her “if you can read, you can cook” and I still believe it today. You may not have the best technique in the world, but a good cookbook will take you pretty far in the kitchen.I love to cook. I love to bake. I love to feed my friends and family. I love to go food shopping. It’s a wonder I am not twenty times the size of the house. I think I have over a hundred cookbooks all told, and my collection just keeps growing. Most are dogeared and written in and well loved. Some were my mothers (whose idea of cooking was dialing the telephone) and some we my grams. Some I picked up on a whim and turned out to be a gem. Some I’ve never made a thing out of but they sure are a good read. Some are stored outside in the garage because my bookshelf is overflowing. I read them like books. Some of the newer ones are books that just happen to have recipes thrown in for good measure. Those are the best kind.
Read MoreMalachai
Mal has been doing great in OT. He does 30 minutes of heavy work, and manages to sit still for 10 – 15 minutes immediately after. Hmmm not exactly equal there. I am hoping it balances out eventually.
He pulled his old trick of falling over standing still this morning. It’s become quite rare, so Michael was surprised.
We’ve dropped the ABA lady to once a month, which is mainly to check in and see if anything new pops up.
Courtney (his private speech gal, he also sees Kendra twice a week for 30 minutes each) is working with him on the telephone. She is doing his normal speech stuff for the first 20 minutes or so, and then works on the phone. I send a couple of old cell phones in, he loves playing with them. She is trying to get him to play out a phone conversation. This is a typical Malachai phone experience:
The phone rings.
Malachai ignores it.
Malachai, the phone is for you (and I hold it out to him), it’s soandso.
Malachai shies away from the phone, puts his head kind of to the side, simulating feotal position, but without using his entire body to get into it. He also starts to back away, regardless of what is behind/beside him that he may bump into.
I then explain (as gently as possible) to soandso that Malachai doesn’t want to use the phone right now and can he try and phone back later?
It’s a whole huge process where nothing actually gets accomplished. He does this with the fake phone play acting as well.
Courtney is going to talk to some of her colleagues between now and next Wednesday, but in the meantime suggested I find some books about the phone. I have been looking for useful social scripts all week, but she also suggested books about when the phone was invented, how it works, etc.. As it is, I am a dork and have books from when I was a kid that cover topics just like that! Score! I even know where they are, go me! Malachai loves to read, as long as you don’t realize he is reading, and loves science (he wants to build a time machine when he grows up). So, we’re moving at the speed of a sloth, but we’re moving just the same.
I wrote a letter to whoever it goes to about his aid for next year. I am really proud of my letter. I am quoting it below, feel free to use parts of it if you need something similar. I wrote it at the urging of our ESE gal, not that it will absolutely help, but it certainly can’t hurt (her words).
[quote]To Whom It May Concern:,
I am writing this letter to express how helpful I feel the personal aid has been to my son, Malachai Jxxx, this school year.
His schoolwork has markedly improved since he has had access to an aid for a portion of the day. Not only does he bring completed papers home (something that he has trouble doing on his own) but they usually have all the correct answers as well. I have seen the spelling tests and language tests he brings home; Often he will get maybe 3/10 correct when he takes the test with the class, but 9 or 10/10 when he takes the test one on one with the aid.
While I do not feel Malachai needs a personal aid for the full day, I do feel he would benefit greatly from receiving this one on one time again during the next school year.
Malachai also receives outside speech and occupational therapies and has just come so far this year. I would like to see this upward curve continue.
[/quote]
The requisition papers were due this week, so it had to be in ASAP. His IEP is scheduled for September of next school year, but Ellen (ESE) is going to try and do it by the end of this year so his current teacher has input, not a teacher who doesn’t know him.
I’ve also requested he not have the teacher that Dorian has this year as I think it will be a really bad match. She asked who I did want him to have, but I have no idea. The teachers I knew from when Michael & Sara went there are not the teachers who are still there. I told her I trust her judgement, and please keep him out of Mrs. Vxxx’s class.
Wow, what a post. Here is what I really wanted to ask about, thanks for making it this far!
We’re going to Disney in April. I used all the money I made in January/February to buy tickets for all eight of us. I am going the weekend of my moms birthday because it will make my dad happ(ier) than he would be sitting at home all weekend being depressed. I understand Disney handles special needs differently now than it did when I was a kid, and differently than Universal does now. I know I need a note from the doctor on their letter head (I am going to ask for one tomorrow when I pick up D’s referral), but does anyone know if I need anything else?
I don’t abuse it, Mal can handle short waits and we can usually distract him in most lines. It’s those hour+ lines that we can’t do it on. (Can you tell I have guilt over it? This from a kid who never, ever waited in line because she was with the wheelchair party.) It helps us in restaurants and some other sit-down type attactions as well.
