Apraxia news

Nea has a new speech therapy baby. Other people have therapy dogs. We’re doing it one better. OK, OK, Natalie isn’t technically an ST baby. She’s not certified or anything. But Nea said, “Ma turn! Ma turn!” when she wanted to hold Natalie at the park last week, and that’s enough qualification for me. Nea’s second spontaneous two-word phrase ever.

In the meantime, I’ve been trying to make a list of the good things about having an apraxic child. You know, the silver lining. So far it’s a little short. Maybe someone can chime in.

1. You don’t get ratted out by your kid when she gets an extra cookie or when you tell someone a little white lie.
2. Your kids don’t endlessly go around with “did not” “did, too” “did not” “did, too” “did not” “did, too.”
3. Blissfully quiet house when Boo is at school.

Ah the harvest

[today's butternut squash]

Like most totally rabid insane people with a hardcore hobby, I don’t understand people who don’t partake of my interest. I speak, of course, of my veggie gardening obsession. Why wouldn’t you want to grow your own food? Why wouldn’t you want to feed your kids the healthiest organic-ist freshest vegetables? Eating locally important to you, as an environmentalist? What’s more local than your own raised bed?

I know it has made a big difference for Boo, having her own plot. She has eaten more tomatoes this year than your average ketchup-consuming child. Our green beans, they squeak with freshness! The zucchini, they are gobbled up as pancakes! And cherry tomatoes are lovingly offered to playmates. And rejected by them, but that’s not my point.

So, as all good hobbyists, here are some photos of my own special craziness. Forgive me as I burst with pride.

Obviously this is only a representative sample. My best guess is that I'm harvesting at least $5 of organic produce per day. Strange how I don't have a single photo of the gorgeous swiss chard or kohlrabi.

7-20 - includes first potato

7-27 First onion! First carrot!

8-1 Rest of onions

8-12 Mmmm ... green beans

8-15 Robbed some more potatoes

8-19 I love veggies

Slacker

Wow, I am a slothy slothy blogger. But I have a good post lined up, I swear. Just need to get it together.

This post in 3 parts

Three! Three parts that have nothing to do with each other! Why, you ask? Because I can!

Part One: Flashback to 4.5 years ago ...

I was diagnosed with AMA on the phone with the OB/GYN's receptionist.

She said, "I see you've been diagnosed with AMA."
I said, "What's that?!" (panic panic)
"Advanced maternal age."
"Oh."

I hung up and was thinking, "Really? You can diagnose that yourself? What did you use, a calculator?"

Part Two: Food pantries

I used to buy an extra item or two at Trader Joe's and have Boo put it in the food pantry bin. But in these tougher economic times, giving money directly to larger organizations makes the dollars stretch. Please consider donating through the Aidmatrix site. You can choose a food bank near you (I just scrolled through and saw Seattle, Boston, Northern Illinois, Baton Rouge, etc. etc.).

My very very large corporate employer uses this site for their internal company donation efforts. It's definitely a real organization.

Part Three: Trying to organize for the school year

For both organizational tips and packing lunch tips, try Cindy's Porch! Scroll down to the "Goal #1 for August" section.

Dreading the coming school year

For the coming year, we decided to put Nea in special ed and in Boo’s old preschool. So, one is 4 afternoons a week. The other is 3 mornings a week. She will only have 2 long days, and I’ve got someone lined up to take her from one school, sling a lunch into her, and bring her to the other school. This helps with my work schedule. More on that later.

Boo will be going to full-day kindergarten. Not at the school where Nea has spec ed, which is in our district, but at a different school. Her school lets out 15 minutes after Nea’s afternoon class, which would be fine, except Nea’s bus generally drops her off about 15 minutes after her school ends. Can you pinpoint the problem? Yeah, me too.

So, all of this means that after nearly 6 happy years with a work schedule of 2 long days (10 hours) plus a stray 4 hours on other days, for a total of 24 hours a week, I am now moving to 4 shortened days (roughly 8:30 to 3:00 Monday-Thursday). Which just seems like more work, although the actual number of hours is the same. The plus side is that my mom can work less hours doing child care here. The negative of that is I’m going to have to start pulling my weight speaking German to the kids, who will see a lot less Oma during the school year.

Added on the madness is having to pack Boo’s lunch every day. I don’t know why I’m all freaked out by this, but I am.

Naturally all of this only works when I’m working from home. Twice a month I go downtown. Then the whole carefully constructed house of cards will fall. I assume I’ll be carpooling with another mom, which will make everything easier. Probably. But although we have talked about it, it doesn’t feel that official.

I’ve already screwed up once, and school hasn’t started yet. I turned in Nea’s physical form to the wrong school.

Gee, I just don’t know where the insomnia comes from.

Oh for crying out loud

35 As a 1930s wife, I am Poor Take the test!

139 As a 1930s husband, I am Very Superior Take the test!

OK. I like a cute little online quiz as much as the next person. I do. But of all of all the unbalanced, revisionist-historical, bullshit quizzes. I mean, I’m sorry, honey, I *want* to be more subservient. Really. I just can’t quite do it.

But how do he get credit for paying attention to the kids and household chores?! Sure, that’s cool now. But in the 1930’s? I’m thinking the neighborhood husbands would have strung him up.

Next book club picks

For Sept: Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea

For Oct: Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster