I was never very good at journaling, with a traditional journal, because i wrote such lengthy detail filled entries, would burn out a bit and stop writing just long enough to feel like i had too much to catch up on and so i'd just stop altogether. That's kind of how i'm feeling about the blog right now. There are so many things i'd like to post about. But i feel kind of bleh about it.
We had a nice week-long visit from Doug's parents last week. I've been experimenting with the gluten-free baking and making changes in our diets to add more "brain food." More animal proteins and watching how i combine foods. We mainly eat eggs, meats, veggies and fruits. Gluten-free grains every now and then and as treats. I'll have to post a few successes on the GF front (especially for you, Jenni!). And i've been busy trying to accomplish each of Bode's programs each day. We're basically doing hardcore occupational therapy in our home/on our own. So it's not always getting done completely. But i'm trying. And i'm already seeing such positive changes in Bode's behavior and attitude. He seems to be dealing better with his environment and i've noticed very few sensory issues lately. I'm not sure what gets the credit--GF diet? creeping and crawling? textures/sensation work? olfactory program? Regardless, it's gratifying to already see improvements.
Had a health scare this week. I had a slew of tests after a routine physical, including an abdominal ultrasound because my doctor heard a bruit in my stomach (a noise blood makes that you shouldn't be able to hear unless you have an aortic anuerysm. Lovely). No bruit (just skinny) but they found a suspicious nodule on my kidney and sent me for a CT scan. Being the optimist that i am, i was fairly certain it was cancer. I had the scan yesterday and, being the patient patient that i am, went to work in the afternoon, logged into my account and found the radiologist's report. From what i can tell it's essentially normal. So that's a relief. I'm still waiting to hear officially from my doctor, but i'm thinking i'm in the clear. What's with these suspicious growths lately?
My sister and her darling daughters just got here today for a weeklong visit and i'm SO happy to have them here. The kids adore each other (the first thing Fiona told me when i saw them at the airport was that she's going to marry Bode) and it's so nice to have Erin's company.
And tomorrow is my birthday! So Happy Birthday to Me!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
What I've Been Up To
I've been very preoccupied lately with the plans and programs Donna, the Brain Lady, set up for Bode. There is a lot to organize and gather to be ready to start. I've been to the fabric store buying bits of different textures (rough linen, fake fur, flannel, sequins; etc.) for the sensory program. I've been to Sam's Club to buy big foam squares to make our creeping/crawling track for the upstairs level. I've been gathering containers to put different scents/smells for the olfactory program and containers to make noises for the auditory program. Film canisters are my new best friends...
I've spent a lot of time online researching vitamin supplements and a gluten-free diet. I find the GF diet overwhelming, but i'm willing to give it a try. I really really like whole wheat/whole grains. If i can find a good bread recipe so he can still have sandwiches and a good pizza crust recipe, i'll be happy. But it's really expensive and is definitely a different way of looking at and preparing food. Luckily i have a wheat grinder and i've found some of the non-wheat grains in bulk at Whole Foods. I'm hoping to make it more affordable by grinding the grains myself. We could do the GF diet by buying mixes and prepackaged GF items, but man are they spendy.
I'll have to post soon about the outcome of his evaluation. I've kind of jumped ahead! Consider this a preview to that post...
I've spent a lot of time online researching vitamin supplements and a gluten-free diet. I find the GF diet overwhelming, but i'm willing to give it a try. I really really like whole wheat/whole grains. If i can find a good bread recipe so he can still have sandwiches and a good pizza crust recipe, i'll be happy. But it's really expensive and is definitely a different way of looking at and preparing food. Luckily i have a wheat grinder and i've found some of the non-wheat grains in bulk at Whole Foods. I'm hoping to make it more affordable by grinding the grains myself. We could do the GF diet by buying mixes and prepackaged GF items, but man are they spendy.
I'll have to post soon about the outcome of his evaluation. I've kind of jumped ahead! Consider this a preview to that post...
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Brain Development 101
I started this post on the 4th of May. I wasn't necessarily overwhelmed, but i had a lot floating around in my brain and couldn't seem to process well enough to write about it...
Let's see if anything has improved up there in the past eleven days.
