Oh happy day

In 2009 we started with this chart:

We discovered that it was too visually busy and hard to follow.

So when we moved in December I made an easier one, one which she can now read herself.

Of course there is a routine chart for the afternoon and night as well.

And after years--literally--of working with Clara daily on helping her with her morning routine, yesterday Clara came in to us completely dressed, pajamas put away, and with this scene to show us:

A bed made entirely by herself with her stuffed animals placed neatly at the head. So flippin' proud of her.

Days like that one make all the other ones worth it.

Anatomy of a tea party

Top 'o the mornin' to ya

Hope your St. Pat's is a lucky one.

 

(green monster smoothie)

Lunchbox dilemmas

(CAVEAT: I know this is not a life-changing issue but since it's on my mind I'm sharing it anyway, even if it's embarrassingly trivial.)

I pack Clara's lunch. When we first moved here to Harrisonburg, I allowed her to buy milk everyday, but when I discovered that they let the kids buy chocolate milk (like any kid would get white when there's chocolate available), I told her that she can't buy milk every day but that she could buy her lunch once a week and pick whatever milk she wanted.

Since she wanted to buy, I thought maybe I was the only one packing her kid a non-interesting lunch filled with boring things like carrots. But then I went to lunch with her and decided that I don't care.

The tray that I ate (which looked just like Clara's minus the choc milk) was so gross it was a disgrace of taxpayer's money. It included some of the following delicacies:

8 oz. chocolate milk (22 g sugar in that teeny carton)
Salisbury "steak" (so processed you could have used a spoon to cut it)
Mashed potatoes (immensely salty and buttery, prob. not real butter)
Green beans (so salty I couldn't even finish mine in the name of eating my vegetables)
A roll (decent)
A tiny cup of Jell-O with a squirt of whipped cream on top (this was the "special dessert" in store for those who came to school for lunch on Valentine's Day)

So I decided that I didn't really care whether she loved her lunches or not, she was going to pack her lunch. (And for the record, I LOVE her school . . . just not their lunches.)

Moving on to my dilemma.

While Clara is a great eater in general, she isn't a big fan of bread. Crazy, I know. She especially dislikes sandwiches (not sure if it's the crumbs--she doesn't like getting her fingers messy--or what), and peanut butter she only will eat if she's dipping apples or carrot sticks into it. For a kid who grew up on PBJ, or PBH, some such variation, I've had to get creative when it comes to lunchtime foods. Most of the foods she likes for meals need to be heated, like quesadillas and leftovers (and unfortunately they don't let the kids use the teacher's lounge to heat food up, to my knowledge).

I also didn't like the wastefulness of all the baggies. So I hunted for an appropriate bento box-type lunchbox. I looked and looked and looked, all over the Internet, in stores, etc. All of the ones I found were either too big for a child's lunch box, too difficult to open, didn't have enough dividers, or had too many parts and tops.

NOTE: I am not getting paid for writing this review; I just like it when other people review products so I thought I would, too.

When I came across Easy Lunchboxes, however, I decided to try it out.

 PROS: They come in a pack of four for like $14 plus S/H. I like the one lid concept with the three compartments, and the lid is easy to take off, too. They dishwash.

CONS: There has been a little breakage in the plastic edges, but I am still able to use them. You can't put leakable things in them unless you have a bag where the container can rest flat inside (the website sells them, I ordered one, but then I returned the bag because it was way too big for a small kid to carry around)

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I like them and they are very convenient--just open, fill, and go. They still aren't perfect, but they're definitely an improvement on our previous lunch scheme.

Here are some of her better recent lunches:

Leftover pasta is always a hit (homemade mac and cheese, grape tomatoes, and grapes)--milk and cheese being left out has yet to produce any food poisoning for us, which is a relief

But sometimes all I give her is a random assortment of snack foods, like graham crackers, honey pretzels, peanuts, and fruit and veggie--not the greatest--and I've given into making her happy by giving her juice (100%, of course)

I make muffins nearly every week (and freeze the extra), plus apple slices, cashews, and carrots (bad idea to put the nuts in with the carrots--who knew nuts could get soggy?!)

