All Rileyed Up

Good grief, can you believe I’ve been without the Internet since my last post???? How did people live before the Internet??? Or phones, for that matter. I was without a phone for about a week.

My move is slow going, but coming along. More later. Gotta clean out my inboxes. In the meantime, enjoy this book review I wrote of the absolutely beautiful Mrs. Somebody Somebody by Tracy Winn.

I walked outside to this. I just can’t believe it will lead to anything good, but we shall see…

I watched Atonement the other day and refrained from writing an immediate review, because it would have only said, PISS OFF YOU WRETCHED MOVIE!!!!!!!!! BAH!!!!!!!

Instead, I sent a venting email to Brassy Girl in which I described the movie as Cold Mountain without Renee Zellweger, and with World War II instead of the Civil War, and a storyline that is ten times more irritating. That’s actually a pretty weak comparison now that I think about it because I would watch Cold Mountain *repeatedly* before watching Atonement ONE MORE MIND-BOGGLING TIME!!!!!! The main reason I thought of Cold Mountain were the plotlines of we’re-in-love-because-we-shared-a-”moment”-couple as well as we’re-in-love-but-have-to-wait-out-this-war-thing (I believe the line “come back to me” may be in both movies).

It doesn’t help that I watched Atonement just after watching Last King of Scotland, which also co-starred James McAvoy, alongside the stellar supporting cast of dirty meat hook one and dirty meat hook two. Not to say that Last King of Scotland wasn’t good, because Forrest Whitaker was excellent. But still, I could have done without that hook scene. I still shudder over it. As well as the dismemberment scene, but enough about Ugandan massacres.

Back to Atonement — I would still read the book. In fact, I’m fascinated by the book because I understand the author’s role in the tale really pushes/crosses the line of the author-reader relationship. Obviously, that never would have adapted well to screen.

Things I liked:

1. Ron’s expression when Lavender draws the heart in the glass is all time.

2. Ron and Lavender in general.

3. “She has nice skin.”

4. I want a poster of Luna wearing the lion’s head.

5. Helena Bonham Carter is a little too good at doing the crazy.

6. Dave Legeno appropriately gives me the heebie jeebies.

7. I had no idea Jim Broadbent was going to be Slughorn. What a pleasant surprise!

8. Cormac McLaggen was hilarious. He called Hermione a minx. Ha!

Things I missed:

9. What, no memories from the House of Gaunt? I was looking forward to hearing parseltongue.

10. While I do generally like Alan Rickman and his portrayal of Severus Snape, does anyone else feel he’s just a little too subdued at times? Like, say, when Harry calls him a coward?

11. I wish the birds had actually attacked Ron. Why bother changing that?

12. Feeling a tad ripped off there was no fight sequence at Hogwarts at the end, esp with no Fleur and Bill. I rather liked the part in the book where Fleur snaps at Mrs. Weasley after Bill’s been attacked by Fenrir.

Odd Man Out:

13. What was with Slughorn’s fish/flower story anyway?

***

This post contributed to Thursday 13.

Guess what – I have a job!
It doesn’t start for another month and a half, but hey, I’ve got it.
And guess what else – I’m going back to school!
It, too, doesn’t start for another month and a half, but hey, I’m going.
Want to know what I’m going to do, huh, huh, do ya?

Drumroll, please…

I’m going back to school for an MS in Special Education and a Special Education teaching credential.

Fanfare please…

I’ve spent a few years now navigating the world of IEPs and I have learned a lot about Special Education from the parent’s viewpoint. I’m ready to see the other side. An all too important side, no doubt. I often wondered – how do you come up with the IEP goals and how do you teach the children to reach the goals? How do you deal with slow math learners or Struggling Readers? Do you teach children with special needs the same way you teach in general education? For that matter, are there any specific teaching methods to general education?

In my current school district, there are a variety of options for education. Children can enroll in a language immersion program, which is a K-5 program that the students graduate from speaking two languages. Pretty cool that the kids are bilingual, but if you happen to move when your child is in third grade, you’ll be disappointed to see how behind they are at a different school. There’s also a charter school in my district, which follows the Waldorf educational model. In addition to being much more hands on in their teaching methods, they also don’t teach reading until second grade. My current school district also offers a homeschooling curriculum and works with the parents who choose to do this. And the school where my kids will be going for the 09-10 school year follows a comprehensive school model, where some grades are grouped together (eg, The Boy and Little No Limit will be in the same grade, K-1). All in all, I’m very excited to learn about these different approaches to education.

