More than Time

I'm back

2010-07-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

So since Laila's b-day the tooth fairy visited. She had her tow adult teeth coming while the baby teeth did not even move, so we went to the dentist and had them pulled. I got a cleaning in the process.
This year we signed up for summer camp, and I really love it because she has been going on field trips and being exposed to things and gaining some independence. One downside to the trips is that they allow the kids to take money to buy things and I never send her with money for fear of her loosing it or not having enough for what she wants. One day she told them she had money and they looked everywhere for it.
We are still doing swimming lessons. I love it, but I am not sure how much longer my time and money can handle it, and I have yet to find a swimming cap that works for her, so that may be even more reason to stop.
We are also still doing speech therapy. I honestly feel like she is "caught up" and think she will do well without private speech therapy. One more year and we'll go from there.
We made an impromptu trip to Georgia and visited Medieval Times and World of Coca Cola, what fun! But I must admit the kid in me wanted to go to the aquarium.

I am about to undergo some research for St. Jude. I am a childhood cancer survivor, and was diagnosed again in adulthood, but St. Jude is contacting all the kids from back in the 80s to come back and undergo testing. I have some hesitations but it's for the better of everyone so off I go.

Hope to be back to normal.

Update, update, update

2010-07-19T08:54:00.001-07:00

Hi all, I will be back soon to post updates on our lives.
See you soon

Happy Birthday Laila !!!!

2010-07-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

Oh my Gosh! She is 6! I feel old and she feels more independent. I have to say that until this point I did things for her. She is an only child so I can give her all my attention. If she gets in the car I buckle her up, she can do this on her own, if i buy her a bottled drink I open she can also do this, and a bunch of other things. But now that she's 6 she is really going to do much much more. I have to get her an alarm clock, because she is bad about waking up and during the school year this is a slight problem. I am also going to let her pre pick her uniforms and hair accessories to wear for the week, and have them laid out and ready for her to wear. Because as soon as I pick out a skirt she wants pants or vice versa, and she goes into her pity party and this is not a good way to start the morning.

So Happy Birthday, You're a big girl now.

Giveaway: Blended Cutie by way of Beads Braids Beyond

2010-06-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

http://beadsbraidsbeyond.blogspot.com/2010/06/blended-cutie-giveaway.html

I haven't posted in forever, but wanted to share with my blog lurkers, readers and followers that BeadsBraidBeyond is hosting a giveaway for 3 of the blended cutie products. Check out the link above and enter.

Hello again

2010-05-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

If you've noticed I haven't been keeping up with my usual blogging. I'm not sure why, maybe i'm over the blogging bug. I love reading blogs, and I love participating through comments on others, but as for me I have so much stuff jumbled in my brain and most of it doesn't belong on this blog. I already have one other that I just don't write on anymore, maybe I will go back to that one, or maybe I will actually start writing work to be submitted. I'll still be around, and if I get back into the swing of things with my muffin tins, therapy tuesday and others, you'll see it all here.
So, stay tuned?.....

Conservation

2010-05-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

I'm still around. It's been kind of hard around these parts. With the flooding and it affecting one of our water sources we have had to conserve water. I managed to let the dishes stack up for a few days, but then I couldn't handle it. I also needed to wash my hair and Laila's so I ended up using some distilled water, which actually felt nice. It was at room temp so it wasn't cold or hot. We were also just using water for true essentials, no diswasher or washer running, just the basics. I heeded the warning so much that we ordered take out for most of last week, not a good idea. My body is screaming for some healthy food. I've been soooo tired lately and I'm sure it's the bad eating and the worry of people getting their lives back.

Happy Birthday

2010-05-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

TO ME! I'm almost thirty. I was joking around and telling everyone that I was 50 like Molly Shannon from SNL.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

( a repost from my old blog)
This is to all the mother's who stay up late with their little ones when they are sick, or who have to stay by their baby's side in the hospital, or who plan for birthday parties three months in advance, or who make sure that just recognizing their birthday with a cake is on their to do list.
Or for the Mom's who have to do it alone with no Dad to help, even if he is away on business or wasn't there to begin with. For the Mom's who are sick, but have no choice but to feel better so they can take care of their kids.
For the Mom's who give their kids so much when they only have a little.
Being a Mother is about sacrificing.
Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's who sacrifice a little to give their kids so much more.

Flooding

2010-05-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! So sorry haven't been around. Over the weekend, Friday and Saturday we had rain nonstop and flood watches and warnings throughout the day. Well we ended up getting flodding all over. My immediate area is fine, but it is really scary to see peoples homes under water, and watching rescues in raft boats. Oh and of course lots of road closures. School is closed and not sure when it will be back in, the area where I work has no electricity and we are not sure when that will be back on. At this point everyone is trying to do everything they can. We're not called the volunteer state for nothing.
We went from ponds on the road to now extreme heat, and they are asking us to conserve water and stay off the roads, because some places are still flooded and some roads are still blocked.

Before and After: Computer Desk

2010-04-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

I'm loving this whole purging and spring cleaning thing I've been doing for a while. I want to tell you that I really wanted a laptop because I wanted to use my computer area for extra seating and or my workout space. How can I complain with a free computer(my Mom's old one) and a free computer desk( in the garage of a friends home). So again I present to you the before and after.

Parenthood- the show on t.v.

2010-04-21T06:58:00.000-07:00

So I can admit I normally watch Biggest Loser and Big Bang Theory when I remember, but sometimes I forget, so now I have a new show I like to watch, Parenthood. I like this show for so many reasons. I can relate to the oldest with his son(whom I'm not sure what is diagnosis is) being "different", the oldest daughter whose daughter hates her right now for a number of reasons, my daughter is too little to hate me yet, but I'm not looking forward to it, and I do have the love hate thing going on with my Mom, and also the youngest son who has a 5 year old with a black woman, so that makes his son bicultural, and so is my daughter.

But anywho on last nights episode the middle sister suspected something wrong with her daughter and went to her sister in law for advice. Her sis in law was a little excited about the idea of having another child in the family like her son, but when she later found out that she was gifted and not autistic, she was crushed. I think this was a perfect episode for those families that somehow think it is okay to look down on others. So what, this kid is screaming in Wal-Mart he may have some sort of condition where he can't control himself. Lucky you who has a "normal", "well- behaved" child 100% of the time, but give other parents a break, because although you may think you are the perfect family there is no such thing.

We going to the New Zim

2010-04-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

At least that's what Laila says when I mention the museum. We heard about our local museum having a free day, so we went after I picked her up from school. Normally we don't do too much on school nights besides swim class and speech, but I haven't been in forever and I really wanted to go. They have updated the kids area since the last time and we spent at least an hour there. The museum is usually free for kids and only about 10 dollars for adults, we will definitely visit more often.

Muffin Tin Monday: Rainbow Tin

2010-04-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

Green and red grapes, pineapples, strawberries, cantaloupe, and whipped cream.
Don't you just love it! My girl is a serious meat and fruit eater, no veggies, but I didn't want to make her suffer this time. So fruit it is.

Aaaaaarrrrgggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!

2010-04-09T07:32:00.000-07:00

Seriously I'm yelling! We have made tons of progress with Laila. I'm not worried about her catching up or being behind, because at this point I think she is just right. Recently, after some suggestions from other people I decided to apply for ssi benefits for her. I know full well that she will only get the benefits for a little while(if she does), so it's about time now to find out the status. I check the mail and I have a letter saying that the determination department needs to do some testing of their own, with a speech therapist that they picked, and get this it's at 10 in the morning on a school day! That just rubs me the wrong way, and furthermore Laila has been in a couple of research studies, and has been "tested" so many times it's ridiculous. I was just saying to myself that I am done with testing, and done with research studies. At this point I feel like it is doing the reverse for her. She is doing so well now, and for her to still go through testing when she has made leaps and strides just bugs the SHIT out of me, literally. I don't know if I'm going to do it, but then if I don't they may look at me like a fraud, so I'm not sure what to do.

