MARCH 2000

Hi everyone!!! Well I've finally got the kiddos to bed.YAY!!!!Actually they're really good about going to bed so nothing to complain about there.Anyways we went to the beach today for a few hours and had a blast.Gotta tell you this,Olivia hates cold water and as you know the Pacific is COLD.We were laying by the water and Kyle my 3 year old was busy jumping over waves and running from them.Olivia was so curious and walked into the water thinking it was like a bath I guess.Well when the water hit her toes she screamed"OWWWWWWWWWWW" as if a shark had just bitten her .She tried to run back to me but tripped and fell tummy first in the 1 inch COLD water.I think they heard her yell "OWWW" a hundred miles away.DRAMA!!!!!I had to turn my head and laugh as I was scooping her out.We did clean up the beach for a while. Olivia loved it Kyle HATED it.She would pick up one tiny little thing and put it in the garbage bag while saying "in" (must be all that therapy LOL).She must've said in a hundred times by the time we were done.Kyle thought it was totally gross and that people are disgusting.I can see it now, Olivia will be the one helping to clean up and Kyle will be lecturing to all the importance of cleaning up.(rather than having to dig in)

I hope Ciarra is feeling better.

Ro I hope Delano is feeling better as well.Your so helpful to all of us.Ilove reading what your going to post next.

I'm tired so nighty night.

Good evening ladies. I've been trying to get this sent all evening. I'm glad that you seem to like my novels, because I feel a real humdinger coming on. Where to start? I'm thinking of a joke - if you can guess what it is - you win the prize!LOL (Now that I have you TOTALLY confused, I can continue!) LOL It's supposed to be funny, really, it is.

I have a few more poems for you. You may be sorry that you asked for more. I hope that you like them.

Here goes.........

The Love Of The Father

The love of the Father Is faithful and true. He won't let you down, He'll always love you.

He will never leave you, Will not leave your side. He will not forsake you. It's for you He died.

Remember He's love When your world seems dim The answer to every question IS HIM

Shawna Wright Mar. 10/96

What Does God See?

What does God see When He looks at me?

Does He see the bitterness, anger, and strife Boiling inside me in the dark of my life?

Does He see the betrayal, disloyalty, shame That just keeps returning again and again?

Does He see the me That the rest of the world sees?

When God looks at me, it's with eyes filled with love. That's why He sent Jesus, His Son, from above.

To enter this world of sin as a babe, And grow to fulfill that for which He was made.

To die a cruel death on a cross made of wood, To be guide on the trip where man's destiny stood.

Even now when He sees me, my failures and faults, He looks on beyond them, to see my true self.

Even then, that's not all, for His strength He will give To follow the path of the life I should live.

For this I will thank Him, and this I will say: "Thank You, Lord! Hallelujah! For right now, today."

What does God view When He looks at you?

Shawna Wright February 13/92

And one more....

LOVE Love sets me free To let me go The path that I must take It cheers me on, encourages me And makes me stand alone. It never says "Do this, do that - it must be my way.” But waits & lovingly decides To join me on my life. Suggestions it will give And then One day the light will shine And when the truth comes through to me Then love will say "You're mine."

Shawna Wright

Enough on the poetry for now. You know, I thought I was going to have a few hours to write all the things I want to say. I just got a call to come help chaperone a school dance - they need a few more adult eyes there. So, I'll have to be brief - if I can.

Tina - WONDERFUL POEM. Can I share it?

About cutting the grass...."no growing, no mowing!"LOL

Steff: What's a BEACH? LOL. I know ice, snow, snow, snow, snow.....LOL. You get the "SHAWNA WRIGHT CLEAN YOUR OWN BEACH" AWARD!! Congratulations, it couldn't have happened to a nicer person!

Denise, sorry you were sick, glad you're better. Ideas for the kidlet...How about renting him out for a week?LOL Just kidding. Don't have time to do more than wish you luck.

I think signing is great!! It really helped us communicate with Michael, and now he's pretty much dropped the sign,and just talks, and talks, and talks....

Well, I suppose it's time to go listen to loud, "awful" music for a while. I'll write again as soon as I can.

Love ya all.

Ciao for now.xoxox

Shawna

Kaila's pictures are posted on um friends. I was having troubles, so the 3rd and the 5th posts for Kaila worked. I don't know what happened with the others.

Dear friends.

My name is Igor.My wife is Nataly.We are from Berdyansk city (Ukraine). We have one daughter with Down Syndrome.She is ten months. My wife say always,that our family are alone in this world. I think,that she is mistaken. We want to make the acquaintance of families who have children with Down Syndrome.

Our E-mail : makar@berdyansk.net

We would greatly appreciate your answer.

Yours sincerely,Igor,Nataly and little Anastasya.

Hi everyone,,,,I Haven't posted in a while........but I read them daily......Jeffery, Emily and I are fine...........Yesterday,,,Jeffery just suddenly started refusing his bottle.....He is eating his baby food well,,,but just flat refuses to take even one suck from his bottle......he won't drink from a cup either....this is Day 2.......any ideas??????

T,

There it is:) LAZZZZZZZZZZYYYYYYYYYYYYYY:)LOL

Are you insinuating we talk alot:)LOL

Tina,

Everything is fine and I'll try and remember we have an on going game of TAG:)

Ciarra is home and other than feeling sick from the anethesia doing good right know:)

Thanks for asking.

TONIGHT is the last night to vote for Ciarra so hit the link and go vote!!!!

Remember tomorrow starts another contest and the way I hear it we have other friends entered:)

Be back shortly:)

Ro

Hi everyone! Just boppin' in to see "whaz up?", or so my kids say. Sounds like everyone is doing pretty well, heard the same on Ciarra, hopefully she's doing ok!!! Tina, missed you too - had to go dump a few hundred $$$ at Walmart, NOT hard to do! But the feeling of remorse... Steff, I'm SO jealous! Wish I had a beach to go clean up!!! :) You go girl - I would do the same - my boys always gripe at me "Mom, why do we have to recycle EVERYTHING???" I just laugh, tell them that as humans that's our responsibility to the earth :) . They still think I'm nuts, maybe someday it'll sink in! Have a great evening, everyone! I have ONE MORE QUIET NIGHT, the boys fly home tomorrow. Speaking of cleaning fish tanks, theirs was disgusting!!! At least now we can see the fish - LOL ! Bye for now~~~Beck

Mary L.,
I am so glad that Patrick is feeling better. He will be back to his ol' self in no time. :)
and I hope you are able to get more rest tonite.

'T', Cool, a slumber party..pull out the old photo albums to share with the girls' friends..mine always LOVE that... NOT!!~but it adds a little 'pizazz' to my life. ;-)

Shawna,
Three 'cheers' for the litter cleanup!!..and I agree, Ciarra is a baby doll!! I "hear" she is having some trouble with the anesthetic though..so keep those prayers going up, that she gets past all that soon. :-)

Ro is absolutely right about lil Nicholas Izzo, btw, he is the sweetest thing, I for one went and visited him and his family (at the link above) and it just sent 'smiles' right through me. :-)

Lisa,
I have missed your posts as well, glad to hear from you again.

And, Beck,
'Have missed your company today. :)

well, no matter how I prattle on, I am bound to miss someone...so *hugs* to you all..Stevie-Marie says I have sat here long enough..a whole 3 mins. LOL

Catch you later..Tina

Ro,
Are you o.k.? Miss your posts..usually everytime I walk by and hit 'reload' in here, I count on (and look forward to) your 'words to the wise'.

