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Slipper

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  1. It's also important to remember that what the school considers a disability might not be considered a disability elsewhere. Two of my daughters had special education plans - one for significant autism and the other for celiac disease. My daughter with autism is absolutely disabled (non-verbal, needs help with all aspects of daily living activities). My daughter with celiac disease is not considered disabled (for example, she will not receive disability checks for having celiac disease).
  2. She completed Saxon 8/7 (almost completely- she skipped towards the end which is why we're still looking at math at the moment). ALEKS placed her in Level 6 (which is 6th grade from what I can tell). She's completed 90% of it but that still means she's starting Level 7 next year. I was hoping she would be in Algebra 1 for 8th grade. (I'm apparently really confused).
  3. How does Aleks line up with Saxon Math? I have a daughter who recently switched to it, but it seems that Aleks has her in a lower grade level than she used in Saxon. It doesn't really matter except that I'm trying to make sure we're at grade level. She's going into 8th grade next year. Thanks!
  4. My kids have all had issues with food. My celiac kid developed stomach/headaches if she didn't eat frequently. There are many people posting in this thread about, "What if a kid has..... but they can't eat because other kid has....." . It's important to know that if your child has a documented medical problem and a doctor's note, the school will figure out a way. Public schools will have to make a gluten free, extra calorie meal if your child needs it. The school will also allow a child out of the classroom for an extra snack break in the nurse's office (my daughter needed lunch and two snacks during school hours). My oldest (significant disabilities) needed bottles and sippy cups. My kids were all (at one point) picky eaters. My oldest would go months eating only rice cakes (we had to supplement pediasure and protein drinks). If it's significant enough to cause a problem, get a doctor's note. Even with all the picky behavior of my kids, we always found a way not to jeopardize other children with allergies.
  5. People try to cook for my daughter a lot. She won't eat it. People are careless. One time a poorly washed spoon was used to stir iced tea and she became ill. However, we also don't ask for people to provide gluten free alternatives. I ask for them to let me know in advance if food will be served and we bring her food. Sometimes people will bring pre-packaged, unopened gluten free items. We're grateful when that does happen but if she's not the first person in line, she will still avoid it. Too much food handling and crumb dripping for safety.
  6. A question I did think of for those who have allergic children, what if a kid eats something with peanuts/peanut butter for breakfast and then comes to school? Kids aren't necessarily the best at hygiene and handwashing. Or what if peanut is banned at lunch, but a kid has, say, peanut M&Ms on the playground? If they do a peanut-free table only during the lunch when the allergic kid is having lunch, could it be a problem if it's not labeled peanut-free during other lunches and kids eat peanuts/peanut butter at other times sitting at the table? Although Celiac Disease is not an allergy, for my daughter, yes, it would be a problem if they touched something (like a pencil sharpener) and then she touched it and put her hand on her lips or nose. The classes also used hand sanitizer which doesn't kill the gluten proteins. We had to teach her to wash her hands (not sanitize) before eating and not to touch her face. We provided her a personal hand sanitizer bottle since kids just pass the class bottle from one person to the next. If there were situations where she was required to grab hands with someone beside her, she eventually started asking them if they had washed their hands recently. We also sent face masks, q-tips, and plastic gloves with her to school just in case any project had some type of gluten involvement. When she has a reaction, she has vomiting/diarrhea, headaches, weakness for about 2 - 3 weeks. Still, that's preferable to a life threatening reaction. I've always been very grateful. I would imagine that someone with a peanut allergy would have significant problems with the scenario you described.
