The Bouncy Castle in Space

Kitty Pryde

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Judy, did you end up contacting your old friends?

Everybody else, did you survive the Thanksgiving holiday? I did, spent 4 days with my in-laws! We made it through by affirming to ourselves before we went that, however trifling they behaved, we only had to spend this one day out of the year with them, and after that retreat to the Good Brother's house to relax. Things went so well that we may possibly be able to spend one day with them next year at Thanksgiving :D
 

MsJudy

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Good job, Kitty!

I got to spend a holiday with my sister WITHOUT THE A**HOLE SHE MARRIED!!!! So, yay.

And I did hear back from my freshman year roommate. Check out how weird reality is: We both have 2 sons. The EXACT SAME AGES, 13 and 17. Isn't that strange? The kind of detail you wouldn't put in a book unless you wanted to strain disbelief.

And the irony--she was a total badass punk rocker in high school.

Her kids sing opera.

Life is funny.
 

MsJudy

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I made it through a faculty meeting discussion of the School Dress Code and whether or not kids can wear their hats backwards at recess...

And I did not stab a single person with my knitting needles.

I am a good person and deserve a cookie.
 

JoyMC

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And I did not stab a single person with my knitting needles.

:roll:

I'm fresh out of cookies. Want some truffles? My hubby made them for me.

I'm wishing there was something I could do to help my sister, who is struggling to figure out how to support my nine-year-old nephew. He's very ... different. He's an extremely sweet and sensitive soul. There are many things about him that seem possibly spectrum-y, like small and large motor problems and a ton of fears that seem irrational, etc., but he is really good at empathizing and cares really deeply about other people. He's hard to pin down, but I guess he's really struggling and my sister's heart is just breaking. I know we have some mamas of "different" kids on here. So ... I'm not really asking for advice, but just expressing the situation, I guess. There it is.

I've spent extremely little time with him, but his parents have just set him up with a Google+ account, so I'm starting to interact with him a lot more there, and I just asked his mom if she thought it would make him feel special if I asked him to read one of my manuscripts and give feedback. She said yes, so I'm going to send one off. (He has his own Kindle and is very proud of it.)

I wanted to share a few of my favorite blocks so far from the Harry Potter quilt I'm making ...

ETA: The whole thing is a big bookshelf, if that's not clear.

DSC_0001-9.jpg
 

Smish

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Hugs to everyone. :Hug2:

Love the quilt, Joy! The glasses and the Golden Snitch are my favorite. :D
 

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:roll:

I'm fresh out of cookies. Want some truffles? My hubby made them for me.

I'm wishing there was something I could do to help my sister, who is struggling to figure out how to support my nine-year-old nephew. He's very ... different. He's an extremely sweet and sensitive soul. There are many things about him that seem possibly spectrum-y, like small and large motor problems and a ton of fears that seem irrational, etc., but he is really good at empathizing and cares really deeply about other people. He's hard to pin down, but I guess he's really struggling and my sister's heart is just breaking. I know we have some mamas of "different" kids on here. So ... I'm not really asking for advice, but just expressing the situation, I guess. There it is.

I've spent extremely little time with him, but his parents have just set him up with a Google+ account, so I'm starting to interact with him a lot more there, and I just asked his mom if she thought it would make him feel special if I asked him to read one of my manuscripts and give feedback. She said yes, so I'm going to send one off. (He has his own Kindle and is very proud of it.)

My advice would be for her to read, read, and read some more, until something resonates. There are so many quirks that kids can have that are spectrum-y, but hard to diagnose. Once you figure out exactly what the quirks are, there are often steps you can take that work wonders.

I know a lot of parents who swear by OT for their quirky kids. I've watched kids in OT, and honestly, not really understood what the therapist is doing or intending. But, the results speak for themselves. I always recommend a good OT for kids who have these fears. Often it comes with a high level of intellectual functioning, when the emotional self can't keep up with the intellectual self.

For example, you can have preschoolers who totally understand about viruses and germs and that they can kill you. They also understand that having a birthday means you're one year older, and that the older you are, the closer you are to death. They have that understanding, but not the emotional tools to deal with it. Until the emotional self catches up, they are in a state of anxiety, and frequently the odd behaviors that they exhibit to deal with the feelings get hardwired (ie, habit.)

A good OT can help with those fears, although the kid just thinks they are playing. It's really marvelous the way they get results. I've seen kids who won't walk on grass or touch mud because of fears of germs and bugs, totally get over it and be digging mud pies a few months later, after weekly OT sessions.

As for books, it's hard to recommend, and I'm sure others here can help. For kids with sensory issues and anxieties, I usually recommend The Out of Sync Child. If he is gifted, there are a ton of other books I'd recommend.

I often order books for friends when they are trying to figure out their kid, and just encourage them to read around all these subjects, until something resonates and helps them find the answers. It really helps for them not to feel alone in the struggle.