I am hoping and praying that that Delano, Danny, and all the rest are o.k., and you are just 'happy busy'.

((((hugs))))~Tina

Hi everyone!

Patrick is doing better this afternoon - he isn't coughing as much and he's eating a little bit more, so it seems as if the medicine is doing some good. Thanks for thinking of us T.!

I'll be gone for the rest of the evening - dog & house sitting for my parents so I'll have to catch up on everything tomorrow.

Everybody have a great Friday night and I'll catch you all tomorrow!

Hi Everyone

I tryed to post and I couldn't get it to do it !!!! So if I have 2 post ignore it...I am sometimes computer illeterite( sometimes I can't spell either)

I hope that Ciarra is doing wll after her surgery. She is a real cutie pie and I vote for her everytime I can. I think that today is the last day.

I just got Clark to take a nap...I wish I could too, but I have to go get ready for work. He pulled a all nighter last night!!! I woke my husband up at 3:30and told him it was his turn to takecare of the little ball of energy !

Is anyone going to the National Down Syndrome Congress convention in August. It is in Washington DC. I just made my reservations and I am real excited about going...I have never been to it before. We live only 50 miles from DC so I thought since it was so close I would try it this year. Has anybody ever gone ??? or are going this year ??

Well, I have got to get off here and get ready for work. Everybody have a great Day.

Hugs to all,

Lorena

Hi everyone,

Wanted to say "HI" After lurking for a bit. I don't have time for a nap because I have to go to work at 4:00. Trying to get Clark to take one.....His schedule is all mixed up because last night my Neice(who watches him while I am working) let him go to sleep at 6pm and of coarse he got up at 2am and wanted to play till about 5am. I woke him up again at 8am so he would (hopefully) take a nap and get back on schdule so it doesn't happen again !!! I don't think I could pull anohter allnighter tonight.

I hope that Ciarra is doing well after her surgery, I am keeping her in my thoughts and prayers! She is so cute, I have been voting every day!!I think today is the last day to vote...I will vote again.

Is anyone going to the NDSC convention in Washington DC this summer??? I just made reservations. It is August 4,5,6. If you want to find out more about it go to the NDSC website:

www.NDSCCENTER.org.

I would love to meet some of you there!

Well I had better get ready for work. Everyone have a good day !!

oooxxx, Lorena

Dear Gabby Ro,

Would you be a dear and post the addy to the baby contest? Yes....I'm being lazy and not going through all the old posts! ;o)

Thanks,

T

Hey Denise,

Thanks for reminding me to clean out our fish tank! LOL Hope it wasn't too bad. ;o) You have a great time in N.J., ya' hear???

Mary L,

How's Patrick doing with his bronchiolitis this afternoon? Thinking of you! :o)

Steff!

How are you? How was the beach clean-up? I always find it harder to clean the sand out of all my kids', ummmmm, shall we say, skin folds? LOL You are a good mommy to teach them about litter.

My hubby travels alot too...it's hard sometimes, isn't it? My hat is off to all single parents! You are amazing!

Hope everyone's Friday is superdeeduper! (I watch too much Barney!)

Brianna-9 and Blake-7 are each having a girlfriend over to spend the night! Let's hope I get SOME sleep with all the giggling that will be going on! Maybe I'll just giggle right along with them....that should be enough to mortify my daughters...LOL

Toodles,

T

Hi everyone!!!

Just wanted to say I loved the poems that Tina and Shawna wrote.Beautiful.Ciarra you are one cute kid go vote everyone it's the last day.Prayers goin your way for surgery today.

Well we're off to the beach today, the sun is shining and the kids and I are going to have some fun.Dh won't be back till April 13 and I'm growing tired of being alone with a 2 and three year old.Can't wait till he comes home.Today I thought we'd take a half hour to teach the kids a valuable lesson about keeping our beach clean so we're bring a big garbage bag so we can clean up our favorite portion of the beach.It's my biggest pet peeve when people leave their junk so I thought I'd pass it on to my kids.LOL. We're off!!!Bye for now.

Good morning everyone. Patrick is having a really hard time with his brochialitis this morning - he just can't stop coughing. Please send happy, healthy thoughts our way!

I hope everyone has a great day and stays healthy! Mary L.

I am so sorry:(

For what you say?

I completely forgot about chat on Thursday night:(

I hope those of you who didn't have a mental lapse, had a great time:( WITHOUT me:(

Maybe I'll catch ya this Sunday:)

Remember it is at:

Sunday and Thursday at 6:00 PST

Weekdays at 1:00PST

There is the fast chat and then there is the old chatroom. Both are fine. So, check them both.

Who knows you may catch someone in there at anytime of the day:)I know when I come I have to check it out. AND I AM HERE ALL THE TIME:) Come find me:)

Hey just a quick thing,

If you find someone "NEW" in there and they let on that they are unfamiliar with the chat just ask them if they know about what else UNO has to offer. There have been several who I have ran across that think that the chat is all there is.

Let them know differently cause they maybe the one with the answer to all of our problems:)

Ro

Good Morning All!!! Stevie decided to suprise me last night. He pulled me out of my bedroom, told me to close my eyes and come look. He pulled me out into the living room and said okay look mom! Lo and behold my darling little boy had decided to feed the fish. TWO CANS OF FISH FOOD!!!!! YUCK!!!! Needless to say he went to bed at 7:30 last night. My mistake, he was up at 6 am this morning. But we have been saved for the weekend. Heading off to N.J. to visit another sister. 2 more days down and only 8 to go. I will survive. Have a great weekend all!!!!!

Ciarra is in surgery today:( Keep her in your thoughts and prayers. As soon as I hear I will let you know.

RO

Hey you guys!!!!!!!!!!

Great news :) Makes me feel good to know that this litle one has had his surgery and is doing fine:)

Don't know about you but........I am going to look:)

...... thank you so much for keeping our little Nicholas in your thoughts! His lip repair and ear tube surgery went just fine...even better than expected. The three of us were allowed to stay with him overnight in the hospital. When we got home, we posted a new picture on our website at: http://sites.netscape.net/cabevizzo/homepage His swelling has almost completely gone now, he's eating like a champ, and is even smiling and giggling despite the bandages. Again, thanks so much! It is so wonderful to know that there are such genuinely caring people like you out there in the world! We so appreciate it! Please visit our website and email anytime! Hope to catch you in a chat at unomas again sometime soon!

GO NICKOLAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love Auntie Ro

Good Morning!

Ro,

Don't worry....I will NOT do this on the week-end...LOL

Denise,

Thank YOU! You are an example of courage I would do well to emulate!

Chris...

Love the bowling idea...Brennan's only 4 and she has a great time bowling!

Kari,

We have Hooked on Phonics....just haven't opened it yet...when we do I'll let you know how it goes. :o)

Brenda,

Hi back to ya'! Thank you for your kind words.

Paulette,

Let us know which one you pick!

Lorena and Kari,

We use the Love and Learning Program too. Feel free to ask more questions. We have been very successful with it. The people who founded it are wonderfully nice!

Hey Lisa,

So glad you posted! I've been thinking about you and Alex. ;o) I hope the "blahs" aren't so bad today. I know how that can be.

Cheese!