While I know a lot of people are sour on No Child Left Behind and think education is not so hot these days, there are an amazing number of resources for teachers right now, and I intend to utilize them. I’m sure the road ahead will be difficult, but for the moment, bask in my excitement with me, won’t you?

Little No Limit made up her own lyrics to the Mexican Hat Dance, inspired by her culinary tastes:

Quesadilla
Potatoes, potatoes
Quesadilla
Potatoes, potatoes
Quesadilla
Potatoes, potatoes
I do not like spicy food.

Paul Simon and Bob Dylan, watch out. There’s a new lyricist in town.

And for those of you who enjoy using your body as an instrument, please enjoy this lovely rendition of The Mexican Hat Dance:

Little No Limit’s very own hand-drawn and painted T-shirt:

I went to vacation Bible school every year for I don’t even know how many years, and I remember two things: one, Elmer’s glue was involved; two, during music time, the woman who played the guitar used a penny for a pick.

Little No Limit’s vacation Bible school doesn’t seem to be too different. The same old handmade T-shirt, as well as these nifty other crafts: a raccoon paper bag puppet, a the Chinese-to-go-box-turned-camp-cabin-handmade-piggy-bank, a clay-and-bead molding of a cross, a woven paper craft, and foam sticker creations. Perhaps the only thing different between hers and mine is that at the end of her week of vacation Bible school, they had a big ‘ol water slide to cap off the week of, um, Biblical study.

***

See more arts and crafts at 5 Minutes for Special Needs’ Magic Marker Monday.

My favorite Disneyworld park is Epcot. I went here the year it opened and fell in love with it and it “big golf ball.” I adored Figment, and to this day, will always stop and take a picture with Figment or any Figment images I come across. Now, I have many an amusing memory associated with my visits to Epcot (the junior high years are particularly silly), but my favorite visit would have to be the last visit I made.

It was 2003. Husband and I were visiting my family in Florida. The Boy was just a baby. Little No Limit was a Little Not Yet.

I had gone on and on to Husband about how he just had to go on the Imagination ride — it was the best, the greatest, my favorit-est ever ride (spoken like an 8-year-old). Well, well, well… imagine my surprise to get on that ride and find out they’d changed it. Disappointingly, the Imagination ride is not nearly as cool as the way it was when it first came out.

We got off the ride in awkward silence. Husband said, “That was a great ride, honey” in a voice that clearly didn’t mean it, and I was still trying to stutter out an answer/explanation when Big Brother said in an truly disturbed voice, “That’s not the way the ride used to be.” And right then and there, my plan to go on the ride three times came to an abrupt halt.

Epcot more than made up for Imagination, though, with their the G-force ride (Mission:SPACE) which really is as fast as they claim, and, of course, the World Village. At least The Maelstrom ride hasn’t changed. Every bit as entertaining as it was in my childhood, with the “Oh no! We’re going to go over the edge!” fear still intact. We also bought Iron Chef T-shirts in the Japan pavilion because we were huge fans of the show at the time, but best of all was the discovery of the Little Miss and Mr. books. You know the ones I’m talking about, by Roger Hargreaves. I remember my teachers in second and third grade reading them aloud to us. I just thought they were hilarious. I realize these books can be purchased anywhere, but I hadn’t seen them in years, and I had just had my own child and realized I could share these books with him. I bought six.

That was my souvenir from Epcot that day. Books that can be bought anywhere, and bear no image of Figment or Mickey Mouse or the Geosphere (AKA big golf ball). But they serve the purpose of a souvenir better than any souvenir I ever did buy at Disney. Every time I flip them open to read to The Boy and Little No Limit (who love them as much as I did), I think about that trip and how I found the books in the World Village. And I feel giddy, like a kid. “I-maaaaa-gi-naaation” flitters through my head and a smile involuntarily makes it onto my face. Which is probably just the right way to feel when I’m reading aloud about Little Miss Trouble and Mr. Nosy.

***

This post inspired by a memory question from Orlando Fun Tickets. Want to go to Disney? Buy your Disney Tickets from them.

