Reading

Reading
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

looking at some older pics

I don't think it's the word!

Jess
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

Ok I have been all for the whole ending the R word thing
I really don't like the word. a couple years ago I was at Target with my family, it was Mothers day and my family gave me a shopping spree for a gift and so we had fun as a family picking out clothes for me, and we made our way to the dressing room. Dennis sat out with the kids while I went into the room to try things on and Jess was in her hyper happy mode, and it was so embarrassing, she was loud and obnoxious but happy, We were new the the world of Autism and I was just then figuring out that whole "pick your battles" thing, Hey she is happy let her have fun who cares who it annoys KWIM?
So while I was in the dressing room I was working through in my brain, listening to her and telling my self "who cares if she is loud" when two teenagers girls came in, I didn't see them, but I could tell they were teenagers they were giggling and I wasn't really paying too much attention then they got quiet while my girl got loud, and I heard it "Oh she is SO adorable!" said the one teen, the other said "who?" and she said "That cute little redheaded R*****ed girl" It was the first time I had heard anyone use that word about my daughter, I've heard it a lot since then and it never bothers me as much as it did that first time. It took the air out of my lungs I couldn't breath for a second and the room spun a little, then I was overtaken with a real anger I don't think I have ever felt before, How dare they say that about my sweet girl! I quickly changed into my regular clothes and stormed over to their stall in the dressing room and said "She is AUTISTIC!!!!" and I left them there. I just continued shopping, didn't say a word to the family.


I've always been bothered by my actions that day, by my feelings, that why is it ok for her to have autism but NOT the R word?
Well then the special Olympics came out with their campaign to end the R word and I was all for it!

Now I want to tell you about the evaluation Jessica had at School, in it the paperwork they repeatably referred to her having an "intellectual disability" No big deal right, that is what Autism is Right? When I brought copies of the papers to our Developmental Pediatrician She really had trouble getting me to understand what it meant, she talked about IQ, But I didn't really hear what she was saying, she talked about her being like an 11 year old when she is 18...I actually thought she meant socially, it wasn't until, in her frustration she said "we used to call it Mildly Mentally Retarded but we are not supposed to use that word anymore" when I finally got what she was saying. Since that moment I have had mixed emotions, I think back to that day and I don't think it does make a difference that my child is "the R word" having your child identified by their disability is hurtful. hmm I still leave myself some room to learn more here, maybe I will feel different some day.




The other Morning I was at the Grocery store, it was just me and Moo, the five year old,She goes to afternoon preschool. we needed to get some food and a snow storm was coming, I know a snow storm is always coming LOL I got to the check out line and there was a woman probably in her 50s ringing up the groceries and a teenager/young adult girl bagging, the bagger said to the cashier "so what time are you going home?" the cashier said "three" the bagger said "I bet you'll leave before that because you hate driving in the snow remember!" the cashier said "well it's not supposed to snow until tonight!" Then the bagger said "What are you mentally challenged? The news said it would snow at Noon!" I saw the sting of pain on the woman's face I was taken aback I said "That's not nice!" the cashier just changed the subject "Oh I should buy some of that ice melt before we sell out of it!" *sigh*

It's not the word, it's the world We need to change!!!!!!  We need to stop teasing people in general, but we need to stop teasing people by likening them to someone who has a disability as if having that disability were the worst thing in the world! We need to be nice to everyone!



Oh the older woman was right, the snow came later that night HA!

We interupt this blog....

hearts
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

haha So I promised to blog more, and to cook more and blog about it, but my fridge broke and the school snow days.....

excuses excuses

I've been working on a blog entry but the laptop froze, I feel like my kid Mapboy I know what I want to say, but I can't get it out onto my blog LOL


anyway we will be shoveling, I promised to to not write until I get the driveway cleared LOL

this picture was taken a few years back, the paper guy left these tracks after a dusting of snow......gosh remember that? when you used to get dustings of snow???


Ok off to the snow....

school pizza!

Last night we had frozen pizza for dinner, I don't usually do the frozen pizzas usually we make our own but I really wanted to try one of them that I saw...well ok really I should say that I should never shop when hungry because it was the picture on the package that made me by It LOL and so I grabbed a cheese pizza for the little kids and a spinach and goat cheese one for me :-)


Well as I was opening the package I realize the cheese pizza is square Jessica was sitting there watching me put it on the pan and she said "is that a pizza?" I told her that it was a pizza  and she said "is it a pizza just like the ones my friends eat at school?" WOW so I will tell you that we never buy the school lunch with her, we figured it was too complicated a process and since she is such a picky eater she would be better off with sandwiches from home. she used to bring either cream cheese and jelly, or Turkey which has turned into just cream cheese and jelly every day. So getting back to the friends eating pizza I asked her if they had pizza in school today and she said "yeah and my friends like pizza at school, I like it too!"