Before and After

2010-04-06T05:32:00.001-07:00

I Have been devoting lots of time in my small aparment to keep things organized. This is Laila's coloring, cutting, school table where she likes to draw and color and make stuff. I still don't have chairs for it, wish I could find some cute mismatched ones, but I felt like I at least needed to organize it, so here it goes.

Muffin Tin Monday: Easter Treats!

2010-04-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I should call that a baby chicken or a duck, but it's chicken pattie in the shape of a bird of some sort, jello, lemonade, pineapples, grapes, and carrots. Of course Laila said she's not a bunny rabbit, and she doesn't eat carrots.

Therapy tuesday

2010-03-30T10:42:00.001-07:00

I can't say how much I really love Laila's new speech therapist. I love, love, love her. And funny thing is we keep running into the old one :( Oh well, what's a Mom to do. This week they finally got into a craft! Laila made a bunny rabbit, but she commented on how he didn't have any arms. I told her that he didn't need any. Laila did an awesome job sitting and listening and answering the questions correctly. I was really proud. Halfway through the session she had to go potty so we were interrupted. Her therapist does a good job of keeping her engaged, she did a "hide and go seek" with some of the items, and asked Laila to place them above, behind, under, below, and on top of things in the room. Great way to teach positions. I'm hoping we get to keep her even after our break in services, or maybe this year we won't have a break !

Muffin Tin Monday

2010-03-29T13:44:00.001-07:00

Wow! It's been so long since I've participated in a MTM I forgot how to do it.
My muffin tin looks kind of sad. It's grapes. blue juice(don't ask), chocolate graham goldfish, purple yogurt, and salad toppers.

Can't wait for next week. I've got big plans for that one.

Extra activities for children

2010-03-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Since signing up Laila for swimming class, which I think is a perfect fit for her, I started thinking about other afterschool activities. Now with most normal developing kids parents sign their kids up for soccer at 3 or 4, and then go on to softball or soccer again, but Laila was not a normal developing child. So in the tot years I avoided signing her up for any type of group sports or activities. I don't recommend all parents of late bloomers to do this, but I did. For me, each activity is designed for a certain child delayed or not. I love the idea of mainstreaming delayed children, but everything isn't for everybody. There are so many options: swimming, piano, violin, ballet/tap, tennis, karate, art, gymnastics, ice skating, voice lessons,track and field, even modeling, yes modeling. These are a just a few examples of non team sports, I would love to see my daughter work with a team, but sometimes I think it may be too much for her, and then again maybe baseball would be perfect for her, but at this point I am not willing to take that chance. Don't get me wrong I will try anything once, but if the shoe doesn't fit take it off, and try on another one.

Bounce House

2010-03-21T17:36:00.001-07:00

We have visited a few bounce houses, but this was one was really fun. Most places are mostly designed for kids and some adults can manage on some but not all of the bouncers, but this one was great. I got in almost all of them and went down the slide with Laila about 9 times. It was great. I felt like it was a workout for me, but fun at the same time. So for the admission price we pay it can be fun and healthy for both of us. I plan on visiting this place again

Monday night swim class

2010-03-16T11:53:00.003-07:00

We are in our second week of swimming, and so far Laila is still excited about going and loves every minute. There are 10 stages and right now she is still in stage 2. She needs to float unassisted, but she won't let the instructor let go of her, so it's something she has to work on. I have decided to get a membership at the place she takes swimming and start working with her on Thursday nights, but first I need a swimsuit. I have my eye on this sport speedo at Dick's Sporting Goods, and it's on sale for 29.99. Perfect! I've included photos of Laila getting ready for swim class.

Therapy Tuesday: Zebra in the Zoo

2010-03-16T11:53:00.001-07:00

For this session it was kind of rough. The kids are on Spring Break so she hasn't had any real structure, so she was a little out of it. In the beginning she wasn't paying any attention and not answering prompts, but (and this is why I love our new speech therapist) the ST decided to play a mini game of hide and seek. She made Laila stand in front of the wall with her eyes closed and asked her to find the chair that has the animal in it. So she had a chance to get up and move and have fun too.
The funny part of her session was when she asked where do these animals go, a farm or a zoo, and when she asked Laila where does the zebra go, Laila said Africa!!!! LOL!

It was a Success

2010-03-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

Swim class that is. I didn't get a chance to take shots mainly because we have to sit far far away so we won't slip on our butts or fall into the pool. I love the instructors and they all seem to be very nice and well rounded. We made it there with time to spare so I don't have to worry about being late, and nightime routine was easy, although she wanted to watch t.v., but she had to shower and get her hair shampooed, but it was a great evening.

Darcy's Botanical Giveaway

2010-03-09T08:39:00.000-08:00

Joyful Mom to 2 five year old girls has a fantastic blog all about hair and how to treat. She has been doing a fantastic job, and I love reading about all her hairy adventures.
Currently she is having a giveaway, so check her out.

http://www.happygirlhair.com/2010/03/darcys-botanicals-three-product.html

She also has another interesting blog that makes me hungry before lunch time.

http://theyearofveggies.blogspot.com/

Splash, Splash, Splash!

2010-03-05T12:53:00.000-08:00

Water here we come! I have been reluctant to sign Laila up for swimming for a number of reasons. The main one being that she has eczema( at this point I think she has outgrown it), her hair is a bit much to take care of and having to rinse and condition and restyle more often may be taxing, her fears and my fears, the weather, and last but not least money. So at this point I've gotten tired of hearing myself say I'm going to sign her up for something and never following through. I also searched for a year round program that works indoors, so it will be great if we decide to stick with it, and I think I can manage her hair on swim days to keep it clean and healthy. We start next week, and I'm really excited.

Therapy Tuesday: It's been a while

2010-03-03T09:58:00.000-08:00

So we have a new therapist and I like her and so does Laila. She took to her well for her first visit. The second visit we had this past Tuesday she "tested" her sounds and story telling ability.
I must say that we are taking steps in the right direction. I am really proud of my Laila, and am thinking about giving her a party just for a job well done.
Among other things she had a non-verbal IQ test and she scored in the 88th percentile. Now that's a job well done too!!!!

Wacky Week at school (with photos)

2010-02-26T08:10:00.000-08:00

As you can see they had a day for wacky socks, wacky clothes( she wore regular clothes just accessorised with cat ears), sunglasses and a green day.

Cute huh?

Kids, do they really change overnight?

2010-02-25T09:13:00.000-08:00

Mornings are normally busy for us, and come with a lot of complaining. I rise first around 6 am and I wake Laila at about 7, so that gives her about 25-30 minutes to get ready. She takes her baths at night, so her routine consists of brushing teeth, washing face and hands, getting dressed and if her hair is not already styled she has to get her hair combed.
Normally she fights to get out of bed, and fights to go to the bathroom, once she is done she complains about being cold and wraps up in a blanket on the couch while watching Pinky Dinky Doo, she normally hates what I pick out for her( they wear uniforms), and also demands juice and some sort of light breakfast. She argues with me about every little thing.

Well the past two mornings she has been so sweet, and I couldn't figure out why, she is still being sweet. And just recently her teacher wrote in her folder that she is gaining new skills. So that theory of kids changing over night might be true!

.......

