holiday 07

can any of you recommend a good book of Aesop's Fables for E's Christmas list? amazon has several hundred, what is a good version for reading to a growing little kid?

any other recomendations for toys or whatever else you've found for your kids that you think we should hear about?

for the record, we'll be doing amazon wish lists again this year and you can call them up by searching for our *screennames*, and then once you've found one of us you move among the others on the left sidebar

evening

so, this evening we felt this earthquake, the 5.6 down by san jose. For us, it was just a long, gentle rolling. made a hanging lamp swing, but not scary, and not on "our fault". you know, the big, overdue one.

We just switched renter's insurance policies this week and I actually called them just 4 hours before this quake to add the earthquake coverage. it will kick in at midnight. Of course we were immediately reminded of this wise and amusing friend's video, check it out.

preschool 1

photos taken at an evening potluck thing

E and the boys from his class. they made a bridge and a boat and whatever else for that gravel "water"


Em with their sand table zen garden thing

here is how E draws a person now

preschool 2

baby M at the half-height gate that separates all the stuff we photographed that night in and near his classroom from the rest of the school and playground

Em eating pizza that the class made earlier that day for the potluck

em reading- note all the books about the moon, some national geographics, and Ferdinand the Bull :)

standing in the small garden, chickens to the right, E's real classroom is offscreen to the left, this small building is the language room.

take a minute

and listen here. it's my everyday morning radio show, entertaining and informing me since what, 99? and anyway, this is about 40 minutes from today's show. Haven't heard it all yet but it seems they're talking about autism, allergies, alzheimers, our environmental changes, the UCD mind center studies, etc. mostly autism of course, because of the news dual today about the AAP pushing for more screening and earlier diagnosis and how Autism Speaks came out with a bunch of videos where you can watch typical and autistic babies and toddlers and see the difference. See the CNN video here because from what I can tell Autism Speaks' site is too overloaded to see the videos this morning. but whent hat clams down, they supposedly have dozens more like the 1 pair CNN shows.

As usual...

 

moon

E has learned lots about the moon this month at school. Here he is with their "phases of the moon" sign. There is a dial in the middle they move each day to follow the moon's changes.

 

Not very related, his language class ahs staretd, twice a week spanish pulled out with 5 kids from his class. He has a little "thanks for the food" song he learned there this summer and it seems they still do it, but he now adds to the end "bon apetit, ready to eat" and something in Chinese which means the same thing. That's more Chinese than I've ever known! :)

lotus

E: want me to show you how to do the lotus position? look, you can put your hands like this, or like this, or like this. Any one you want!

 

 

 

toy

this is E with the battery-powered news helicopter the CHARGE study people gave him.
 

sleepers

 
 
 

and

yep

daddytypes.com/community_playthings_phone_will_require_much_explanation.php

home sweet home

article here

pretty

check it out , wait for it to load, it's all so cool I can't even select a few favorites for you. Don't bother looking to buy, the prices are in another league, but we can admire the creations anyway.

Lessons in technology

Em: What's that?

Me: It's an FTP client.

Em: What's an FTP lion?

Me: Em, when you have a website, and you want to upload files to that website, you should use an FTP client.

Em: Oh. I want to be an elephant today.

cool

So, remember that NIH genetics & metabolics study I wanted to accept us? The doctors have reviewed E's file and come up with recommendations for testing and a particular Dr they know in this area who we should see for that, and yes, they'll pay to fly us to the east coast to see them in person if we'd like that. The only catch is, that visit wouldn't include testing, it would really be more for their team to practice looking over a case and making recommendations. So sorta the same place we're at oday, but having spent more time and gained a little vacation. It's an option, but really more efficient to proceed by phone. We'll see.

nice weather

This weekend I meant to blog, things were really nice. the view was clear as ever, the water bluer, the distant buildings crisper and whiter.

Saturday I took E to climb at indian rock park again.

Sunday all 5 of us hiked 2 miles. a thing we ought to do much more often, though it will get better in the years when people can all walk on their own!

Monday we had no outside obligations at all, and I took E to see the Joseph Smith movie in oakland. A risky plan, of course, and my inner skeptic, memories fresh from Sunday, expected we'd be out of there in 15 minutes, buying some bagels and heading back to the kids. E's only been to a movie once before. Anyway, it was a GREAT time. We had this little theater all to ourselves, sat in the front and he actually watched it all, asking lots of questions and staying mostly in his seat. imagine that! Again, gorgeous weather, perfect views.

Today is bright but warm and more hazy. Business is really good. I bought a photography softbox but it's too small, so until I find a new one I'll always be a bit behind in putting up new products. I've been shipping lots more to Canada lately, and also my first orders to Croatia, Spain, and Russia.

E starts OT again tomorrow! Wish us luck with a new babysitter, if all goes well she'll come every W afternoon so I can take E to OT and then do whatever errands or restful things we can fit in afterwards. And then we would have somebody to call on for other needs, like date nights. who knew? :)

Innocence, Scene 1

Inside of a medium-large, well-lit office. A doctor's scale and examination table are in the corner, but the warmly colored walls and couch dispel the doctor's-office feel. The doctor is on the floor, playing with a little boy, about 5 years old. The boy is playing with a spaceship toy. It is Saturday, late morning.