OMGosh I think we might try it, maybe set it up with her Para to help her purchase lunch the next time they have pizza, I just think it would be really cool for her to do something different!

Happy New Year! a million resolutions!

I really want to keep up my blog more regularly
AND I want to cook more and learn more recipes  try new things.

So I will be cooking one new recipe a week and blogging about it  sort of like in that  Julia Childs movie ONLY FAR LESS INTENSE!

Here is my first new recipe for 2011
it's Groundnut stew I got it from a cookbook called "Food and Wine Quick from Scratch Chicken cookbook"


http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/groundnut-stew

Groundnut Stew

• ACTIVE: 5 MIN
• TOTAL TIME: 40 MIN
• SERVINGS: 4
  

• FAST

Ingredients

1. 2 tablespoons cooking oil, more if needed
2. 1 chicken (3 to 3 1/2 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
3. 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
4. 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
5. 1 onion, chopped
6. 2 tablespoons tomato paste
7. 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes, drained
8. 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
9. 2 3/4 cups water
10. 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
11. 1 10-ounce package frozen sliced okra

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Season the chicken pieces with 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and black pepper. Cook until browned, turning, about 8 minutes in all. Remove. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from the pot.
2. Reduce the heat to moderately low. Add the onion to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and then the tomatoes and cayenne. Return the chicken legs and thighs to the pot and stir in 2 cups of the water. Bring to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
3. Whisk together the peanut butter and the remaining 3/4 cup water until smooth. Add this mixture to the stew along with the chicken breasts and wings, the okra and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1/4 of teaspoon black pepper. Cook, partially covered, until the okra is just done, about 10 minutes.

Serve With

Serve the stew with rice or egg noodles to capture every drop of the distinctive sauce. 

 

 

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

ok well  I did not realize Until I was writing out this blog that I had made a mistake and this is probably why it didnt seem as though the meal tasted as good as it sounded KWIM? 

in the recipe it says to add 1 cup of canned crushed tomatoes, and I put the whole can in which explained why it seemed as though the tomato flavor overtook the others.

So we still liked it I added a little more Cayenne after I tasted it, didnt make any other changes

if we make it again I will use 8 chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken cut up....the different cuts of chicken cooked differently the breasts were  kind of dry.....but the recipe will definitely be in the keeper file

Who liked it?

Dennis liked it! he added some srirachia sauce to it

he wanted to add more peanutbutter next time we make it.

I liked it and I agreed with DH about the peanutbutter but now that I noticed my mistake I think that, that might by why we couldnt taste the PB

Devin liked it...I didn't really want him to eat if because he has had a tummy bug all day....but he wanted to try it...he thought the sauce was too spicy but still ate it...he must be feeling better!!!

Jessica liked the chicken but not the sauce!

Megan ate rice and veggies  I did get her to try the chicken, she said she liked it but didn't eat it and made death sounds when she tried the sauce LOL 

Sorry I have no pictures My real computer has died and I have not yet figured out how to do that on this laptop!

That is it, If you try the recipe comment back and let me know if you like it!

The real story of thanksgiving---a conversation between my kids

crew 2
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

"The real story of thanksgiving" Mapboy read the a title of a show on our tivo--I'd been saving it because I thought he would find it interesting. Moo said "the real story of thanksgiving is God." Jess, while stuffing noodles into her mouth, said "No it's eating turkey and pie!" Moo said "Thats just what they did, but the real meaning is praying and the only one you should pray to is God!" So Mapboy started telling his version of the story "in 1820 the pilgrims came to America...." Jess cut him off "PILGRIMS? I learned about that at home!"
She meant school, she sometimes mixes that up! so I asked her what she learned about pilgrims in school and she said "they eat turkey and pie! "

I don't think I have ever seen her so engaged in a conversation!
it made me laugh and cry!

Sweet potato, tomato, spinach, and alphabet soup

Sweet potato, tomato, spinach, and alphabet soup
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

Sweet Potato, Spinach and Tomato Soup

Here is the recipe I made some changes which I added below.

Ingredients
3 cloves crushed or finely chopped garlic
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 quarts chicken broth
3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 pound fresh triple washed spinach, stems picked and coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, grated or ground
Salt and pepper
1 (28-ounce) can chunky-style crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes in puree
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano
Directions
In a deep pot, saute garlic and onion in oil for 2 or 3 minutes. Add broth and bring liquid to a boil. As you slice sweet potatoes, add them carefully to the broth. Cook sweet potatoes 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The potatoes will begin to break up and thicken broth as the soup cooks. Stir in spinach in bunches as it wilts into soup. Season soup with nutmeg, salt and pepper, to your taste. Stir in tomatoes and heat through, 1 or 2 minutes. Remove pot from the stove to a trivet. Stir grated cheese into your soup and serve.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok I didn't have any fresh spinach on hand so I used frozen it is Way better with fresh!

