The Life of Enhanced Children

Sadi’s Birthday Dec 10th – Dec 13th

2009-12-14T00:15:00.000-07:00

Sadi wanted to go to Farmington Bay for her birthday. (As Ali wanted to go to the ski resort last year.) We went ahead and went to Farmington Bay the day before her birthday…Uncle Riley needed the truck on her birthday.

Dec 10th -

We were able to see some birds…even eagles.

We saw crazy people that were way out there on the ice… that is not all ice.

As you can see.

Saw foot prints…

The sun started to go down and that meant it was time to go…

Then we headed to see the kid’s grandparents and great grandparents.

Where they got these:

After that we came home and played with Uncle Riley a little.

On her actual birthday she got to watch her new DVD, they both did homework on their own…and we stayed in the house because it was COLD. (Those pictures later.)

Saturday Dec 12th - we went to eat as usual and the cook remembered her birthday…

Sunday Dec 13th -

Eating our yogurt and string cheese for breakfast…

Waiting for everyone to arrive…(after popping like 5 out of 15 balloons….)

Playing with Uncle Riley…

The presents have arrived!

Oh oh oh!

They were completely ready.

But, we were still waiting for someone…

Okay, go for it!

I remembered I had these and pulled them out… after realizing she was getting only books and clothes for her birthday. lol She loves these.

This was hilarious. Sadi was offended that Ali got instant breakfast and she just got a box. Ali was thrilled she got instant breakfast and promptly handed it to me. LOL

Showed them both that it isn’t instant breakfast, I promise. lol But half the presents this year are in those boxes! The 30 packet ones are the perfect size for lots of things! Might make for a comical Christmas.

An outfit for each of them (the right sizes AND their favorite colors, of course) from Aunt Karalee.

Books with stickers…

From GGG…

Books books books…

Sadi a Mickey sweatshirt and Shel Silverstein

Ali the horse unit…

Books books and sweat shirt…

Ali a Minnie sweatshirt and a few more books for Sadi…

I love books with CD’s…they can get read while I cook dinner…

The dog was getting annoyed…

A video we can count as educational and include with curriculum…but that Sadi also wanted. The next Boxcar children book we are going to use. Sadi loves Boxcar children.

This is what we did for her cake…

They were thrilled with it, easy to please.

Had soup for dinner…

Sadi told us numerous times today that it was “the best party EVER” that she was having the “best time EVER”. I am hoping that enthusiasm continues!

I think we will need to get some ear plugs for Christmas… they got several things they liked for Sadi’s birthday…but nothing they actually ASKED for. For Christmas they are getting I think just about everything they asked for. (Meaning, consistently. Not seeing a commercial once and saying “Oh, I want that!”) Since it all happened to be stuff I was able to find cheap. They were this excited about these things… it is going to be one loud and enthusiastic time at Christmas.

Oh my…

Sadi - being 5 years old in pictures

2009-12-12T00:12:00.000-07:00

Winter…

Spring…

Summer…

The finger incident…

Fall…

Winter…

United Angels Foundation – Santa - Homework

2009-12-10T00:17:00.000-07:00

Coloring while we wait for Santa…

Giving Santa the picture…and talking to him.

Actually LIKED him this year!

Got a candy cane and coloring book. Ali was thrilled, Sadi was mad I wouldn’t let her eat the candy cane. lol

We also saw everyone that we wanted to see, so we headed home for dinner and to go to bed.

Colored when we got home…

Then went to bed after watching “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

Then Bean is just chilling…

Playing with the big ball…

Learning some Spanish and doing some handwriting…

Doing some Math…

Passed out after watching Prep and Landing…

Black and white..

Petechiae and Playing

2009-12-08T00:15:00.000-07:00

Shadows…

What is wrong with this picture?

Her temporary freckles…

Yep they are still there.

Played with the airplane for a while pushing it back and forth to each other.

Played some ball…

Just played…

Played with the two Cassie’s…

Watched the Elmo Christmas show…

Read about Castles. Got to see the one that we have a puzzle of, as well as the ones Grandpa and Mom and Uncle Riley have been to.

Got our “craft supplies” started so we can do a project soon.

Hoping to find the time to do some stockings… where I got these, I couldn’t tell you now. I just remember thinking they would be perfect for stockings and keeping them.

Wrapped the presents for Sadi’s birthday…realized it is all books, clothes and one video. Poor kid. lol

Getting ready to leave and the dog decided we didn’t need to go.

We decided otherwise and moved the dog. So she slept, while we went and saw the Christmas lights…since it was 13 degrees… we weren’t able to do anything else.

Then we came home and went to bed…with a busy day including Santa tomorrow!

Awesome Lights and Kids

2009-12-06T00:14:00.001-07:00

While sick, we couldn’t do anything inside or outside obviously. So, we could only drive by the lights. So we did do that. You can tell Ali doesn’t feel great. lol But she is wearing her Minnie shirt so she was alright. I also have pictures from later, after the extreme stomach pains hit. She got some impressive petechiae from crying so hard. I got some pretty good pictures of that, just ran out of time editing so they will be in the next entry.