Good luck! She's lucky to have you to care and support her. :)
 

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Joy - I LOVE what you've done with the quit so far. Those books are amazingly 3-dimensional. I quilt occasionally, but cannot applique' at all.

I agree that if your sister can get her child into OT, or any other service, to do it. One thing that was very helpful to my son was when we got him into equitherapy. He was terrified of the horses at first, even though he had been around our horses since he was tiny. But in a very short time we saw huge growth in confidence.

Another thing that he loved, even up to the age of ten, were the I Love You rituals. Of course, that was very private between just the two of us, but he has so many insecurities, and even though they seemed quite childish to me, he was comforted by them. He is afraid of so many things. The book is written by the same lady who wrote Conscious Discipline. Becky something, but I can't recall her name right at the moment.

I'm beginning to think my son is never going to be comfortable with anyone other than elderly people and adults past middle age. And I'm sure he'll never go to an amusement park, but we just take it one day at a time and try to find things that interest him. And I try to stay involved with him in group activities because I guess he needs them even though they cause him stress, but he handles them a bit better when I'm there to point out that the other kids are not actually being mean to him.

If equitherapy is a possible option wherever your sister lives, she might give it a try.
 

SheilaJG

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Beautiful quilt, Joy! I think it's great that you're thinking about how to support your nephew. When he was younger, my son had lots of irrational fears. Debilitating, they were. It was really hard, and I'm sure your sister appreciates all the help she can get. Now, at 13, he's grown out of them for the most part, so, there is hope!
 

Kitty Pryde

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I agree, the quilt looks awesome! I'm terribly impressed. Is it supposed to be done in time to be a Christmas present for someone?

I'm slightly wiped out and it's all rainy here in LA. My student was home sick, my coworker had to attend an Epic IEP Meeting Of Doom, and then my other coworker had to go pick up his sick kid, but it all worked out for me because I got to sub in the 2 fifth grade classes all day. The kid I tutor was sick, and my boss was sick, so I arranged swapsies and tutored the kid my boss usually tutors. Then I came home and took a shower in Purell! Pass the vitamin C, I CANNOT get sick again and have more ear infections.
 

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Joy, my advice is to really honor and appreciate the kiddo as he is. So much advice you get from people who don't understand quirky is to "make" the kid do things and he'll "get over it."

Yeah, that works real well.

I totally related to the germ example, Brit. That's my son. In second grade he took an after-school science class. Loved it. But... the teacher taught them about MRSA. The kid became quite obsessive about hand sanitizer and such. Ditched a field trip because he was afraid of the ticks. I've tried to deal with it by not pushing too hard, and he's gradually grown into a more reasonable place. He can stand to be dirty, as long as it isn't for too long, and he can make jokes about the stuff he can't ignore. "You know I'm a little OCD, Mom. I'm just gonna have to take care of this now, or it's going to bug me."

Treating kids with understanding and being really, really clear that no matter how different they are, different does NOT equal "wrong." That's what matters most, IMHO.

Then the next step is figuring out which of the behaviors are getting in the kid's way. Irrational fears that keep them from going on fieldtrips are not so good. Finding ways to help the kid cope and feel more at ease in his own skin would be good.
 
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JoyMC

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Thanks so much, guys, for all the encouragement and suggestions about my nephew. I will look into the book suggestions, etc., and relay them to my sister. She is extremely loving and supportive and tries to meet him where he's at. I know up until this time they have not wanted to label him, and so I don't think they've considered anything like OT, but she did say in our most recent conversation that she was "working closely" with his teachers. I'm sure if he needs any particular therapies, the teachers will suggest. He is at a public school in a very upscale Chicago suburb.

Kitty, the quilt will NOT be done for Christmas! That would be awesome - I have completed 10 blocks, but there are thirty total, plus additional work to complete the quilt. I am hoping it will be done by my daughter's mid-February birthday.
 

Kitty Pryde

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Kitty, the quilt will NOT be done for Christmas! That would be awesome - I have completed 10 blocks, but there are thirty total, plus additional work to complete the quilt. I am hoping it will be done by my daughter's mid-February birthday.

Shoot, better warn her in advance to put a good polish on the Awesomest Mom Ever trophy, then.

Funny story: My mom asked for a list of what I wanted for Hanukkah (now, granted, I am a grown up and do not actually need 8 presents (some of which will unfailingly be socks), but my mom enjoys this tradition so okay), and I sent her a few things with links to pictures of them because she is mystified otherwise. One was a college sweatshirt from my hometown.

She printed the page out and took it to the college gear store at the mall. They didn't have it, they called down to their shop at the stadium and THEY didn't have it, and they were completely baffled about where this sweatshirt might have come from and how it existed. Finally a third employee arrived, peered at the picture, and said, "It HAS to be from our store...the guy who's modeling it in the picture works here." OH YEAH.