T

Hey Girls!!! I'm here, yes, I'm guilty of lurking. Every single day, several times a day. Been pretty busy and just haven't felt like myself lately. Tired all the time, and just kind of "blah" feeling. Hope I snap out of it soon. For BECKY & TRENE and everyone asking about tongue thrusting, feeding problems, and signing. Our speech therapist works on all three of these. Oral motor development is a big part of feeding and tongue thrusting so she does alot of exercises to help strengthen all those muscles. A good speech therapist should be able to work on "total communication" (speakng and signing). BECKY: First Steps has provided us with a wonderful speech therapist who has lots of experience with DS kids. another thing about feeding for those of you who were saying your child just doesn't want to eat, Alex used to eat really well, but after her last heart dfficulties, she stopped. I worked on it for 6 months and the child just would not eat. When I started her on Nutrivene, she started eating within 24 hours and hasn't let up. It was the Pro-Biotic Acidophilus powder part of the system that did it. It replaces the good bacteria requred for digestion.(this good bacteria is often destroyed along with the bad when kids take antibiotics) Without the good bacteria, the poor little things take forever to digest evrything and they just aren't hungry. You can get the Pro-Biotic seprately if you don't want the whole system. Well, hopefully I'll start feeling like my perky old self again soon and will post more often. But I'm ALWAYS lurking.............

Hi everyone. Desided to not just LURK tonight. Wanted to let you know that I enjoy reading your post. Kari, I bought the Love and Learning program for Clark and he seems to do real well with that. If you have never heard of it, It is a beginning reading program that was formulated for a child with DS by her parents. It is worth checking out. Here is the web address for it: www.concentric.net/~lovlearn Love and Learning PO Box 4088 Dearborn, Michigan 48126-4088 Phone # 313-581-8436 I hope that this helps !!! Well, I am off to bed. Hugs and kisses for everyone. Night !! Lorena

Thanks T, Ro and Chris for the excellent suggestions. You guys are great! Now its to pick which one???...lol.

Thanks Again

Paulette.

Hi everybody just wanted to say Hi real quick,And to say sorry I'm going to be a lurker for awhile,But I get a few minutes most everyday to read and get you in my prayers,For those who have suffered a loss or baby's not feeling well or just needing a little support or an ear to listen. Thinking of you all and you really brighten my day.Love you all bunches!!!! Brenda H

Just wondering if anyone has tried "Hooked on Phonics" program with their child with Ds. And if so, how did it work for you? We are considering getting it, the company said they didn't know if it would help but that they would double their money-back guarantee to six months from 90 days. What does everyone think? Thanks for you help.

PAULETTE WHAT ABOUT BOWLING. MY SON DONALD LOVES TO BOWL.

Theresa- I'm sending thoughts and prayers your way for you and your family. I hope all of Brennans tests go well. Thanks for thinking of me.

Mary L. Just wanted to send some happy thoughts your way too. Thanks for thinking of me.

Tina- You are truely multitalented. That was a beautiful poem.

Shawna- Thanks for sharing your poem too. You have a great gift. I really missed your long posts.

So does anybody have any brilliant ideas for how to entertain my little boy for the next ten days. If I don't come up with something soon it's going to be a long ten days.

As Stevie was acting up in the store big time today it took a total stranger to make me appreciate my little boy. A dad came up to me and told me how his 7 y.o. with DS was using sign language and boy wasn't Stevie's speech really great and clear and how proud I must be. Well I had to stop and smell the roses. I took a closer look at my overactive little guy and said yes I am proud thank you very much. Have a great day all!

Hey ya'll

Ciarra our beauty contestant is going in for surgery tomorrow morning. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Oh btw the contest is not over til the end of MARCH so by my calculations

GO VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!

Ro

Marie,

I saw your response to my question about Clip art on the BB. How can I contact you?

Ro,

NO Listerine......YES Gas-X!!! LOL

Love ya',

T

All this time T, WE thought it was my breath:)LOL

RO

p.s.Paulette what about Equine (horse) Therapy? just a thought.

Hey Heather the "Lurker"!

I posted a response to your question! Hope it helps!

T

OOOOPPPPSSSSSSSS EXCUSE ME:)LOL

T, can you loan me any LOL

TINA AND SHAWNA,

Great poems and here I am miss writters block:)

Not that I am uninspired just can't finish my train of thought:) It is like a news bulletin board. "NEWS FLASH", and it is thought lost:)

Paulette

Good luck on finding something for Tiff to do:( She seems to have covered almost everything. You mentioned swimming but what about Water areobics? Teddy loved them:) It was good exercise for his legs but he had a blast:)

Multi tasking today:) Trying to read and keep Delano happy has proved TRYING:)Hope he is up to par tomorrow and he can stay at school all day.

THE LAST INTERNET PAGE WAS HORRIFFIC:(

Tina don't scare me like that:)LOL

Well Taxi cab service is needed so I'll try again later:)

RO

p.s. from GABBY to GASSY:)LOL

I am "lurker" I guess! I get on UnoMas at least twice a day, but don't post anything unless I have advice for someone, or are needing advice myself, like now! I've posted a question on the BB. Thanks you all for all of your help and support and advice whenever I have questions!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone! Just got back from the doctor with Patrick - he has brochialitis(sp?) Poor guy, is just sleeping and when awake is pretty miserable. Hopefully the medication will help him feel better soon.

Thanks Tina and Shawna for your poems. I love to read them - they seem to put everything I'm feeling in a way that I would never be able to express. Keep 'em coming!

Patrick is only 5 mo old but we have also decided to use sign language with him. My husband and I are learning by reading books and we are trying to teach Patrick's brothers as well. They think it is really cool and use signs whenever they can. My 20 mo. old gets so frustrated at not being able to get his point across that the signs have helped him - I can only imagine how much they will help Patrick.

I hope everyone has a great day and will check in later. Mary L.

Tina,

Your poem brings tears of happiness to my eyes. :*) It is so beautiful and REAL!

Ro,

LOL....got some Mylanta?

Paulette,

HI! Good to "see" you!

I'm not real creative but I did think of Tai Kwan Do (sp?). My girls have asked to take it several times. What about some basic tumbling/gymnastics? Ballet? Those are things we've done and the girls have liked. Hope it helps!

Marie,

Haven't seen you in a while. Course that's my fault...I haven't been here...LOL How are you doing?

I get the feeling this is gonna' be one of those days when I just post and post and post and......maybe not! LOL

Kids are coming off the bus in a few minutes....see ya'!

T

hi coleen i hope you see this. sorry i left so abruptly from chat yesterday....i got disconencted and my ISP was down for a little while. I didnt want you to think i didnt want to talk ok? just wanted to let you know..it wa snice chatting:) Marie

Tina what a beautiful poem. Thanks for sharing it!

Well my youngest three girls joined a track team and we are kind of scracthing our heads on what to sign Tiffany up for. I am open to suggestions. Just to fill you in she is 12 yrs old(ds)played baseball for 6 yrs soccer for 1 year. Has had swimming lessons and was in girl guides. She can't do alot of running because of her asthma so track for her is out of the question. Her and I walk the track the nights her sisters are running. We've both have been enjoying that. I heard somewhere along the way that yoga is good for people with D.S. anyone else hear of this? If so let me know. Maybe I could join a mother daughter yoga class or something. I just like to have the girls experience different sports and activities. Any suggestions would be apperciated.

Thanks

Bye for now Paulette.

BLABBY T,

Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah!!!!!!!

I have gas:p

Just no one to push or ride today:)

I'll be back:)LOL

Ro

p.s. Anyone else have problem with the slow chat?