You really cannot see it because it doesn’t bring up the full size when you click on it…but the picture of her eyes… you can see a reflection in it. The eye on the right, you can see a reflection in the bottom middle part. I could not believe it. You can see me taking the picture in her eye. Woah. Seriously. Crazy.

Our favorite lights are back…. http://www.holdman.com/christmas/

The other one…2160 South 98 E in Payson.

Pond town Christmas at Salem Pond…

Doing some health homework…

Eating our dinner and our “chewable” multi, omega, acidophilus and calcium.

While watching Rudolph…

Fortunately everyone got over being sick in time for this weekend. So I was hopeful we could still manage to do most of what we had hoped to do. However, I had them scheduled the end of November and first few days of December for a reason. It is now snowing and well below freezing. Not a great time to have children walking around outside. I am quite upset at the things that they will for sure be missing out on now, because they got sick. We had to cross several things off the list and I am trying to fill those in with Christmas movies and stuff like that. We are also still doing homework. We will still drive by other lights when we are in the area too. I have a daily schedule with the movies, the activities, the homework… as well as the times there will be time to do laundry or vacuum or shower. A meticulous schedule is the only way we get anything done and stay sane..especially this time of year when we want anyone else to participate!

We are planning to do:

Hogle Zoo lights 6th (25 degrees and snowing has prevented that.)

United Angels Foundation Christmas Party 7th

Reindeer at Heritage Park or Thanksgiving Point 9th (Again, 25 degrees and snowing will likely limit this Probably won’t see the reindeer.)

Sadi wants to go to the Bay on the 11th and look for eagles. (Last year Ali chose to go to the ski resort. Have I mentioned how I love that my children choose “nature” places?) Willard Bay has some lights there too. So we might do that for her birthday as long as we can drive up there and back, weather wise. We were going to do Sesame Street Live on the 13th for her birthday but after they got sick I got freaked out… I was afraid they wouldn’t be better in time or that they might get sick again. I’d prefer to stick with things you don’t have to buy tickets for in advance.

Ogden’s Christmas Village 13th (not likely, given the temperatures and weather.)

Spanish Fork Festival of Lights and Glade’s for dinner 16th

Family Christmas Party 19th

Elk at Hardware Ranch 20th (we will do this, regardless of weather unless they are sick. We just may pick a different day if it is snowing or something. For this, we will brave the cold. They are already going to miss most of what they were looking forward to, I’m not taking this away as well.)

21st-23rd we will use for anything that we may have not gotten done before.

My family on Christmas Eve with more time for others if needed

Christmas morning at our house

Christmas early afternoon with my family

Christmas later afternoon at with the kid’s family

Christmas Evening back at our house

The days after Christmas, pretty much at home unless someone else wants to see us. Then we will try and work around the vehicle schedule. We will also try and use the 26th-31st for anything we didn’t get done before Christmas.

Adoption - A Determined 11 Year Old Can Do Anything

2009-12-04T00:12:00.002-07:00

Reece’s Rainbow, where you can see those children who are still waiting for homes.

http://www.reecesrainbow.com/newsite/index.php

I must add the song that this girl wrote as well... unbelievable. Talk about an amazing young lady.

http://the30dayjourneyforhope.blogspot.com/2009/12/lydias-songcan-you-hear-orphan-cry.html

A little girl wanted a new little sister...a specific little girl with Down syndrome. Who is in an orphanage where she lives in a crib, with no real human contact to speak of. But, adoption is expensive. Her Mom said they didn’t have the money to adopt her. So she asked her Mom if they could adopt her if she could raise the $20,000. Her Mom said that just wasn’t possible… but said of course if she could raise the money they would adopt the little girl.

http://the30dayjourneyforhope.blogspot.com/2009/11/hi-blogger-worldits-lydia.html

In one day she raised $800…

http://the30dayjourneyforhope.blogspot.com/2009/11/its-lydia-again-and-i-have-something.html

But it just kept coming…

http://the30dayjourneyforhope.blogspot.com/2009/11/overwhelmed.html

In 6 days she was at $5, 556, but she didn’t stop there.

http://the30dayjourneyforhope.blogspot.com/2009/11/lydia-updatehi-everyone.html

At 1 week, they reached $11,500.

The donations came from all corners of the world and from all walks of life. All 50 states and 4 countries ended up being represented.

http://the30dayjourneyforhope.blogspot.com/2009/11/we-are-countingwill-give-grand-total-at.html

This little girl wanted to raise $20,000 in 8 days… to bring Darya home. Do you think she did it??

http://the30dayjourneyforhope.blogspot.com/2009/11/happy-thanksgiving.html

http://the30dayjourneyforhope.blogspot.com/2009/11/it-is-official.html

Do you think she stopped there?

http://the30dayjourneyforhope.blogspot.com/2009/11/2850000-and-still-counting.html

http://the30dayjourneyforhope.blogspot.com/2009/11/tomorrow-marks-two-weeks-for-project.html

The next time your child comes up to you and tells you something they want to do… think twice before you tell them that it is impossible!