I doubled the broth
I added a box of alphabet pasta
! added some poultry seasoning

it was very good, but I forgot that I am not a fan of pasta in soup, as the pasta absorbs all the liquid So when I ate it it was good, but now as I am putting the leftovers in the fridge it looks like mutant pasta in there HAHA

A Breakthrough?

LPS jess
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

My kids have all developed a terrible habit of dumping whatever is in their hands off on the table, all the time, so we have really have been working on everyone trying to keep the table clear at all times....more times than I can count lately I have answered the question "Can I draw now?" with "after we make sure the table is cleared" of course today I have been busy so have not made it a priority....In comes Jess from the school bus with her jacket on, and her backpack on, and without saying a word she started putting away the various items on the table, when it was all cleared she said "I can draw now right?" um yes you can sweetie Yes you can!!!

How important are friendships?

thinking
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

My boy came home from school today in a real foul Mood! He looked like someone had drained all the energy right out of him I let him take a short nap until his sister got home, and he seemed better, but not himself, I was worried, but he did do some homework for awhile and had dinner and then it was time for scouts. he got his uniform on and still looked sad and tired, me I worry all the time, but wow I hadn't seem him like this in a long time. We had planned to give a friend a ride to scouts so we stopped to pick up his friend to take with us  and this boy got in the car and he instantly changed the mood, He had such a positive energy, first they started talking about school a little and then Halloween and then he started making jokes and making us all laugh...and voila! I dropped off a smiling boy at scouts who ran into the building at full speed....Now tell me again about how friendships are not important

Team Hussey!

I'm so proud of my family and friends who joined together to do this walk Now for Autism In Boston  I am so proud to say that to this date Our Little team has raised 637 dollars!!!!!  and the cool thing is...we can continue to accept donations!!!

So if you want to help our team raise even more
please check out our team page TEAM HUSSEY 
You can click on General Team Donation
Or any of the individual walkers listed on the right :-)

Now I would like to talk to you about The walk, what we liked and what we thought could use some improvememnt :-)

So Next year what we will do different:

Next year we will start our quest for team members earlier :-)
Wouldn't it be great to have a lot more family members and friends all together it could be a big Party! :-)

Nest Year we will also start fund raising earlier :-) Maybe we can do some wrap around events That would be fun!

Next Year we will Not be using iron on t-shirt transfers to make our own t-shirts, instead we will be sending out our t-shirts to be made by professional t-shirt makers  OR we will just have Emily make them all with her fabric markers :-)

Next year we will get there early, we will look around and investigate things before going in, we will Stop and get Team photos done, Now that we know they do Team photos, and also  because we will be there early we will have time to pose for team photos :-)

Next year we will eat early, before we let the kids get all into the crafts and things :-) because spin art and face paint is cool, but missing out on the free food is not cool KWIM? LOL

Next Year I will make sure I have the right lens on my camera before I grab it LOL


My pictures were taken with a telephoto lens
i will post some of DH's pics when he gets them up, he remembered the right lens!
meanwhile enjoy these:

Moo black and white

 

                                 the big kid!
      

                           My Friend Deb!

                            Puzzled

                                   Emi-Moo

                          close up!

                     The firetruck tires were BIG like Moo

                            Playground!

                            Team Hussey the younger set!

                           Team Play

                         Team Work

                                When she walks she means business

Bring on the school year!

the fam
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

Our Stay-cation is over, we had a lot of fun, now it's time to wind down and get ready for school.
we are working on schedules and chores and such. We need to do a couple old fashion visits to the school playgrounds :) get these kids excited about school right?



Moo is in the afternoon class this year, THAT is going to take some getting used to LOL

apparently the boy got himself into some poison sumac or something. so he is very itchie! and my computer is not working, which makes me nervous I am praying DH can recover my pictures! other than that, everyone has been doing pretty good!

This is the calm before the storm. When school starts we will see how it goes :-)

This blog post is full of hope! ;-)

my prison is...
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

Jessica started a new thing yesterday that took us by surprise.
She has been doing so good lately everyone has seen improvement. she seems happier, she has back and forth conversations....it doesn't always make sense but it's a start and gives you hope that she may do well. But I think we have put too much into the recent improvements, I think we forget about the word finding disorder. we started expecting too much.
The troubles started when I asked her to put on her shoes, she has a new pair of sandals that have sparkles n them that she loves. She started pacing around the house. Dennis said "Jessica! mom said to put your shoes on!" she groaned and started pacing faster---this should be a signal to us that she is agitated, but we missed it ...usually we note it after "we should have figured she was upset since she was pacing" or "we should have known she needed the bathroom since she was pacing"
Everyone was busy getting ready to leave and Dennis said "Jessica we told you to put your shoes on. She stomped her foot, we have taught her to stamp her foot when she is angry because it was better than punching out! Then she sat down hard into the chair and started growling and hitting herself :( I hope this was a one time thing, I can see her frustration and I can do nothing to give her peace :(
It turns out after much investigating that she didn't want to put her new sandals on because they hurt her feet, but she could not tell us that.
Well the rest of the day went well, we got her her sneakers and we all went out to enjoy the day... But seeing your child trying to hurt herself is quite upsetting!
I will say she had a major meltdown later in the day, and did not hit herself which is a good sign.

I need to learn to be more in tuned with my daughter.

Our Stay-cation is almost over, and we are getting ready to get back in the groove of schools, and schedules, I think I am too distracted.
Hopefully we can get back on track, hopefully we can improve communication, hopefully this transition to 2nd grade will go smoothly.

See I can honestly say that this blog post is full of hope!

Summer sun!

balloons 2
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

We are a busy family trying to cram a summers worth of fun into two weeks..
here a a shot from the balloon rally in Pittsfield NH
we will remember to go here next year.

Hope your summer is going well!

school starts soon.

A New Box of Crayons

In our family there is not much that is more exciting than getting a new box of Crayons!

first we need to admire the box with it's shiny wrapper and promises of beautiful colors.

once you open the package you get the experience the smells

                                     and the colors Oh boy the colors

and then, well I don't know about your family but in my family, some lining up has to occur

 it has to be Crayola too no other crayons smell like, or have as deep and rich colors

 maybe we should do a commercial
the kids are coloring :)

Trying to stay out of sight

Trying to stay out of sight
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

This summer has not turned out as planned....haha what ever does right?
I had visions of getting projects done around the house, spending time with friends/family, going to zoos and museums and I really wanted to introduce Moo to an art museum SHE will love it! But things happen, sometimes communications get mixed up, or kids get sick, plans get changed
ESY makes it hard, they call it special needs summer school in my town but I will stick with the term "extended school year" thank you :) its every day until 12:00 J gets home about 12:30 so no plans can start until after that.
plus there is the dreaded summer packet for The boy's school, we had originally planned on adding work to it, but I forgot he has ADHD and Asperger's even if it's not too difficult it will be hard for him to stay focused and get things done :-( even working on it every day I'm not sure he will even finish it :(

It hasn't all been bad, we've has some fun time I just seem a little removed from it all.
Now the focus is on back to school shopping. blah I'd rather shop for summer things :-)

what really have I been doing?
I think it's time to admit that maybe I need a little help....

Care to join me?

Care to join me?
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

I'd really love another cup of coffee
I feel like it will be the ticket to losing this headache

I had a rough morning this morning. i did not want to wake up, I was slow to move, and then the jack hammers hit....I know I am not normal, but i cannot think when jack hammers are grinding away. I couldn't even make out what they were doing, so I called the bus company to pick J up at the end of the street, by the time I came back from putting her on the bus the workers were all gone. Is it funny that the headache remains?


so glad I don't live in the city anymore HAHA
Jessica has autism and she didn't mind the jack hammers, I felt like a prisoner in my own skin! :( while we are talking about this....why is it that she cannot tolerate the coffee grinder that isn't that loud, but she doesn't care about the really loud noises????

one more questions I will probably never get the answer to.

OK now it's quiet I have my coffee and I might just sneak in a nap before Jessica gets home from ESY Dh is home from work sick. I'm sure he can keep an eye on the little one :-)


who am I kidding I have a list of chores to do, but it's nice to day dream :-)

have an extra cup of coffee today.

danger too cute!

danger too cute!
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

Don't you hate those blog entries
where the person apologizes for not posting in a long time, and something about life getting busy and they promise not to let the blog go again, and then you look at the date and find out that this blog entry was posted two months ago.

Well this blog entry is not like that!


I've decided to hijack my own blog and take it over :)


Oh here is a picture of my baby she is 4-1/2
don't let the shirt fool you, she only has a bad attitude at home ROFL

colby's birthday

Dumpr - Photo Fun

fun with photos

Dumpr - Photo Fun

Mapboy Geometry

Mapboy Geometry
Originally uploaded by dennisgg2002

Dh took this
i love it!