martes, 28 de septiembre de 2010

Taking the plunge

We have been waffling on doing very expensive vision therapy for Marie. She has "lazy eye" one eye turns in when she focuses on near objects. It's pretty common we've been dealing with it with glasses and a patch since she was a baby. 

But, the science behind it is not ho hum. The eye turns inward because the brain shuts off the eye. The muscles relax the eye turns in.  She is not seeing out of it.  The brain's visual system does this because it can't see unless it turns down the level of conflicting data and so it compromises by switching to one eye.

The results are loss of binocular vision.  Shut one eye playing darts or aligning something and you'll see some of the visual information that is lost when you only have info from one eye to work with.  It effects her gross motor skills, balance skills, fine motor abilities and other areas of her brain and body.  The dilemmna is there are 2 camps in how to treat lazy eye and a brain that hasn't learned/ developed its visual system.  One is patching the strong eye ( losing binocularity) and wearing strong glasses.  This is the accepted- insurance paid treatment.  The other is not patching the eye- encouraging binocularity, wearing weaker glasses so the eyes work harder and doing vision specific exercises with a developmental vision therapist.

Marie does occupational therapy with a therapist because she has sensory integration issues.  Her brain does not organize and use sensory information as well as other kids her age.  Her main issues are auditory discrimination, tactile discrimination, gross and fine motor abilities, and vestibular issues (balance, motor planning, arousal level- basically actions dealing with movement and gravity).  The vestibular organ is a part of the inner ear that detects vibration and damage to the vestibular organ highly corrolates to deafness and hearing problems. The vestibular system is a brain system at the base of the brain that works primarily to control eye movements and keep us upright. 

It is all connected.  Yet insurance will not pay for vision therapy.  We had an appointment with our old optomotrist who will not continue treating Marie if we stop patching and use the glasses prescribed by the developmental vision therapist.  Both sides feel very passionately that their stance is correct. 

We have seen amazing changes in Marie due to her occupational therapy that stimulated her vestibular system, tactile senses and auditory system.  So, we knew in our gut and by watching our child that she is changing- responding! to this sesnsory focused treatment.

But, it is pricey. Life without insurance is a scary place.

Today we decided we really need to do those weekly visits.  It boiled down to - if you take the money part out of the equation what would we do- and we knew the answer. 

It is frightening to really think about how we are going to be spending. It's really going to change our lifestyle, but it is so relaxing to just do the right thing. And, I feel the power of cliches burning in me like when you have to do something you can.  and that makes all the difference in life. 

We love you kid.

martes, 21 de septiembre de 2010

a child's view

I learn a lot being the mum mom in the front seat.  At a playdate today June who is 2 and a half made  an apple tree by sticking stickers on it. She chose: lots of red apples, 2 bees, 2 cardinals then flipped it over and covered it with squirrels.

On the way home from the park June and Marie got into a discussion about her tree.  First June generously fed Marie many apples. But then Marie wanted meat.

She said," Now we're going to eat the bees and the cardinals."  "
"no, " protested a June just starting to get teary eyed, " you don't eat bees and cardinals".
"Yes you do" suavely assured Marie.  " you just kill them first, then they are meat".   June protested.
"It's ok. " said persuasive Marie," they were killed a long time ago. Now its ok to eat them".
June disagrees and raised her tree high out of Marie's reach protectively.

Marie quietly and firmly said " kill." and made a poking motion at the cardinal and bees.  June got very upset.
"no Huree! if you kill the squirrel it makes it cry!"
"Squirrels don't cry" said Marie, " they just run away",

In my defense of sad Junie I interrupted this discussion to say there was a protective wall around the tree and Marie couldn't kill them, plus offered to hold the tree in a safe place in the front seat -but those options weren't viable to June.  Wrapped up in her argument. And,  though she was slightly crying at one point, by the time we got home( 10 minutes?) somehow the conversation had shifted to the point where Junie had pulled off a bee sticker and broken the wing and was saying "It's dead the wing came off" and said " cook, cook cook" and they were happily killing all the bees and cardinals on the tree.  ( but not the squirrels...).

(I think talking about how good hot dogs taste might have been the transitioning point. Oh yes! - I just remembered - when denied her bees and cardinals Marie noted that there was a dead mommy pig on the sidewalk (right by the bus stop) and lets make it into hotdogs. Then they were debating how it died.  ( "That car killed it" june said as a minivan pulled away.  ) Marie agreed.