2010-02-24T13:02:00.000-08:00

I haven't been feeling bloggy lately, or even in the mood to talk. I think it's this winter weather. I need to get away. Things for me are as good as they can be. This week is a pre celebration in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, so the kids get to dress up in wacky clothes and socks and sunglasses, and shame on me I didn't even take one photo. I still have a couple of days left.

Toodles.

Hello all!!!

2010-02-19T13:04:00.000-08:00

I haven't written in a while, because it been a little tough lately. I'm not very fond of cold weather and we have been hit hard by hit with slippery roads, school closing and having to layer up before going to the store. It's wears on my psyche, but today the sun is out and it's warming up a little.

The Latest news: we started speech therapy on Tuesday and I love our new therapist already, Laila took her to well, she was chatting lots with her, we also started another research study which will take place after therapy. This past weekend which was Valentine's Day I took Laila to get her hair cut and her nails painted as a treat. She obviously loves being pampered. She got about 2 inches cut off, but I really can't tell. I did not take pictures, because I didn't want to distract her, or have her get antsy, the whole ordeal took about 1 hour. She also got a little sick with some tummy stuff, I was starting to get worried, but then it went away. I've been giving her jello and rice and bananas in addition to other things, but I think it has helped.

For me I can't say much is going on for me. I'm needing some sun and fun, and enjoying my daughter, and that's about it.

Toodles.

Planet 51

2010-02-08T12:07:00.001-08:00

There is an old movie theater that changed their pricing to 1.50, so one Sunday we decided to check it out. And what do you know, Planet 51 was one of the movies. I was excited to see it because Dewayne "the rock" Johnson was the voice of the main character.
So the idea of the movie is the astronaut arriving and everyone thinks he is an alien, but he says that the whole planet is nothing but aliens. So he is running from the military the whole time and there is one person that helps him. And in the end the astronaut thanks the alien for helping him even though he was different and everyone else had a fear of the unknown.
This stood out to me because when children are different sometimes other kids aren't nice to them or they ignore them or make fun of them. In the end there is always one person who breaks the ice and let's everyone else know that there is nothing to be afraid of.

Kindergarten Here WE COME!

2010-02-08T11:48:00.001-08:00

Last week we had a meeting with the teacher for our annual IEP. IEP stands for Individualized Education Program, it's primarily for kids who need services in addition to a regular school day. They went over all of Laila's strengths and weaknesses and what we should aim to work on for her to be kindergarten ready. I am really excited because she did two years of Pre-K and it's time to move on. The team that's in place really love her and want to see her do well. The speech therapist at school offered to bump her services up to an extra day to get her language developed more. If you were to meet her today you would wonder why she even needs speech, but she does. It's funny to hear her say things and how she picks up on ideas, and not just words. She called my grandpa an old man, and me a lady and herself a little girl. She also like to make shapes with her hands, and if "I'm good" I get a heart, and if I'm bad I get an x.

She has come a long way.

Snow, oh how I hate thee

2010-02-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

It started snowing on Friday, and it was a mixture of rain, sleet, ice and snow. I enjoyed the first day because I didn't go to work and I had the chance to relax and watch a little tv and catch up on some reading. Eventually we went out in the snow for like, ummm, 15 minutes. I was not all that excited about it. The snow was falling hard, and it hurt when it landed. When I was much younger I remember staying home on snow days and going out to play and getting all wet and cold, so I had to offer that same experience for Laila. Day two was not much better, more snow, no sun, and people trying to get out of our parking lot with all the ice. We had a tea party and played with the dollhouse and had school, and made homemade hot chocolate and went out in the snow again. Tried to slide down the hill, but failed. Day three was let me out of the house or someone's going to get hurt. Luckily the sun came out and snow and ice melted enough to make driving less dangerous. Stopped at McDonald's and the bookstore, and made our way back home in time to find out that school was out again!!!!!!! Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!
We managed to find arrangements so that I could go to work, and I made it in safely. Now if they would just call for school sometime soon, and no more snow ever. Or else I'm moving to Fiji!

Mommy Time

2010-01-28T09:03:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of one of Laila's favortie shows, the Backyardigans. I often find myself sitting and watching these shows with her, and sometimes it bothers me. I'm a single Mom with no real outlet besides watching cartoons with my 5 year old. Don't get me wrong I love spending time with my daughter, but I need time for me. I have set a goal for myself and I am really worried if I'm going to reach that goal.

We have a marathon coming up and you can either walk it or run it. I am planning on walking it, and I still have plenty of time to train. I'm a little worried because I had a knee replacement and sometimes I wake up and my leg is throbbing, or if the weather is funny it gets stuck, so from here on WE are both going to walk to help me train for the marathon. That's the least Laila can do in exchange of me watching Nick Jr with her.

Camera Happy

2010-01-22T09:46:00.001-08:00

It was warm this past weekend so we went to the park, although it rained the day before the slides were pretty dry, but we did hit some muddy patches. So we danced, walked, and played on the playground, and I got my camera out and started snapping.

Enjoy!

My Trip to the Dollar Tree

2010-01-21T12:13:00.001-08:00

I need to open my eyes! I'm always stopping at the Dollar Tree for random things for the house, bathroom cleaner, envelopes, dishes, ziploc baggies, but this last visit I noticed things that Laila needed. I got her some little clocks to teach her time, some addition flash cards, a game of checkers, and a 25 piece puzzle. These items weren't really hiding from me they just weren't in my radar. I plan to make weekly visits to Dollar Tree to see if I can find more learning material.

Back to Normal

2010-01-20T11:26:00.001-08:00

We are getting back into the swing of things. There was the Holiday vacation time, plus snow days, and MLK day that caused us to be away. Now we are back, no more snow(thank you!), temps in the mid 50s and school is back in full force. I also had to make a few calls to get Laila back into the speech program, she hasn't had private speech since November due to insurance. It looks like we'll be starting back up in February. I'm looking forward to a new therapist and starting fresh.
I'm really trying to get into a schedule for her to reach her goals. We need to work on rhyming words, math, and telling time. She keeps saying 3 o'clock for everything so I think it's a perfect "time" to teach her that 3 o'clock is not the only time of the day. I'm also as usual finding more ways to organize around the home, trying new and different recipes, and adding more music, books, and educational DVD's to our collection.

Welcome Home Dollhouse

2010-01-12T10:31:00.000-08:00

We missed you so much. I know I wasn't too easy on you when trying to get you in the car, but I was tired and frustrated and mad that you weren't home with us already. WE promise to love and cherish you, through sickness and health, til death do us part.

Snow

2010-01-08T10:52:00.000-08:00

Good excuse to not go anywhere, but I don't like it. Ugh!!!!

So far so good

2010-01-06T13:17:00.000-08:00

I can't complain. There's a few things on my to do list that need to be taken care of. Laila has some new tag books, but we need the Internet to download the storied onto her tag. I need to replace my windshield, get my transmission flushed, re work all my finances, and stay focused on new and exciting things for Laila to continue being the best she can be.

Last night we read a book about the world, and she called it a planet. So I didn't know that she knew it was called a planet and that the blue stuff is water and the bottom of our planet is where the penguins live. Sometimes she amazes me, but it's mostly because I find myself thinking that there is no way that she would know that, and she shows me different. Now I'll be on the lookout for a space book, a nutcracker pop up book and some more board games.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

It's the fifth day of the New Year and I haven't talked to you since before Christmas. There is so much to talk about I don't even know where to start. First there was the Christmas drama. I really wanted a dollhouse for Laila and the only place I could get it was Toys R Us. I stalked their website and called around to all three locations near me. Everyday online and in store it was a different story. First it was out of stock, then the truck was suppose to come in and it came but didn't have the dollhouse. So while I was in a dollhouse haze the big day started getting closer and closer. Finally, against my better judgement I ordered the dollhouse online 2 days before Christmas. I had to pay extra for expedited shipping, and had it shipped to my Mom's house. Lucky for me they put it together so on Christmas Day when we got there it was all ready to go, but it's so huge I had no idea how I was going to get it home, so there it sits.