If you recall from this post and this post, i've spent the past couple of months working along side some amazing women with the common goal of having our kids evaluated by the "brain lady." Donna Bateman gave her Brain Development seminar on the 3rd. It was all day and it laid the foundation so we could understand where she is coming from when she evaluates our kids. There is so much to say that i am still not sure where to go with this. But. I'll just make it as brief as i can (because i really need to go to bed). It was a very interesting seminar. She was trained at the Family Hope Center in Philadelphia and is their only independent evaluator. She is the only one who will travel to you, rather than going to Philly (or you can see her in Texas). She explained where she is coming from based on a brain development chart (this explains it far better than i can) developed by the doctors and therapists at the FHC. They look specifically at brain growth and development and milestones and don't label. They look at brain level, developmental period (age) and brain function (i.e. sensory, motor and social). She won't evaluate a child and say "He's a child with autism...She's got ADD...He's got CP"; etc. They look at milestones that tell them which parts of the brain have developed well and which ones need some work. Literally, starting with the medulla oblongata, then the pons, the midbrain, the cortex. She evaluates and comes back with a diagnosis of where in the brain there's an injury or disorganization. And then she has strategies to heal the brain, grow the brain and improve quality of life or even make children well (depending on the severity). She focuses A LOT on good nutrition, supplements, movement, purified air and water. It may sound a little hokey. But i think there's so much merit to it. This FHC is constantly researching and following brain development. It's definitely a different approach, but i think an excellent one. Bode has done so well with the occupational therapy program he's been in. But we've come to a point where he just regresses and i've been feeling like i'm banging my head against a closed door. This opportunity to have him evaluated felt like an answer to prayers.
Doug and i sat in the seminar looking at the chart and said to each other, "He's disorganized in the midbrain." Especially in the functions of sensory (hearing and understanding, and sensation and tactility) and emotional/social. We could just see it there in black and white. For example, one milestone is "be at ease in a noisy environment and with all familiar sounds." Another, "feel meaningful sensations, such as light touch, tickling, warm and cool, throughout the body." "Transition smoothly from one situation to another." Oh, i wish! Bode doesn't filter sound all that well. It can be overwhelming and/or distracting. And sensations and textures are in large part very unpleasant to him.
It is so interesting to see things on paper and see how one milestone leads to another and how they can all affect social and emotional development. For example, Bode often misinterprets tone. He doesn't get teasing. He'll call a child "mean" when they're just being loud or maybe trying to engage him at the playground. Because he misinterprets tone, his whole world can be out of whack, loud, large group settings can be overwhelming. So put him in school and let's see if he can make friends and pay attention and process in a learning environment. These are just a few of the concerns i've had.
Donna explained how they heal the brain. Creeping and crawling. Literally. The cross pattern motions of low crawling and hands-knees creeping help develop the pathways in the brain and organize things. One theory they have is that the whole putting your child to bed on their backs limits their development since they're so immobile and probably watching the repetitive motion of a mobile. They don't get the cause and effect at a very early age that "when i move my legs, i move a little bit. Oh, i get it!" So we're going to grow his brain with creeping and crawling and all sorts of other brain stimulation. That's what this program is all about.
One thing i like about their philosophies are that they're not just for Bode. Keegen will benefit. Doug and i will benefit. She's teaching a lot of things that i've been trying to do and hearing things come out of her mouth like, "drink more water, exercise, eat as close to nature as possible; etc." it has given extra motivation to take better care of myself, too.
Let's see if anything has improved up there in the past eleven days.
If you recall from this post and this post, i've spent the past couple of months working along side some amazing women with the common goal of having our kids evaluated by the "brain lady." Donna Bateman gave her Brain Development seminar on the 3rd. It was all day and it laid the foundation so we could understand where she is coming from when she evaluates our kids. There is so much to say that i am still not sure where to go with this. But. I'll just make it as brief as i can (because i really need to go to bed). It was a very interesting seminar. She was trained at the Family Hope Center in Philadelphia and is their only independent evaluator. She is the only one who will travel to you, rather than going to Philly (or you can see her in Texas). She explained where she is coming from based on a brain development chart (this explains it far better than i can) developed by the doctors and therapists at the FHC. They look specifically at brain growth and development and milestones and don't label. They look at brain level, developmental period (age) and brain function (i.e. sensory, motor and social). She won't evaluate a child and say "He's a child with autism...She's got ADD...He's got CP"; etc. They look at milestones that tell them which parts of the brain have developed well and which ones need some work. Literally, starting with the medulla oblongata, then the pons, the midbrain, the cortex. She evaluates and comes back with a diagnosis of where in the brain there's an injury or disorganization. And then she has strategies to heal the brain, grow the brain and improve quality of life or even make children well (depending on the severity). She focuses A LOT on good nutrition, supplements, movement, purified air and water. It may sound a little hokey. But i think there's so much merit to it. This FHC is constantly researching and following brain development. It's definitely a different approach, but i think an excellent one. Bode has done so well with the occupational therapy program he's been in. But we've come to a point where he just regresses and i've been feeling like i'm banging my head against a closed door. This opportunity to have him evaluated felt like an answer to prayers.
