Passing the Blanket

We've been cleaning the basement a little. We moved into our house when I was in the third trimester with Michael. I wasn't doing a lot of unnecessary unpacking then. Then we had our first baby followed 15 months later by our second baby. Now that things are settling a bit we're diving into some boxes and bins that have been pretty much untouched for over four years.

I opened a bin yesterday and found my old blanket. It was the one I used as a very young girl. My mother had made it for me. It is nothing special to look at, but it is special to me and I still have it decades later. As I was holding it, Michael walked by.

Now, Michael has a special blanket he sleeps with every night. He calls it his hugging blanket. It stays in his room, but he wants it at naptime and bedtime, so he is familiar with the concept of a special blanket.

I showed my old blanket to Michael and told him that it was my hugging blanket when I was a little girl. I explained that his grandmother had made it for me and that it was special. I was about to put it back away when he asked me if he could have it for his room. He said he wanted it so that it could be friends with his hugging blanket. I thought to myself, why not?

As he proudly carried it up the stairs to his room he ran into his sister. I heard him say, "Look Ava! This is mommy's hugging blanket from when she was a little girl. She gave it to me. It is very special."

Preparing for an Evaluation?

Ava's evaluation is less than a week away. I'm beginning to think about how I need to prepare, if I need to prepare.

Some things are mundane. I need directions. I need to know what parking will be like. I need to figure out how long the drive will take given that I will be fighting rush hour traffic. I need to make sure someone can pick up Michael from school because Ava and I won't be done in time to get him. I need to pack a snack for her because we are supposed to be there all morning.

It is silly, but I want her to look nice. I need to pick a nice, but comfortable outfit. I need to allow enough time in the morning to feed her a good breakfast, dress her, and fix her hair.

And then there are the other considerations. Here in our state, in this district I've been told that the decision will be made that morning as to whether she qualifies. If she does, we will set up an IEP date that same day. I guess that means they plan to score all their tests and come to some kind of decision that same morning while Ava and I wait. If I want to be prepared to advocate for her, I need to be prepared to do so that same morning as the testing.

I'm not sure what that means exactly. I am going to write down my observations of her speech challenges at this time. I don't want to have to think under pressure. I want to be able to read off a list. Or perhaps just share that list with the team. I am thinking I should bring the ASHA position statement on Childhood Apraxia of Speech just in case. Oddly enough, I am having trouble thinking of other things that might be useful.

Does anyone have any suggestions? What should I bring with me to this evaluation/meeting? What should I be sure to think through ahead of time? What should I say/share? What should I not say/share? Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

The Weekly Review: Week 38

Online Post I Enjoyed this Week

Linda Sharps wrote a post on The Stir that I really enjoyed this week. It listed some of her favorite posts about parenthood. My favorite was, "You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around—and why his parents will always wave back. — William D. Tammeus."

The Weekly Holiday Tradition

I shamelessly stole this tradition from one of my aunts who did this same thing for her two children. Each Christmas of her children's lives she chose and bought a special ornament for each of them. Then, when they moved out and had their first Christmas tree of their own, she gave them all of their ornaments to use on their own tree. I've been trying to choose ornaments that represent what my little ones have really loved for the year. The ornaments of the year get a special place of honor on the fireplace mantel. Here are the children's ornaments for this year.

One of My Absolute Favorite Christmas Treasures

We moved away from New Orleans right before my eighth grade year. Every year since then, our family has traveled back to New Orleans to spend the holiday with our extended family. We didn't have Christmas trees of our own after that. One of my aunts had the most beautiful tree every year. The same aunt who bought the special ornaments for her children actually. The highlight of her tree, for me, was the beautiful handmade garland she had made for it. Every year, I would joke that she'd have to leave it to me. Her daughter would say, "No way! It is mine!" Shortly after I got married, she surprised me by making me my own. I treasure it. I love it because it is beautiful, but I also love it because it was handmade for me with love.

Ava this Week

Ava is starting to compete with her brother for conversation space. It is both beautiful and painful to watch. They'll both run up to me just brimming over with something to say. His words will spill out. Hers will often stutter and stop. For a child with motor planning problems, she's actually more fluent than usual, but in this particular high pressure situation, her fluency tanks. I love that she's trying though. If I slow it down a little bit, and make him wait quietly while she talks, she has so much to say. That part is wonderful.

The Weekly Michael

I wrote about how sensitive Michael seems lately. We've decided to try OT style brushing with him twice a day. It worked miracles with Ava, so we figured it couldn't hurt. We've only done it for a couple of days now, so it is to early to tell if it will help. He enjoys it (and the attention), so that much is good either way.