There are several other families who have adopted children with Down syndrome. I by no means have a complete list, I only have a few that I remember for one reason or another. We know a few in person as well, but they do not have websites.

This is an exciting one as she will be home soon! Kassidy, Kameron, Kennedy and Keeghan will be getting their new sister, Kellsey for Christmas!

http://www.bringingkellseyhome.com/

http://www.myspecialks.com/

This is a family who actually lost their biological daughter Chloe to Leukemia in 2007. After this they felt they should adopt and they adopted a little boy with DS in 2008. A little over 6 months later they also adopted a little girl with DS in 2009.

http://newboldfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/

http://johnpaulsnewstart.blogspot.com/

This is a family (siblings) who were inspired to adopt by a brother with Down syndrome. They have adopted 5 between them and all quite close in age.

http://ourpathlesstraveled.blogspot.com/

http://www.love4ourboys.blogspot.com/

This amazing family has 3 biological children and 5 with Down syndrome who were all adopted. They also all have birthdays between 2000 and 2009!

http://thegrumpyfamily.blogspot.com/

Reece’s Rainbow, where you can see those children who are still waiting for homes.

http://www.reecesrainbow.com/newsite/index.php

Homework, Playing At Home & Thanksgiving

2009-12-02T00:17:00.001-07:00

Rising to the occasion again: Student with Down syndrome inducted into National Honor Society

http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/1567266.html

I just thought that was a well written article.

The holidays...my pre holiday rant. Since it IS my blog and I was recently reminded that I never really do that here.

I was quite impressed with myself. I had this year, been very prepared. I wanted it to go as smoothly as possible. I went through and found all of the holiday events that we wanted to do ahead of time. I went through our schedule, the schedule of those events and figured out when we could do them. Managing to schedule everything we really wanted to do. Also leaving a few extras that we could do if we had some free time. Along with the ones we don't schedule, like the light displays we just drive by. We get the outdoor ones out of the way first, before it gets even colder. We were going to do 2 of these outdoor ones on Sunday the 29th and Tuesday the 1st.

Unfortunately, we were unable to do so.

I have managed to keep the kids healthy for months. Even having to go into the GI doctor, the eye doctor, the Cardiologist and the Pediatrician's office for other issues, they haven't gotten sick. (The last doctor was two weeks before Thanksgiving.) Quite honestly, I cannot remember the last time they had any type of contagious illness. ( Okay, I looked it up. They had a cold and Ali had a sinus infection in early August.)

The few people who do see them regularly are militant about ensuring that they are 100% healthy. They are also militant about ensuring that everything is very clean and sanatized for them. We try very hard to remind those who don't see them regularly, that we need to be told if anyone is not or has not been healthy. I will let a minor cold with no fever slide...but not something worse than that. Especially this time of year and especially when it is the two things which can be VERY serious for my children.

A cough has very serious implications for Ali, it will become worse than it was in you or your child.

Any type of GI illness has very serious implications for Sadi. That will send her into a metabolic crisis very quickly and land us in the hospital...just like it did in the summer of 2008.

Unfortunately I put my children in a situation I shouldn't have. I trusted what someone said about whether people were healthy or not and it was incorrect, though I am still unsure why. As a result of this, I ended up with one extremely sick little girl a bit more than 48 hours later.

A little girl who instead of going to the Zoo to see the lights, or to the light parade with Santa... ended up at home in the fetal position screaming in pain. Had I not already seen the runny nose, the cough and the generally looking sick... I would have taken her to the hospital for that type of pain. But I was quite certain that it was probably cramps by that point. I was right. She didn't eat or drink anything. She screamed through the Michael Jackson music videos. She couldn't be distracted, the pain was too much.

My child was in horrific pain and missing these holidays events...for no good reason. (Such as unavoidable exposure like the ER for an amputated finger, which would be a good reason.) After we have been so careful to keep her healthy so she wouldn't miss these holiday events. Instead she was at home and I was trying to distract her with the special/holiday shows that are on. (Which, I fortunately also have a schedule of so that I know if they are on when we are home.)

We missed those holiday events, I got completely behind on cleaning and laundry. We missed a couple of days of schooling. All things that we really didn't need this time of year.

This will NOT happen again, I can assure you.

Obviously there is always a risk when going to a birthday party, or a holiday event, or a family Christmas party...that you might pick up germs. I realize that and accept that. I do not accept someone knowingly coming when they are sick, especially knowing my children's situation. I especially have an issue when I have been lied to and told that no one is sick. That is completely different than simply picking up germs in a crowd.

I try very hard to make everyone happy. I feel I go above and beyond what most people would do, as far as going to all of the events requested of us if possible. Going to events that I have zero obligation to go to. However, I refuse to do so when people cannot even give me the small courtesy of telling me that someone is still sick.