I am planning this trip to see shows and stuff that we usually don’t see, so I’d like to know if there is anything I should take into consideration for or about him. We’re Disney veterans. I know not to spend the entire day there, and to make dinner reservations and all that stuff. Last time we were there was a couple of years ago and things change, including him, and I am probably making a bigger deal than it is, but a couple of hours after we arrive I get irritated and am ready to leave because I haven’t planned well enough. I’d like to avoid that. We will not be staying anywhere near the parks this time, so heading back to the hotel for an hour breather and going back isn’t an option.
Read MoreDorian
I actually have a couple of (unrelated) posts to make, so please bear with me.
We had Dorian’s IEP on Monday morning. Usually this is fast. He really only has an IEP for speech so it’s not the long and drawn out process Malachai’s can be. It went well. Last year he had speech (IIRC) twice a week for 30 minutes, and this year he was dropped to twice a week for fifteen minutes, and Kendra (the speech gal at school) said she was willing to drop him to once a week if I was ok with it. I vetoed that because I am not ok with it, what good is 15 minutes once a week? So twice a week it is.
The teacher mentioned his fine motor skills and that he could maybe use some help. What? Where did this come from? It mainly came from his handwriting. Let me tell you, my handwriting is attrocious. I go from having easy to read block letters or messy scribble to well formed cursive and back to scribble in the same sentance. My hand hurts if I write for too long. It cramps up and I just don’t like doing it, which is funny because I have notebooks of writing fromt he stone age. I also have notebooks of typed up (on a typewriter!) things as well.
So… I spoke to Malachai’s OT and she suggested having him evaluated instead of giving me random advice.
No problem. I phoned the doc this morning, told the referral lady what I needed and why (and that my other sons OT suggested a full eval) and she said it should be ready by 5. I am going to pick it up in the morning. Sometimes my doc office is convenient. Other times it sucks.
So, I might be trekking out to therapy more than the twice a week I am already out there (Mal gets his ST & OT back to back twice a week). Fun fun fun!
I have some Mal type queries in my next post…
Read MoreSaturday Saturday Sat Sat Saturday Saturday!
What the hell tune is that too?
So far today we have cleaned the front room and 3/4 of the kitchen (I did not really mop because we’re having a new dishwasher delivered and installed today and I plan to mop *after* – um, and I suck at mopping anyway).
Michael has had a massage, which cost me an arm and a leg but hopefully made him feel a good bit better. I may have to budget them in more often than once every five years.
Eshiva had dance class and Michael came down from the salon to watch her this week (usually I take her) so I could get home and finish cleaning. Yes, I am one of those people who can’t have people just “drop in” because my home is lived in. Not dirty, don’t get me wrong, but we have stuff. A lot of stuff.
I made a personal sized pot of coffee in my french press. I used a kona blend and lots of cream and it’s delicious. I feel decadent.
I panicked over the state of our money. I invited my aunt & uncle out to dinner tomorrow night at a not so cheap place, and offered to pay for it. I had the money before a trip to Target and a few smaller things that ate it up. I am returning an item to Target and I had some money in savings to cover my ass (I was all excited to be a grown up and pay for a *nice* dinner for us for once) but I am really hoping I get some paychecks in the mail today. I am not really banking on it (ha ha) but it sure would be nice. I did the responsible thing and paid off a credit card last week and shredded it so we wouldn’t use it. Had I not done one of those things, I wouldn’t be in this crunch. Being responsible sucks big fat monkey balls sometimes.
I had put off buying those raffle tickets for Michael and Sara. I reminded myself last night talking to Leila, so I totally bought their tickets on Friday the 13th. I hope they win. Had I not bought the tickets I’d have the money too lol
I told Michael to bring the tattoo equipment back in the house – he needs to bring tubes home from work. I have had three people in the past two weeks buy “guns” and start right out working on people. I did the apprentice thing and worked on fruit (not the human kind) and said fuck it because I got bored and irritated and stagnant. The green monster pushed me out of my rut and while I am not down with attacking my own legs (I am a snob. I have one godawful piece not done by an apprentice, I do not need godawful pieces done by people who don’t know what the fuck they are doing, and that includes me. I am a hypocrite and I don’t know what I am going to work on that isn’t fruit, but I’ll figure something out.) I do have a couple of simple pieces I had planned to be my first pieces on myself. While truly I believe I can do anything, this makes me nervous and Michael didn’t stroke my ego enough to make me think I was ready for people. Maybe I’m not. We’ll see I guess.
I used my not-so-fancy and not-so-new lights from my uncle to take some photos the other night. I was super happy with some, not thrilled with others, but I was in a hurry and was distracted by children, so all in all it was a great learning experience.
I am putting together a box of stuff for the craft swap. It’ll be fun!
I want this but I cannot justify 40$ for an electric paper punch, plus the extra for supplies to make cute little books. Too many people already sell them on etsy to try and fool myself into selling them and recouping my money. I love little books though and I will be making some with my manual paper punch, paper, ribbon and the kids later today.
Hows that for stream of consciousness?
Read MoreUpdatey Goodness!
I haven’t updated in a while… lots to say! Let’s start with the good news. I sent this email to family a few days ago:
Just spreading a little fantabulous news, Malachai had his therapy evals last week, and he is done with PT! This is amazing, because not six months ago he would fall over standing still. No joke. Now he can balance on one leg so long he can’t count that high (ok, maybe he can, but it’s a long time!) He is still in speech and occupational therapies, but those are improving too. They will re-evaluate him in another six months. Maybe in the next six months he will learn how to sit in, and stay in, a chair ;)
Not only is therapy going well, but he only missed one word on his spelling test today (out of ten words) and he has been helping me read Coraline at night. His speech therapist suggested I talk to the school and see what kind of literature we can tie into his daily work to keep him interested. He reads like crazy for her, not so much for me. Apparently, I just hadn’t picked the right books. We’re reading The Tale of Despereaux next (Dorian’s choice). I think I will be moving a bunch of books down the shelf for Eshiva, and finding some more appropriate books for Mal & Dor.
Speaking of Dorian, he is doing basketball after school once a week and he loves it. I think we’ll continue to do it once it’s up. It runs in five week sessions and he started last week. I looked into the local rec center for something for both the boys to do, as our PT suggested Mal do some type of sport. I don’t know what, but we’ll find something. I think they are looking into karate (ok, I am pushing karate) but I am not going to push it if he’s really not into it. We were also thinking bowling, but the PT specificaly said sports that work the entire body. We need to increase (and maintain) his muscle tone, as it’s significantly “below age level.” Eshiva is going to be taking a dance class once a week in the mornings, and she is uber-excited about that. She wont stop talking about it, in fact.
Shivie is a little chatterbox, and thinks she’s a princess. She recently discovered dinosaurs (and I wish we lived closer to DC, because there are no decent dino exhibits around here that I can find) and barbie. She turns four on Feb 10th and woe be unto you if you try and tell her she’s three.
Everyone else is well. Dad and Michael and still employed (yay!) and I am still getting enough work to buy fun stuff by freelancing (also yay!). Michael and Sara are looking into the SAT and making plans and doing all that fun 17 year old stuff.
Ah… I think that wraps us up! I’m sure there is more, but it’s daily stuff. I was just so excited about Malachai! He is still having troubles, but there is a light.
and I posted this to PM’s yesterday:
Michael was given written notification today that the therapy place we go is closing on Friday.
Fucking economy.
They are going to try to farm everyone out to other locations, and we may be able to keep our OT if the other place she works can fit him in (and if they take our ins and if it’s in a reasonable drive). Our ST was an intern.
What really stinks is I really, really like our ST, and WTF giving us one weeks notice?
I know we can find someplace else (hell, maybe the place a few blocks down the street takes our ins and offers what we need) but this still stinks.
and I posted this today as a follow-up:
Yay!!! Our rockin speech gal called me up this morning and told me that she interviewed this morning at a place that is even closer and they are working their hardest to absorb all of the speech therapists AND their clients AND keep the same schedule!
She gave me the number of the new place, and I left a message around 10AM. She phoned me back around 5:30, apologized for it taking so long to get back to me, and told me what was going on. They do take our insurance, and are working to have the approvals transferred to them from our current place. She is hoping to start Monday!
We see Courtney tomorrow and Thursday and I am just thrilled it sounds like we won’t have a lapse, at least here.
I still need to find out where the place our OT works is located (she was split between the two places I guess), if they take our ins, and if we can fit in over there. I really like our OT as well – not like I like our ST, but she is awesome with Malachai. I’d hang out with our ST, not so much with our OT.
But wait, there’s more! We’re adopting a new puppy!
So, we’ve been thinking about getting a companion for Malachai for a while now. Therapy dogs are quite expensive, and the “free” ones take a lot of paperwork and legwork. No doubt they don’t deserve it, but it was more than we needed. It’s not like we were looking for a seeing eye dog or anything, you know? So, we found this little guy! We’re picking him up either Thursday or Sunday.
He’s been there for a year! I can’t imagine why someone didn’t want to take him home, but I am glad they didn’t! We drove down to Ft. Lauderdale on Monday and went back to meet him. He is so friendly, and energetic and playful. He jumped up on Eshiva, but did not knock her down. The gal who showed him to us said he gets along with all the other dogs/cats in the rescue, have never bitten anyone, and is healthy. Apparently he was purchased from a pet store, and then got sick. He had demodectic mange (yes, just like our Yorkie) but his fur is full and thick and I didn’t feel any scabs or anything on his body. They said nothing about meds or anything else, and he is neutered. This is good, because Sasha is so sick, putting her through surgery to spay her would be too taxing on her immune system (so says the vet).
He is a year and a half old, and is the perfect size. Yay!
From the rescue site:
More About Patches/Atos: Patches was purchased from a puppy store. He is a sweet fellow who is good with other animals including cats. He is waiting for a forever home with lots of playmates or toys. Walks in the park or just around the block. Nice yard to play in but not totally necessary. Patches loves his toys!
Oh, he’s a beagle/basset mix. Cuteness!
Anything else? Probably not. I am sticking with good news right now.
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