Christmas turned out to be a great time to catch up with friends and family.

For New Year's Eve I worked a special event we had. It was fun watching people walking around kind of out of it from the Bud Light and just having a good time. It wasn't as cold as we thought it would be and that was a plus. I can't believe it's 2010.

The Nutcracker Ballet

2009-12-21T12:38:00.001-08:00

I'm such a procrastinator. I have been knowing about the Nutcracker for months only to wait until 2 days before the show to buy tickets. Really I was hoping for some type of discount, every little bit helps. And lo and behold there was a coupon for buy one get one free. Yeah! That's what I'm talking about. On the day of the show that all I could think about. Finally we started getting ready and Laila was really excited. She thought we were going to the bookstore first, and we really didn't have anytime. We dropped off some old items at Goodwill, and took our recycling to the drop off, after that it was time to head to the show. We had to leave kind of early to find a good spot. There were no good spots, so we did valet parking, and for way too much money!!!! We get inside and the doors to the theatre weren't open yet so we had a cookie and some juice, and waited. At 2( when the show was set to start) we were still waiting. It seems that people waited to the very last minute and purchased walk up tickets. When the show finally started Laila wanted to break out the camera and take pictures. It was a joy to see how excited she was, and I really enjoy exposing her to art and theater and culture.

Pre-K Holiday Party

2009-12-17T12:01:00.001-08:00

The teacher sent home a note about the kids upcoming holiday party, and included a list of items to bring. I was hesitant about bringing cupcakes, and actually attending the party. Instead I bought a fruit salad, and went to the party only to stay for a short time. All of the kids were so cute. They were all waiting for their balloon animals to be made, and the teacher took lots of pictures.I took some silly pictures of her. And I laughed a little and sang a couple of christmas songs, and came back to work. I was kind of scared to leave because I thought Laila would cry for sure, but she was fine, she said bye-bye.

She's Number 1

2009-12-15T12:56:00.000-08:00

This weekend was great. We had a small gathering at my place with a few friends over and some appetizers. And of course we had to see the new Disney movie.
As the days go by, and a new year getting closer and closer I have realized how far we have come. Two years ago I was still trying to plan out events to avoid meltdowns. It has to be hard being a child, and learning to express yourself, and then finding out that you can't express yourself like you really need to. Words are so meaningful, and powerful, and sometimes hurtful. For my daughter words were difficult, she just didn't have the tools to use them. It's been a long road, and we are still travelling, hoping to reach our destination where we can say " We are here."

Waiting on the Princess: The Princess and the Frog

2009-12-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting on a movie like this for some time now. Laila would always get excited when they showed the commercials, and finally they day had arrived. "We're going to see the princess frog!" I wanted to go on Friday, but it was pretty cold, and we would have been rushing to get there. On Saturday morning I got up and got dressed(after watching an hour re-run of extreme makeover home edition) and hurried out of the door. I tried to arrive early to give us enough time to park and get snacks. We arrived and the theater is close to a mall, so it took us about 20 minutes to find a spot. Once we got in we noticed a lot of girls dressed up in their tiana dresses and tiara's to match. I really enjoyed the movie, and so did Laila.

A Giveaway: 5 Dollar Dinners

2009-12-10T07:59:00.000-08:00

Yes, another giveaway, but it's totally different this time. I love to oh and ah over all the recipes at 5 dollar dinners, and they are cheap too. Currently she is giving away a $100 visa gift card. I can think of a ton of things I could buy for my kitchen. I need the basics, a crock pot, a griddle, some more muffin tins(love those things) some containers to store left overs in the freezer, more pots and pans, a food processer and a blender.

So go on over to her site and check her out.

http://www.5dollardinners.com/2009/12/pear-oven-pancake.html

Panties in a bunch?

2009-12-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

I consider myself to be a laid back, down to earth kind of person, but sometimes I can get upset. Whether it's someone cutting me off on the interstate, or my packages not arriving on time, or when I'm having a bad hair day, or if I am waiting in line to long, and I really hate beauty salons, the whole idea is crazy. I make an appointment show up on time and you are still working on someone else, and two other people. Any who........ Since the diagnosis of my daughter being developmentally delayed and maybe something else soon(specific language impairment) I take the laid back approach. We work together at home with certain areas of difficulty, and she is treated like any other child should be treated. But what I have recently realized is that some parents make a bigger deal of their child's diagnosis then the child themselves. Yes it is okay to vent(that's partly what this blog is about), question what you can do to help your child progress, throw a tantrum, or even have a cry or two, but we should take the lead from our children. If they don't make a big deal out of what makes them different, then neither should we. We shouldn't walk around making an announcement when walking into the grocery store, or a birthday party
(unless their condition is severe), or even when being at the playgound and the kids are playing well together and having fun. It's just not neccessary. When you make a big deal out of it, your child will sense it, and may even start to behave differently. So, take some cues from the kid and lighten up a little bit.

ICE!!!!!!!

2009-12-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

We do this every year. It's a bunch of ice sculptures in a room that's set at 20 degrees below, it's really cold and not a place that you just want to take your time in. We always stop long enough to take a picture, and keep moving. The year before the ice was inspired by the Grinch, and this year as you can see it was Charlie Brown. We had a blast!

Research, Research, Research

2009-12-02T10:46:00.000-08:00

I have always been a little hestiant when hearing about research studies. With Laila being 5 1/2 and in her 2nd year of pre-k I have decided to see if we can participate in yet another study. When she was 4 she was apart of one called Millieu Teaching. It really helped me to understand how to label her language. It seemed like we did it for almost a year. Now we are in our follow-up stage, and again I found another study. It's just for her age, she gets a free book for each session, and I also get to learn more and more on what is actually holding her back. The Dr(PhD) that we met with mentioned specific language impairment in reference to Laila. When she listed the symptoms it made so much sense to me. As hesitant as I was about research studies, I am thankful for them now. They are helping me piece together the mystery of my more than time child.

24 more days to go

2009-12-01T11:20:00.000-08:00

Until Christmas that is. Every year I tell myself how I am not going to spend money, or a whole lot of money, and I end up spending too much. This year is different because I have more money now, so I don't have to worry about depleting my funds. I am still trying to find out whether or not I want to put up a fake tree or real tree, what color, what theme, and where to put it. I will keep you all updated for sure!

A Giveaway

2009-11-25T12:41:00.000-08:00

I'm kind of excited about this giveaway. A Mom who didn't know how to do her daughter's hair has really learned and come a long way, so much so that she started a blog. It's very helpful and has tons of ideas on how to style your child's hair. I myself have learned some useful information from the blog.
Currently she has a giveaway with beads, barrettes and a denman. I'd be excited if I win. When you get the chance check her out!

http://beadsbraidsbeyond.blogspot.com/

My Sleeping Beauty

2009-11-23T12:22:00.001-08:00

On Friday the kids had a no uniform day and they could dress up like their favorite character. I didn't make a fuss about all that and let Laila wear kick around clothes, jeans and a cute shirt, but after she looked at some of the girls at school she wanted to dress up at home.

