Lizze just received a call about her Grandfather. We need to say our goodbyes as soon as possible. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Please keep Lizze and her family in them as well, especially Lizze's dad.
Elliott will be seen in immunology today. We need to make sure that he hasn't developed an allergy since he was tested last year. This will likely be a really fun appointment. However, it's a necessary evil at this point. Fingers crossed that everything is okay. :-)
Shortly after Gavin arrived home, Lizze's mom called to say she would be swinging back around to pick him up. Apparently, power was out at work for her and so she was able to pick up Gavin and bring him home. Thank God for that amazing twist of fate. I honestly wasn't sure how today was going to go. Thankfully, we won't have to find out.
Hurricane Sandy caused enough damage in Canton Ohio that there is no school today. Are you freaking kidding me? WTF To make matters worse, we hadn't planned for this and now Gavin will be coming home for the day. This has thrust everyone else into chaos and Lizze is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She has been so traumatized by Gavin's behaviors that the mere thought of him coming home is to much. I don't know how today is going to go but I'm trying to remain positive so that I can be what everyone needs me to be. Hopefully, we can pull through this unexpected turn of events.
It appears as though Elliott has developed a tree nut allergy. He's complaining that his throat hurts every time he eats an almond. He then breaks out in these weird bumps, sorta like hives. This has been going on for awhile but with everything else going on, we hadn't put 2 and 2 together. We are calling his immunologist first thing in the morning. I'm really hoping he doesn't have a peanut allergy.
I was wondering how everyone in the east coast was fairing during this unbelievable storm? I'm in North East Ohio and we are getting unbelievable winds right now. I can't imagine how everyone is doing on the coastal states. We've lost power twice tonight already. I've got some flashlights ready and our phone batteries charged. Hopefully, we won't need them. Please know that the thoughts and prayers of the Lost and Tired family are with you. Stay safe and take care of yourselves.
My younger brother is getting married this weekend. Tim and Jenna make an amazing couple and we welcome Jenna to the family with open arms. Lizze and I are both so happy for them and support them completely. Sadly however, we will be unable attend the wedding. Things for my immediate family - Lizze, Elliott, Emmett, Gavin and myself- are not going so well. Lizze is in the worst place she's been in since her whole health crisis began many years ago. There is absolutely no way she could physically handle going to the wedding. The lights, smells and noise would simply be to much for her. Gavin doesn't live with us anymore and Elliott and Emmett are already struggling enough right now without being overstimulated by everything they would…
Recently I had the unique opportunity to take a look at a really special board game. I’m not talking about Candyland or Monopoly.
This is a game geared towards special needs children and helping them develop social skills.
The point of the game is pretty straight forward and simple. You spin the wheel and move accordingly, answering questions and collecting little red chips along the way.
The questions are in 3 different categories, feeling, doing and talking.
The Feelingquestions are geared towards getting the child to better understand feelings. Here’s an example question.
A boy’s mother bought ice cream for his sister but not for him. How did he feel? Why do you think she didn’t buy him any ice cream?
The doingquestions are geared towards towards helping the child to better understand and express emotions and the reasons behind them. Here’s an example question.
Make believe you’re crying. What are you crying about?
The final category, Thinking, is designed to help the child better understand themselves. This is an example of the questions in this category.
A child passes a note to another child. The note says something about you. What does the note say?
I’ll be very honest with you here. When the Lost and Tired family sat down to play this game, we didn’t get very far. The reason for this is because even though the box says ages 2 – 6, these questions were confusing for my kids.
My kids are considered highly intelligent but they really couldn’t wrap their brains around these types of questions.
Having said that, this game would be fantastic in a school or clinical setting. In fact, Gavin explained that he played this exact game while he was in the psychiatric unit of Akron Children’s Hospital.
To me, that makes way more sense than using this in the home environment, especially with younger kids like Elliott and Emmett.
That’s certainly not to say that your child wouldn’t benefit from this at home. It just isn’t ideal for my 2 youngest. Gavin on the other hand, really seemed to enjoy it and is more likely to benefit from it.
Truthfully, I would love to see this game in my kids school.
I could see this being of great benefit, especially in the social skills classes.
I feel that this game has much to offer the right people, in the right environment. It’s just not for us, at home.
However, I will also be hosting a giveaway. The winner will receive their own Talking, Thinking and Feeling Game, direct from Childswork.