They are not the ones who have to take care of them or see them in pain. They don't have to spend a week with them in the hospital with absolutely no one reliable to take care of the other child who isn't in the hospital. They don't have to pay the medical bills, which as of December 1st we have zero medical insurance for until further notice.

Yes, I'm upset and uptight about this subject. Wouldn't you be? My children have been through enough medical issues and pain. I do everything I can to prevent more of it. When someone knowingly puts my children in a position to get sick, deceiving me in the process...that really pisses me off. Then you throw in that whole no medical insurance thing and I get REALLY uptight about it. Do you KNOW how much the breathing treatment medication costs? Not to mention antibiotics... or a week long hospital stay for a metabolic crisis?!

Hopefully Ali will get completely over this quickly and Sadi will not get it. Because if Sadi ends up with it, she will likely spend her birthday in the hospital. And if you think I'm pissed NOW.... you do NOT want to see me if THAT happens.

Anyway... I will stop now. I think I've gotten my point across. So if we are turning down events, or cancelling on you I'm sorry. At this point I am fighting the urge to simply cancel all events and keep them at home. We are also limited on 4 wheel drive vehicles. Uncle Riley gets priority on that since he lives 2 hours further north, he is going to be moving back through canyons and it IS winter. So anything that requires a 4 wheel drive vehicle from Dec 26th - January 4th will not be something we can commit to.

So, this entry is simply regular pictures that hadn't been posted yet.

Doing some Math homework…

Still their favorite subject. Can’t complain about that.

A few books we added to the curriculum (that are not going to be in the entry of Christmas presents). The Boxcar Children will actually be in December. Sadi is getting it for her birthday. Then the 3 horse ones go together 1 unit later.

Milo and Otis, One Golden Year and Christopher Reeve go together 4 units later.

Fixing the computer…

Taking care of the baby…

Chilling with the dog while she chews the bone…

Drawing a castle…

Dancing, singing, drumming and jumping to Bon Jovi…

After about an hour… Ali eventually got tired. lol

Thanksgiving.

Eating yummy dinner…

Coloring…

Relaxing and Cardiology

2009-11-30T00:16:00.000-07:00

Reading. Funny… I used to do that. lol I found some pretty odd places to read. (When you read like 8 hours a day, you can’t really stay in one place!)

Again, this also looked oddly familiar…there are very similar pictures of me when I was little.

I also usually had a phone…

Now you can see where she is…this is where she has chosen to sleep several times recently. lol The stuffed animals go in there and then she sleeps there. Weird child…but not a battle I’m going to argue.

On the phone…

Goodnight…

Okay, bedtime…

Cardiology check up… EKG…

Then waited for the doctor…who decided to do an echo on Ali…

So we went to do that and Sadi though it was quite cool…

While Ali simply lived up to her reputation and was 100% cooperative.

Though possibly not totally thrilled about it. lol

Then we waited for the doctor again…

Then we got our second piece of candy for 2009… wow!

Yes, I think Ali was a bit more excited. lol

After we got home we had a bit of an incident with Sadi. Ali was pretty traumatized and Sadi was in trouble. Ali had been very good all day and I had planned to take them to a movie. But, I couldn’t because of Sadi’s behavior…so I elected instead to reward Ali with one of her back up Cassie’s.

Needless to say she WAS very very happy.

Though later after things calmed down she essentially gave the new Cassie to Sadi. I think it just looks a bit too different for her and it only says one thing. lol I gave her the less cute and exciting one for this and will save the better one for Christmas.

Some from the aviary and shortly after that I just got from Uncle Riley…

The Christmas Tree, The Pumpkin Pie & The Loose “Toop” saga.

2009-11-27T00:11:00.001-07:00

Finally, we finished cleaning up the family room…Uncle Riley and Corbin were here so they brought in the tree. How cool is that?

Purple! Cute tree. :)

This one passed out.

Then we went on the “Pumpkin Pie that both kids can eat” quest. To find out if we would actually have to make one from scratch. (Oh the horror!) We lucked out and found one that would work just for the holidays.

Okay, cooking it…did take 2 hours to cook…good to know for the actual holidays.

Done! Hey, it looks and smells just like real pumpkin pie…

According to the kids and the Uncle it tastes fine too. “Almost” like regular pie. We can live with that.

They were VERY excited to do a “test run” before Thanksgiving. They didn’t realize the pie was cooked while they were sleeping. So they thought they’d have to wait. lol

It was gone pretty quick.

They were pretty tired later…

The lost microphone has been found…she was quite happy. (It was awful, the microphone got put AWAY where it was supposed to go! Who would think to look THERE?!)

Strange child…

A short time later she was “in the zone” after trying to eat. Informing me that she had a loose tooth and then not allowing me to take my finger off of it. She wanted it out yesterday.

This was actually Ali’s first loose tooth. She has lost at least 5 teeth, but never had a loose one. This was the first one that did not just go *poof* and disappear! But it was really in there.