Shawna,
I love your poem..so true..thank you for sharing.

Here is a poem I wrote for Stevie-Marie a while back, I had posted it once before, but it has been a while, so I wanted to share it again.. :-)

Dear Lord,

I have a question I should ask,
And mean no disrespect.
But God when you created me,
There's one thing missing.. d'ya forget??

You see, I went more than 20 years,
Nearly 30..matter of fact.
Before I realized I was missing
Something special in my 'pack'...

I mean my 'pack' of chromosomes,
Well, of course you already knew.
There came into our happy home,
An angel, sent by you.

The doctor said, her head hung low,
"There's something that you need to know.
This baby that you waited for,
Is not o.k. it seems.
You see, she has an extra part.
In what we call her 'genes'."

"An extra part??", what did she mean?
She called it an...'abnormality'??

But once I got to know her well.
Which did not take so long,
I had a question, of my own.
Didn't she say there's something wrong??

This doctor is mistaken.
Of this, I am quite sure.
Just listen to me very close and
I will tell you more..

She has the glow of Your sweet love,
Upon her tiny face.
And when she looks upon me,
I can feel Your tender Grace.
And to this day I ask you Lord,
As she sits upon my knee.

How could you forget to put..
That extra part in me???

~Amen~

*hugs* and *happy thoughts*~~Tina

Trene,
I agree whole-heartedly with "T" on the signing subject. Stevie-Marie(6) also uses signs WITH words, and eventually drops the sign..not the word. :-)

I have reposted (above) the link to one of my favorite places on the net. ALL kinds of info relating to Ds..more than I need, (for now). There is some info on there regarding sign language that may be helpful and a wonderful place to start.. :)
Felt like 'Christmas' when I "happened" across it.
~Tina

Gabby Ro,

Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah!!!!!!! LOL

Grass is done....push mowed and rode and BOTH ran out of gas!!! That's what I get for being so organized...LOL

Beck,

That's great that you can organize time with grandma.

I'm so sorry about your uncle. :(

Tell Kelly-belly that T has a belly too....not as cute as hers, I'm sure! :o)

As for birth order...Brennan's our third....'tis a strange coincidence!

Shawna,

Missed your L O N G P O S T S!!!!! LOL

Love (4 letters ;o)) the poem.

Wow, so many losses for you in such a short time. You are a testament to carrying on and being okay. Thanks. :o)

(You call that short?!? LOL)

Trene,

Sign language has be SO beneficial for our daughter (4y.o.) We started when she was 6 weeks old. At first my hubby and I were very against it because we thought it would delay verbal communication. After researching it, reading various studies and consulting with professionals in the area, we found it actually increases verbal skills. It enables our children to express communicative intent and learn valuable verbal skills. Because verbal communication is a very complex process (i.e. forming a thought, making the appropriate mouth movements, and translating all that into spoken words) our children need an alternative until they can say words. This eliminates frustration which decreases behavior issues....think of any 1-2 y.o. that throws temper tantrums because they can't use words to SAY what they want to. Plus, as parents, one of our biggest desires is to meet the needs of our children. Brennan has excelled in the use of sign language...she's better than me! LOL She has started to drop the signs and increasingly is using her "words" in place of them. Actually, she was (and is) saying the word and signing it together....then she occasionally drops the sign.

We got started with her EI teachers and her SLP. We bought several books and now the school sends home 'packets' with theme appropriate signs.

Can you tell I'm a BIG proponent of signing??? LOL

As always, do what is best for your family....this is just what has worked for us. :O)

Time for lunch around here.

I'm SO glad to be back!

Toodles,

Brennan's mom/T

Thanks to everyone who has respomded to my feeding questions. Kellan gained 11oz in one week. Don't know why and don't really care as long as it keeps going up. I feel a little stupid for responding to the wrong person through e mail, I'm getting all of you mixed up--I wonder why!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I have a new question about signing. Kellan is 8 months now and I was wonder when or if it is a good thing to use sign language. Is yes where do I learn to do it, a book??? Anyway have a good day I'll check back later. Betsy(IthinK) I've spent hours reading your site---absolutely wonderful--So glad to feel not so alone!!!!!!

Good morning, ladies. I, too,have been "lurking" around the last few days. I've been very busy. Let's put it this way: On Sunday, I was 12 months behind with my bookwork, and now I'm only 7 1/2 months behind!! And my current invoicing for this month is sent in! As well, I've been working at my paying job at the hotel. (I'm a cook)

I'm sending another poem I wrote (I've got a few!) One of the quickest ways I know to make my posting my usual novel length. Hope you like it.LOL

Love is a four letter word

Love is a four letter word Many tend to forget. When times are tough, hope is gone, When they give in to regret.

It's easier to start over, And more exciting, too. Too hard, too slow To make it work. "What's in it for you?"

Love is a four letter word For God and joy and peace; For courage and commitment, For learning to want to please.

It makes us stronger, More than we were before. We can now be successful In love, we always have more.

In love, we always have more.

Shawna Wright November 27/ 97

I have read the postings, by the way. Patty, glad to hear that Kaila's got her speech therapy. It has never been a question that Michael would have it if needed. One of the benefits of living in Canada, I guess. He still gets speech therapy at school. She comes to the school once a month or so. Right now we're working on various phrases.......can't think of even one. By the way, did you try just printing out that poem? The font is broken up in Word for me too, but when I printed it, it was fully there. I originally did it on a program called Printmaster Platinum, then pasted it in Word. It's because of the graphic, I think. We could try something else, I think. Talk to you later in more detail. I'll try and e-mail you. (WHEN I HAVE TIME - DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH!. One last thing, I shared it with a Christian friend of mine - she thought it was wonderful, same as I do!! You go, girl.

Theresa, I'm so sorry to hear about your grandpa. I can relate to what you said about it being peaceful, or him being at peace. He is. I think your grandma is lucky to have you there for her. Sorry to hear about the other bad news about her mammogram and the other illness or death. About 10 years ago, we went through a spell kind of like that. My sister and my hubby grandma died on the same day!(2 funerals in 1 week is not fun),and about six months later, a nephew died, and a few days later my stepson's mother passed away. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.xoxo

Sorry to cut it short, but I have to leave NOW!

Ciao for now.

Shawna

I know I've made this comment before, but I will again. This is JUST an observation!!!

