The pros and cons of Harrisonburg, VA

We are enjoying Harrisonburg for lots of reasons. Of course, there are some downsides, too.

PRO: Local fresh organic eggs, laid the day or two before we bought them..
CON: They're more expensive, and don't tell anyone, but I couldn't taste a difference.

Will I do it again? Probably. But will I still buy eggs from the store? Yes.

 PRO: You can buy grassfed beef here (which we haven't done yet--still thinking about the price).
CON: You can buy veal here. (The "doghouses" above are actually for calves before they're slaughtered...not that we told Clara that.)

 PRO: There's a large Mennonite population on the west side of town, and they have lots of horses and buggies (the sign is a bit blurry).
CON: Um, these folks are just too wholesome and friendly?

PRO: Fabulous sweet potatoes grown by some sweet Mennonite friends--guess which ones are the store bought?
CON: Um, bigger ones take longer to roast?

PRO: Good signage to protect wildlife.
CON: I don't believe in slowing down for animals. They need to get out my way.

PRO: There are lots of place to hike around here, like Mole Hill above.
CON: When we got to the top, the view was too obscured by trees. Darn that nature!

PRO: The fields are so green.
CON: Uh, it makes you want to be a farmer and live off the land, which sounds nice but is way too dependent on things outside of my control, namely, the weather. 

 PRO: Even the brush is intelligent and forms itself into giant alphabet letters.
CON: Clara's teachers must be brainwashing her to notice the ABCs everywhere.

 PRO: Amazing scenery.
CON: The smells are not always of roses.

PRO: Fun bluegrass music at the farmer's market this morning.
CON: They kept playing the same song.

Okay, so these "cons" aren't really very good downsides, but there has to be opposition in all things, right?

Out of . . . and into . . . the mouths of babes

We have been working with Clara quite a bit on using appropriate words--both the correct word and the appropriate tone. She tends to say "No!" a lot, even as a six-year-old. Sometimes she just needs to be given the words.

For example:

ME: Clara, please come get your shoes on.

CLARA: No!

ME: "Okay, Mommy."

CLARA: Okay, Mommy.

(and then she comes over to put her shoes on) Weird, but it works a lot of the time.

In our efforts to continue this never-ending process, I developed a "good words" jar in which different coin values equate with different words. "Yes ma'am" and "Yes sir" get a quarter in the jar, for instance. And "No's" to our requests equal a quarter being taken out of the jar.

On General Conference Saturday, we celebrated her successes with ice cream at a local homemade ice cream joint, Kline's Dairy Bar.

They make their soft serve ice cream fresh every day, always have chocolate or vanilla, and then they have their special flavor of the week. I was surprised because I expected them to have lots of flavors, but no, it was just three.

 We opted for a hot fudge brownie sundae, eaten inside the Subway next door (Kline's is only a walk-up window like Bruster's) because it was so windy and cold outside.

Clara was so enthralled with the sundae she had a hard time looking up at the camera. (The "Good Words" jar is on the counter.) The parents might have been guilty of eating most of the sundae, but I figured we need to be rewarded, too. Not that we would ever use food as a reward, *cough cough* . . .

So we emptied the jar on that outing and are beginning to fill it again. It has been surprisingly effective, although she has started randomly saying, "Yes ma'am," and "Okay" out of the blue in clever attempts to get more coinage. We've also had to add a caveat that not only does she need to say the correct words, but she also needs to follow through with the task.

All in all, it's been a fun little incentive. Who knows how long it will last...but I think all we can do is just keep at it, right?

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.

30+ things you might not know about me

I think these kinds of lists are very interesting when I read other people's blogs, and since a blog in its essence is narcissistic, I figured I'd embrace it and assume you're dying to know about me. I'll break this list down into a few entries for brevity's sake.

1. I have never broken a bone.

2. I wanted to go "natural" for Clara's birth but was so glad I got that epidural and had no regrets afterwards.

3. My least favorite chore is cleaning the bathtub and shower. The worst. Okay, cleaning the blinds is the worst.

4. I have gone to the gym at 5:00am five days/week consistently for the past few years.

5. I prefer to eat five to six times a day instead of three large meals.

6. I don't like flowery descriptive language in books and skim over those parts. Let's get on with the story!

7. I am a terrible bed sheet folder. In fact, my husband folds clothes in general much more neatly than I do. He is also more artistic, kinder, and in general a better person. But that's why I married him. And that leads me to #8.

8. One of my favorite things about Michael is that he makes me want to be a better person but loves and accepts me for who I am. It was one of the things that attracted me to him when we were dating.

9. I don't really like soda--the bubbles are just too much.

10. My piano skills have significantly atrophied over the years--any pianists have suggestions for a good practice routine? Daily scales? Sight-reading regularly?

Good Mom Bad Mom

Some days I am not such a good mom. I tell my child, "We'll do that as soon as . . ." and then forget to follow through. Or I bite her head off for little things that in and of themselves are insignificant but in my mind mean that my child will never be able to function independently and make meaningful relationships.

Not that any of you have ever done such a thing. 

I had such a day (or two) last week. So when Clara came in wearing a bag on her head and excitedly gave me a bag for me to wear, too, I had to take a picture to pretend that I was being a good mom.

I then proceeded to wear it while I finished making jambalaya until it started making my head itch.

It fit surprisingly well.

 

This morning at 6:22am I got a text from the county school office informing parents that school is cancelled.

Again. Because of ice.

These unexpected cancellations tend to annoy/stress me because I have my agenda of things I need to do. I've got errands to run! Bills to pay! Floors to sweep! Weights to pump! Blogs to surf! A den meeting to plan! Music to practice!

(What do you mean my first job is to be a wife and mother?)

(What do you mean I only have one child and you get twice as much done with four?)