After a couple of days she came up and again asked me to pull it. I tried again and had no luck. She turned around…got frustrated, yanked and brought me the tooth. Quite satisfied with herself.

Geesh. Small pain in the…..

See? It’s GONE!

Wow that was tiring, everyone be quiet...I am on the phone(s).

These pictures came from the following scenario:

“Chelsae, where are you? You need to get your camera out and take pictures of the sunset.”

I do as I’m told. :)

The Simple Things & Acceptance

2009-11-24T00:16:00.003-07:00

Obviously the new niece/cousin is at the top of the list this year. Violet arrived on November 11, a month early in keeping with family tradition. The 4th grandchild for my parents and most likely the last unless there is a change of plans for someone along the way.

I am continually finding things along the way that people don’t tell you when you have a child with special needs. The most helpful things that we have discovered are things that no one ever suggested to me before. (Such as having a baby’s bottle cold instead of warm when they have reflux…instead I accidentally discovered this at 4am. lol)

Music has always been an important thing to Ali. She loves it and she dances to it, which is great physically. It’s also been very helpful to Ali’s speech because it motivates her to speak. However, a lot of music you can’t quite understand the lyrics.

My children love Michael Jackson. But I never expected the speech therapy progress that would come from it. Ali has made great strides since she started really listening to it regularly. It is quite funny to listen to and watch her. They both love dancing and singing with it. (We are selective about the songs they hear and more selective about the videos they see.) But they LOVE him.

I have noticed lately how much more clear her speech is. How much longer her sentences are getting. How she is adding in those “unimportant” words. From “hurt me” to “Hey, don’t hurt me!” And all of them clear.Honestly, I have to credit MJ's music.

They had a GREAT time at the movie. I was very impressed with them being able to sing quietly and dance reasonably in the theater. lol I was worried. We will absolutely get it on DVD (hopefully in time for Ali’s birthday since it is now scheduled for January 2010) when it comes out. If she got that for her birthday she would be THRILLED. They are getting the “"Michael Jackson pants and jacket” for Christmas. lol

There is a big huge speech at the end of this entry…about acceptance. About teaching children to accept everyone. About whether or not your children know that you will accept them no matter what. It was long, so I stuck it at the bottom. There has been several things that have happened lately to remind me of it, so I thought I’d write about it.

I am really excited that our musical Christmas lights will be back in a matter of days….

That our holiday events are starting very soon as well…Zoo Lights, Christmas Village, Hardware Ranch, Family Events…

That we will get to see lots of family members… that we may not see many more times…

As well as those that we really only see on special occasions…

I am grateful that I managed to get good Fall and Halloween pictures this year…

Plus I even already got some good Christmas ones…

There are also some very little, simple things that I have been very grateful for lately. Things that are seemingly unimportant to others.

Do you have ANY idea how much I love whoever came up with SHORT inseams?! Ankle and Petite are just as awesome!

I have never cared about appearance, I care about cost effectiveness and comfort! (This would be why I often got called sir for many years.) lol If it’s not comfortable I won’t wear it. If it’s going to get worn out (too long of an inseam for this 5’1 chick just gets stepped on and destroyed) I won’t buy it.

Finding Aeropostale (Short), Gap Long and Lean (Ankle or Petite) and Old Navy Stretch (Short) has allowed me to pass for a woman, while still staying comfortable. I also love whoever made the thrift stores that allow me to get $60 pants for $5! I would still be wearing men’s clothes no matter how comfortable these are if I couldn’t get them so cheap.

Dried fruit has become a huge help in this house. These go with us if we go to a family function. It is something that doesn’t have to be cold or heated and is minimally messy. It is something they will always be happy to eat. So if there isn’t something they can eat at the family function, they can eat their fruit! They are also very fond of Cran raisins, cherries and the Mango and other stuff. The bread is also easy to take with us.

This is a recently discovered treasure…

Did you know…this box is about $8 at Costco? So you can have instant breakfast for breakfast everyday for $8 a month.

So this means that you can get 3 boxes a month (3 instant breakfasts a day for one person) for $25 a month. You can actually survive on a healthy diet, 3 meals a day, healthier than most people’s regular diet…on $25 a month. Not ramen noodles or mac and cheese…but an actual balanced diet.

Cool huh? It also comes in strawberry and vanilla though it’s harder to find this cheap.

I have also discovered this wonderful, also cheap stuff. You can get 6 boxes, 60 “to go” packets of this for $19 on Amazon. Or slightly more expensive in most grocery stores.

I don’t like it quite as strong as you normally make it which seems to be common, (a packet in 16oz) so I actually double the amount of water you use. For ME it actually makes 60 bottles of 32 oz. That is a 2-4 month supply for $19. Plus it has caffeine, it is very portable, I am drinking lots of water and it is actually really good. (Think strawberry jello.) I can’t complain about that. There are tons of different flavors but only a couple have caffeine.