TGIF

2009-11-20T13:51:00.000-08:00

I have had a rough week, and I am so glad it's Friday. I found a bump on my gum and went to the dentist and he just went ahead and did a quick surgery on it. He gave me some pain pills, and told me to come back to get the stitches out. So let's just say that I haven't styled, or washed Laila's hair at all this week. She even went to school without her lunch, but she had lunch money. She just recently got her nine week report and she's progressing, but the teacher is concerned about how persistent she is. She wants everything to be perfect, but won't practice, that's what the teacher wrote. I'm hoping for no more impromptu situations, or anything else for me to worry about.

Too young for a tutor?

2009-11-18T14:21:00.000-08:00

Ever since I was told that my daughter was developmental delayed I have always wanting to find a way to "catch her up." Everyday she just shows me how much she is learning. She seems to be in the early stages of reading by doing phonics for all of her letters. We are just wondering when she is going to "snap out" of it. I'm not being hard on my daughter and some kids don't "snap out", but I just don't want her to be slapped with another label once she is over the age of 7. In recent talks and parent trainings I have found out that after the age of 7 a developmentally delayed child may be slapped with a new label............Mentally Retarded, yep you read that right. This is very weird, and strange and crazy. I'm scared for my daughter and I will not let them do this to her. My hope is if I continue to work with her and maybe even get her a tutor, yes at the age of 5 she will continue to progress.

Happy Feet

2009-11-13T08:07:00.000-08:00

Laila and I watched this movie a few nights ago, and this was the first time that I really watched and understood it. The main idea of the movie was that Mumble had happy feet. He couldn't sing like the rest of the penguins, but he could dance. The more I watched it the more I thought of how Mumble was different and no one accepted him, he had a hard time in school and even finding a mate.
It made me think of all those kids that are different. Whether they have speech delay, hearing impaired, autism, sensory processing disorder, wear glasses, or anything that makes a child different, it's hard for people to accept. In the film even his Dad wanted him to stop dancing, but that's just something that Mumble couldn't do. So as much as Happy Feet was entertaining it was also a lesson in learning to accept others that are "different." In the end it was the "different" one that helped the "normal" ones get what they needed.

Therapy Tuesday: At Home

2009-11-09T14:03:00.000-08:00

We have some leftover skittles and m&m's that we played with. I made some sections on craft paper with each section having a different number of skittles or m&m's. Of course she wanted to eat everything, but I told her she can eat them if she can tell me how many. Boy this was fun. I also made her write the number or try to write the number of skittles/m&m's per block. This was a fun and interesting way to work on numbers. She yelled out colors along the way, so that was easy.

Español or no?

2009-11-09T11:02:00.000-08:00

Before I get into this let me tell you all a little about Laila. Often the question is asked is she mixed/biracial? My answer is always yes she is BICULTURAL. I am black and in my eyes so is her "dad." His family is from Puerto Rico. They are all fluent in English and Spanish. Sometimes parents make the decision together on whether their child will be raised bilingual. Here is my problem: the spanish speaking parent is not all that active, and Laila has a speech delay in her primary language, so I'm not sure if I want to add a second. While in college I took 2 years of Spanish, and loved it, and decided I would teach my child no matter what. I'm struggling with teaching her a language that I am still learning. Since no longer being around people that speak it all the time I have lost much of my ability to speak it. She has a collection of toys, books, movies, and music that helps her distinguish the two, but I'm still on the fence. There is so much out there for kids like Dora, Handy Manny and most if not all Disney movies come equipped with a spanish audio option. Even Seasame Street has characters and whole episodes devoted to the language. When she visits her aunt they always tell me that she speaks a little spanish around them. Interesting. Currently my main focus is to get her language development caught up and then gradually teaching her a second language. We have until 7(what the studies say) before it gets hard for her.
Any suggestions????
I guess we can build her spanish library and go from there.

Denial

2009-11-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

Denial.....It's not just a river in Egypt. It's no secret that for some time I was in denial about Laila. She's just quiet, she walked late maybe she will talk late too. These were some of my thoughts in the beginning. It also didn't help that every week a family member would come and say a reason why they thought she couldn't talk. This was such a big deal for my family that my relationship was strained for a while. I just wished everyone would take a cue from Laila and BE QUIET!!!!!!! Seriously it's hard enough to sit up at night thinking of every single little thing that you may or may not have done wrong and whether or not it affected your child.
I can honestly say that I never smoked or drink ed before, during or even after my pregnancy for that matter. I can also honestly say that she watched tons of t.v., still does. Do I think it has something to do with her speech delay? No, Maybe, I don't know. All this to say I hate it when you(figurative) tell me about how your child doesn't watch t.v. or doesn't drink soda and eats salads or whatever it is you think makes your child better than mine. I don't give a crap! Some kids may need some help along the way, and Laila is " one of those kids", but I'm grateful for every moment and love to see her grow more, talk more, and just be herself. That's all I ever want for my child. Be yourself and don't live up to anyone else's standards.
And no I am no longer in denial.

Therapy Tuesday: At home

2009-11-03T12:29:00.000-08:00

So this therapy tuesday is our session at home. We have a ton of activity books that I have not really used to my advantage. She normally just colors whatever she wants, and that's it. This time I picked out shapes, and letters. We did Circle and letters L and R. The instructions were to color the circles only, and the shapes that she didn't color I will save for next time. I also asked her which color crayon she wanted. Her L letters look great, but her R letters looked like stick people, so we will keep working on that. Laila also received an award from school Perfect Attendance, that's pretty good thinking of how kids get sick and what not. We also got her progress report back, she knew a lot of what I told the teacher she knows, but we have to work on numbers and body parts. I guess we will be singing head shoulder knees and toes more often.

The Purple Lunchbox # 2

2009-10-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

I must admit I am having tons of fun thinking of stuff to pack for Laila's lunch. It looks so yummy even I want to take some. Normally we start out with the basic meat, fruit or veggie, something crunchy, and maybe a treat. My kid loves cauliflower and east without any sauce or cheese or anything. The rolled up lunch meat is between beef bologna, turkey or chicken. She didn't really eat the carrots when I packed them. For crunchy she got Baked Lays. For fruit I just pick up whatever is close. And this time we included the picture of her actual purple Dora lunchbox!

Blog Spotlight: Building a Happy Motherhood

2009-10-30T09:21:00.001-07:00

I know her from the baby boards. She has a cutie daughter and is expecting her 2nd. How exciting!!!! She is also very fashionable so some of her posts deal with fashion for her and baby. She has just recently opened a shop on Etsy. It includes accessories for the little girls.
Check out her blog and her store on Etsy. It's called Fifi's closet.

http://erlafontaine.blogspot.com/

And here is the link to her shop on etsy fifiscloset.etsy.com
I have included a picture of some of her work.

Therapy Tuesday

2009-10-29T08:47:00.001-07:00

On a Thursday, huh? I apologize. This last therapy tuesday at the clinic was fun. They read a book about pumpkins and spiders and wtiches. She mad a little trick or treat bowl, and we walked around and she practiced saying trick or treat! We also met Hannah Montanna. A little girl that attends the school inside the clinic was dressed up. I am thankful for Laila's exposure to so many people. Hannah Montanna was in a wheel chair and used a voicebox to speak, but Laila didn't look at her any different and she actually asked her are you Hannah Montanna? It was cute. Ever since I gave birth to my daughter I decided that we would be exposed to all types of people and she would never turn her nose up at anyone or even be afraid. It's a beautiful thing, because some kids can be cruel and not even know it. It's usually not their fault, they may be surprised or confused by what they see. Kids learn over time. It was a great session.
So, since we will have to wait until the new year we may automatically get a new therapist. Yippee!!!!