They still couldn't figure out how she could obtain the sweatshirt though. Maybe they should have called that guy :D
 

Kitty Pryde

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I'm just finishing off student teaching with cute little first graders, and soon moving on to student teaching with big crabby sixth graders (I like them too, but hormones are not being kind to them at the moment, also a bunch of them are taller than me). This morning I was putting up a new winter bulletin board with their Why I Like Winter pictures and writing. I was feeling crabby because the coffee hadn't kicked in, and it's not really a bulletin board so pins won't stick in it, and I have poor motor skills and I can't do anything neatly...and then one of the kids wandered over and shouted OH MY GOD A NEW BULLETIN BOARD OUR PROJECTS ARE GONNA LOOK SOOOOO GOOOOOOD. And then I was all Darn your optimism, now you've gone and put me off my bad mood.

Happy Winter!
 

jvc

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Some kids just don't get it, Kitty. Bad moods are good. Nasty little buggers trying to cheer you up and make you happy.
 

jvc

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I'm trying to get back into blogging. Well, by that I mean: I'm going to start blogging. My previous attempts to start were not successful. I've had, it seems, a blog for five years, and in those five years, I've posted to it five times. Yep, five times in five years. And of those five times, three of them were basically saying I have a blog and am going to start blogging.

The problem with me blogging is that I just don't know what to blog about. So, you guys have any ideas, topics, hints, tips, or anything to help me?
 

Smish

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Awww, Kitty. Sorry that kid went and spoiled your bad mood. Here, have a milkshake... on your head.

Keep your eyes closed, silly. Milkshake in the eye burns like crazy. :D

I'm trying to get back into blogging. Well, by that I mean: I'm going to start blogging. My previous attempts to start were not successful. I've had, it seems, a blog for five years, and in those five years, I've posted to it five times. Yep, five times in five years. And of those five times, three of them were basically saying I have a blog and am going to start blogging.

The problem with me blogging is that I just don't know what to blog about. So, you guys have any ideas, topics, hints, tips, or anything to help me?

That sounds exactly like my writing process...

Good luck with the blog. Is it going to be a writing-related blog? Maybe a different theme every month? Plotting in January. Character in February. Setting in March. Maybe discuss books you've read? I don't know. I barely write PERIOD, so having a blog is completely beyond me. :gone:
 

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Good luck with the blog. Is it going to be a writing-related blog? Maybe a different theme every month? Plotting in January. Character in February. Setting in March. Maybe discuss books you've read? I don't know. I barely write PERIOD, so having a blog is completely beyond me. :gone:
I've called it 'a few random thoughts' and they are likely to be very random. No, I don't think it's going to be a writing-related blog, there are loads of them around, although I may talk about my own writing stuff, when I actually do some. And I'd have to actually read some books to be able to discuss tem. I dunno, what's left?
 

Smish

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Do you people watch? There are always interesting and random things to blog about if you spend a few minutes a day observing people.
 

Kitty Pryde

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Miscellaneous Musings Of A Dragon. That could work :D

I wrote another short story this year starring the fifth grade class, to give out as a holiday gift. I just finished it today. It has a sasquatch in it! And a lot of stupid jokes. It amuses me. Last year's was Jedi themed, but this one is horror spoof themed. The trick will be keeping it a secret from everybody at school for three more weeks!
 

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I'm about ready to give it up. Two rejection letters in my mailbox this morning. It looks like they were mailed at the same time! Do these agencies share offices or something?

I think I need a milkshake in the eye. And my daughter has turned into a full-fledged junkie so I've stolen her daughter and I can't get anything done while chasing after a very active (but precious) 3 yo all day. Maybe I can get something written when I go to jail for kidnapping.

But between all the picture books, I am still getting some reading accomplished - though not much.

Anyone have any spare bounces? I'm having a pity party at my house and could use a diversion or two.
 

jvc

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When I first started writing (articles and shorts) I sent out my stuff expecting, and hoping, more hoping though, that I would get an instant acceptance. The first dozen were rejected with form letters. I thought about giving up, but kept at it and re-sent. Then I got accepted. Yay and bounces. So, my point being, you have to ignore the rejections and still keep plugging away because your acceeptance is just around the corner. I believe in you. And you should believe in yourself.
 

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Yep, keep at it.

Everyone needs a break (and chocolate) sometimes! And some reading time! Make the most of it. Tea, chocolate, couch, good book. Hmm, sounds nice...........
 

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Yep, keep at it.

Everyone needs a break (and chocolate) sometimes! And some reading time! Make the most of it. Tea, chocolate, couch, good book. Hmm, sounds nice...........

Your remedy sounds delicious! I think it's just the two coming at the same time that bummed me out.

So I got busy and put up the Christmas tree. Oh dear. I don't think it will survive for next year. Anyone know a good way to dispose of an artificial tree? Is there any environmentally safe way to do it?

Thanks, Jed, too, for the encouragement.
 

Kitty Pryde

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Huzzah! I finished all my work for the second term of my teacher program! Now I am officially halfway done! I'm going to celebrate by...going down to the bike co-op to fix my bike, folding the laundry, and installing a new printer cartridge. When did my life become so decadent and glamorous?

Happy Wednesday, everyone!