My lunch criteria is that it needs to have (1) protein, (2) fruit and/or vegetable, (3) whole grain (with some treats thrown in occasionally). I don't want to cater to her whims and avoid nutrition but I also don't want her lunch to be the lamest, most boring lunch around.

What do YOU feed your child for school lunch? I'd love some ideas. I know there are lots of blogs/websites with ideas, but I'm interested in what real people pack, not pretend people who blog. Wait a second . . . 

30+ things continued

11. I had a terrible case of the chicken pox when I was little and still have a scar from one on my nose.

12. There are many things I remain uncertain about: the causes of autism, what color to paint our bedroom, global warming, and whether I should attempt to use self-tanners in the summer or just embrace my whiteness.

13. One of my bigger weaknesses is that I tend to take myself and life in general too seriously. I also care too much about what other people think.

14. One of my favorite things to do with Clara is to play instruments together (typically she'll have me play on the tin whistle while she drums or does rhythm sticks or something). She also likes to pretend we're rock stars, which basically consists of us talking in a "hey maann" hippie drawl.

15. I love food and am willing to try most things. However, I have yet to like mushrooms (even though I still eat them and cook with them), edamame, radishes, and oysters. I would love to go to cooking school someday.

16. I enjoy pilates and yoga--one of my 2011 goals is to do five teasers comfortably. (If you don't know what a teaser is, google it.) 

17. The farthest (furthest?) I've ever run is a 10K. I feel forever in conflict with the part of me that hates running and wants to embrace being a non-runner and the other part of me that envies my racing friends. But that leads me to #18.

18. I am not a very good bicycler--when we rented bikes in D.C. last year, I biffed it at the crosswalk--but I do enjoy it.

19. I really dislike going down--whether it's walking, biking, etc.--inclines. Going up is no problem, but going down something scares me. I'm not sure why.

20. I have never downhill skied before but want to overcome my fear and try it.

21. One of the goals I am most proud of that I accomplished from 2011 is that I finally stopped popping my finger knuckles. I still pop my neck, back, etc., though. Baby steps, right?

A first for everything

Today I sat at a conference table surrounded by nine other people:

an elementary school principal
a Kindergarten teacher
a special education teacher
a teacher assistant
a psychologist
an occupational therapist
a physical therapist
a speech language pathologist
a social worker

They were all there for me. For Clara. Walking into the room, I could have been intimidated as I saw them all sitting there. I could have looked at them like an inquisition, each one knocking a nail in a coffin as they shared each challenge or delay. Or I could imagine them as artists or musicians: each of them had a part to play, each an important element of the big picture we are painting for Clara.

Instead of feeling scared I felt empowered, knowing that I was the one that had helped make this all happen. From physical therapy at 13 months of age to help Clara learn to crawl, to a meeting like this, I knew that the Lord put me there to help orchestrate this for the precious spirit He sent to us. I also felt confident because I already knew practically everything that each of these individuals shared with me.

And I felt proud of Clara--all the work she has accomplished and the skills she has learned. Each of the nine people there have fallen in love with Clara and were so complimentary and encouraging. I might be the one to call the therapists and encourage Clara to keep trying, but she was the one who did it.

And as the years have gone by, I have realized what a blessing it has been to me to have a child with special needs. Without her, my mind would have been empty of all the knowledge I've gained. My life would have been deprived of all the interesting, kind, supportive, intelligent people I've interacted with. Our marriage would not have been strengthened by the need to communicate and work together to help Clara. And my life would be terribly, terrifyingly, bereft without Clara to light it up and stretch me further than I thought possible.

It seems there are unexpected benefits to everything in life.

Anatomy of a good Saturday morning

Need I say more?

Today I am grateful . . .

. . . for second chances.

I am also thankful for a garage (first time we've had one) that kept me out of the deluge while unloading groceries yesterday.

And I am thankful for Cheerios and milk, which seems an appropriate snack at any time of day. Amen.