New uses gor old things

A new edition....will be adding more later, but here's what I've got that's new right now:

On a search for better dishcloths, I simply cut up some of the older stained kitchen towels. Voila! Smaller than regular dishcloths, they are easier for me to handle and work with than others I just bought.

Update on Sam

While I am grateful to be back in the Orlando area with doctors that know Sam and everything he endured as an infant/toddler, I do NOT have faith in the school system we are part of. A shining light so far has been the assistant principal.

After a discussion with the sped coordinator at the school, where I was informed they'd be removing the "developmentally delayed" coding from his IEP and placing him under "speech and language impaired," I set about making some phone calls. I should note here, I registered him for school the first week of August and here it was the start of September and they had not yet requested his records from his school in Michigan. All they had was his IEP, no evidence of testing. ????? I gave her the name of the school, telephone number and the name of who she needed to talk to. Why was she so surprised that I knew this information?

Anyway, first I called and left a message with the pediatrician's nurse. I stated I needed to know what could be in Sam's file to help me do more than just an SLI coding. I got a phone call after hours direclty from the pedi. We spoke briefly and he said whatever I needed from him, including forms to be filled out, he'd do. (he's incredible, truly incredible)

My next call was to the pediatric neurologist. Thankfully, because it was less than three years (barely) since his last visit, they could still take him with his insurance. Got him an appt for yesterday.

When the school called again to say they were sending home paperwork for his IEP, she indicated they had a medical form. I asked for two so the pedi could do one as well as the neuro.

The appt with the neuro went very well. It was with one of hte Nurse Practitioners, but NPs down here are fairly common and we have yet to have one at a specialist's office that wasn't well-qualified. They picked up right where we left off in December 08.

An MRI with blood work is ordered (scheduled for Oct 20) and a referral for a neuropsych evaluation has been made. Just have to find one close enough.

When Sam had some work done three years ago, one urine test came back weird, so they want to redo that one. The MRI will give them a study of his brain to see if there's any seizure activity.

While so far no one believes Sam is ready for a full Autism diagnosis, he is definitely still on the spectrum. Keeping the PDD diagnosis was what was best for him at the time. There are tendencies, but nothing huge or outward. He just doesn't fit it.

Why I took a part-time job

It seems more and more companies are hiring fewer full-time employees. Why? It costs more....by the time you add in whatever benefits package that FTer has, it could feasibly just be cheaper to hire 2-5 PT employees.

However, a company will often hire part-time people with full-time employment waiting in the wings. They want to test you out first. Hiring and counting on a FT person that doesn't work out wastes WEEKS of training on that person, as well as the time involved by the trainer, human resources and subsequently management who has to rehire.

Disney now first offers FT spots to its PT Cast Members before ever heading externally. This way both sides gets to try the other out. Like being PT? Great, deny the spot. Don't really want to leave the PT spot you have for a FT spot elsewhere because you're holding out for FT at your location? Great again. But, get offered that prime spot you've been wanting? BONUS for you.

You get the spot you originally wanted and Disney gets a CM that truly wants to create a magical experience for its Guests.

Me? I want to be backstage. I loved my role as a CoT, even the one I didn't excel at the way I wish I had. But I still learned about myself, others, and about Disney as a company in that experience. Even more backstage is a position that would allow me to work more closely with training development and with management.

THIS is where I dream to be. Backstage, helping others learn how to create the magic. Making sure Disney Cast Members have the tools and resources available to them to make a special vacation moment turn unbelievable.

Like this: My parents took her and my sister to Disney World in May 1999. As they approached Winnie the Pooh, he took one look at this beautiful baby (she really was a cute baby) and rather than simply stand next to my sister for pictures, Pooh sat down on the ground and held my niece for pictures. Pooh's friend said he rarely did that, Pooh was still rather a stand-up gentleman after all.

Part-time employment gets your foot in the door. Sure it makes paying the bills a whole lot harder, but I know at least at Disney, there are extra hours available, especially if you are willing to work parade control or custodial. (which I am)

I'm aiming high, but will take my steps into the Kingdom any way I can get them.

WOOHOO!

Got a job. Granted, it's part-time, but it's back at Disney and that was a goal of mine. So, YAY me for goal accomplishment!

Feeling incredibly incompetent

I love my children, I love my husband. Why is it so bad to want to spend a bit of time away from them and outside the four walls that make up our apartment? Why is it bad that I feel energized by being away? It sounds horrible, but when I'm here all the time, I think everyone (including me) takes that for granted.

Mom will kiss the boo-boos. Mom will make dinner. Mom will vacuum and do laundry. Later I'll read that story to the boys. Later I'll spend some adult time with my husband.

Yet, I apply and apply and apply for jobs and no one seems interested in me. I did get THREE rejection letters. Sadly one of them was from Target. The other two came from the hospital I had the boys at. Apparently I'm not qualified to serve food or clean hospital rooms.

I'm considering checking out Rosetta Stone for Spanish from the library. Every other job posting is looking for someone that's bilingual.

I hate being unemployed. I don't feel useful. I don't feel needed by anyone outside the family. And while I am needed inside the family, I don't necessarily feel appreciated.

Yes, that's important to me.

Kitchen BEFORE pictures

I won't have AFTER pictures for a while, but I wanted you to see the before pictures.

The silverware drawer. I have a nice Reed & Barton set of silverware, to include all the great serving pieces and ICED TEA spoons. As you can see, we only have a little drawer thingy. I have the boys' spoons in an Ikea container and the boys' forks just thrown in. My R&B steak knives are in a plastic bag. Pathetic huh? Bed Bath and Beyond has these great organizers, can't wait for that unlimited money day because I will be buying at least three different organizers.
The specialty drawer. Yep, that's a mini cake pan holding most of the specialty stuff like ice cream scoops, corn pickers, spatulas, the boys' bumpy name labels and several other miscellaneous items are in this drawer. Oh, yeah, and the plug for hte griddle. (which btw also needs to be replaced.)

Junk drawer. Wow, it's a narrow drawer. But, it's a great place for charger cords, scotch tape, batteries and the Ikea clips.

Six years ago ................

I was in the hospital, getting all drugged up for my first birth. It had been an ungodly hot summer that year and I was working outside at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon. I went for my 40 week check up and the dr didn't like what he saw in terms of my measurements.

So, I got an ultrasound right then and there. It showed my amnio fluids, which had been high all along, had dropped significantly. As in from 22 down to 5. L&D readers will know what that means....all I knew is that it meant I was being sent to be induced.

My mom (herein known as Nana) had flown in and gone to the appt with me, we swung by the apt to get Eric. I spent the next few hours getting prepped and checked, got my epidural and slept for a while in between contractions. Honest to God, I have no recollection if Nana and Eric stayed, or just Eric or just Nana.

It was a restless night. I was a day from my due date and just wanted it to be over.

The story of Sam's name:
Samuel comes from my great-grandfather on my paternal grandmother's side. It was a middle name, but we liked it for a first name.
Anthony is Eric's middle name as well as his dad's. FIL actually goes by Tony.

So, while I had a restless night ahead of me, I at least had an email from my sister wishing me luck, my mom, and my husband.

Around 10p.m. I was begging for food. Prior to my 11a.m. appt, I'd had poptarts for breakfast. Nothing since. So, the dr came to check me. Yeah, 3cm. *rolling eyes*

My mom went down to find some microwave food for me....it was actually decent mac-n-cheese.

More tomorrow....the day of his birth!