November 2011 - Praying for Parker

The Power of an Amazing Neighborhood: A Halloween Success Story

Yesterday was a Halloween success story. After all the practicing, everything came together beautifully! The Curly Girly and my Blue Eyed Girl took Parker all around the neighborhood. One trip around our circle is about a quarter of a mile. Parker...

Published Tue, Nov 01 2011 11:46 AM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: down syndrome, Halloween, Life With Special Needs, Family and Friends, Cornbelly's

An AbleNet Adaptive Toy Giveaway!

I haven’t been doing as many reviews/giveaways as I have in the past. Partly because life at our house has been rather over the top since…..uh…..spring. sigh. The other reason is because I’m pretty picky about products Parker and...

Published Tue, Nov 01 2011 7:44 PM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: Stuff We LOVE!, Reviews and Giveaways!, giveaways, ablenet, Life With Special Needs, switch adaptive toys

A Feeling of…. Gratitude

It wasn’t that long ago that kids with trachs spent their entire lives in the hospital. Can you imagine? It was thought that kids with trachs faced too many obstacles to be able to live outside of a hospital setting. Times have changed. For this...

Published Wed, Nov 02 2011 7:49 PM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: Advocacy, Life With Special Needs, extra chromosomes, trachs, gratitude

Debt and the child with special needs

As a parent of a medically fragile child with special needs, I KNOW there are other special needs parents working to deal with medical debt while trying to keep a child alive. I’m a big believer in sharing ideas, and offering up support to each...

Published Thu, Nov 03 2011 6:02 PM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: The HIGH Cost of Health Care, frugal living, Life With Special Needs, medical debt

Because this boy is mine..

Even with all the mayhem that has defined our life the last few years, I wouldn’t trade a minute of it as long as I can still say: This beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy is mine. Can you believe that in two weeks Parker will be SEVEN? So...

Published Sun, Nov 06 2011 5:18 PM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: down syndrome, Special Needs, family, Life With Special Needs, Family and Friends

What’s YOUR Grocery Budget?

I remember the first time that, as newlyweds, Reed and I went over $100.00 for groceries. It was kind of a shock. $100.00 was a LOT of money back in the days when dinosaurs roamed, even though in reality it was just $50.00 for to feed each of us for a...

Published Mon, Nov 07 2011 5:06 PM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: frugal living, Life With Special Needs, how to save on your grocery costs, Coupons, grocery budget, Walmart double coupons

On being a Special Needs Mama

I get a lot of questions from those around me asking “how do you do it?” I’m always perplexed by this question. How could I NOT do it? How do I love my kid? Seriously? Have you seen this face? What’s NOT to love? How do I survive...

Published Tue, Nov 08 2011 7:54 PM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: down syndrome, Life With Special Needs

Using Light Tables to Engage the Special Needs Learner

My love of yard sales is nothing new. I spend all winter long making lists of things I need to shop for during the summer…..all at rock bottom (and sometimes even free!) prices. One item on my list for this year was a light table for Parker. I thought...

Published Thu, Nov 10 2011 9:01 AM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: Special Needs Homeschooling, homeschooling, Discount School Supply, light boxes, Reading Activities, Math Activities, special needs learners

Disney Junior! Jake and the Never Land Pirates

Ahoy Mates! Parker and I are here today to share some exciting news with you! Disney Junior’s Jake and the Never Land Pirates is cable’s #1 show for boys 2-5….and is on track to being Disney Channel’s #1 preschool series…ever...

Published Sun, Nov 13 2011 5:05 PM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: Stuff We LOVE!, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Disney Junior Channel

I remember….

I remember when nobody thought you would see your first birthday, and now you are hot on the trail of number SEVEN. Seven is a magical number. I can’t wait to discover what exciting adventures SEVEN has in store for you this year. ...

Published Tue, Nov 15 2011 8:07 AM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: down syndrome, Special Needs, Life With Special Needs, Family and Friends, 7th birthday

Augmentative and Alternative Communication on the iPad

We’re upping our iPad game here at Parker’s house. The goal? To have Parker participate in 200 daily communication invitations via his beloved iPad. Yup. TWO HUNDRED. Yeah, I know. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed myself. The question...

Published Thu, Nov 17 2011 10:38 AM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: Special Needs Homeschooling, Proloquo2GO, tap to talk, TouchChat, Ipad Apps

And the WINNER of the AbleNet Switch Adapted Toy is……

I’ve hosted a LOT of giveaways. NONE of them have ever been as hard as this one was. Why? Because with this one I can see the NEED. Parents wanting to provide a way to engage their child and bring a smile to the face of someone they love. I’ve...

Published Thu, Nov 17 2011 4:05 PM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: down syndrome, Special Needs, ablenet, Life With Special Needs, switch adaptive toys

Preventing Sexual Abuse of Children with Special Needs

Estimates show that up to 90% of females with an intellectual disability and up to 50% of males will be sexually abused. *gasp* I truly didn’t realize the numbers were so high. I also didn’t know that Ped*phile websites often mention children...

Published Fri, Nov 18 2011 7:51 AM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: Advocacy, Special Needs, Life With Special Needs, sexual abuse, childre

Where the big Happy Birthday post SHOULD be….

Parker hardly ever spikes a fever. But he sure did last night. 102 before the Moltrin finally kicked in….which was right about the time we had to crank his oxygen concentrator up to 6 liters per hours. That’s 3 times more than usual. ...

Published Sat, Nov 19 2011 7:26 PM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: Life With Special Needs, Hospital Frequent Flyer, 7th birthday, aspiration pnuemonia

Pneumonia Update: Sunday

The Update: So far, so good…….we’re managing at home. Fever is still spiking. The Moltrin helps some. The Tylenol does nothing. LOTS of sleeping. Except between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. sigh. Between this and the tummy issues Parker’s...

Published Sun, Nov 20 2011 1:37 PM by Praying For Parker

Filed under: aspiration pneumonia, Life With Special Needs