Happy Tuesday Mom and Eve!! the kids are about 20 min. in bed and I am knackered!!

martes, 14 de septiembre de 2010

Suck up the Fall

These past few days we have had fun sticking close to home. Yesterday we had a beautiful light filled fall day spent 2 blocks South of our little house.  I so often feel like I am hurrying the kids here and there all throughout the day "  5 more minutes !"...,  so I love it when we have the time to just roam and ramble.  An unplanned day can be very special. It might be the magic of kidness, or we are lucky - but there is something to do a few blocks out all directions from our house.  ( and very different in all directions!  South a creek, E a bookstore and kid coffee shop, N a park  and W a big hill to go up, an overpass to look down at the highway and a dollar store if you persevere long enough.  ;)  ( not to mention NE a statue of Joan of Arc (at a church) and a strange all blue house that always has shy kittens in the yard and a hole in the fence to peek through).   Yesterday we went South 2 blocks to Minnehaha creek and the Minnehaha bike path.


soft soccer ball comes along


1st stop feed the mermaid. behind the bushes is minnehaha creek.  the mermaid eats berries that grow conveniently near...
Destination. one of my favorite beautiful/ scruffy places. Under the bridge.  soft sand underneath. places to climb.
gnarled roots exposed by erosion of the steep grade by the bridge

Go kid go. 






Marie ran the whole way up. It was such a fun fall feeling.


miércoles, 8 de septiembre de 2010

First day of school



Marie has problems sometimes.  She wants to do things she can't do but other kids can. She tries super hard, she gets tired sometimes from trying so hard.  For the last 2 years of school she didn't talk much to the other kids.  She watched a lot-  people worried about her.  Now, I just heard from her teacher " I see so much improvement. She has really changed, she is really interacting with everybody" and I said " I waited 2 years to hear that". 

This picture really makes me smile. We have spent 2 years struggling to get her dressed and out the door on time. and yesterday she just seamlessly zoomed through everything.  Clothes herself, food everything without getting enticed into playing or deliberating on clothes choices.  I don't know if I will still look at this picture 10 years from now and still instantly smile. But I think I might.

deepest thoughts fully steeped

There's a mystery flag flying at the mystery business near our house. "Lachman's Eterprises" and it flies the US flag and a green not Brazil flag. And we never see anybody there, and nothing ever comes in or out. and no noises emit.  But, the grass is always mowed and late at night from time to time, a light.

Every now and then me and aaron say that's not brazil's flag is i? and have the same conversation, - no definately not. isn't there a yellow triangle on brazil?-  Today a guy was painting the building. Guyana the flag is from Guyana and they have the best rum and sugar anywhere.  Luckily I read a long book about rum and sugar in Cuba so we had a good chat about rum and sugar.  And Guyana is in s. America not Africa. I love being a non-educated educated person.  It also made so happy for the rest of my dog walk because......  I speak Spanish and read on google news a few weeks ago that spanish is the 3rd most spoken language in the world and there is no point learning Spanish.  And learning about exactly where Guyana is - south America - reminded me of 15 good reasons.

sweet is the world and large and me in it.

domingo, 5 de septiembre de 2010

changes. changes




For the first time in 5 years and 2 children we have a babysitter.  We are bartering. I will take her wee, darling doggie home during the days or at very least drop by and give him a walk in exchange for 3 nights a month of babysitting. Date night here we come!


How nice !.  Just on the heels of reading in New York magazine ( not new yorker! yech, keep it away) about all the barter coops springing  up. And then voila,  moi auissi!

The list was long. good.   ... free interior design swaps, paintings, babysitting, teaching knitting work shops, book swap, work clothes swap, free time in studios and pottery wheels etc.  an enticing list.

on that note, intriguing/ culture in the twin cities I just read that the Jeune leune closed and I hadn't even known it was closing. It reminded me how much of what I like about minneapolis st. paul but yet somehow never actually work it into my life.

We went to a Hamlet there 5 years ago??

viernes, 3 de septiembre de 2010

Jessamin gets skinny

First order of business is starting a diet.  I have been annoyed with my body since HS.  I have decided that I am going to use this blog as a place to be honest.  Anyone who will read it already knows me well enough to not mind knowing a little more.

For me it will be a challenge because I like to keep things hidden.  My sluggy ways inspired me to start a diet ( started last week) and once stirred- I decided to peel back another layer.  The new goal is try to do a new thing every week.  It can be small, cook a meal I never cooked ... ( and if so dear bloggy readers you will get the recipe) or big I am thinking of doing a special thing for our anniversary ( which I cannot post because aaron might read this). shhhh!

I think many of us 36 yr old humans on the planet start to chafe at this point. We've got some of "it" but not enough and our comfort sticks us to the jobs and routines we so proudly aquired 5 or so years ago.  So, I can dream of my electric cargo bike

http://commutebybike.com/2008/09/25/rans-hammer-truck/

Yes, I can not afford this bike, or this motor
http://www.bionx.ca/en/

but one can dream.