El Dia De los Muertos: Day of the Dead

2009-10-28T14:50:00.001-07:00

Sugar skulls, marigolds, Jose Cuervo, skeletons, picnics, tombstones, beads and more. These are some of things I think of when I hear someone mention El Dia de los Muertos. Although not being apart of a real one did not stop me from the celebration. Our local botanical gardens hosted El Dia de los Muertos. It was so much fun. We were there for at least four hours. There was live music, food, crafts, and dancers all taking part in the fun. On the grounds of the botanical gardens they were presenting an exhibit called scarecrows, so they were there as well!!!! We made flowers and stuck them into our hair, and the mariachi band traveled from spot to spot. I had my camera, but I was too busy looking and enjoying to take a ton of pictures. So here are just a few.

Founding Fathers Reenactment

2009-10-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

It rained some during our Fall Break. The pumpkin patch will have to wait until next year. The apple orchard will be open until mid November so we will venture there at some point. As a substitute for patches and orchards we strolled around our local Farmer's Market. We had the chance to see pumpkins, organic, cookies, eggplants, tomatoes, lots of fruit, we even met some Amish ladies. They also have a food court set up, but we didn't give in. The Farmer's Market is near our Bicentennial Mall, so we noticed tents and such and walked on over.
It was quite interesting to see all of the different tents and people dressed in period clothing. Most of the reenacters that I talked to stayed in character. We even met Abe Lincoln. Before we left we managed to see some of the drama between the Natives and the "founding fathers." They had real guns, but with fake bullets, and they actually started shooting. Laila freaked out!!!! I covered her ears, but she was scared. After they stopped I asked if she was okay, and she said yes. Feeling badly, we went over to a cupcake bakery and she picked out a strawberry cupcake and she was fine.

Blog Spotlight: 5 dollar dinners

2009-10-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

I actually have the link to the site and not the blog. It has helped me tons in finding better recipes, using coupons effectively, and not overspending on groceries for 2 people. As a single parent it can get rough, and I have to look at every penny I spend and make sure that it's sensible. Since checking into this site my money has not been going down the drain.
She is currently working on a book, can't wait for that to come out.
Check out her site through the link below.

http://www.5dollardinners.com/blog

Going on Fall Break

2009-10-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

The kids have been out of school since last friday, until this friday. I am work until 5 today. Starting Wednesday we will have some fall fun with pumpkin patches, pumpkin carving, and apple orchards. Check back later to hear all about it.

Mom-Me Monday

2009-10-19T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hello again! I'm having a great day today. Over the weekend I took out my braids, woo hoo! That took forever to do and I believe my hair has about 2-3 inches of growth. I tried to plan some activities for Laila and I to do, but she just wouldn't budge. It was cold so I didn't fuss with her. I was going to take her to Family Day at our museum, it was free for everyone. Missed it, but may plan to go alone or with some friends. Last week there was some testing for Laila for report cards, fingers crossed! This week is going to be kind of short. I'm only working two days and will have the rest of the week off, kind of. I'm planning on pumpkin patches, apple orchards and some good ole daytime t.v., and of course laundry and organizing.
We live in a 2 bedroom apartment with plenty enough space for the two of us, but whenever papers or items are laying out I feel the need to get little compartments for them.
Winter is coming in and need to do winter clothes shopping for both of us.
I'm searching for gray boots for me and Laila, but haven't had luck yet. That could be because I have stayed away from shopping centers.
Talk to you soon!

The Purple Lunchbox

2009-10-15T09:29:00.000-07:00

I've been saying we were going to do this, and we finally did. I was so in love with Muffin Tin Monday's but i just really couldn't see it fitting into our schedule. I also loved how the muffin tin's started from bento's. I ordered these bentos from etsy, and started packing her lunch.

The pics are out of order, but at the bottom is rolled up turkey bologna, pears, chips and fig newtons. She at everything but the fig newtons.
The middle photo is a jelly and honey sandwich cut into shapes, a left over sausage link, chips and strawberries with strawberry cream cheese. She ate everything but the sandwich.

The top is turkey dogs cut up, cauliflower, chips, and strawberries. She actually requested chips and strawberries on most days. She ate everything!!!!!!!

I really love the feeling I get when I see how happy she is to take her lunch, and actually packing it for her, and being able to see what she did and did not eat. I'm also amazed that Laila being 5 and is known to like to eat is actually full from the bento that I send her. I think because I include fruit, and a veggie which are both filling. Oh, and for her drink she has a reusable bottle, and she normally drinks all of her orange juice or whatever I put in there.
Oh, and she also has a Purple Dora Lunchbox to put everything in.

Thanks for this idea Ane!!!!

Therapy Tuesday: One more session

2009-10-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

Our latest with therapy tuesday is a cheat. I normally wait until after our session, but I already know it's just going to be more of me complaining. So let's skip that part. On our last visit the therapist had mentioned that we had a secondary insurance. We don't not sure where she got the info from, but I have almost always only had one insurance coverage. If we did have two insurances Laila would be able to get sessions through the end of the year. I actually don't want that because I would rather we wait until the new year with a new therapist and start fresh.
Oh, and I'm going to tell her that her note taking bothers me.

Mom-Me Monday

2009-10-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

I truly was trying to be an active participant with Muffin Tin Monday, but it's just not working. We are always on the go on Saturday's and Sunday's are our chill out day, and the last thing I want to do is figure out what to put in a muffin tin, when I can just put her food on a plate and be done. I'm sure I will get into some kind of routine and MTM will be easier for me.
So, that's why today I bring you my first edition of Mom-Me Monday. I spend most of my time writing about Laila and how she is, but hardly ever talk about me.
Currently I am worried a bit about how this new therapist is going to work out. We haven't had one assigned to us yet, but I'm hoping she will be a right fit. I had the chance to catch up with some friends and enjoy good food. One of my friends is from Panama and he made Sancocho(spelling???) man my body needed it. For the past week my sinuses have been stopped up, so the soupy goodness worked wonders. I also ordered a pumpkin roll so we had that for dessert. Good times. On Sunday I was sooo productive and baked some homemade blueberry/raspberry muffins, cooked my lunches for the week, and packed a lunch for Laila for school.
We are off to a good start already.

Vote for Laila

2009-10-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

I didn't ever think I was going to do this, but I enetered Laila in the Gap Casting Call.
I am now asking for my readers participation. Please vote for her. She has four different photos, and if you put in member name culturequeen they will all come up.

Thanks a bunch.

http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall/entries/culturequeen/

Blog Spotlight: 3 Blooming Buds

2009-10-08T09:07:00.001-07:00

A while ago I thought wouldn't it be nice to feature blogs from my blog roll or even one's that I just find by accident. For our first Blog Spotlight I am going to feature my dear friend Anelys. She has been blogging for some time now. Her blog features her family and their different outings. She is currently doing the purple lunchbox with creative lunch ideas for kids(I promise I will join in). She is also a designer. She designed my blog for me, so you may be able to catch tid bits of new things she might be working on, or even stop by her other blog with all the different designs. Her kids are adorable, she is very nice, and I consider her to be a friend.
When you get a chance go check her out.

www.3bloomingbuds.com

Meeting with the Teach

2009-10-07T14:55:00.001-07:00

Schools set aside time for parents and teachers to have a conference. I jumped the gun and emailed Laila's teacher. She was happy to meet with me and let me know if there were any concerns with progress. What a surprise! Basically Laila needs to work on everything. Which is totally different from last year. We decided that she would do another year of Pre-K before going to Kindergarten. A good decision, so I thought. Now with a new teacher it's like she's starting over.
People seem to underestimate children with delays. Sad, but true. Laila's teacher feels like she doesn't know because she doesn't yell it out in excitement like all the other kids. Laila is not that kind of child. She know just as much as the next kid does, but it's her choice on whether or not she wants to say it.
At the end of our meeting she gave me a cd, and some letter flash cards. I have used them already, and Laila's loves singing along and dancing to the music, while learning.
My hope is that she will come out of her shell and let everyone know that she really is Brilliant!