However, I still need one Code Red a day usually…

I am very grateful that we are able to find food for the kids. It may be difficult and time consuming…but I am just glad we are still able to DO it. I am grateful that they are such healthy eaters and that they are so good about the things they cannot eat. Not many 5 or 6 year olds will turn down cake or cookies at a family party… saying “Nope, that is not safe it will make us sick.”

I am VERY grateful about the 15 boxes of stuff that has LEFT the house in the last few weeks! We have gotten rid of clothes and toys that we no longer needed. We almost have room for us now! (I’m so not done yet but I have made definite progress…)

I am grateful that persistence has paid off and exhaustive searching has allowed me to find material about the people I really wanted my children to learn about. I am grateful there are books on their level about these people. (I am grateful there is one coming out for Michael Jackson in a few months as well.) I am grateful that I am able to find these books for $1 to eliminate the stress of library books which we simply don’t have good luck with.

I am grateful my children’s subjects are STILL Math and Handwriting, even 6 months into this!

I am grateful that I will be lucky to make it to the end of the year with this binder…before I have to start a new one of “Ali and Sadi’s completed work.” I am hoping to just start one that is “Ali and Sadi’s completed work 2010", which is why I’m hoping to get to the end of the year. However, if I don’t I think it’s awesome that it is because they are working so quickly.

Another thing that I have noticed through the Michael Jackson thing recently as well as other experiences…is my children’s unconditional acceptance. When we are out in public and we see a Little Person… you see a crowd of several children staring. My children will not even pause. Because this isn’t “weird” or “strange” to them. It’s normal. They love Dr Jen on the Little Couple. My children are the ones who will go up to the child in the wheelchair with cerebral palsy or something similar, to tell their Mom how cute she is. While the other children are staring, or pointing or asking what is "wrong with that kid." It's normal to my kids.

Michael Jackson is not weird or strange to them, he is just a very talented singer and dancer.

I plan to keep it that way. I have made a strong effort to introduce many concepts that might be “weird” to a child. On an age appropriate level, just simply in the books they read or maybe the shows they watch. People in wheelchairs, people with dwarfism, people of different races, gay people, people who just look different and people with severe disabilities. My children see a person as a person. This is what I ask of other people in how they treat MY children, so I feel it is only fair that my children are taught to do the same.

There are a couple of these that are difficult in our area… very judgmental people are not uncommon even in our own family. This is one of the reasons it was so important that my children know from day one, that everyone is a person. Everyone is just as important. No one deserves to be treated badly because of their race, ability, sexuality, religion…etc. However, they will see it happen even from very close family members.

I have tried to tackle a serious topic with the attitude of “How would I address this if I knew my child would deal with it later in life?”

A good though not well know example is, gay teens are 4 times more likely to commit or attempt suicide than straight teens. Gay 7th-12th graders are twice as likely to make a plan to commit suicide and four times more likely to make a suicide attempt that requires medical attention. 28 percent of gay students will drop out of school, which is more than 3 times the national average for their straight peers.

This is something I was first made aware of several years ago when I made a few good friends. A few incredible, amazing, wonderful people who very nearly took their own lives (all were already drop outs) because of their sexuality. I was stunned that something so trivial and unimportant could cause parents to not accept their child. All had been disowned at best, physically assaulted by their parents when they came out at worst. After what I’ve seen in my own family with drugs, criminal records, serious health issues…this was incomprehensible to me.

Since then, when I hear someone make a disparaging comment about sexuality or race…it makes me cringe. I have to wonder “What if their child is gay or in love with someone of a different race? Can you imagine how it would make that child feel to hear their parents say that? Can you imagine being a child struggling with accepting yourself, accepting how society feels about who you are, who you love…and knowing that your own parent doesn’t accept you either?

After you have seen it from their side, it is easy to understand why that gay teenager would choose suicide. Society doesn’t accept them. Their religion condemns them. Their own family makes these awful comments about them. They are kicked out of their house, even at 13 years old. How would they NOT feel completely hopeless and worthless?

So many well meaning parents have already done the damage unintentionally by the time they find out that their child feels they have to hide who they are. That relationship is completely destroyed.

Those parents are the lucky ones though. Unfortunately many of those parents don’t find out what their child was hiding until they have already buried that child. Then they realize that they would be thrilled to have that gay child, if they just had their child back. They never get the chance to fix the relationship.

It puts it in a whole different perspective. Those friends of mine in my teenage years made a huge difference in shaping how I parent. Not all of those friends are still alive. Some of them just simply couldn't handle it. I cannot blame them.

Parents assume that their children know that they are loved unconditionally. Parents assume they do accept their children no matter what. Until they are forced to think about it. However, a very high number of teens or even adults will tell you “I know that my parents would accept me if I had a drug problem, or got arrested, or came home pregnant at 16. But if I brought home a black guy or told them I was gay……that would be a totally different situation.”

The child has already heard those comments about gays or other races. That child already doesn't feel like they are loved and accepted unconditionally. That is a horrible thing for a child to feel about their parents.

