Momof3littles
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Posts posted by Momof3littles
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I eat lower carb because I have PCOS. I am not overweight nor diabetic, but feel due to insulin resistance, carbs can quickly accelerate me toward weight gain and diabetes, since I am at increased risk for type 2 thanks to PCOS.
I can eat LC when out and about without too much difficulty. We have places we find this easier, even at chain type places. Red Robin will lettuce wrap a burger for you (and we skip sweet sauces, etc.) and allow you to sub a side salad for fries. We do a carnitas bowl, no rice, light on beans, add guac at Chipotle. At lots of restaurants I do two veggies or a veggie and a salad in lieu of a carb side dish. If you ask, many places can accommodate those simple changes. Of course, portion size matters, so consider that too. A salad, veggie, and a simple protein (watching out for hidden stuff in sauces if you are avoiding sugar, for example) is available on most restaurant menus. At non chain places, I have an easy time finding salmon, chicken, fajitas (I skip the tortillas), a small steak. At the local Greek place, I get lamb gyro meat over salad greens. Once you figure out how to adapt what's on the menu to work for you, it gets easier IME. I can pretty easily put together something that works for me on most menus. (Americanized) Chinese is pretty much the only one that doesn't generally work for me, unless I do steamed veggies and a protein (no sweet sauces, etc. rules out a lot), and that's just not worth eating out. Our quick "emergency" type dinner in a pinch is a rotisserie chicken (or two if needed) a salad. Could you do that from time to time at your parents' house? Not perfect, but in a pinch it works for us and is less expensive and less hassle than going out or ordering dinner in.
Can you switch eating to drinking tea or a hot beverage while watching TV? I am not big on eating while watching tv because I wasn't conditioned that way, but I like to have a lot of tea on winter evenings.
Walking while babysitting MIL, but can you do some strength training? Even 10 mins of lifting weights or using your own body weight can help with insulin sensitivity. Squats, lunges, working with resistance bands, reps with some weights or household stuff with some weight, step ups on a home built "step," etc. are all inexpensive options that can be done in small increments. If you aren't sure on form, just be careful and consider working with a personal trainer.
I know you were having some issues with your upper extremity nerves, so I realize upper body weights may not be an option for you right now. But squats, lunges, etc. are quite portable.
Is your balance okay? I know you have been through a lot health wise, just trying to remember if you have limitations with balance, etc.
for me, balancing protein and fat at meals is really important. Especially early on when you are making changes IME, it is helpful to make sure you have a solid, low sugar, moderate protein, higher fat type of breakfast vs. starting the day with something sweet or just generally carby. Eat often enough to keep the cravings for sweets and carbs at bay, and it is easier to make healthy choices. For me, starting the day with a bagel has always meant I was ravenously hungry an hour later, to the point I would be tempted to steal food from a small child ;) It took me years to realize that's because I get a big insulin spike from the carb load, which then in turn crashes my blood sugar, leaving me ravenous and grumpy and ready to find food wherever I can. It didn't make sense to me until I read up on PCOS and figured out what I was dealing with over a decade ago. With diabetes in the family, consider whether you have some level of insulin resistance, because it is quite likely, even if you aren't overweight.
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We went in Feb of 2014 (3rd to 10th or something like that). President's Day week, etc gets very busy, so keep that in mind and check crowd calendars. We were open to staying off site in a house, but for a one time trip you may want to stay on site. We ultimately ended up staying on site at POR, which worked well for a family of 5 since they do two queens and a pull down smaller murphy bed for a younger child. The promotions sometimes change year to year, but we stayed during a period that offered a Stay, Play, Dine promotion. Adult meal plan and park tickets were children's prices basically, and then there was a small room discount too. That made staying on site with a meal plan more attractive, although if we return I think we would do DVC points rental or stay off site in a house. We opted to rent a car and skipped taking buses, and that worked well for us. Some people don't want to worry about driving and parking at all; we wanted the flexibility driving offered us. Car rental prices were much higher than I saw quoted many places, and many people traveling at the same time (on various Disney message boards) were saying the same thing. Prices did come down eventually, but were not inexpensive.