Congrats to Robin, commenter #2, who won the giveaway. If you didn’t win the giveaway, you can still take advantage of this discount:

Purchase a 4-pack of tickets for only $44 by logging onto Ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000 and entering the coupon code: MOM. Enter code in the “MC Promotion Box” on Ticketmaster. Minimum purchase of 4 tickets required; additional tickets above 4 can be purchased at $11 each. Not valid on VIP, Front Row and Circus Celebrity seats or combinable with other offers. Service charge, facility fee and handling fees may apply.

Show Dates:

Los Angeles
July 8: 7:30pm
July 9: 7:30pm
July 10: 12:00pm, 7:30pm
July 11: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm
July 12: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm

Anaheim
July 15: 7:30pm
July 16: 1:00pm, 7:30pm
July 17: 10:30am, 7:30pm
July 18: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm
July 19: 1:30pm, 5:30pm
July 20: 1:00pm
July 21: 7:30pm
July 22: 1:00pm, 7:30pm
July 23: 10:30am, 7:30pm
July 24: 1:00pm, 7:30pm
July 25: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm
July 26: 1:30pm, 5:30pm

Ontario
July 29: 7:30pm
July 30: 7:30pm
July 31: 7:30pm
Aug. 1: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm
Aug. 2: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm

Everyone’s always asking me about eczema. What I do for it, did for it, have I tried this, that, the other thing, will I talk to their friend who has a child with eczema, etc etc. So now, if anyone asks, I can send them the link to this post.

Eczema is a pretty nasty beast and it changes with every person, but these are some things I have done for The Boy’s eczema, in no particular order. They may or may not work for you. Good luck.

1. IgE and IgG Blood tests. IgE and IgG are two different kinds of antibodies that can appear in your blood in response to allergens. When you visit an allergist, they usually test for IgE allergies. A person with an IgE allergy has an immediate reaction, eg: hives, anaphylactic shock. An allergist can test for them by either drawing the blood and testing it or doing what I call “the back scratch test,” where they essentially give you a bunch of paper cuts and then swipe them with the different possible allergens and wait 20 minutes to see if there’s a reaction (like hives). IgG blood tests look not just for reactions that take place immediately, but reactions that take place over time, usually two weeks. They’re more like intolerances. This is a time-consuming, expensive blood test that many insurances do not cover and doctors will disagree on the accuracy of its results. Keep in mind, though, ALL allergy tests run the chance of inaccuracy. The Boy has had three IgE blood tests and 1 IgG blood test and none of them have had the same results. Most of his diet restructuring is based on the results of the IgG blood test and his skin has taken a phenomenal step up since then.

2. Bath time Routines. All the dermatologists I ever met recommended as little bathing as possible to avoid drying out the skin. I did that with The Boy during his younger years, but found as he got older, he benefitted from taking a shower every night and cleaning all that dirt off. Try to keep the water tepid, vs very hot or very cold. Also, post-bath/shower, don’t rub the skin down with a towel. Just pat the skin dry (or better yet, air dry), and immediately put on moisturizer.

3. Hydrogen Peroxide. If the rashes start getting red/ooze-y, break out the hydrogen peroxide. If the Boy is showing any suspicious spots, then right after his shower, I dampen a white washcloth with hydrogen peroxide and pat the area with it.

4. Moisturizer. I do not use any cream lotions. Period. End of story. Lubriderm, Sarna, Cetaphil, Eucerin, Moisturel… I’ve tried ‘em all. If you have mild eczema, any of these might do the trick, but when you’re dealing with moderate to severe eczema, don’t put your hopes in a cream. I currently use Natralia Skin Nourishing Oil all over the body and the occasional Aquaphor on the knees and elbows. I’ve also had experienced good results in the past with Moisture Riser oil, Wise Woman Herbals salves, and Derma-Smoothe oil (this one is prescription only).