Disney on Ice: Celebrations

2009-10-01T13:50:00.001-07:00

I thought long and hard about this one. It's the best time. She will love it. She is so into Princess's and Tinkerbell and anything Disney has it's hands on. Off we went.
Disney on Ice comes almost every year, and every year I tell myself next year. This year I finally bit the bullet and got tickets. They had a special half off ticket for opening night, a school night. The way to remedy it??? Early bed time every night leading up to it. It worked out great. She was so excited when the day came she didn't participate in class. She thought we were waking up and going straight to Disney on Ice. I went to pick her up with her dress packed in the car. We ate at McDonald's. When we arrived she was very excited. There were lots of little girls dressed like Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, and even Tinker.
This year it was Celebrations. Birthday, Valentine's, Halloween, Chinese New Year, Mardi Gras, Hawaiian Luau, and of course Christmas were all included.
We loved it.
Now on to Disney World.
I'll have to start saving now.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

This was on our way to school in the morning. Right now she is obsessed with making silly faces.

Therapy Tuesday: Taking Notes

2009-09-29T11:39:00.001-07:00

You guys, I emailed and talked to the therapist over the phone about my concerns and what I think would benefit Laila more. Fair warning, so I thought. When we arrived on Tuesday, nothing had changed, in fact the session seemed the exact same as all the others.
My biggest pet peeve with the therapist right now is that she takes far too many notes. I don't mind you occassionally writing something down, but when she does that it's at a time when Laila is not really engaged in anything else, so she has to wait for her to finish writing to continue.
We have two more sessions and I am going to have a party when we are done with her.
At the end of the session we were out in the hall talking and Laila had more fun playing with toys from someone else's sessions than her own. It's ridiculous.
I'm not sure if the therapist thinks that I am one of those parents that could care less( believe me they do exist), or if Laila didn't open up to her right away or what. I just don't get it. I mentioned bringing in more exciting toys, but she said they were not age appropriate. So what!!!!! They can still be used to help her with vocabulary. At this point even Laila doesn't like going.

Avoidance

2009-09-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

Have you ever avoided activities for the sake of your child? When Laila was younger we were always trying to find things to do, but as time grew closer, and more thinking I would usually end up not going. This used to happen so many times. Birthday parties, craft activities, festivals, etc. My first concern was always what if she has a meltdown and everyone starts to look at me. I've never quite understood why people with kids stare at another person with a child that just happens to be crying. Umm, kids get upset, but for some reason people stare, and for me it never helped the situation.

For the first 2-3 years of Laila's life I would devise plans to make our outings smooth, or just cancel them all together.
I always loved getting invited to events, because that meant a busy social calendar, but I would always ask a few questions. Are there going to be older kids there? Will she enjoy herself? Is this something I really want to take her to? How is she going to act? Will we be able to stay the whole time?
To put it plainly I just wanted to hide in a cave. Either a child would try to talk to her and she wouldn't talk back, she wouldn't want to separate from me, or she would get upset about something and cry loudly. After about a minute of no calming down I would pack up and go home.
This used to be our story, but now we attend every event in stride.

Friday Funnies

2009-09-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

We went to Rainforest Cafe and had a night out during the week. While there Laila decided to try out all the animal faces. And here is what she came up with. I think she is an elephant, fish, and the rest I'm not sure. Hahaha!

Our Adventures

2009-09-17T07:56:00.001-07:00

Over the weekend we kept busy. On Saturday we went to a Michael Jackson inspired Birthday Party, Tasti D-Lite and Shakespeare in the Park. The b-day party was so much fun, so many kids at 5 and 6 years old just loved Michael's music, and they were all dancing, and singing along. Tasti d-lite just opened here, and I was dying to try it. It's basically frozen yogurt, and you can get it in any flavor, and add toppings of fresh fruit or candy. It was our first visit so I just got vanilla with vanilla cookies on top. Shakespeare in the park was super fun. We were in the blanketed area, so everyone was close and cozy. We sat next to some college students and they gave Laila tortilla chips and BBQ chips. It was funny because they asked me if she could have them first and I said sure, and then they asked Laila is she wanted them and she said YES! like really excited and kind of frantic at the same time. We stayed until intermission and went home.

On Sunday we attended a Greek Festival. It was action packed. We didn't know what to expect, but as soon as we got there she saw the horses. She was wanting to get on right away, but she had to wait. Now, if this was last year she would have cried and screamed to get off the horse. When it was her turn she picked out her horse, and smiled the whole time. I had to take a photo because this was a big deal. After she got off we checked out the market and we both got a belly dance wrap, and she immediately put hers on and started dancing. Later that day she wore them both and danced more.

The way that Laila behaves now, compared to the way she used to act just makes me think that all of our issues have to do with her age, which I guess one can say it goes with development too!

Therapy Tuesday: I'm taking score

2009-09-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

This session was no different from all the others. I did not go in the room with them. For fifty minutes, it was too quiet not engaging enough, and just boring. So finally I sent an email to the therapist and told her what I was looking for and she said that it's hard to do in just two sessions per month. WHAT? I mean really. Who says that? And furthermore, yes it's hard, but you can try to hit on everything you have 50 minutes, that's close to an hour. She also said she is waiting on her testing to get back before she puts together a plan, so I'm thinking while you wait you should really work with her and make her sessions enjoyable. I don't know what's going on, but I don't like it. I have voiced my concerns and if nothing changes I will be making the call to get placed with a new therapist.

Muffin Tin Monday: Apples

2009-09-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Of course we had apples, gummy worms, pineapples(hehehe), popcorn, chex mix, dried fruit mix and apple juice. She enjoyed the bottle with the Little Einstein character on top more than anything.

Recap of last week

2009-09-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

We were off for Labor Day. It was fun! I had never tried to grill anything, but this was the first time I wanted Barbecue. I preheated the oven, started patting out hamburgers, and I made potato salad. Man it was yummy. I had red peppers, olives, and some pickles and of course a little egg, mayo and mustard. The burgers that I patted out I added a left over green pepper( chopped up), some shredded cheese, and seasoning. I let them cook for a little while and added honey bbq sauce. This was the first burger that Laila had that didn't come in a box with a toy, and she loved it!

On Wednesday my job organized a retreat. I have to admit I was totally freaked out because they setup an outdoorsy kind of event. We were outside the whole time and some of the activities were swinging on ropes, walking on a tight rope type of things, and last but not least the pole. It was about 30 feet high. I thought there was no way that I could do it, but I tried.
I was so proud of myself.

So basically last week was a mixture of fun, fear, excitement and relaxation.