  7. I have a friend whose daughter has/had life threatening allergies to peanuts. She was lucky to be involved in a study that helped reduce her reaction to peanuts through exposure. If I remember correctly, she had to be admitted into the hospital for two days for every 'treatment' at first. She would ingest a tiny, tiny amount of peanut allergen. Over time, she was able to increase it. I don't understand it completely, but she must eat one peanut m&m every day now to keep her allergy from worsening. She is no longer considered to have a life threatening allergy however. My daughter (with Celiac Disease) went to public school for many years. Even with a rule at lunch regarding no swapping foods, kids were still careless. They might reach over to dip their hamburger in her ketchup or something similar which would instantly contaminate it. Flour particles in the air (think of kids making a craft with flour/water and dusting their hands off). She would occasionally become ill because restaurant supply companies might send a different brand of product if they were out of the school's usual product. She has always been very good about watching after her own diet but other kids are careless because they forget. Other parents were the worst. They would try to give her food and tell her that it only had a 'teensy weensy amount' in it. And I absolutely, positively believe that anyone asking for school modifications should have a doctor's note. It's not that hard. Usually allergies are treated by more than one individual and a note from doctor, allergist, gastroenterologist shouldn't be a problem.
  8. Thanks everyone! I just checked on DH (he's at a smaller guest house on our property so he can rest without being disturbed). He's still doing fine overall, but his foot/lower leg is just as swollen. He's taking two benadryl pills at a time and I just gave him his fourth dose. He's also taking ibuprofen. If meds could have fixed it, it should have by now. He's supposed to teach class in the morning (and will probably do so while sitting down) but afterwards (I'm driving), I plan to detour by the doctor. And yes, we live out about twenty minutes from the nearest (small town) emergency room. We're about an hour from a larger hospital.
  9. I wanted to make a final update for anyone who had followed our kitten saga. We had taken in five kittens (one had died already) when they were about 10 days old. We added another one that we caught a few weeks later. Another one did die. There were a few vet visits. But finally, they are healthy and around eight weeks old. We have given two away. I'm left with a boy/girl pair that are almost identical and the (still slightly) feral kitten that we named Schrodinger (after Schrodinger's Cat). We will probably keep Schro (as we call him) and I'm hoping to find a good home for the last two. I'm hopeful that we are finished with baby kittens for a while. Thanks for everyone's help!
  10. We live out in the country. We have lots of critters (walking and flying) in our area. DH was mowing yesterday and felt something sting his foot. He has been stung once before by a yellow jacket, so he immediately jumped off the mower and ran into the house. The last time he was stung several times and had a horrible reaction to it. He had hives all over his body (I mean....everywhere) and his hands and feet were swollen (where he was stung). We debated about driving to town to the hospital but he hates doctors. (His whole family does. It's one of their 'things'. They would rather die than get medical treatment.) We treated at home with benadryl and I decided it was probably extreme due to the amount of stings. This time however, he was only stung once on the ankle. It became swollen (the whole ankle and foot area, not just the site of sting) in spite of ibuprofen and benadryl pills and spray. He was literally moaning during the night with pain, so I woke him up for more meds and ice packs. He's still refusing a doctor today so we're continuing benadryl and ibuprofen. He is also running a low fever and occasionally has trembling episodes. Otherwise, he's fine. He's eating well, listening to books on tape, talking normally. If he still is swollen tomorrow, I may force the doctor issue as I feel like we should have something more available for these episodes. He doesn't have trouble breathing, but would an epi-pen solve the swelling? His foot is almost round and tight. He can't walk on it. Is there anything else I can do to treat this? It's extremely painful.
  11. Double Post, sorry
  12. Any chance you can introduce her to some people? She seems a bit awkward and shy, perhaps you are the only non-threatening person since you are (assuming mostly alone) at a table. If you could introduce her to a few people, you can then say something like "you guys have fun! Back to work for me!"