Doug and i sat in the seminar looking at the chart and said to each other, "He's disorganized in the midbrain." Especially in the functions of sensory (hearing and understanding, and sensation and tactility) and emotional/social. We could just see it there in black and white. For example, one milestone is "be at ease in a noisy environment and with all familiar sounds." Another, "feel meaningful sensations, such as light touch, tickling, warm and cool, throughout the body." "Transition smoothly from one situation to another." Oh, i wish! Bode doesn't filter sound all that well. It can be overwhelming and/or distracting. And sensations and textures are in large part very unpleasant to him.
It is so interesting to see things on paper and see how one milestone leads to another and how they can all affect social and emotional development. For example, Bode often misinterprets tone. He doesn't get teasing. He'll call a child "mean" when they're just being loud or maybe trying to engage him at the playground. Because he misinterprets tone, his whole world can be out of whack, loud, large group settings can be overwhelming. So put him in school and let's see if he can make friends and pay attention and process in a learning environment. These are just a few of the concerns i've had.
Donna explained how they heal the brain. Creeping and crawling. Literally. The cross pattern motions of low crawling and hands-knees creeping help develop the pathways in the brain and organize things. One theory they have is that the whole putting your child to bed on their backs limits their development since they're so immobile and probably watching the repetitive motion of a mobile. They don't get the cause and effect at a very early age that "when i move my legs, i move a little bit. Oh, i get it!" So we're going to grow his brain with creeping and crawling and all sorts of other brain stimulation. That's what this program is all about.
One thing i like about their philosophies are that they're not just for Bode. Keegen will benefit. Doug and i will benefit. She's teaching a lot of things that i've been trying to do and hearing things come out of her mouth like, "drink more water, exercise, eat as close to nature as possible; etc." it has given extra motivation to take better care of myself, too.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Recklessly Collecting Other People's Stuff
Has anybody reading this ever participated in your local Freecycle? It's an online community where, instead of throwing stuff away or maybe giving it to Goodwill, you post it via email and offer it to whomever wants it for free. The goal is to keep stuff out of the landfills. Or if you're looking for something you can post a "wanted" email. Anywho.
I recently joined my local group and started getting loads and loads of emails. Thus adding to my internet addiction. One little "Offer" caught my eye. An antique upright piano. In need of work but FREE. I emailed back, said i wanted it. Got Doug involved (of course. Poor man just answers to all of my many whims...). He borrowed our neighbor's truck, grabbed a co-worker and headed out to Woodland Park. Which might as well be California. It's not close. Not easy. BUT. He got the piano home and it is BEAUTIFUL. Yes, we picked it up sight unseen. So i couldn't believe my luck. I checked out what i could about it and googled piano restoration information. It's a Fischer piano and some of them have sold (once they're fully restored) for $13,000. Yowzas. Not that i'm looking to do that kind of restoration, i just felt like it must be a decent piano.
Today i had a piano guy come out to tell me about it--a "piano diagnosis." He opened it up. I was amazed at how all the pieces, from big exterior pieces to the keys themselves, fit together like a puzzle. Oh ya. Did i mention i don't actually PLAY the piano? Ya. Just got an idea in my head about how nice it would be to have one in the house. Maybe the boys will take lessons. They like having the piano around (we'll see if they do once they're taking lessons!). I do play the violin and Doug plays the guitar and grew up playing the piano. I just think music is a nice influence to have in the house. And a piano is a nice way to foster that. OK. Anyway. Piano guy. Really nice, down-to-earth kind of person. Totally trust him (he's Treesje's piano tuner, Kellie, if you're reading this). He had a book with piano manufacturers and serial numbers so we took the number off of the inside of the piano and decided it was built in 1892. Everything is original. So. Yes. It needs a lot of work. It can't be tuned because it's SO bad. It has to be restrung and have new tuning pegs put in. Which is the wallop of the price estimate. That alone is
$1600. Then add another $440 to get the hammers back in their proper position, fix 10 of the ivory keys that have partial pieces of ivory (yes! it's really ebony and ivory!), replace the bridal straps and dampers. Then it will be playable. OR he said he could do this little liquid concoction thing to fix the tuning pegs and try to salvage the strings but it will be tuned lower (that's the problem now. B flat is playing an F sharp an entire key/octave? lower, for those of you who know what that means. I barely know what that means) and i don't want a weird, wrong piano. i want to be able to use it.
