The DDA Trouble Free Zone Part 7

[mommy2emmersNmo]

DDA Family -- you so rock! Thank you so much for the words of encouragement and PD sent Andrew's way. Andrew had another good game. He was the only one that hit the ball, although they threw him out at first. He walked once, and had no errors on defense. They lost 9 - 5, but overall it was a huge success and another step forward in his self-confidence.

I asked him what he'd like to say to you all. It seems like he has been listening to me. My advice to him before each game is to try his hardest and to have a good time. This is what he said to say:

"Thank you for supporting me. We lost, but we tried our best."

It's not an eloquent speech, but for a child with an expressive disorder, I think it's pretty perfect!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for thinking of him and sending good thoughts for an esteem-building game.

Way to go, Andrew!

 

[Glynis]

DDA Family -- you so rock! Thank you so much for the words of encouragement and PD sent Andrew's way. Andrew had another good game. He was the only one that hit the ball, although they threw him out at first. He walked once, and had no errors on defense. They lost 9 - 5, but overall it was a huge success and another step forward in his self-confidence.

I asked him what he'd like to say to you all. It seems like he has been listening to me. My advice to him before each game is to try his hardest and to have a good time. This is what he said to say:

"Thank you for supporting me. We lost, but we tried our best."

It's not an eloquent speech, but for a child with an expressive disorder, I think it's pretty perfect!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for thinking of him and sending good thoughts for an esteem-building game.

Way to go, Andrew!!!!! We are all so proud of you for doing your best! No one can do any better than their best! I hope you are proud of yourself, too! You are an amazing boy! All your DDA aunts and uncles support you 100%!!!

 

[UP Disney]

Good for you, June!!! You're never too old to develop a love of reading. I think I inherited it from my Dad! He's always got his nose in a book. I love discussing books I've read with him! He's got great insights!

We don't have a library in our town, and the closest one is 10 miles away. The bad thing is that if you aren't a resident of that town, it costs 70 dollars for a one year library card. Yikes! DH works in Salt Lake and they have a county wide system. You can check out books from any library in the county. So, we forked out 85 bucks for 2 library cards, and spend one day each week at a Salt Lake library! So far it's worked really well for us! It's money well spent as there are over 2 dozen libraries to choose from in Salt Lake County. The library is my friend!

When I was a baby (around 1), my parents moved to St. Ignace. They were very poor - dad had been in & out of work - this was another temporary job. Mom walked to the library. She got some books & took them to the counter and they told her it would be $1 for a library card. Mom didn't have a dollar so she had to put the books back. She was so embarrassed that she never went back to that library. Luckily, we lived there less than a year. We ended up in a town by the time I was 4 that had a great library that didn't cost anything. I spent many wonderful hours there exploring books.

 

[itdjbw]

DDA Family -- you so rock! Thank you so much for the words of encouragement and PD sent Andrew's way. Andrew had another good game. He was the only one that hit the ball, although they threw him out at first. He walked once, and had no errors on defense. They lost 9 - 5, but overall it was a huge success and another step forward in his self-confidence.

I asked him what he'd like to say to you all. It seems like he has been listening to me. My advice to him before each game is to try his hardest and to have a good time. This is what he said to say:

"Thank you for supporting me. We lost, but we tried our best."

It's not an eloquent speech, but for a child with an expressive disorder, I think it's pretty perfect!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for thinking of him and sending good thoughts for an esteem-building game.

Glad to hear he had a great game even if they didn't win

 

[Tammi67]

do you think that at 9 Katie is "too old" to learn gymnastics?

Glynis, I wouldn't say she is too old to learn. She might start off being a little behind other girls, if the other have been going for awhile. However, starting older she is able to understand the coaches direction and should be able to pick up on things quicker being older. Does that make sense?

 

[triplefigs]

DDA Family -- you so rock! Thank you so much for the words of encouragement and PD sent Andrew's way. Andrew had another good game. He was the only one that hit the ball, although they threw him out at first. He walked once, and had no errors on defense. They lost 9 - 5, but overall it was a huge success and another step forward in his self-confidence.

I asked him what he'd like to say to you all. It seems like he has been listening to me. My advice to him before each game is to try his hardest and to have a good time. This is what he said to say:

"Thank you for supporting me. We lost, but we tried our best."

It's not an eloquent speech, but for a child with an expressive disorder, I think it's pretty perfect!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for thinking of him and sending good thoughts for an esteem-building game.

Way to go, Andrew! We're very proud of you. Good job and congrats on having a hit!