What impression have you given YOUR children? If they realized they were gay would they feel you would accept them? What opinions have they heard you voice about gay people? If they fell in love with someone of a different race would they feel confident you would accept that? What opinions have they heard you voice about other races?

I try and handle things as if I had that crystal ball. I try and address it so that my child will feel accepted no matter what. It’s just part of my “being prepared for anything” attitude. It also produces some very accepting children who can interact with anyone in society. I simply cannot see that as being a bad thing.

Yes, there are family members that disagree. However, they are not their kids. There are not very many things that I am picky about. As long as it isn't going to hurt my child I won't intervene. But if I hear a family member make a comment about gay people or other races that my children hear... I will absolutely intervene no matter who is there. Even if it means explaining that the family member was wrong and unkind to say what they did. Just like I will if I hear a comment about someone with special needs. I pick my battles, I stand up for the people I feel I need to.

There are a few people that my children adore, that happen to be gay. I don't want my children resenting the offending family members later, because of comments they made about people they love. I have these resentments towards family members who made comments about gay people and I can never look at them the same way again. I am trying to prevent that same damage to other relationship for my children and their family members. It's hard for someone to understand unless they have been best friends with someone who is gay. Unless they have had someone very close to them be so harsh towards gay people. The conflict is immense. For now, I will do my best to simply prevent anyone from making any comments around my children. Say what you in private...around my kids, keep your opinions to yourself.

Okay, I am done. Whew.

The Park, The Food and Other Adventures

2009-11-21T00:10:00.000-07:00

I have been slacking on the picture taking again. I may end up putting up their Christmas curriculum and presents early until we start doing the holiday activities.

Tried out the bigger park this time…

Got to climb…

And swing…(the other park does not have swings)

Walking with a purpose. lol

More climbing.

Yes, I’m watching you.

Geesh…can you say upper body strength?

Moving onto the next activity…

Oh, more sliding.

When I ask the kids “what do you want for dinner” and actually let them go choose what they want…this is what I have gotten the last couple of times I’ve asked.

Ali’s choices…Pasta with green beans and mushrooms for dinner…corn, mushrooms and olives for lunch.

Sadi wanted green beans, olives and mushrooms for lunch…olives anytime…and soup for dinner.

This is the kids cupboard. The left is “Ali’s stuff” and the right is “Sadi’s stuff.” The white soup cans over to the fruit and veggies are Soy free as well as gluten free, egg free and low protein. All safe for Sadi. The ones to the left of those do have soy. (Aside from the rice and cooking materials.)

This dog, is so weird. When I saw this…I was confused. What is she doing?? Is she tied to that chair? Glued to it? Something??

No, she is just sitting there. What a strange creature.

Not so sure about those dinosaurs though…

See, this is why I wondered if she was tied to the chair!

Playing…

Having a drink of water…getting my back pack and my sun glasses…wearing my camo.

Just chilling on the couch wearing my camo. lol

Walking around, reading to with my back pack and Cassie, what more do I need?

Pants and The Park

2009-11-18T00:18:00.000-07:00

Finding pants that work for both kids is quite a challenge. Sadi generally wears a slim but she doesn’t NEED them and some of them are too small. Both of them need adjustable waistbands because we don’t do belts very well. We keep a very close eye on both Ebay and thrift stores. Recently, we managed to find some pretty good ones for $2-$5.

Even for ME which is just as impressive. I have to have "short," "petite", "ankle"... depending on the brand. I'm only 5'1 and didn't discover this fabulous concept until I was 22 years old. Finding those on Ebay or in thrift stores that are also pants you LIKE, can be quite a challenge.

Ali can wear these ones now…

And these…

They can both wear these now…(we love Arizona stretch. Especially cords!)

These are a bit long still…

As are these…

And these…

We also managed to get winter gear together…I am not going to let the non matching boots bother me… really I’m not.

Sadi:

Ali:

Sleepy teddy…

Sleepy Cassie…

Sleepy Bean…

Woah, we are in the other truck!

Jordanelle…

Our canyon park…

Climbing…

Sliding…

Chasing…

Sliding…

Oh my… that is not genetic or anything. *cringe*

Okay, time to go!

Zoo

2009-11-15T00:14:00.000-07:00

We actually did the Zoo the same day as the Witches. It was one of those last semi warm days so we took advantage of it. It was also a weekday so the Zoo was not quite as much of a... Zoo.

The water globe thing…

Still fall colors…

They are putting up lights for the Zoo lights already…

The water birds…

Squirrel…

Hmmm…that almost looks like it could be a fat meercat…

Not quite as cute though…

The rainforest animals…

The penguins…

The many varieties of monkeys…

New baby…

The lemur…

This guy was really evil looking. lol

Hey, look I feel like I’m in the Lion King!

Another kind of evil looking dude.

Wouldn’t hold still!

Elephants!

What is that thing under that tree that elephant has???

Oh, it’s a BABY!

Checking out the Rhino…

Along with the real ones…

Ugh…the unexciting ones.

The big kitties!