Oh, while we were there, the monorail was down a *substantial* percentage of the time. People who had booked at the Contemporary, Poly, etc. were not thrilled at paying a premium to be close in when the monorail was not an option for quite a bit of their trip. You may want to explore that. We used the ferry from the parking lot most of the time and had minimal waits, but the monorail being down did affect getting around for some people, depending on where they were staying, planning to eat, etc
The disboards were helpful to me, if overwhelming in the beginning, The Unofficial Guide book was helpful to me, although things were changing fairly rapidly while we were planning in terms of fast pass, how far out you could book certain things like the fireworks dessert party, etc.
We enjoyed the dessert party a PP suggested. I hated being wall to wall with people, and for me, it was enjoyable to have some space while watching.
My younger two kids (then newly 7 and almost 4) rode in strollers. At your kids' ages it probably isn't necessary, but my DD (the 7 yo when we traveled) is a grumpy mess when overtired and hungry. The stroller was a lifesaver with her. She hasn't ridden since she was maybe 3, but I was happy to have a stroller. Most people would not rent for a 7 yo, but I know my DD best and was glad to have had one available. We rented two singles so we could opt to leave one in the car or room at times, but we ended up using both a lot.
Meals can be time consuming, so some people prefer to go, go, go, while others like to take the opportunity to rest up a bit, maybe meet characters, etc. We enjoyed some of the meals like Crystal Palace for breakfast very early before the park opened, and it let us meet some of the characters without having to wait in long lines. We liked Kona for breakfast. We enjoyed dinner at California Grill (my kids love sushi). Tusker House in AK was nice for meeting characters, but food was meh while we were there. Many people recommend it, and like any Disney restaurant, it may be hit or miss.
We enjoyed lunch at Be Our Guest and were able to book lunch via a link available at that time on the disboards. Usually (when we went anyway) you had to wait in a 30+ min line for lunch. It was nice in that it was considered counter service but you sit down and they bring your food to you if you pre order. I didn't miss not doing dinner there at all, but my DD is not a princess lover. We liked a lot of the quick stuff in Epcot like counter service in Morocco, fish and chips, etc.
We had fun one day exploring the boardwalk area for a few hours after we felt we had done a lot of what we wanted at Epcot. We rented a surrey bike and had ice cream at Beaches and Cream.
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Our plan was to do so, but I didn't get some of my prep done this weekend due to feeling under the weather. I can feel something brewing in my chest. I am trying to decide whether to bother tomorrow or not. We go year round, and typically take off about 3-4 weeks at the holidays. I suppose another 2-3 days may not be a big deal. I usually try to transition us all back a little gently that first week, so maybe this week will involve documentary watching, independent reading, working through their memory work boxes, and that type of thing ;) That's what we do when I'm feeling too under the weather to teach.
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My kids like the clone of a cinnabon cinnamon rolls (we have these 1-2x a year at most so they look forward to it). I prep the rolls and freeze in advance, and freeze the icing recipe I use. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
When I host a larger brunch I aim for a combo of sweet and savory, so I usually do an overnight french toast casserole and then something like a quiche, frittata, sausage breakfast casserole, or a strata.
We always have nice fresh fruit, mimosas for the adults, good coffee.
With young kids, I want to be involved in watching present opening, etc. and not in the cooking, so I've dialed back. I premake a quiche and freeze it, premake the cinnamon rolls, etc vs. doing the day of. The slight dip in quality is worth it to me on Christmas morning ;)
We took Dh's family out for brunch yesterday to a place we go every year. I always enjoy their amazing house made gravlox. I eat mine with capers and a tiny dab of sour cream; I don't need a bagel or anything like that. Love it. I sometimes put that out at home, but YMMV if that's something your family enjoys. DH enjoyed a bacon bloody mary.
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Wow, that is really scary.