  13. We pulled our youngest out of school to homeschool due to severe anxiety. Things became better, but she still needs medication to control the anxiety. Don't be afraid of medication (though obviously not the first step!) or to change doctors. :)
  14. This was a great article that appeared today regarding our state and the choice to remove the Confederate flag. http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/06/our_view_bentleys_action_on_fl.html#incart_river
  15. My brother in law would describe himself as religious and conservative. I would partially agree except that he seems to take things to an extreme. When the subject of Caitlyn (sp?) Jenner came up recently, he referred to Caitlyn as "Bruce" and "him/he" and was more disturbed about the issue than I felt it warranted. (He started shouting about abomination and sin and how "those people" were ruining America and so on). I was staying the night with them while traveling and I had an uneasy feeling that he might ask me to leave (we have different views). My sister changed the subject and together, we kept it away from controversial topics for the rest of the visit. (I never felt threatened or that I was in physical danger, but I felt that he was almost out of control with fury towards "those people". ) This past week, he has started sharing posts from the Traditionalist Youth Network's web page. They appear to be a type of hate group. I'm not sure whether to point this out to him or my sister - or if I should leave it alone. He is not overly bright, but I think it would be hard to miss that this group does not agree with most of America (on many issues, not necessarily Confederate flag or gay rights). The posts I see on their web page are so disturbing to me that I immediately decided that my children can't be around him anymore or go to their house for unsupervised visits. Should I bring it up? ETA - I'm not suggesting that those who disagree with the Confederate flag issue or gay rights are involved in hate groups by the way. :) I don't want this to be controversial. This is in regards to this specific group and facebook page. (I don't want to link it).
  16. For me, it depends on the person and the age (and overall health). My grandfather used the 'N' word freely but never as an insult. He and I had a great relationship, so I just cheerfully told him, "People don't use that word any more Gramps" and continued whatever discussion we were having. He had dementia, so I repeated myself several times (mostly for the sake of those around us, including our kids). My Dad called me out of the blue a few years ago and told me that if I ever let my children marry someone of another color, our family would no longer be tolerated in his house. He said that the children would be welcomed and loved, but the rest of us would not be welcome. I laughed and told him that I wouldn't dictate who the girls fell in love with and I didn't care if they were purple and from another planet. I told him that I would remember his comments and respect his wishes that we all stay away if the girls became involved in that type of relationship. (It hasn't come up again and I'm not sure why it came up then). Friends and relatives of "our" generation? (40's and below) If I hear a comment, I give them a shocked look and shake my head sadly saying, "Wow, I didn't know there were actually people our age who actually believe that type of crap" and change the subject. All of these things are followed up with long conversations with our kids. (For demographics sake, we live in a small town in Alabama. After having a friend of color over to visit, someone spray painted "the KKK is back" on the stop sign at the end of our road. We still have a looong way to go.)
  17. Thanks everyone, I'm feeling a bit better about it. It wasn't anything so formal that it had my name on it, just a bunch of lines and I signed one of them. I do plan to set down some guidelines about when he can come by our house for the future. Yes, he has an easement to use the drive across our property and yes, we believe he has the right to put up more trailers on his property (although we're hoping he won't put up too many). I'm going by his place tomorrow and ask for a copy and I plan to also call my mom and step-dad (they have to sign also) to let them know. The name of the company was at the top of the paperwork but it wasn't a familiar company so I don't remember it. Most of my stress is due to being really busy this week. I don't have time to chase this stuff down.
  18. Help, I think I just did something incredibly dumb. We own about 40 acres of land. The neighbor behind us has about 10 acres. He lives in a trailer and wants to put another trailer up on his land for his son. The road to get to his trailer goes across our property. He has access to the road and I recall other family members having to sign paperwork to permit access for the company to place (and potentially repossess) the trailer without our (the landowners) blocking access. (This was prior to us purchasing this particular piece of land). Our neighbor just showed up on our porch (It's a little after 9:00 pm here) and knocked on the door. My middle daughter let him in. (Yes, I've told her never to answer the door that late, especially since DH was in bed). The neighbor explained that with the second trailer going in, the company needed access and would we sign off. I quickly read the page which didn't say much of anything and signed it. We talked for a bit longer and after thinking about it, I realized the page I signed didn't really say anything, just a few lines about access. I signed under Landowner permission. (He needs to get a couple of other people to sign as well). I asked him if there was another page that went with the document and he said there was another page, but it just explained everything. It wasn't anything other than what he had mentioned and the same as the document other relatives signed years ago. I asked if it obligated us to anything or if we accepted liability for anything and he said no, it was just permission to access to place/remove the trailer. I admit this neighbor is slow, very slow (mentally - he is a hard worker, but he has to think a bit before answering questions). We are on good relations with him, but he did try to pull something a couple of years ago and that is what makes me uneasy. He offered to go get the other piece of paper and bring it by and I asked him to bring it over on Tuesday since I am home that day. I need to stress again that he's typically a good person and we never had trouble with him, but I'm annoyed that he didn't come over during the daytime and that he didn't bring the full paperwork. (For the record, if something strikes him as something he needs to take care of, he does it immediately, so the night-time visit isn't unusual, just annoying to me). If it turns out I've signed something bad because I didn't see the first page, am I stuck with it?