Sitting on these ones…

Saw these ones this time, though the tigers were napping.

Giraffes!

The bear…

Thirsty it appears…

Excited…

Zebras!! Definitely one of the favorites and also the last thing we saw.

“The Witch Place”

2009-11-13T00:18:00.000-07:00

We made it to Gardner Village this year to see the witches. This was something that the kids really wanted to do, so we did. I am not sure if we will brave the cold to go see the elves or not…we will have to see how ambitious we are feeling.

I think this was the favorite.

Though there was definitely a lot of creative decorations.

We walked around and looked at the different witches.

Especially the one on the bike.

I thought this one was cute .

Op-en!

Then there were the baseball playing ones…Sadi was not thrilled with getting near any of them.

Ali had no issue though. lol

The ones brewing their stew…

That was cool…

The ones going round and round…

Also cool…

Water…

Okay… wait a minute, now this is cool.

It is an airport barn thing! With a witch directing air traffic!

Then the witch in the tree and the cellular store witch…

Then the witch with the cat chasing the mouse? underneath her dress…

Also quite creative…

This one was just odd. lol

The wise old witch…

The evil witch? lol

By the water…by the witch on the bike too.

Oh look, she does have a face!

Sitting on the bench with the witch to take pictures…can’t you just feel the enthusiasm?

It took a whole lot of convincing to get Sadi to sit there. Ali would have gladly. lol

Is there any particular reason why a witch requires certain body parts to be so large? Just wondering. lol

Making faces at each other…

Oh wow, that is a huge spider!

Okay, time to head out now…

"Halloween and Hives"

2009-11-11T00:14:00.000-07:00

Had to make an “emergency” trip to the doctor. When Ali decided to be a tomato for Halloween instead of Minnie Mouse! lol I will put that at the bottom of this entry for anyone who wants to avoid it. I hadn’t planned on posting pictures but I was asked to, so I am.

Grandpa got us these new shirts:

Which Sadi wore as jammies and then watched “Casper Meets Wendy” in them as well. (Can’t you tell Ali is just terrified as she takes the time to fix her ponytail?? lol)

The one who controls the remote now…then decides it is time to leave and go somewhere.

Playing instead of going to bed.

Or going to bed in the toys…whichever the case may be.

Took a bath to get ready for our Halloween which was not on Halloween.

Then they sit there and play in the mirror for a while. lol

The Grinch sat in his costume while I did Ali’s hair…

Then Sadi had to brush hers…

We went to Great Grandpa’s first…then to Foster’s where I did not pull out the camera. (Really, it’s true.)

Sadi sat on the floor in front of Ali…

They both sat on the piano bench…

With both of the Grandpa’s right there…

Then Sadi decided to stand…

Though Ali tried to convince her to sit back down. lol

She was not successful. Sadi was ready to go.

Ali was not in the mood to pose for pictures without Sadi cooperating. lol

But she was in a weird mood, which is just is good most of the time.

Strange child…the many faces of Ali. lol

It appears that dressing up like Minnie can be quite tiring. One didn’t even make it away from the soup and the other one just barely made it to the couch without even taking off her shoes.

Okay, Ali’s hives/allergic reaction pictures are below so leave if you don’t wish to see them.

So to the emergency doctor visit. Ali had an allergic reaction to something that still remains a mystery. She had one quarter sized patch of red spots at like 9am. She was about 15% covered in hives when we left the house at 3:30pm.

30 minutes later, when we got to the doctor…she was at least 75% covered. I have no idea what it was or why…but she is NOT my allergic child so it was quite discouraging. You can actually see them on her neck in this picture, those were not there when we left the house.

This was after we got home and they had actually already started to improve in some places. From the meds she got in the office. Ali is great at zoning out when something is bothering her and she never complained about it itching or anything. The dr couldn’t believe it…then he said “I don’t know why I’m ever surprised by her anymore!”

3 hours after the first pictures:

Again, she was definitely not miserable. Especially not on meds. She was slightly loopy. lol

The next morning this was all that was left. It was amazing. It was gone by that night and she has been fine since.

We have NO idea. She had eaten fruits, vegetables, pasta and soup in the 72 hours before this. No Clam Chowder, no strawberries, or melons. Not even the most allergic fruits. She had absolutely no medications at all in that 72 hours. She hadn’t been playing outside in the grass. She had NO symptoms of illness at all so it wasn’t viral…or it wouldn’t have been gone overnight when treated like an allergy. She had no spider bites or bug bites. It was just very weird.

So we kept a record of everything including the clothes she wore, (quite honestly this is the closest thing to reasonable we can think of) the food she ate, where she went and what she did… so if it DOES happen again hopefully we can narrow it down. Looking at family history is a bit useless. My brother is allergic to peanuts, Sadi is allergic to eggs, Ali can’t have gluten, her grandmother is allergic to a few meds…then you have MY sister who allergic to just about everything except water, air and Tylenol. We would be just as confused trying to eliminate everything in the family history. Because somebody is allergic to just about everything.