Yes, indeed it is. They are still very employable, great fields with autonomy and flexibility, but...the cost to complete a degree would give me pause if I was doing it now. Most people in my class were high school valedictorians or in the top 5% of their class, high SATs, etc. Most could have applied and gotten into medical school. I know quite a few people who chose PT because they didn't want the hours/lifestyle of an MD. But now that the degree is longer and more expensive, I don't know if I would have made the same choice? I might have opted for med school, but then would have been saddled with that debt and the sometimes extreme difficulty going part time or dropping out of the work force for a while.
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I will say the cost of many allied health degrees has gone up considerably. A master's or doctoral degree is necessary to sit for licensure, and the cost to complete those degrees has really increased since I graduated. When I did my degree, I did a 5 year combined bachelor's and master's degree, and my program ran about 125K. PT has mostly shifted to the DPT (doctorate in physical therapy), and soon the DPT will be necessary to sit for licensure (they grandfather in those who already have a license). That's still viewed as the entry level degree, and PTs with a DPT frequently don't make any more than those with master's degrees, because we are talking about an entry level degree. The same program I finished in 2001 is now about 300,000 with room and board, assuming no scholarships. Seats were competitive then and are still highly competitive, so scholarships aren't necessarily plentiful or huge.
Just something to consider. I opted to SAH, but had my student loans been considerably higher, that would not have been an option. Working one day a week, per diem, etc. would likely not have been an option at all either.
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I am more familiar with allied health: speech therapy, PT, OT.
eta: I can't speak to nursing all that specifically, but honestly, anytime you move from one area to another there are differences. When I w orked in pediatrics, I lost some of my adult orthopedic skills. My friends who work in outpatient ortho or skilled nursing wouldn't feel comfortable treating babies, yet people do manage to move from one area of practice to another. There are ways to move into other areas of practice via continuing ed, self study, mentorships, etc. So I think of technology similarly to a degree. In some areas of nursing it may be a bigger deal, but people in healthcare manage to move from area to area within their field fairly often. I don't think it is insurmountable. Being up to date on continuing ed, willing to learn, etc. goes a long way. Hopefully the nurses will give more specifics. But moving from something like working in a private peds practice to acute care in a hospital, even without a lapse in practice, can still be a challenge, but people do it.
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Some healthcare jobs can work well even very part-time like one day per week, or per diem, just doing the occasional weekend (say 1-4x per month), provided one keeps up with reading, self-education, continuing education classes.
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We have BTDT with several family members, and IME, they will be in the same or a similar situation in a very short time. I would make sure they have food (drop off groceries vs. giving them $$) and a roof over their heads. I have helped compile resources (Medicaid, food stamps, whatever) to make it easier for them to obtain help.
What has happened IME is that generally the cycle just repeats and repeats, and you will just become increasingly resentful,and from what you describe, you may adversely impact your own family's financial health. Not good.
I could not allow my family members to go homeless or be in an unsafe situation. I would do whatever I could swing to make that not happen. But if they have somewhere to go, the best you can do IMO is drop off food, holiday gifts for the kids, that type of thing. Or pay for a financial planning appt if you could swing something like that down the road. And they'd have to be in a situation where they aren't in crisis mode to get much out of that I think. We've offered to pay for an attorney to help my niece navigate an issue with an ex, child support, and her finances, because I thought overall there would be more impact for the $$ spent vs giving her the money directly. Sending her $$ would mean just a repeat of the same situation again down the road. So we focus on things like compiling resources, offering to help with a budget (for my niece who is receptive; I have another family member who would freak out if we offered something like that), groceries/necessities, an occasional car repair to help them keep working.
I'm sorry; it is so, so difficult. We've dealt with variations on this for years, and it is incredibly difficult because in our case, there seems to be no sustainable, long term solution. It just goes in waves of how bad things get.
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I love clean sheets
My 4 yo is into writing notes and letters to me all day like " I love u mom." I can't decide how many to keep :001_wub:
a magazine or pinterest and a hot beverage :) or a glass of wine.
fire in the (just professionally cleaned) fireplace
watching a Christmas movie with the kids
OP, my favorite on the stove is simmering two lemon halves, some vanilla extract, water, and cinnamon. So nice. I like your combo too.