I asked him if we do go ahead and decide to restore it will it be a good instrument and he assured me it would, to use my own word because this certainly wasn't in his vernacular, be AWESOME. But he did say that "sometimes something free can become a liability, so you have to really like this piano to do this." Yes. Obviously. He said we can easily find pianos that will serve our purposes for $500.
The problem is this. I really like this piano. Am i crazy to even consider this? We have money that i was going to use to extend my hardwood floors that i could use instead for this. Nutso to put money into a piano when i don't even play it? Does it make more sense to just get a standard/modern piano? Looney since my kids are only 4 and 2 and will probably want to play drums anyway? Opinions appreciated...
P.S. The outside of it needs some work too. I've got a furniture repair guy coming to look at it tomorrow...
I recently joined my local group and started getting loads and loads of emails. Thus adding to my internet addiction. One little "Offer" caught my eye. An antique upright piano. In need of work but FREE. I emailed back, said i wanted it. Got Doug involved (of course. Poor man just answers to all of my many whims...). He borrowed our neighbor's truck, grabbed a co-worker and headed out to Woodland Park. Which might as well be California. It's not close. Not easy. BUT. He got the piano home and it is BEAUTIFUL. Yes, we picked it up sight unseen. So i couldn't believe my luck. I checked out what i could about it and googled piano restoration information. It's a Fischer piano and some of them have sold (once they're fully restored) for $13,000. Yowzas. Not that i'm looking to do that kind of restoration, i just felt like it must be a decent piano.
Today i had a piano guy come out to tell me about it--a "piano diagnosis." He opened it up. I was amazed at how all the pieces, from big exterior pieces to the keys themselves, fit together like a puzzle. Oh ya. Did i mention i don't actually PLAY the piano? Ya. Just got an idea in my head about how nice it would be to have one in the house. Maybe the boys will take lessons. They like having the piano around (we'll see if they do once they're taking lessons!). I do play the violin and Doug plays the guitar and grew up playing the piano. I just think music is a nice influence to have in the house. And a piano is a nice way to foster that. OK. Anyway. Piano guy. Really nice, down-to-earth kind of person. Totally trust him (he's Treesje's piano tuner, Kellie, if you're reading this). He had a book with piano manufacturers and serial numbers so we took the number off of the inside of the piano and decided it was built in 1892. Everything is original. So. Yes. It needs a lot of work. It can't be tuned because it's SO bad. It has to be restrung and have new tuning pegs put in. Which is the wallop of the price estimate. That alone is
$1600. Then add another $440 to get the hammers back in their proper position, fix 10 of the ivory keys that have partial pieces of ivory (yes! it's really ebony and ivory!), replace the bridal straps and dampers. Then it will be playable. OR he said he could do this little liquid concoction thing to fix the tuning pegs and try to salvage the strings but it will be tuned lower (that's the problem now. B flat is playing an F sharp an entire key/octave? lower, for those of you who know what that means. I barely know what that means) and i don't want a weird, wrong piano. i want to be able to use it.I asked him if we do go ahead and decide to restore it will it be a good instrument and he assured me it would, to use my own word because this certainly wasn't in his vernacular, be AWESOME. But he did say that "sometimes something free can become a liability, so you have to really like this piano to do this." Yes. Obviously. He said we can easily find pianos that will serve our purposes for $500.
The problem is this. I really like this piano. Am i crazy to even consider this? We have money that i was going to use to extend my hardwood floors that i could use instead for this. Nutso to put money into a piano when i don't even play it? Does it make more sense to just get a standard/modern piano? Looney since my kids are only 4 and 2 and will probably want to play drums anyway? Opinions appreciated...
P.S. The outside of it needs some work too. I've got a furniture repair guy coming to look at it tomorrow...
Thursday, May 1, 2008
May Day! May Day!
Yesterday:
Today:
After highs in the upper 70's yesterday (whilst i was working all day), we are now in the 30's and just got a few more inches of snow. Thankfully, i have very resilient children. And evidently i should have bought stock in Little Tikes.
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