  19. Yep, it's hard to travel gluten free and most people are tired of the gf items available locally. New gf items are fun. A listing of local gf restaurants and a gift certificate there.
  20. Yep, volunteer elsewhere. I used to volunteer in the public schools (when all of the girls attended). I remember once I was organizing books (there were hundreds, thrown in a box and they needed to be sorted according to reading ability). I was stacking them based on where they were to go and a teacher walked in, furious. She wasn't mad at me, she was mad at the kids being promoted that couldn't read. She was fussing about that and started picking up the stacks of books and throwing them. She then walked out and after looking at the mess of books on the floor, I walked out as well. (And told the principal why I was leaving). I still have one daughter in public school. I volunteer for book fairs as the librarians are a lot nicer and more appreciative of volunteers. I'm also careful at where I place my daughters to do volunteer work. Currently, they only volunteer at the Senior Citizen center and the public library.
  21. The kittens are doing better! I have them mentally divided into the healthy three and the sickly two. The three are eating and drinking well. They are funny and have developed personalities. There is one gray kitty that climbs my shirt to sit on my shoulder while I give medicine to all the kitties. The two sickly ones still have diarrhea but one of them is looking a bit better. I gave another worming treatment yesterday and more anti-diarrhea meds in addition to the antibiotics. The two little ones still have enormous abdomens but I'm hoping they look better soon. Their fur is still patchy but they are eating well (and the littlest will growl if any of the other kitties gets too close while he's eating). The sickly two still are receiving baths every few days to help remove diarrhea from their fur. They are confined to a small room and I leave a window open (even though the a/c is on as well) so they can feel a breeze coming through (not to mention some air circulation, the smell is obnoxious). I go in twice a day to feed/water them and play. I use disposable gloves and change clothes immediately and shower when I finish with them. I have a separate broom, dustpan and swiffer (and the broom/dustpan will be trash after this) that I use for cleaning. I also use clorox wipes and an ammonia based cleaner (not at the same time!) to wipe floors and walls while they eat. Tomorrow is their last day of antibiotics. The gray one is going to a friend of ours and he will probably pick him up early next week. The other healthy two will also go to their new homes next week. The sickly two will stay with me for a bit longer and possibly another vet visit just to make sure they're doing well. Everyone who has claimed a kitten knows that they haven't been well since I'm not sure if they will/can carry this to their new home. This has been a royal pain in the backside, but I'm proud of the fact that we've struggled through with it. We live way out in the country and people drop off animals all the time. We've always prided ourselves on our ability to take in animals and find good homes for them. This has been a challenge, but we're slowly capturing all the feral cats and tagging them. We've been surprised at how kind other people have been to us and have received a few donations of pet foods and supplies once they saw that we were serious about taking care of the animals that are dropped off. Even our vet has been awesome (although she laughed when she saw me with six kittens since she knows of my allergies). Our last visit (including meds, IV treatments and exam) was $63. I'm feeling really good about three and very hopeful for the other two. :)
  22. Aikido is taught in a way that a person can escape from an unpleasant situation and not hurt their attacker. Many parents of special needs children (like myself) have taken martial arts in the hope that we can protect ourselves when a child attacks and not hurt our child. I don't think that is un-Christian.
  23. I was going to mention the giant Peach mooning I-65 as well. :) Also in Clanton (at the Shoney's exit) there is a homemade candy and ice cream shop (Heaton's pecans) http://www.heaton.com/. I like to stop here and pick up divinity. The Peach Park is also neat and yummy. There are various fast food restaurants at the different exits, so it's good to stop and eat.
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