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We have a real 11ish foot tree in a room with a vaulted, planked ceiling. We cut our own. Lots of white lights, burlap ribbon around it, rustic viney looking star (our family room is kind of rustic...big brick fireplace that extends to the vaulted ceiling, planked ceiling). We have gold and red ornaments tying all of the other mish mash together (childhood ornaments, things my kids have made, ornaments that belong to each of the kids).. 2nd small tree (fake) in DR with white lights, burlap ribbon, and beeswax ornaments.
This year each kid also has a tree in their room. Target had small fake trees (5ish feet?) for $15. I had just paid that for one of those tiny little mini trees earlier in the season. Each kid bought some ornaments from the Dollar Spot (we gave them a budget). They LOVE having their own trees. I love the holidays, and I like that they are excited to have their own, even if it is a little over the top that we now have 5 trees.
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My kids wouldn't find all of this fun necessarily, but:
Documentaries
Read from different genres
Work through their memory work boxes
Mad Libs (would be every so slightly educational for a 7 yo depending on where they are at with grammar knowledge). They could write their own (13 yo could write them for the 7 yo) to increase the challenge.
Practice their recorder (they took a co-op class years ago but revisit the songs they learned periodically)
Listen to audiobooks
play various card games (depending on the game this could be educational for the 7 yo). We have games like "go fish" with impressionist artists
Work on an art project
play educational board games (Great States Jr. for the 7 yo, 24, that type of thing?)
Mind Benders or logic workbooks
snap circuits
making a model of something
read a book and do a little presentation, report, some sort of output
research a favorite animal or country.
Write a report about a holiday from another country or culture, or a religion they don't know much about.
watch Khan Academy videos about different artists (some have content you may or may not be comfortable with)
Work through a book like Art Fraud Detective (13 and 7 yo could theoretically do this together)
Work on typing/keyboarding skills
Scratch or other programming
feel better soon!
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Any luck with paleo coconut flour recipes?
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Tech gloves
undies
depending on work attire, cufflinks, collar stays?
favorite tea, coffee, bottle of beer, small bottles of liquor if that flies
Nice travel mug like a Contigo
healthier snacks (certain bars depending on how he eats, nuts or jerky like a PP said)
gum, mints?
magazine or subscription (this is clutter to some people)
something from thinkgeek?
ear buds
I ordered command cord clips from thecontainerstore when they had free shipping (clip all of those electronics cords out of the way) http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10020291&N=&Ntt=cord+clips (this is for round, they have others for flatter cords)also these cord winters from the container store (amazon has them too) http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10028928&N=&Ntt=cord+wind
twist tie thingies like this: http://www.amazon.com/Nite-Ize-GT3-4PK-A1-Reusable-Assorted/dp/B004MMEHKG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418327219&sr=8-1&keywords=gear+ties&pebp=1418327223706 in different sizes?
this could be fun: http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10036327&N=&Ntt=bondi
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Dr Sears has good guidelines IME for vomiting.
Scroll about halfway down where it talks about the various stages.
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/health-concerns/childhood-illnesses/vomiting
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My caution in dropping EI is that at age 3 you start operating within the school system. If you drop EI, then do private for a while, and for some reason want to restart, until they re-eval and get a new therapist out, you'll not have much time before DC turns 3. Depending on what is going on, that may not be a big deal, but if there are any additional concerns or diagnoses, it could be more of an issue. You may or may not also decide the private services for an extended period (if needed) are pricey, and may wish to return to EI, for example.
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I found a private speech therapist who left EI in order to work just with the more challenging cases and so her entire case load is children like my son. My insurance covers most of her fee, so I think I will at least try her and see how that goes. She is the first person I've talked to from the very beginning who didn't seem confused by my description of how he communicates. She actually seemed quite confident that she could help and had really good answers to the specific questions I asked. She mentioned that she doesn't advertise because she prefers the atypical cases and finds that the kids who need her, find her.
I did find it funny that by the end of the conversation she asked if I was in the speech business because of how well versed I was with the lingo.
I feel very good about trying her.