I've been reading posts, getting emails, and talking to families with or knowing someone with Ds. An awful lot of families have a 4th child with Ds! I know, it may just be coincidence, and I know there's more out there not fitting this description, but it is a very strange coincidence. Wonder if any studies have been made regarding 'birth order' and Ds??? Anyone know? Just curious.

~~~Beck

Thanks Theresa (T)!!! I have more pics I posted under "Kelly-belly" (that's my goofy name I call her alot). But I guess you would have seen them, since you're asking how old Karly is - Duh!!! Karly is 3 1/2. She is quite a beauty, and oh my, what a STRONG personality that child has!!! She's very, very funny, very sarcastic, very, very rowdy, and extremely bright and VERY demanding. Whew! She wears me out! She's going to be the challenging one!!! Kelly also has 2 big brothers! I'll get them uploaded today!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day! T - I a soooo sorry to hear about the loss in your family. I lost my grandpa a year and a half ago, he and my Grandma have been my "rocks" all my life, my stability. I still miss him terribly, and talk to him all the time! My Uncle was living with Grandma, so that helped her. Well, my uncle just died about 3 weeks ago after a year and a half battle with lung & brain cancer, and it was terrible in the end. So she's on her own, now!! She is such a wonderful person, and oh, so strong for a tiny little 86 pound thing! One thing I'm doing to try to 'give her a reason to stick around', is I've scheduled Kelly's therapies at her house. That way, she can watch Karly, who thinks it's HER therapy ;), and she feels very needed. Then we have lunch. It kinda 'kills two birds with one stone', me being very busy, some weeks it's hard to find time to get to visit. Well, this way, I can make no excuses! It works out really well!!! Good luck, our prayers are with ya!

I want to say 'Thanks' to all those wonderful people who have emailed me lately, I love getting emails, and pictures! I wish, though, that we weren't all just 'cyber-buddies'!

Well, have a great day everyone! I'll probably pop back in a few times today! ~~~((hugs)) Beck

HI EVERYONE! HI RO, JUST READ YOUR POST, WONDERFUL, I AM SO GLAD YOU GOT THE HELP AND INFO FROM JOHN FOLEY, I HAVE BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT WITH JOHN'S HELP. HE IS A GREAT RESOURCE. TAKE CARE, DEBNM

I am sorry I forgot one of these ">":( See what early rising gets me T.LOL

Looky here T.

I was suppose to be the early riser:)LOL

And as for mowing the grass? I need caffiene before I jump straddle that wild horse.:)

See I new the "LURKERS" were there:)

Welcome Aboard Mary L.

Glad you posted to let you know you were still out there.

DEB. OUT NEW MEXICO WAY:)

I gave your e-amil to the lady whom I was trying to help out the other day. I hope you don't mind?:)

Status on this is:

John Foley, exc. in charge of ARC., has contacted my friends' sister and has talked about services Christine is eligible for:) Had an ADVOCATE on the phone with her in less than 5 minutes after getting off the phone himself:)

THANK YOU JOHN:)

looks like it is going to work out real soon:)

Ain't you all just great sources of information:)

Thank you all.

Thanks to everybody here:)

GOOD MORNING UNO MAS

Love RO.

Good Morning Uno Mas!

Children will be up shortly. Just wanted to stop by and say hi....so HI!

Denise,

I'm so sorry for your pain. You are an amazing woman....patient and kind. I hope all is well today. :)

Mary L.,

I think we met in chat a while ago...am I right? :)

I've got to mow the grass today....spring is sprung...LOL

Go out and grab yourselves one terrific day!

T

Hey everyone - I'm one of those "lurkers" Ro was talking about. I check this site at least once a day but rarely post. I really enjoy reading what is said here and enjoy putting my two cents in every once in a while.

I want to thank Michelle Mc for getting my son Patrick's picture on the friends board yesterday. Hopefully one day I will get a picture of all my boys up there (4 in all). Patrick is a bit under the weather today and I am going to take him to the doctor tomorrow. Hopefully it is nothing more serious than the flu.

Denise, I just want to say that I really admire you - in the face of all the hardships that you have, you have such a great attitude. Your son is lucky to have such a devoted mommy. Good luck filling up all that spring break time and I'll be keeping you in my prayers. I hope everyone else and their kids are doing great and maybe you'll start hearing from me more often. Mary L.

Hello dear, dear friends,

It has been a long, rough road but my husband's grandfather is now at rest. Thank you so much for your support and prayers....it really did help.

It took me so long to read the posts that I finally realized there was no way to respond....bet that made some of you quite happy! LOL

Welcome to all the new families! I am Theresa, mom to 3 girls...Brianna-9, Blake-7 and Brennan-4(DS). I guess I was sort of a 'regular' around here until grandpa got so sick and I had to help with that, but hopefully I'm back for a little bit. At least in between helping grandma cope with her grief.

I have some other bad news, I'm afraid. My husband's uncle (one son of the man who passed away) just had to fly to Calif. with his wife because her father suffered a massive stroke last night. He is not expected to make it. I feel so bad for them...he just buried his father on Monday and now he and his wife have to deal with this. :( On top of all that, Grandma called me today, crying, and told me her mammogram came back with a suspicious irregularity in her left breast! Two days after saying good-bye to her husband!! Can you believe it?!? I want to help but I feel so helpless!

I'm so sorry to return with all this news. I really am a pretty fun person to post and chat with...I promise! :o)

As for Brennan, she is scheduled for an MRI of her neck and a CAT scan of her sinuses. She keeps grabbing her neck and saying "owww" so the docs want to rule out any problems with AAI. I'm a little nervous about that one. The sinus scan is because of constant "boogeritis"...LOL...my term for chronic snot.

Anyway, that's what's happening with us. I'll try to post up as often as I can. You are wonderful people...look in the mirror and say that to yourselves. :)

Give all you little ones big ol' hugs!

Love, luck and laughter to you all,

T

P.S.

Darling Ro,

Your posts made my heart smile. ;o)

Hi Everyone. I just got out of the hospital after spending three days in with asmatic bronchitis and an exacerbation of the headaches. Stevie was really really happy to have me home and really really angry that I was gone at all. He was pulling out all the bad behavior today but it's not his fault. He doesn't understand why mommy keeps going away. Unfortunately he has 10 more days of spring break that we get to spend 24 hours a day together. I just have to remember patience is a virtue!!

Ro, I hope Delano is feeling really better real soon. Give him a hug from me and Stevie.

Tina-Thanks for "The Cross" I actually try to live my life that way knowing that there are people out there with heavier crosses to bare than mine and I'm not in such a bad place right now, I can handle it with a little help from God and my friends. Thanks again.

Marie- I have a beautiful black and white photo of you and Jared that I'm going to send you. Hope your feeling better soon.

Hope everyone has a good week. Take care all.

Teresa:

Wonderful website!! Thanks for sharing with us.

RO:

Give Delano a BIG GET WELL SOON HUG. BTW, is it the right or left arm? Just curious about writing.

Judi G:

So glad to hear that everyone is ok!! I even hate to see this season get started. I live in Oklahoma, in a double wide mobile home with NO cellar. We've had a few scares & it sure sticks in your mind. Hope it wasn't too traumatic for Sam & Patrick.

Hope everyone else has a safe & wonderful week!!

Sherri

Hi! I'm all new to this. I am a rookie. Teressa's site is really nice isn't it guys? I live about 10 monutes from Teressa. Jessica is a doll isn't she? Well, I'm going to go see if Jessica's page has anything new. Thanks for being test pilots for me.

LOL Ro!!,
Told ya we were sisters in a previous life...:-)

WAIT:

TAG YOUR IT:)

RO

Teresa do you live in the States or Canada?

That may account for the different months?

Ro

Ro,
I have heard October too...and I remember cause that is the month Stevie-Marie was born...too cool...:-)

Hey,

I am here:)

Thought you get by without me:) NEVER!!!:)