Label, Prompt and Request

2009-09-08T11:32:00.000-07:00

Out of all my years(three) dealing with Laila's speech delay I have taken away three main points. Label, Prompt, and Request. If she is saying something and I have no idea I normally label it for her. If it's wrong she will disagree and sometimes even correct me with the right word. Or if she is pointing at something and says some jibber jabber I label it. Even while she is playing and not using words, but sounds I label those sounds with words.
With prompting is a bit easier because it's usually in a series of regular conversations.
Me: How old are you?
Laila: ( no response)
Me: say I'm 5
Laila: I'm 5
I could go on, but you get the idea.
And the last is requesting. This usually is around food or toy items. She will point or make a sound, and I get to label and prompt her to request the item she wants.
Laila: (slurpping sound)
Me: What do you want?
Laila: (pointing) that
Me: What's that?
Laila: (pointing)
Me: Do you want juice?
Laila: Yes
Me: say I want juice
Laila: I want juice
This is our daily routine, and I am going to start using a checklist for all of our verbal interactions.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-02T09:33:00.001-07:00

Therapy Tuesday: Round 2 of Testing

2009-09-01T10:43:00.001-07:00

Okay, I am trying really hard to hold myself back, but I really think that after we have our last few visits I am going to get a new therapist for Laila. She is new to us, and I know that she is trying to figure her out, but I feel like she is kind of last minute and not really exercising Laila's speech that much. She did mention that I could email her with any concerns that I have.
So this session she did some more testing and she mentioned Apraxia. Really? No one has ever mentioned it to me, so I am somewhat surprised. It bothered me, and then I woke up at 1 in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep, so I knew that I'm having an issue with it.
So the therapist asked about Laila's school and how she was doing there. At the time I couldn't remember the ST's name at school, so I just called the private therapist later and gave her the name. Everyone, and when I say everyone I mean everyone has been commenting on how well Laila is doing.
Oh, and we only have 4 more visits for the year. Wish us luck!
By the way, I'm not hard to please Laila's last speech therapist(to me) was great!

Muffin Tin Monday: Circus Theme

2009-08-31T10:42:00.001-07:00

Laila was super excited to have a beef dog for her muffin tin. I went kind of blank on this one. i found our plastic popcorn holder and put chips in those, her beef dog, a handful of craisins with peanuts, and some fruit snacks. I guess I went with what you would eat at the circus, and not so much what you would see.

Friday Funnies

2009-08-28T11:03:00.001-07:00

Since Laila is still learning her way with words she says things flip flopped. Like instead of saying mama's baby she will say baby mama. So sometimes she calls me baby mama. Even when she looks at old baby pictures she will say Laila Baby or Me Baby when it should be Baby Laila. I normally just nod and smile and reply with the correct way to say it, but never tell her no that's wrong. I have learned that if you tell them no or that's wrong it eventually puts them back into silence and they will be scared to say anything!

This year I decided early on that I was not going to do a Christmas for Laila. This decision was made because every year around Christmas time I will have some type of financial issues going on. And she also already has tons of stuff! The more I thought of this the more I tried to find some alternatives. Soooooo, whenever we go out and she sees something I purchase it, but it immediately goes into the closet. Recently we went to Walgreens and she liked a pony set. We bought it and this was one item that I was going to let her open.

Wouldn't you know, she took the box out of the bag and put it in the closet and said "That's for birthday," First I was totally shocked that she found my secret spot, and second that she voluntarily put HER toy in the closet to wait UNTIL Christmas to play with it!!!!

Therapy Tuesday

2009-08-25T08:35:00.001-07:00

This session of therapy was rough FOR ME! I hate to say it, but I wish she would catch up already so we don't have to keep doing this. The reason why I say it is because in my heart there are feelings of my child knows everything you ask her, but she is being shy today or acting goofy, but no one wants to hear that. She had to do some testing because in the middle of the year her therapist decided to take a job elsewhere. So that meant that we had to start from scratch again. On the way in from the parking lot, on the verge of tears I just wanted to turn around and go home. She is delayed, yes, but she knows what every other 5 year old knows, whether she wants to say it, is on her. It's so frustrating and to the parents who can never see any improvement, my heart goes out to you. You are strong, and every time I want to break down I think of you!

Muffin Tin Monday

2009-08-24T07:13:00.000-07:00

It's back!!!! Muffin Tin Mondays! Okay starting at my top left is marshmallow man with craisin hair, chocolate chip eyes, and a peanut lip, next are noses(pineapple chunks), wave hello to my hand(baby carrots with spinach dip), below we have cubed cheese, beef dogs, and eyes(banana slices with raisins). I am really starting to get back into this because I love how I can look in my fridge and find things that I need to get rid of or haven't had the chance to eat, so we enjoy it together.

5 year check up

2009-08-20T10:29:00.001-07:00

I was so nervous for Laila's check up. She had to get four shots. With all the talk of vaccinations and the link to autism I have never once thought of holding her vacs back. I guess it's a personal choice. We made it to the appointment and the first thing she did was weight and height. She has grown one inch and a half, and she gained a pound. She is in the 80th percentile for weight and 55th percentile for height. She has always been a stalky girl, so maybe eventually she will slim down( that's what the doctor said).
When he walked in Laila said " I color the pony," she was coloring a My Little Pony picture, and he was very impressed. "Last year she barely spoke to me." He asked about her school and if she seemed to be doing well, and if I was happy with it. Everything is good, I love her school, and her teachers.
And then the shots came. She was calm until the 3rd shot, that's when the tears came. After her appointment we went to the movies to see Ponyo, so Laila was all better.

Muffin Tin Monday

2009-08-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

Although today is Tuesday, I am posting my muffin tin. It has been a while since I participated, but I felt like it would be fitting, especially with this blog.

When kids have delays of whatever kind they may also have certain issues that affect how they eat or what they eat. They may not like certain textures, may not even be able to use eating utensils, and among other things have just learned how to chew.

So, the muffin tin meals may be an easy way to give them pudding, or to let them try as best they can without getting too messy.

Must See Film

2009-08-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

I just received an email from a local group about this film. It is a romantic comedy between a woman and a man with aspergers. The film is only being showed in limited theaters. If you go to their site you be able to find a theater near you. Though there seemed to be some issues with the free screening tickets, I think it would be worth a night out, and or breaking from the usual routine. It’s possible that I may attend with Laila.

Here's the link
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/adam/

The cast includes: Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving and Frankie Faison

First Day of School

2009-08-14T14:25:00.001-07:00

The first day at a new place is filled with a mixture of emotions. Happy, sad, bittersweet, excited, nervous these are some of the feelings I had. Laila on the other hand seemed very excited. The nervous feeling was present because of our experiences last school year.

It took a while for us to get the ball rolling for Laila to get services, but when she turned 4 they were ready for her to start Pre-K in a blended setting. I was excited because she was ready, or so I thought. The school she started the year at (which will not be named) for the most part was O.K. The teachers were nice and the classroom was cute. After about 2 weeks she started having bad days. The teacher emailed to keep me updated. Laila was having “meltdowns.” When the teacher contacted me I said the infamous parent line “She doesn’t act like that home,” and she really didn’t. The teacher later had her screened for autism (without my permission) and she was not on the spectrum. The meltdowns continued and carried over into her afternoons in Fun Company. It got to the point that I wanted to take her out of school all together, but something happened. The teacher, and some other staff called me in for a conference and she was going to go a CBIP class at a different school. The first day at her new school in the middle of the school year was smooth sailing. This came as such a surprise because we always had a time with her transitioning, but she has been doing well.

Back to this school year, she has a new teacher, and I’m still a little worried, but she doesn’t cry in the morning and she doesn’t get cranky. So far so good.

About more than time...

2009-08-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

At the age of 2, I noticed that my daughter’s vocabulary was not advancing. After worrying and waiting I finally decided to get the testing needed to find out the problem. She was diagnosed as developmentally delayed (speech), and since that day I have been fighting hard to make sure she gets all the resources available.

I soon realized that information was not right under my finger. I have spent most of my time researching info just for my daughter, but it’s hard to find. So this is the reason why I started more than time.

More than time is a place where parents can come and find helpful information for their children.