Will you continue with EI services as well? I would not drop EI for private; if you go private, I'd do both right now. Keep your foot in the door with EI, IMO, even if you need to talk to the case manager/svc coordinator about switching therapists, etc.
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NM. Deleting because I don't have specifics readily available.
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That may or may not be a concern at his age. I see my own baby do that, master a sound or sign, use it a ton, and then drop it for a while. But I do see why it would be a concern.
In your shoes, I'd be asking for a referral to an audiologist, and I'd be looking into a different speech facility. We did go private, and although we had to drive to our SLP, she was amazing and well worth the drive. We went weekly, but we had homework to do five out of the six non-speech days. Twice a month sounds like it might not be enough, but I would really try looking for a different SLP first. I have heard that Easter Seals might provide help.
Where we live, Easter Seals often contracts with the county to provide services. I've worked for ES, and then provided EI services, school based services, private outpatient services, and worked in the special needs preschool. So same agency, many roles, depending on what they contract to do.
That's why it isn't always as simple IMO as go private. Often it can be the very same therapists that provide EI services, again, depending on what contracts the therapist's employer has.
But the benefit of private is that the therapist isn't forced to operate within the same constraints as EI and school based services, which allows them to adjust their recommendations for frequency, length of visit, goals (don't have to necessarily be purely "educationally focused" in private vs. school) In EI, budget cuts have really taken a toll.
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I think I'm more upset now after a phone conversation with the SLP than I was earlier.
I called to talk to share my frustrations and figure out my options.
I got a lot of wishy washy uncomfortable with my questions kind of language from her. I specifically told her that I needed to figure out what was going on - she told me it is either behavioral or motor. Then she proceeded to explain why it is not motor. I requested the behavioralist come to my house with her next time and she said she would see if she could do that.
I asked several times where I could take him so that I could at least figure out what is going on and which direction to go to help him talk and she finally told me after beating around the bush and me asking the same question again, that she is not allowed to make any recommendations.
I mentioned that my ped. suggested a full speech workup at a local chlidren's hospital and she got very quiet and uncomfortable. Then she said she used to work there and that there are waiting lists.
In the end she is promising to talk to some people tomorrow and get back to me. She ended by saying that it was good to hear a mom advocating for her child.
It Makes me sick that the system here is apparently set up to keep information from parents and then not allow them to even validate the concerns that parents have when they are brought up. All I want is the tools necessary to help my baby speak!
She may be contemplating whether you need something like a developmental ped. And that *may* be what she meant by he's "so young." She may not have meant for therapy, but that at just shy of 2, it is sometimes tough to tease out whether there's more going on.
As a therapist they may have a hunch but not enough info at this point to be certain whether it is indeed behavioral. We aren't there, so we can't know if she's inept or if your child is just not the easiest to tease out.
I would ask your ped and therapist(s) if they think something like a developmental ped eval or another specialist is necessary. Those can be long waits.
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Our SLP is a service coordinator according to my paperwork.
oh and the evaluation results: At 20 months (he is currently 23 months) he tested at 21 months cognitive, 21 months comprehension, 9-12 months expressive, 18 months social/emotional, 21 months adaptive, 21 months fine motor, and 19 months gross motor (because he couldn't jump... which now he can, which would put him at 24 months).
Are you sure you don't mean the SLP is the service provider? There should be a case manager or case coordinator or whatever it is called in your state. As a previous poster mentioned, this would be a non therapist.
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You did the right thing.
My friend's DC slipped and fell at the pool this summer, and he was out of it and dry heaving. I'm quite sure he had a concussion.
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I have worked in EI as a therapist (PT), and sometimes it does take time to puzzle together clues for somewhat atypical cases. There are just so many factors; you are seeing one thing, sometimes parent input tells a different story, sometimes it takes time to build a rapport with a child to really see what they are capable of. I'm surprised by all of the "I don't knows" if that's what the therapist is saying. I would think she could at least toss out more specifics of what she's seeing clinically with DC, even if she's not 100% sure I think it is okay to say she isn't certain at this point, but hopefully she'll communicate more with you about what she's thinking. Not all therapists are created equal of course, but it isn't crazy for it to take more than 4 visits to tease things out a bit if this is a somewhat more unusual case. Of course, the rest of us can't know that, kwim? Some cases just take time to piece together before you get a full, accurate picture. YOu may have hunches, indications from the evaluation of certain things going on, etc. but sometimes it takes time to really grasp what is going on.