I want to say hi and ask a few questions:

Where is EVERYBODY?

I haven't seen several for several days:(

Post up and let us know how you and your's is doing. We do worry ya know:)

Delano has a broken arm just above the wrist. First one for our little ones. Are they always so restless?:( He is going nuts.

Another thing I am still looking over Teresa Millers site and I have a question.

When is Down Syndrome Month?

I have been told in October, I think?

It has been so long I have forgotten.( last night would have been to long:)

TAMMY ZHE here I come:) YOU'll know you know everything:)

Teresa I can't help but think I have meet you or read something about you before. Where do ya live?

I am not sure:(? Puzzles me.

Hey now , DID YA VOTE?

I knew you'd remember but I just gotta ask:)

Link is up top.

To those of your "LURKING" come on and post.

We like to hear everything. We are at down syndrome site but we know you have a family:).

I miss ya'll

Seems that everyone has gotten Spring fever and went to the park and forgotten to take us:(

Ro

Teresa: What a wonderful website! You've done a terrific job. Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

Teresa,
Thank you sooo much for sharing your beautiful girls!! They are precious, and your site is wonderful..so informative..:-)You guys gotta check it out.

*hugs* Tina

Hi All!

I know it's been a while since I posted, but I have been around (just *lurking*).

Just wanted to share that I've finally (!) posted pictures of Sam and Patrick under UM Friends. Hope you like them!

Also, just wanted to share that we survived the storms (tornado) last night that ripped through Fort Worth and the surrounding areas. No damage where we live, but lots a little too close by for comfort!

Judi

Hi everyone, I have just finished putting a web page/site, up. It is dedicated to my daughter Jessica, and to all famillies who have a special gift like mine, with Down Syndrome. I hope you will come and visit us and enjoy! It is just a personal site, nothing to drive you away from this great site. When you do visit, please sign my guest book, or if you would like to talk e-mail me..

It's so nice to see the kids. They are all so cute.Thanks for sharing. I love the baby! She's sooo cute Becky, and so is her big sis.

Oh yes - Sherri - thanks for the cool website! :)

Thank, Michelle Mc!!! Wow - everyone, go see all the new faces on UMfriends!!!! Michelle's been busy! I just have to say it is so cool to see all those darling little kids - you all must be SOOO proud - I know I am of my little "Kelly-belly" (and OF COURSE my other 3 - don't have any good pics of the boys to add, though:() :)!

Lots of exclamation points today, I must be in a good mood ;)!

Hey, Lisa, WHERE ARE YOU? Haven't seen you in a while? Are you thereeeeeeee? Shawna, too!!!!!!!! Hmmmmmmmm. Guess everyone is busy with ...life?!

Have to share this with y'all...I'ts quite humorous, even though I didn't quite think so at the time ;)...While in the hospital after Kelly was born, I had an 'older' nurse, maybe late 50's (older than me, that is - NOT elderly) come in and tell me that I would have to nurse Kelly until she was at least 3 YEARS OLD. She was it 'helps their brains to develope and function better'. If you knew me, you would know there is NO WAY I'm gonna nurse ANY child until age 3 - I quit at age 1 - my friend who was there still laughs at the sight of my mouth hanging down to the floor! OK, so you had to be there! :)

Well, ladies, everyone have a great day! ~~~Becky

Hey Michelle,

The thanks should be coming from me to you.:)

This site fills a void for me when Teddy is home with his mom and I have to wing it so to speak.;)

Thank you :)

RO

Kaila's photos are #12 and #13 on ezpics. Can we do a page of our kiddos? This is great!

Hi, everyone I have not been here since last week, busy looking for some place to open my daycare for our kids. I want it to be just right. Kind of a home away from home. Anyway, I am sorry but one of you on the board, I forget who, said I should check into funding for a special needs daycare. Well, I have no place to start any one her know? I want this to be great for the kids, so all the help I can get would be wonderful to make this dream happen. Hailey is doing so well, teacher said today she will be mainstreamed into a regular kindergarden next year, because she is right up with her typical peers. Still, will need speach though, she is starting to really get most words out clear now. Should not be long now, she will be chatting my ear off. I just worry so much, only to see Hailey is so head strong and going to be all she can be, nothing stops her when she has her mind set. Please let me know again if any of you know how I can get help if I really need it. Thanks :}

Hi remember me. My son has the alopecia. Guess what his eyebrow grew back. I told him it was all the extra kisses I give him (he replied yeah right!) So I keep my fingers cross that more hair (specifically on his head) will be following soon and we can toss the baseball caps and he will be smiling for the camera again soon.

Michelle Mc-Thanks for posting Olivia's pic.'s.WOW your fast!!!Becky

I read a book I have and there's a great deal concerning tongue protrusion.And yes the tongue is a muscular organ soit can be hypnotonic,making it difficultto hold in the mouth.The low tone in the jaw would allow the mouth to hang open and contribute to tongue protusion.There's stuff we did with Olivia like when she was eating finger foods.We would pocket let's say a cheerio in between her cheek and gums and she had to use her tongue to get it out of there and chew it.We did that a lot.Peanut butter was good too.When her OT noticed her doing this at 6 months, we started doing a lot of this right away.It took a few months but it seemed to strengthen her mouth and jaw muscles a lot.Now the only time her tongue really protudes at all is when she's sick cause she has prob.'s with her airways.Hope this makes sense

Becky/Kelly's Mom

I hope that I can explain to you so this makes some sense. Our OT told me not to load the spoon too much, place the spoon on the front quarter of the tongue putting alittle pressure down on the tongue, hopefully causing mouth closure to pull the food off spoon into the mouth. She also told me try not to rake the food off with the upper lip as I was pulling the spoon out of the mouth. Hope this tip helps you.

Patty / Kaila's mom : CONGRATULATIONS on getting speech therapy for Kaila!! I am so happy that you were able to get it done. Keep us posted on how it goes.

Alright guys!!! The more adorable children I keep seeing on the Friends board is making me jealous!! I've got to get a scanner so this proud mommy can get her "little mess's" picture up there too.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. I will try to check back in later. We are suppose to have some thunderstorms, so hopefully they won't stay around too long.

Take care!!

Sherri

Adrienne,
I forgot to say..I am so glad you are feeling better today. :)
I remember all to well, the 'roller-caoster' that is pregnancy.. :)
((((hugs)))) to you all..~Tina

Well, I just typed a 'novel' and lost it..been one of those days..LOL

Michelle Mc,
That pic is Stevie-Marie and her baby sister, Cassie. I already have it on the UM Friend's board, but loved seeing it when I hit reload.. :) You can remove it from the message board now tho..fair is fair...LOL

I will repost my last message later..as time allows..Cassie is keeping Stevie and I VERY busy teaching her the 'ropes' of playing, sharing...running the house..etc. Really cuts down on puter time, but I love watching Stevie interact with Cassie. The older she gets, (Cassie), the more impressed I am with Stevie's 'sistering' abilities. :)

Been reading up on you all when I get a chance..new pics are beautiful..Olivia is such a DOLL!! And I love the new pics of Kelly too..

Better run, Stevie is 'saving my spot'..;)

*hugs and happy thoughts* ~Tina

Ann & Becky, Thanks for the great chat last night. Becky I saw Kelly's pic in umfriends......WOW she is adorable :) you must be so proud of her. Ann I couldn't get into Larissa's pic. It must be my pc, some of the pics have a red x in a box to click on but when I clcik nothing happens. I'll have to try and figure that one out.

Ann I tried your great tip for signing "more". We had a great game with the ball today. I'm not sure whether he got the signing bit but the two of us ended up rolling around the floor giggling all the time. We play this game all the time but for some reason he thought me signing "more" was hilarious!!!! Well if nothing else we had a great time! Im gonna keep it up though as if Im gonna get him to do any signing he'll only do it with something he enjoys.....and boy does he love the ball. When we were in the Doctors surgery last Friday there was a guy there with a Motorbike helmet and Ethan thought that it was a ball and spent the whole time trying to get it to roll!!!! The guy with the helmet was great, he thought Ethan was the funniest thing going. Anyway thanks again for the few tips they were great.

Diana, how's Jarrett doing? I went to the dentist with Ethan this morning because I was worried that he had only 3 teeth (oops 4 now, he cut the 4th last night, with not a peep out of him, he's a sweetheart) Anyway, he said that this is perfectly normal for our children, so not to worry they'll get there!!! Did you try Jarrett on the sandwich yet? I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. I tried Ethan on a potato waffle today and he managed it well. It took a while feeding him it but every time he spat it out I just picked it back up from his hi-chair tray and put it back in....it was slow but we got there!!!

I'm eager to know more about Jarrett seems they're the same age. Has he had any problems (apart from feeding!!) etc, how is he sleeping, his hearing, speech, signing etc. Feel free to email me at above. Anyway gotta go my 8 year old is still up and it's 8.45pm.

Talk to you soon.

LOL Paula

Hi Steff and Becky, Thanks for giving the ezpics thing a shot. I've got your pictures in your Friends message now. Did I miss anyone? I didn't see a name on this cutie:

Becky, just scrolled down and found that Kelly is only 6 months old so obviously she won't be doing any whistle blowing or spaghetti sucking yet! :)

Becky-regarding your question about tongue protrusion...Our private PT told us when Kaylee was a baby that the best thing to do to minimize tongue protrusion is work those tummy muscles, and get them as strong as possible. She explained it this way...the tummy is the center of your body and when you have low tone everything hangs out..your arms, legs and tongue-she called it "floppy". As the tummy muscles are strengthened the child find his/her "center" and it's like their foundation. I don't know if this is making sense. And unfortunately I don't remember how old Kelly is? Sorry. Kaylee does a lot of straw drinking, whistle blowing and bubbles. Spagehtti too, sucking it up through her lips you know. Probabley Kelly isn't old enough for any of this stuff...but that's what we're doing now. Also, I haven't seen her tongue out since the surgery, but she's also always been blessed with good lip closure-so it wasn't too bad in the first place. Push your pt or ot for some answers, that's their job! But, we just mostly worked on the tummy muscles the first 2 years. Kaylee also nursed for an entire year-with no solid food at all which I think really made her lips and mouth have better tone. So, I don't know if this has helped..but just thought I'd try :)

Hi all. Well I feel MUCH better today!!! I hope everyone is ok. Hubby is getting a new job AGAIN. He is not having good luck at jobs. Lets keep our fingers crossed that this one works.

Russell is stealing Sydney's bottles. Then I have to take them away and they both were crying a minute ago because of all of this. He takes her bottles and she takes his glasses. What love they have LOL.

Well, I'm outta here for now. I will see you all later!!!

hey,by the way Olivia is picture # 7,8,9,.The little blonde with the ponytails

hey Becky.I found a way to see Olivia's pics.Go to UM friends,click upload pics,then scroll down to end.Click on pictures already uploaded(or something like that) and you can see my girl.I'll figure out the rest later. Gotta take Olivia to school.BYE.Good Luck

I finally figured it out!!! I hadn't saved my scans as jpg files, and when I did, they were easily uploaded. I emailed 'contact us' on unomas info page and told whoever (Michelle I think?) to please put on UMfriends board!

Becky!No it didn't take long to upload,but I'm having another problem.I e-mailed the web address on the um site it says to but It didn't go through.Does anyone know how to take the pics from the gallery to the UM friends page?If so can you let me know?Thanx

Hey Steff,did it take a long time to upload? Ican't seem to get mine to complete task!

Hi becky the reason you got the x is cause their not in the uno mas um friends page yet.Michelle has to get them up there from the ezpics page so don't look yet. I just wrote the intro and notified michelle that they're up on the ez pics site.I'll let you know when thery're up.NO, it's not your pc.

Hey Steff,I got an x when I clicked on Olivia's pic site on UMfriends!?????????? Is it just my PC?

Hi good morn!!!Guess what?I've got pics on the gallery 1 of ezpics of Olivia.Not the greatest pics cause its hard to take pics with a digital camera with a moving target.LOL.I guess I have to e-mail michelle to get them on our un friends. I DID IT!!!!!!!!!It was easy with the program provided by the uno mas friends page. If I can do it let me tell you anyone can.

Melissa, I checked out your website. Very cool, loved the 'webring'. I'll check it out more later when I have more time! You have two BEAUTIFUL children!!!!!!!! And Jason is an absolute doll!!!!! ~~Beck

Great, Patty!!! Yea for Kaila!!!! We're not doing speech therapy yet, Kelly is only 6 months old, but I think that it is SOOOOO IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!

Okay, everyone, I posted 'our story', or novel should I say, this morning. I was reminded that I hadn't done that yet. :)

Beautiful, sunny, but windy & COLD day here in St. Louey. Pooey, wanted to get out and do some gardening with the girls, too cold for the baby, though. Maybe it'll warm up some :). Anyone going to chat today? Volcano chat is pretty cool. ~~Becky

to ADRIENNE, SHERRI & DENISE.

Thank you all for your wonderful support. Jason is doing good on eating by himself it was not an easy road. what i do is feed him most of the food then i put a littel on his tray at a time. and i correct him when he wants to throw it all over i dont let him... i have been working on him in soeech therapy and at home with drinking out of a straw. dont grt me wrong Jason is a SLOPPY EATER when it comes to hm feeding himself. he tries to go so fast with a spoon or fork. and the food ends up going all over instead of in him. most of the time that is why i do alot of finger foods only. he seems to much better with that than anything else.

as for teh discromination it is being settled out of court, my attorney an them and theres met with us on friday am, and they go the point that we werent to happy. the final mediation is this thursday, but i think we are going to let it end here. . it is over with. they got the point that you cant just turn someone away because4 of your own pre conceived opinions and fears. have a good week. Melissa.

I just wanted to let you all know that Kaila got approved for her speech therapy. She is approved for 12 visits one time a week. I greatly relieved about this. I was stressing, big time. Thanks again for all of your help, Wendy.

I don't know why I stress so much, things always seem to work out:)

Hey Ro... I CAN RELATE - get those boys OUTSIDE, have 2 myself ;), and pre-teens are a pain in the ****! At least I had a break this week - shipped mine off for spring break - ah the peacefullness! :p

Hi everyone!!! Since we are apparently on the subject of feeding, I need some advice!!! Since my little squirt is one of the youngest on here, I'm sure you guys can all give me some pointers.

Kelly eats some fruit for lunch, and vegies and fruit for dinner, and as most of you know, prunes for dessert :p, but is sure is keeping her regular!! Kelly has MAJOR tongue thrust. It's always hanging out. Once in a while it disappears, like when she's doing tummy time or flat on her back, and once in a while while sitting. When she laughs, smiles, and does the HYSTERICAL raspberry face,(she squints, puffs up her cheeks, pulls her chin in, and "phlglglpgh" - we ALL stop what we're doing and ROF&LOL!) there it is.

Anyways, when I'm feeding her, the thrusting is minimal at first, the mouth is open like a little bird. But after a few bites, here it comes, mainly after food is in her mouth. And she also has to talk while the food is going in. I see her tongue going in & out, and from side to side, and she also does the 'munch' mouth thing(up & down like munching). I'm sure she's doing very well, we keep 'scraping' off the chin till it all goes down. She really loves it.