 

[babytrees]

When I was a baby (around 1), my parents moved to St. Ignace. They were very poor - dad had been in & out of work - this was another temporary job. Mom walked to the library. She got some books & took them to the counter and they told her it would be $1 for a library card. Mom didn't have a dollar so she had to put the books back. She was so embarrassed that she never went back to that library. Luckily, we lived there less than a year. We ended up in a town by the time I was 4 that had a great library that didn't cost anything. I spent many wonderful hours there exploring books.

I guess I should count myself as lucky have never been in a place that the library card cost money(other than late fees ). Your poor mother, I too would have been so embarrassed and not step foot in there. Good for her for not letting that experience cloud her/your love of reading.

 

[MrsHeg]

Thanks to all for the warm welcomes. Browsing through this thread my heart goes out to each of you with little ones who are ill. I know the feeling all too well, my oldest daughter was hospitalized twice before she was six weeks old, being 19 with a jerk for a husband (now ex but that's another story) it was a horrible thing to go through. We spent the better part of her first year at the doctor's it seemed like until they finally diagnosed her and did surgery at 13 months, thankfully the surgery worked and she hasn't had any problems since.

She is now 25 and just received her Bachelor's in education, it has been a long hard struggle for her. She went to her first two years of college right after high school, then in her Junior year my mom took ill and it pretty well tore the family up. She passed away from Breast Cancer, my daughter ended up failing all her classes and became a single mom. After my grandson was born she decided it was time to pull herself together and went back to school.
Now working full time and raising a baby it took her longer to finish. School starts here in August and she was starting her student teaching and had only one class to take and she would be done. Two weeks after school started along came Katrina, she was so proud of the way she had decorated her classroom and had spent hours and hours working on it. Her instructor had not even been there to see it yet. Here's a picture of the school entrance afterwards, the light at the end of the hall is there because the walls are not.
Here classroom only had one wall left.

Her college didn't fair any better as it was right on the beach. Well the college was a branch of another school in a town north of here so her records were safe, they were able to finish there classes in a local high school at night, and the best part of all the teacher she was student teaching for had taken photos of the room and put together an album for her to take to her instructor. They shared classrooms with the high school for a couple of months until their trailors were set up for classes.

Fast forward to now, since her college was a Baptist college and only a branch of the bigger one they always had their graduation ceremony in the local Baptist church, one look at the picture below explains why they can't have it there.

So they were invited to attend the main colleges graduation and be recognized, and only be able to invite a limited number of people.

After all that she has been through that just wasn't good enough for me, so I'm planning a reception for her to give everyone a chance to congratulate her. Any decorating ideas will be gladly accepted, I was thinking about doing the school motif with apples, books, etc. If anyone has any fav recipes for
appetizers I would love some new ideas.

Sorry to go on and on,
Hope you all have a good night.

P.S. J&N's mom, that's the reason for the Congratulations Tara, the Disney trip is our graduation gift to her.

 

[ReAnSt]

do you think that at 9 Katie is "too old" to learn gymnastics?

I don't think she is too old to learn gymnastics, although she might be the oldest in her class. My one friend started gymnastics at 10 or 11 and continued through high school, she was always the oldest in her class. If she won't feel out of place and wants to do it I say go for it. Ask her what she wants to do or is interested in.

 

[UP Disney]

do you think that at 9 Katie is "too old" to learn gymnastics?

It really depends on your expectations of the training. If she is doing it to become competitive, then she will have a lot of catching up to do. If she is doing it to learn, have fun & get some exercise, then it is never too late. Becky didn't start gymnastics until she was 11. She learned a lot and had a good time. However, after a year she realized it wasn't really her thing so she switched to Karate. She absolutely love Karate and has been doing that for 5 years.

 

[julia & nicks mom]

DDA Family -- you so rock! Thank you so much for the words of encouragement and PD sent Andrew's way. Andrew had another good game. He was the only one that hit the ball, although they threw him out at first. He walked once, and had no errors on defense. They lost 9 - 5, but overall it was a huge success and another step forward in his self-confidence.

I asked him what he'd like to say to you all. It seems like he has been listening to me. My advice to him before each game is to try his hardest and to have a good time. This is what he said to say:

"Thank you for supporting me. We lost, but we tried our best."

It's not an eloquent speech, but for a child with an expressive disorder, I think it's pretty perfect!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for thinking of him and sending good thoughts for an esteem-building game.

WTG ANDREW - we are so proud of you!!!!!!

 

[UP Disney]

How could you say that's not eloquent? Had me in tears.

Tell him all his DDA aunties and uncles wish him luck every game!!

What she said!!!!!

 

[itdjbw]

Funny Definitions!

ARBITRATOR:
A cook who leaves Arby's to work at McDonalds.

AVOIDABLE:
What a bullfighter tried to do.

BERNADETTE:
The act of torching a mortgage.

BURGLARIZE:
What a crook sees with.

CONTROL:
A short, ugly inmate.

COUNTERFEITERS:
Workers who put together kitchen cabinets.

ECLIPSE:
What a barber does for a living.

EYEDROPPER:
A clumsy ophthalmologist.

HEROES:
What a guy in a boat does.

LEFTBANK:
What the robber did when his bag was full of money.

MISTY:
How golfers create divots.

PARADOX:
Two physicians.

PARASITES:
What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

PHARMACIST:
A helper on the farm.

POLARIZE:
What penguins see with.

PRIMATE:
Removing your spouse from in front of the TV.

RELIEF:
What trees do in the Spring.

RUBBERNECK:
What you do to relax your wife.

SELFISH:
What the owner of a seafood store does.

SUDAFED:
A litigation brought against a government official.

 

[Tammi67]

Thanks to all for the warm welcomes. Browsing through this thread my heart goes out to each of you with little ones who are ill. I know the feeling all too well, my oldest daughter was hospitalized twice before she was six weeks old, being 19 with a jerk for a husband (now ex but that's another story) it was a horrible thing to go through. We spent the better part of her first year at the doctor's it seemed like until they finally diagnosed her and did surgery at 13 months, thankfully the surgery worked and she hasn't had any problems since.

She is now 25 and just received her Bachelor's in education, it has been a long hard struggle for her. She went to her first two years of college right after high school, then in her Junior year my mom took ill and it pretty well tore the family up. She passed away from Breast Cancer, my daughter ended up failing all her classes and became a single mom. After my grandson was born she decided it was time to pull herself together and went back to school.
Now working full time and raising a baby it took her longer to finish. School starts here in August and she was starting her student teaching and had only one class to take and she would be done. Two weeks after school started along came Katrina, she was so proud of the way she had decorated her classroom and had spent hours and hours working on it. Her instructor had not even been there to see it yet. Here's a picture of the school entrance afterwards, the light at the end of the hall is there because the walls are not.
Here classroom only had one wall left.

Her college didn't fair any better as it was right on the beach. Well the college was a branch of another school in a town north of here so her records were safe, they were able to finish there classes in a local high school at night, and the best part of all the teacher she was student teaching for had taken photos of the room and put together an album for her to take to her instructor. They shared classrooms with the high school for a couple of months until their trailors were set up for classes.

Fast forward to now, since her college was a Baptist college and only a branch of the bigger one they always had their graduation ceremony in the local Baptist church, one look at the picture below explains why they can't have it there.

So they were invited to attend the main colleges graduation and be recognized, and only be able to invite a limited number of people.

After all that she has been through that just wasn't good enough for me, so I'm planning a reception for her to give everyone a chance to congratulate her. Any decorating ideas will be gladly accepted, I was thinking about doing the school motif with apples, books, etc. If anyone has any fav recipes for
appetizers I would love some new ideas.

Sorry to go on and on,
Hope you all have a good night.

P.S. J&N's mom, that's the reason for the Congratulations Tara, the Disney trip is our graduation gift to her.

What an amazing story. The thing that stands out most to me is that no matter the setback, she continued to strive and make something of herself. Congratulations to both you and her. You must be very proud.

 

[mommy2emmersNmo]

Since you guys have great advice can you help me with a dilemma.

My SIL finally found out 100% that she will be stationed in England starting in July. So my MIL is planning on visiting her next summer and has asked Emma to go with her. Emma of course has said Yes, I want to go! I am adamant that Emma not go with just my MIL. I think it is too far for her to be away from home at a young age. I have no doubt Emma wants to go but once she gets over there she will for sure want to come home and get very upset. My MIL is not the most warm person in the world. Shows no emotion other than being stubborn. Oh I lied, the dogs, her 2 and our 2 get more attention/affection then any person in the family. She is also dealing with medical issues from a almost life threathening sinus infection years ago, she is on a ton of medication and it affects her and if you were around her you would know what I mean.

So I know this is a year away but I know it will be brought up everytime we see each other. Am I crazy to say no? I also want to take the girls over to Europe as a family. We are planning a trip in 2/3 years when Molly is older, to visit Eric's relatives in Germany and if his sister is still in England then I would force myself to visit her for a day or so. Eric thinks she should go, a great oppurtunity and all. I worry about her emotional state, not mentioning that is something were to happen, we just do not have the kind of $$ to pick up and fly to England on no notice.

So any and all opinions/view points are welcome.

 

[julia & nicks mom]

After all that she has been through that just wasn't good enough for me, so I'm planning a reception for her to give everyone a chance to congratulate her. Any decorating ideas will be gladly accepted, I was thinking about doing the school motif with apples, books, etc. If anyone has any fav recipes for
appetizers I would love some new ideas.

Sorry to go on and on,
Hope you all have a good night.