If doing 2x a month, is she giving you plenty of things to carry through on your own? Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, it wouldn't surprise me if there is increasing pressure to limit visits. That existed 10 years ago when I was working, and I know it is much worse now.
If you aren't satisified, I would talk to the case manager because no matter who comes in, if you feel 2x a week is inadequate, you are going to have to press for more or they are going to have to give a justification for the 2x a week. So that needs to be addressed whether it is this therapist or a different one.
You could simultaneously do a private eval and see if it gives you any additional info. I am surprised that you did not have a hearing test required before the early intervention eval. If you pursue it, the private SLP eval may also reflect that this is an unusual type of case, or they may have a more specific diagnosis.At that point you may have a clue about how competent your EI therapist is. Private IME isn't inherently better; I worked in practices where the exact same therapists who provided EI services also provided school and/or private outpatient services. The same private practice in my area might contract with different agencies, schools, etc while still providing outpatient services. But what is different is that yes, there are inherent limitations due to budget constraints, the fact that in school you have to stick to "educationally" related goals (which limits what types of goals and what you can work on at tiems) a. I've heard parents bash school or EI as less effective than private practice, but IME it comes down more to the inherent flexibility you have in treating in outpatient vs. in a school system or at times in EI. I've seen fantastic and mediocre and bad therapists in all settings; having the incredible flexibility of outpatient just frees the therapist up to be more flexible without having to work within the constraints of the system. When I worked in EI I had case managers try to bully me into recommending fewer hours for kids, etc. and I've had to hold firm. I imagine the pressure has mounted even more with the current cuts to state budgets.All of that to say that you may run into similar issues no matter who your therapist is, or you may just have an incompetent or mediocre therapist.
How was his receptive speech in the eval? Did they also find that was typical or not? I know you said he understands everything, but sometimes parents gesture or give other non verbal cues that kids read, so sometimes there's a discrepancy between parent report and the receptive language score on the evaluation.
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We cloth diapered all three. Prefolds, fitteds, pockets, all kinds of things in the mix depending on their age, mobility, and what fit best.
Anyone who has had a horse-crazy child, did it last?
in The Chat Board
Posted
I was horse crazy. We did local weekly lessons for a few years, I joined 4H around age 8, did barn work at my lesson stable, etc. all before I got a pony. We had 3 acres, and needed to fence, fix up a small barn, etc. before I could get my horse. My parents, in what I now consider a stroke of genius, basically had me clear about 1.5+ acres of rocks as part of the process. So every day after school, I loaded up rocks into a wheelbarrow, carted it around when I could (it was often too heavy) and reloaded it. This went on for months. Looking back now, I see it was probably somewhat a test of my commitment. I got up every morning at 5:30 am to feed, I showed in low key shows and eventually outgrew my pony ability wise, but we kept her. My trainer asked me to come along and I would warm up younger girls' pricey horses at shows sometimes. I participated in team and individual horse judging competitions, hippobowl, all kinds of things besides just riding.
I stayed with it until my teens. My parents joke that it was me going "boy crazy," but I played sports year round and it was nearly impossible to ride, etc. that much with a busy sports and academic schedule. We eventually handed off my pony to long time family friends with a beautiful barn, acreage, etc. I remember the call from my mom that my pony was put down while I was in college (pneumonia/old age). So no, I never shook it. I now have a horse crazy DD, but she loves pretty much all activities and all sports. My SIL, a vet tech for large animals, gave DD a gc for some lessons, and we are all going to go together, as SIL still rides at this barn from time to time. My brother at one point was married to a woman with some lovely dutch warmbloods, and I could occasionally get my fix there.
I worked as a physical therapist, and at one point did some volunteer work at a therapeutic riding facility. I was asked to sit on their board. So sometimes that interest lingers and can be grown in other ways.