Fortunately, or unfortunately, last night I had allowed Clara to crawl into bed with me because of the storm last night and Michael was in Texas (My dark eye circles this morning serve as testimony to the efficacy of this idea). So I just turned off my alarm and slept in until . . . wait for it . . . 6:55am.

And even though the roads were too icy and my poor child only has me for a playmate, we managed to have a fun and (for me) productive day.

We baked.

 We painted.

We listened to Frank Sinatra and Claude Debussy, among other classical stars like Laurie Berkner.

And we read a whole lot of this fabulous page-turner.

Quite frankly, I think some of my "bad mom" moments recently might be stemming from an inferiority complex because of Ma.

Because who can feel competent compared with someone who can make head cheese?

Making an educated decision

I am like many of you in that I LOVE reading. I LOVE getting drawn into a good story and wanting to read it so much I neglect my child. (Okay, that last part isn't such a good thing to love.) I also enjoy a good movie, although I find that a decent one is getting harder and harder (and harder and harder) to come by.

But I cannot stand having to close a book or turn off a movie when I come to an offensive scene, language, etc. Leaving a book or movie unfinished is so annoying.

And getting suggestions from others can be a risky business when everyone has varying tastes and standards. So what to do?

May I introduce to you to two wonderful websites:

FOR BOOKS

The Literate Mother is one that my mother-in-law told me about and I finally subscribed to it in my Google Reader so I could be up on new book reviews. The books are for young adult and children's lit mostly, but as that is what I often enjoy for my "fluff" reading, it is right up my alley. The synopses and ratings aren't as fleshed-out as I might like, and the overall perspectives are, obviously, subjective, but it is very helpful to know what a book contains. The website also has a handy alphabetical index.



FOR MOVIES

Plugged In Online is run by Focus on the Family, and we have used it for years. I love how it breaks down the language, sexual content, and violence as well as giving an overall Christian perspective.  It also contains reviews of music and TV shows.


In case you're looking for a good clean book, have you read The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner? The first book is good but the subsequent books are even better. Really enjoyable.

But you don't have to take my word for it . . . (cue butterfly and LeVar Burton)

Live and learn

After the previous post pics, Clara biffed it on her scooter and wailed through her tears, "I'm not a superhero anymore!"

"Even superheroes fall sometimes," I informed her . . .

. . . and then their mothers go and buy them safety pads. (Strange how you never see that part in the movies.)


In other news, guess what I have been spending hours working on?

No, not the poster . . . just my new calling as Cub Scout den leader. (I just put it in black and white so as not to bring attention to my stylin' outfit, complete with skinny metallic pink belt.)


Evidence that I don't know what I'm doing as I try to start up this den from scratch with a Cubmaster who has had no training either:

Yesterday I went to the Boy Scout store to get some supplies for the boys and myself. Since the store is a good distance away (half an hour), I thought I'd save a trip and get all the Bobcat, Wolf, and Bear badges at one time. You know, thinking positively that all the boys would advance.

"Do you have the advancement report?" the employee asked me.

"The what?" I responded blankly.

"You can't buy the badges until you have the report."

"Oh, okay  . . . " I nonchalantly replied as I hurriedly put them back and got my hind parts out of there before I tainted the place with too much Scouting ignorance. 


Apparently "living and learning" must be done at any age. And an appropriate wardrobe--whether it be a cape or a neckerchief--is crucial to success.

Super Clara

There's more than one kid who looks great in a cape.

And quite frankly, she uses the Force to do pretty powerful stuff, too . . . like melting her momma's heart.

Adventures of the Bear Family: The Big Snow

Once upon a time there lived a family of bears. Although they were used to the heat of their former southern trees, the Bear family was growing accustomed to the climate of their new abode farther north.

One day they awoke to a wondrous scene: a world of white and yellow and pink and purple.

Mama Bear and Little Bear went exploring through the tundra.

Then they went with Papa Bear to the Great White Mountain and slid down a few times.

Little Bear was nervous but even went down all the way from the top with Papa Bear.

What a strange world it was, a land where even the tips of the trees had their fingernails painted with ice.

Papa Bear felt the primal need to provide for his family, so he began digging them a home. He dug for a long time. Mama Bear felt like it was plenty good enough for their little family, but Papa Bear knew his family deserved a castle.

Little Bear was very excited about the whole ordeal and told her Papa Bear to keep digging.

Papa Bear impressed Mama Bear with his home-building skills.

Mama Bear liked to act like she did a lot, when in reality she mostly just watched strong Papa Bear.

Then the Bear Family all got inside their new cozy home, complete with two windows and towels on the floor to keep Mama Bear's sensitive fur dry.

Then they decided it was time to come out and go inside a pre-made bear home that had a toilet and a heater.


The End.

A visit from the folks

One of the great things about hosting guests is that it gives you the excuse to explore your new city, and my parents' visit gave us the perfect opportunity.

We drove up a very windy, slightly snowy (aka scary) road to reach Reddish Knob, one of the highest peaks in Virginia at 4,397 feet (according to Wikipedia).

The temperature and the wind up there were absolutely brutal . . .

 . . . but the views were stunning.

Our house is somewhere down there in the Shenandoah Valley. 

My mom and I also braved the 15 degree morning on Saturday to visit the winter farmer's market. It was so fun but oh so frigid. I was thrilled with my three butternut squashes and my kabocha squash, which I've wanted to try for awhile.

Isn't it so beautiful?! There was so much fun eye candy, and the homemade, hot whole wheat donuts looked tempting as well, but I resisted.

 Of course, a visit must also include some handyman help--my dad taught me how to use a drill to hang some shelves and I felt quite empowered. I growled like Tim Allen on Home Improvement. (What is JTT--my crush of eighth grade--up to these days?)

A little downtime between adventures is always nice, too.