P.S. J&N's mom, that's the reason for the Congratulations Tara, the Disney trip is our graduation gift to her.

you should be so proud of her!!! sounds like she went through so much and came out on top!!!

I love the idea of the teacher motif -

maybe your theme could be

I graduated but I am not leaving the classroom!!

 

[PNO4TE]

I watched one season of that and just to clarify -

none of the couples were ever married - I don't think any of the couples survived it - if you watched none of the couples were in a stable relationship to begin with - so really - they did them all a favor b/c it showed them that they had no future

ETA: in that season they found out that one fo the couples actually had a child together and they IMMEDIATELY pulled them off the island - the host told them that they were not in a position where they should be dating another couple but should be in therapy - they took the couple and put them on a tropical retreat together and got them counseling

I never watched this show. Reality TV and I don't get along very well. But, in a weird kind of Kevin Bacon-esque coincidence... one of the "temptresses" was Kristin's ballet teacher when she was little! Heather was the most lovely young woman and to hear about her in a part like that was a shock to all of us!

 

[my3princes]

My son Andrew, age 10, needs a little extra pixie dust, if anyone has any to spare. This isn't life threatning, but it is so important to his self-esteem. When he was little, he was a leader in everything he did and exuded self-confidence. Then came his ADHD/dyslexia/verbal expressive disorder/sensory issues, and his self confidence plummeted. (Mostly because of an idiot pre-school teacher who thought he was being bad and disagreeable on purpose!) We've worked for 5 years on his self-confidence and self-esteem. He goes to a special school for bright children who have learning differences -- it's actually the largest of its type in the country, and people come from all around to be trained there. It's a great school, and he is doing well.

My real problem: he loves to play baseball and soccer. In soccer, he's a real star -- fast as lightening and has a real knack for it. In baseball, he's struggled. (I think it's the sensory issues kicking in -- something about a baseball coming at him at 35 miles an hour...) He really would rather play it then soccer, because his cousin plays baseball. I did agree to letting him play both this summer, because I am hoping he will begin to like soccer enough to just play it.

Anyway, tonight is one of the biggest games of the season in baseball -- it's a rival team. He's just coming off of a game where my brother (his coach) told him he'd played the best game of his life. (Of course, maybe he played better because I wasn't there -- I was on a plane back from DC.....rats!) That really helped boost his confidence. If he could have a second good game in a row, I think it would go a long way to helping him gain back some of what he has lost.

So, any spare good wishes or PD would be greatly appreciated being sent his way this afternoon/evening.

It's probably too late now, but good luck.

Deb

 

[my3princes]

Marci -

I think self confidence is the hardest thing to instill in your children and any pixie dust I can send for Andrew -is on its way!!!!!!!!!!!

I struggle with self esteem issues as I'm so unhappy with the extra pounds that I carry. My oldest is already on the heavier side and I'm concerned about how the other kids will treat him if he doesn't start eating better and most importantly exercising. I have tried and continue trying to teach him to make good food choice and to get moving, he doesn't think of himself as have any weight issues and considers himself buff. I guess we have instilled plenty of self esteem in that one He actually described himself as cool and buff in a school assignment.

Deb

 

[UP Disney]

Since you guys have great advice can you help me with a dilemma.

My SIL finally found out 100% that she will be stationed in England starting in July. So my MIL is planning on visiting her next summer and has asked Emma to go with her. Emma of course has said Yes, I want to go! I am adamant that Emma not go with just my MIL. I think it is too far for her to be away from home at a young age. I have no doubt Emma wants to go but once she gets over there she will for sure want to come home and get very upset. My MIL is not the most warm person in the world. Shows no emotion other than being stubborn. Oh I lied, the dogs, her 2 and our 2 get more attention/affection then any person in the family. She is also dealing with medical issues from a almost life threathening sinus infection years ago, she is on a ton of medication and it affects her and if you were around her you would know what I mean.

So I know this is a year away but I know it will be brought up everytime we see each other. Am I crazy to say no? I also want to take the girls over to Europe as a family. We are planning a trip in 2/3 years when Molly is older, to visit Eric's relatives in Germany and if his sister is still in England then I would force myself to visit her for a day or so. Eric thinks she should go, a great oppurtunity and all. I worry about her emotional state, not mentioning that is something were to happen, we just do not have the kind of $$ to pick up and fly to England on no notice.

So any and all opinions/view points are welcome.

I would never have allowed my girls to go on a trip overseas with my parents when they were younger. I let them go with my parents on a car trip through Canada, to Niagara Falls and back through the states when they were 9 & 6. It was too much for them. They were too home sick for us. They are going to Japan with my mother this summer - they are 20 & 17 now. I'm worried about them even now but they can take care of themselves if they absolutely needed to now.