Most responsible parents (a group to which I like to think I belong) discourage their children from doing their homework in front of the television. I’ve lightened up a bit since my children have moved to middle and high school and will let them listen to their I-Pods while doing their homework. But, if their…
Category Archives: Day In And Day Out
Our Village
Today we are up at our local Children’s Hospital. More testing. The story of our lives. Parker has a major surgery coming up in November and we need to get some problems figured out before we hook everything back up. Yeah, we’re a bit worried about today’s procedure. Parker has a history of giving his…
Where Is That Invisibility Cloak?
Based on my post of last week, many of you asked my thoughts on dealing with behavior issues, meltdowns in the public eye and when and how to inform other people of your child’s “invisible” special needs. Today I begin writing about those and other topics requested. Comments remain open on that post, and I…
Nighttime Rituals
My kids LOVE the hour that precedes their bedtime (though I must admit this wasn’t always the case). Why the enthusiasm? Because after the chaos of the day is done, there are three things to look forward to: 1.Rough-housing (or “soft-housing”, depending on their mood) with their dad and me. It’s a great way to…
Lada Owner’s Club
This is based on an older blog post of mine, back when I started about 3 years ago. I thought it was worth posting here as in a lot of ways it outlines the foundation of my attitude towards my daughter’s Down’s Syndrome ————- For those who don’t know, a Lada is a car made…
What Do YOU Expect?
Compliance – no, not the legal kind – the kind that is expected of our children with disabilities. I feel that the level of compliance expected in our school systems for our children with disabilities goes well beyond what is expected of non-disabled students. One of my children is in gifted educational programs. He is…
OMAC My Favorite Sanity Saver
It doesn’t seem to matter how much time I may have spent homeschooling, therapy-ing, and being the Mommy, my family still always expects dinner. Even if they just had it, you know, last night. Who came up with the bright idea to eat dinner every night, anyway? Because about the last thing I want to…
People, Talk to Me
We are a homeschool family, and no matter how engaging I may be, sometimes I lose the boys’ attention. When it happens, I ask them… “What would you like to learn about today?” “What questions would you like answered?” I know. You’re calling me brave or utterly foolish, but it never fails that I am…
Why Not Ask?
In my 47th ranked state (in services provided to people with disabilities), it seems that most children and adults with developmental disabilities love going bowling and to the mall. The love of those two places starts early – grade school ‘community based instruction’ almost always involves a trip to either a bowling alley or a…
Rub-A-Dub-Dub…. There Went My Time In The Tub
Once there was a time when I spelled luxury : g-a-r-d-e-n t-u-b. Add a few candles, lots of bubbles, a good book, a bar of homemade soap from my own private recipe, and life was good. When the hot water cooled, I would drain it off, refill the tub, and repeat as often as I…