DOCTOR

Larger than life, excited:

Does anyone in your family get really angry? Like so angry that they start yelling and screaming and crying?

LITTLE BOY

Playing with spaceship toy:

No.

DOCTOR

Even bigger:

Really? Are you sure? Doesn't any get so angry that they start yelling and screaming and throwing things?

The boy's father, in a small, metal folding chair is getting a bit nervous, though he doesn't know why.

LITTLE BOY
Yeah.

Nods head.

DOCTOR:
Who does that?

LITTLE BOY:
Em does.

With another nod of the head.

Father is amused.

Fade to white.

End.

fEedback

E's development czar said, "He's the poster child for good play skills." Hooray!

funny and not so funny

seen in today's SF Chronicle



and

Lime Colony is not going to get burned

"Oh, it was GREAT!"

The EP if forthcoming. It will not disappoint.

good morning.

with more amusing writing from Daring Young Mom

I'm not so much of a prolific blogger lately, am I?

well watch the thing at this link.

Lots of work still with my store upgrades. It's Tuesday, so HorninF is gone recording music.

oh here's good news, the house is super clean. that's nice.

and I just heard The Color Purple musical is in SF, I am thrilled!

E gardening at school :)

CHARGE

we were in this

The CHARGE Study (Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment) is a case-control study of 2,000 children with differing patterns of development. These include children with autism, children with developmental delay but not autism, and typically developing children. Subject groups will be compared with regard to a broad array of exposures and physiologic factors. Autism cases will also be characterized into more homogenous subgroups to determine whether particular genes or environmental exposures are associated with certain subtypes of this condition.


*********

In *my* words: they're taking kids 2-5 with all sorts of development and looking at their environmental exposures back to pregnancy... meds you took, agriculture you lived near, hazardous materials at work, pesticides and paint you used, every time you were sick, ate fish, took a vitamin, gave your kid tylenol, as best you can remember up until now.

they've got hair, urine, and spit to test genetics and heavy metals and who knows what else :) they collect medical records from everywhere possible, even mom's dentist and delivering hospital. Questionnaires galore to do about health/sleep/behavior/eating/...
(we passed on the blood draw. maybe later. whole other story)

then they do all this developmental / psychological testing on the kid.

the point being to break "autism" into subtypes... for example, one type could be regressive and caused by toddler heavy metal exposure, another type may be more genetically determined and non-regressive, another type may have more of the immune dysfunction and be triggered by vaccinations, another type may have a certain genetic marker, late regression, and come with a cluster of gut symptoms. I supose the point would be more accurate diagnosis and better fitting a treatment to the kid.

if you're thinking that looking back and trying to remember what you took for that cold in '04 isn't the very best way to study this, no fear, another study is actually tracking kids *during* pregnancy and early life. but 1) you've got to get pregnant 2) I think they're full. it was on 60 minutes last year and the buzz was high.


********

So anyway, we finished today. it was really interesting to be involved in. hmmmm, don't know where to start.
I don't know if they're still recruiting. Pay isn't much, but if you wanted all these reports, it would be SO worthwhile. After my first visit, I thought it wasn't worth it. Next, the 2 hour phone interveiw was a pain. But after this last visit and getting to really talk with all these drs about what they're looking at and where the research is going next, and having this fun day just with E... it was really a great time and well worth it. so whatever :)

good stuff

lots of good stuff today, and you've never seen E so clear-minded and happy

1) we got to swing by the wonderful Impossible Acres petting farm and pumpkin patch. Bummer that they're charging now but holding all the baby animals was still really fun. And we ran into an old friend! cool :)

2) the Dr gave E a battery-powered helicopter toy. Very exciting, photo coming soon.

3) E told me why he thinks he's so anxious and resistant about going to primary. it's the songs! He says he's actually afraid he doesn't know the words! And he always says the wrong ones. If he's right, that will be one easily tackled problem. so let's hope it's that simple!

4) E is going to start back in occupational therapy next week. the time slot is perfect and I've got a good feeling about this highly-recommended therapist.

5) I am nervously hopeful about getting E into a pediatric genetics & metabolics study at the NIH. no treatments or experimental stuff, just top-notch comprehensive free testing.
Prayers would help :) If accepted, we may get flown to maryland, and I'd like to visit certain people over there someday ;)

more in store

The new products keep coming in, today we got the Pikkolo, not just new-to-us but actually a newly launched product. Good stuff. Just blogged a little about the new Pikkolo baby carrier here, if you're wondering what it is.

monday afternoon

The much appreciated, much cringed-at conference talk from yesterday is transcribed here. So, the people I discussed it with yesterday can read it for themselves. IMO, after reflection, it's not so bad :) It was interesting to hear from some people that they instantly felt validated, while people some found it too painful or objectionable to keep listening... really shows how different people need to hear different things, and not every talk is for everybody.

better discussions than the above link, accounting for the post and the comments
on being "the best"
on finding it discouraging
that she didn't really say what upset people heard.