5. Hot Wraps and Cold Packs. This was something recommended to me by a Pediatric Dermatologist at an eczema specialty clinic in San Diego. When the eczema is particularly inflamed, after the shower, apply a thick layer of Aquaphor to the area (in The Boy’s case, it’s usually the elbows and knees, sometimes the whole forearm or shin and ankle areas), then wrap it with gauze that has been soaked in warm to hot water, followed by another layer of dry gauze or self-adhesive athletic wrap. I usually do this at night and let The Boy sleep with the wrap on. At the very least, try to keep the wrap on for two hours. If you have a prescription steroid ointment, apply the steroid first, then the Aquaphor, then the wrap.
Now onto the cold packs. Yes, I wrap up the body with warm gauze, but once he’s in bed, I tuck The Boy in with a cold pack in a fabric sleeve – the kind they sell at kiosks in the mall and farmers markets and craft sales. Ours is a fluffy purple sleeve that is washable and the cold pack is filled with corn seed and lavender. I keep it in the freezer and give it to him every night and he likes the cool softness against his skin. If you don’t have a cold pack, you could get away with a hand towel that you’ve put in the freezer (don’t soak it or anything, just let it get nice and cold in the freezer so that it feels good against the skin – think Liz Taylor freezing her negligee in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, only without the sexiness).

6. Topical steroids. Oral steroids. The Boy has been prescribed oral steroids on a couple of occasions, the kind that asthma sufferers take, and while I admit it zapped away the eczema in a couple days, oral steroids are harsh on your internal body and once the effects wear away, you run the risk of the eczema coming back with a vengeance. Topical steroids are not as bad. I’ve used pretty much all the topical steroids out there at one point or another and had the best experience with Triamcinolone ointment (I can’t remember the percentage off the top of my head, but your doctor will know best which to recommend). There’s also a foam one called Verdeso that is neat because a little bit goes a long way, but if there are too many breaks in the skin, Verdeso stings. It’s also relatively new to the market and you never know what study might come out in a year that says, “Whoops – you shouldn’t use that after all.”

7. Non-steroid prescription creams. Elidel and Protopic. I had pretty much zero success with both of these and had to chuck over a lot of money for them. What a disappointment. There are also rumors that people who have used these creams have gone on to develop skin cancer. There are no conclusive studies that prove it to the point where the creams have been made unavailable to the public, but it’s discomforting nonetheless.

8. Tea and herbs. We met with an acupuncturist who concocted a special herbal bath recipe for The Boy. It worked okay, but I found I could get the same results from pouring a pot of freshly brewed chamomile tea into the bathtub. I also know someone who poured oatmeal into her bath – mind you, not the Aveeno Oatmeal Bath, just straight up oatmeal. Much cheaper. Be careful when you drain. There’s also the age-old corn starch bath. A little bit goes a long way. Again, be careful when you drain.

9. Chiropractor. Read here for more info.
I took The Boy to a chiropractor. I fell into the 25 percent who saw some improvement. But not total improvement.

10. Benadryl. Good for the itchies that just don’t go away and ruin sleep time. I’m not a fan of drugging up The Boy, but let’s face it, he also needs to sleep and sometimes Benadryl gets him there. At doctors recommendations, we have tried both Zyrtec and Atarax (and for a short, fretful while, both) but in the end we all agreed that I would use Benadryl at my discretion because it put the least amount of drugs into his body.

11. Probiotics. For goodness, take them, regardless of whether or not you eat yogurt and especially if you’ve ever taken antibiotics. Be careful of probiotics brands though. Not all probiotics carry live bacteria and if they’re dead, then they’re doing you no good. My friend the chiropractor recommends this brand that requires a health professional’s assistance in ordering: Innate Choice.

12. Cod liver oil. I aim to give The Boy cod liver oil (flavored in either lemon or orange) every day to nourish the skin and those omega-3s aren’t hurting his brain activity either. I’ve been recommended strongly by three health experts to only use the Nordic Naturals or Carlson’s brands.

13. Bragg’s brand Apple Cider Vinegar. The ultimate panacea. Got a fever? Got an allergy? Got a weight problem? Got acid reflux? Got digestion issues? There’s a testimonial out there how apple cider vinegar changed it all. Recommended drink is two tablespoons a day mixed with 8 oz water. If you can’t stand the sourness, try adding honey. The Boy wasn’t too fond of this concoction, so I mix a little 100 percent apple juice into the water.

On a final note, Pine Tar soap was recently recommended to me by Mary-LUE. I’ll have to give it a shot and get back to everyone on that.

This post contributed to Thursday 13.