Do you want a banana?

more updates

so, Em is WAY into pretending. she's been doing some really neat stuff all month. she grabs two animals, finger puppets, whatever we've got, and has them talk to eachother and then walk around or go eta or go to bed or whatever. morning to night around here she's always "you be giraffe, i be elephant" or "mom, you're zebra, I'm Pooh". and then you go eat some grass or say "nice stripes" or "I'm so big and grey!" and on and on...
it's really cool to see it develop and last week E came over once and picked up one and said "I'll be the elephant" and had the elephant say something ("hello, I'm an elephant" or similar) which was really exciting.

i like how she'll do it anywhere, without any need for certain props or characters. I think if we got a dollhouse that might actually be a bit sad, it could limit her play or something. and yet, it's hard to resist buying her these dolls or these . they're really cool... small, bendy figures in real clothes, all ages and colors, and she's tried them and really likes being the grandma. so maybe. :)


totally unrelated, we have begun watching The War, which has so far been as worthwhile and wonderful as we'd heard it would be. If anybody hasnt heard about this, I'd gladly invest a moment in finding you some reviews or interviews so you can hear how groundbreaking and important this documentary is. It's on PBS and I'd estimate it to be 18 hours long. DVR it. wow.

It reminds me of a blog topic so big I've been meaning to get to it since the beginning. I want to commit in writing my ever-expanding list of things I didn't know but I should have been taught in school or by my parents growing up. everything form last night's realization that high school honors US history, with it's big WW2 focus and Truman mock trial somehow didn't mention ANY california WW2 history or japanese internment. that should have been in there!
Or there's stuff like how air conditioning works (or brakes, or CDs, or cancer) or how to do my hair or what utilities cost, who is Paul McCartney, what are the names of the Canadian provinces and what is (or is not!) part of the UK... I could go on, there's just some thing is learn and am amazed i hadn't learned it sooner. Of course these days, i know what i want to earn and I know how to get information. But it's still so interesting that nobody imparted it to me at 10 or 15....
I really keep meaning to start a list. but hey, next time you see me, no need to bring a printout on how microwaves work. but if you've got something I still don't know, especially a "how stuff works" topic, just explain it to E and he'll relay it. (current interests- pool filter & pump system and toilet flushing)


oh man, I just read that link to our 1st post and i crack myself up... "[Google] how do you make any money?" and now, how much did I give them this month? i know all too much about where their money comes from. they're mammoth amazing.

updates:

so, the sickness is mostly done with us, except for M and Em's noses and my remaining cough and sore throat.

horn cracked/chipped/broke? a tooth and the dentist fixed it today. Also he fit in an appointment to finally see a dermatologist about his hand and it sounds like they got it figured out.

we had a professional organic / chemical-free carpet cleaner come over and it looks so new and clean now, we're thrilled.

M sleeps well. Em sleeps well but is up too early. E is still waking lots.

Preschool drop-off is MUCH improved. Horn takes him.

Preschool is still amazing. they've been eating outdoors every day. they planted an oak tree, they made paint, they keep learning new yoga poses, he's learned to sponge up spills, clean tables, sweep floors, clean his dishes into the trash and then set them in the sink.
They're keeping a giant caterpillar, which is currently burrowed underground in their enclosure and will soon be a Hawk moth. they're doing so much re: moths and butterflies and caterpillars, really great hands-on stuff, creative stuff, social stuff...

HorninF went to the parent night but didn't have time to write it up, anyway, he was completely impressed by the passion of the 3 teachers and the curriculum and how well they understand and love the kids.

Every day Em begs to go to preschool. Sure, we play on the playground at pickup time, but she's not fooled, she knows there are classes going on and she wants to be in there all the time.

oh, here's something we'd never have guessed. a couple weeks ago E *sat still the longest* during circle time listening for the meditation bell to fade away.

giving

Any of you who know Austin (and I mean my family, not his friends who already know!)
should link over to the Degenerate Subspace... this week he got his kidney, and he's home now! send them an e-card or something

I wasn't going to link that, because almost anybody reading here either already knows or you just don't know them. but tonight while cleaning up bookmarks i noticed a good one I thought was worthy of sharing with anybody, so here info on organ donation .

CFL

Feeling less sick today. just low energy and losing my voice a bit. but not feeling "sick".

instead, I'm dealing with this which is either no big deal or the last thing we need.

------->

and really, keep up with the business blog. If I have the time to write, I'm working on the store and sometimes that means getting a post up over there.

and tell your friends.

still sick

so, I've had this light cold. M and Em had it a few days ahead, with just runny noses, they're fine now.

Mine's gotten worse though... sore throat, coughing, hard to swallow, headache, fever. no good. It's weird feeling so yucky in such beautiful surroundings. No, not the messier-by-the-hour house, I mean the outdoors, the view and the fresh air and the trees. saw a big deer today.

horninf isn't feeling great, but not this bad (yet?). E is fine.
I hope i get better. Tomorrow would really stink if not.