SO, QUESTION OF THE DAY...Anyone have ANY suggestions for taming the tongue? Or is it a lost cause, just something to be worked with over time? Any suggestions to what I can do to help it stay in the mouth? OT hasn't really hit on that topic much, spring break here and our OT schedule got messed up, so I won't see her for another 2 weeks! This tongue thing seems to be really picking up speed now that she's really showing off her stuff! I would LOVE to hear any suggestions - post it for me or email me, whichever is cool with me!

Cindy, It is soooo good to hear that Kayley got right back into the swing of things, even though we're a ways off from school, it helps me to feel better about Kelly's future when I hear things so positive like that!

Paula, Ann & Sue, was fun chatting yesterday! Didn't realize we had such 'stars' in our midst :). Fun with you too, Tina, you're such a sweetie! Hope all's going well!!!!

see ya for the moment... ~~~((HUGS TO ALL)) Beck

Hi all and Ro -thanks for asking! Kaylee came home from school all smiles :) though getting her there took a bit of convincing (just a few loud protests this morning, but once we got the back pack and coat she was ready to go and see her friends) Sure enough, as soon as she walked through the door she was surronded. I'm really not kidding..at least 4 kids came right up to her and said "Kaylee I am SOglad you're back!" then a few starting yelling..teacher Kaylee's back! and they were excited and happy. Kaylee just stood there beaming, soaking up all the love. I went to talk to the teacher and when I turned back around 3 different boys had surronded her and were talking non stop to her. She was smiling and showing off her little lavender teddy that one of her aides gave her after surgery. (It's an aromatherapy bear..too funny, smells like lavender and is supposed to be 'calming'..just was funny that she got it after surgery, since all she did was lay around for 6 days!!! We were hoping she didn't get any more calm then that!!!!!) the teacher reported she had an excellent day, lots of hard work and in Kaylee's words Mom, I OBEY. I DID! No eat playdough. :)~~

So, yes Ro-great day back. And would you believe it, lunch today at school was GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES...Hahahaha so in Kaylee's mind, it was a perfect day. She fell asleep during college group Bible study, so it must've worn her out!....

KAYLEE:)

How was the first day back sweety?

Bet you had a blast and really enjoyed seeing your friends again:)

Let us know how it went mommy? She must have been very tired:( But back into the swing of things:)

Ro

T,

Love ya girl:)

I know you had a long hard day and I am here for ya.

If you need to talk or chat let me know I am usually here off and on all day and I will leave yahoo on for ya:)

Give Grandma a hug as well as the kids and talk to you soon:)

Love Ro

HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLooooooooooooooooooooooooo?:)

Has everybody went on VACATION?

Without me?:(

See if I take You.:p

How many of you are able to make 1:00 pm chat tomorrow?

It will be a bad time for me but I may catch the tail end of it:( got to pick up number "3" from school.

Then I may have a few minutes:)

Have you huged your kids today?

Last hour?

Last minute?

Get out from behind that screen and go over and completely irritate them:)

Moms turn.

No I won't wait til your program is over you never wait til the news is over:)LOL

Makes me feel "SO GOOD" doing a good thing:)LOL(at the wrong time) mom I cant see...... move....... get out of the way. Dont you love it:)LOL

Ro

p.s better yet since I have boys and their friends are always here I kiss them in front of them. Keeps them outside for a while:)LOL LOL I love them I really do but I perfer them "ALL" outside:)

Hi, I am a student at the school of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University and I am working on my Masters Degree in Nutrition. As part of a project for a Public Health class, I am doing a small survey related to the health of kids with Down syndrome. Your help in this project is very valuable and important to me. If you would like to participate send me an email at elaurion@juno.com and I will email you the questionnaire. You can be assured that all information will stay confidential. You do not need to give out your or your child's name. thank you so much for your time. Regards, Erika Laurion

Trene

I just sent a link to you again. Hope you get it this time. If you don't, please post & I will try something else. Take care.

Hi Paula, Thanks for the advice on the sandwiches,we will sure give it try.Jarrett has two teeth that just broke through, I was getting worried he would never get any! They sure are at a cute age,he keeps us laughing all the time....heck with tv we just sit and watch our baby.Maybe I will see you in chat sometime.

Sherri Didn't get your message, or I lost it somehow---beginners!!! If you have time could you send it again. Thanks a bunch!!!

Paula, Trene & others dealing with feeding Problem. One component that's likely causing difficulty is that our children have weak muscles. The tongue is a muscle. The hardest part for many children is the side to side movement and formation of a ball (Dr. calls it a bolus) of food to swallow. If the child feels that the food is out of control and is scared that it will "fall" down his pipes (wind pipe is the biggest concern). He may spit it out. Try a sticky food like Nutella or peanut butter. Also if your child is sometimes having a hard time breathing while eating; if the nostrols flare and eyes water, the food may be going down the wind pipe. This should be told to his doctor or therapist. I had two doctors tell me not to worry about this before a speech therapist helped. Gwen

Hi All,

Just to clear something up. "Maggot" (as we call Ethan) is an endearment in Dublin. It just means little rascal.!!! Which he most deffintely is!!!!

Just thought I'd clear that up.

It's Midnight now and Im off to bed.

Goodnight everyone. Paula

Hello everyone

I am going to hit & miss on trying to reply to some of the posts I've read. So if I leave anyone out, its not on purpose. You guys have been really busy!! And I must say that I was spoiled with the BOLD PRINT to read.

First of all, I want to say that I checked out all the new pictures on the Friends Board. EVERYONE is so adorable. I hope to get a scanner soon, so I can add my "little mess" too.(May need some expert advice when the time comes.)

Melissa: Hope that Jason is feeling much better. Have to say that I was so excited when I read that he was feeding himself & drinking from a straw. What is your secret on self feeding? We have our good days & our not so good days. I think its called the great power struggle!! Also would like to send this (HUG) to you & Jason. I know these past couple of weeks have been very stressful for you!! Let us know what happens on the discimination suit.

Marie: What did they say about the bus? I hope that you gave it to them with both barrels!! I haven't had to deal with that problem yet & I hope that I never do. Hope that you & Jared are both feeling better.

Denise: Glad to read that you will possibly have some other insurance. Hope you are feeling better too. So sorry that you have to deal with the ex!! (HUGS) for you & Stevie!!

Andrea/Andrew's mom & Paula/Ethan's mom : Welcome to both of you. This is a wonderful place to come share good times & bad. The love & support is amazing!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week. Sherri

Trene

Did you get the link I sent you a couple of days ago on your feeding problem? If not, let me know & I will try to send it again.

Eileen-- Isent a reply to you, but I'm not sure that it went through. Let me know if you didn't, or if you did get it!! Have a GREAT day!!!

Hi Diana. We have two peas in a pod eh!!. Well one of the Early Intervention team called today to chat to me about "Portage" ("a home teaching programme that involves the parents in assessing and teaching their child"). She was asking me how Ethans feeding was going and I gave her my usual little speech regarding wearing his food etc etc. "Im just about to feed him now" I said "and you can see for yourself". Yes you've guessed it, the little maggot only spit about 3-4 spoonfulls. Talk about making a liar out of me. I should have mentioned that about 6 weeks ago Ethan started to eat sandwiches!! Now when I say eat I mean I break a teeny tiny piece off and put it in his mouth. He still spits it but I can usually catch it and put it back in!!. His favourite is soft cheese sandwich (you know the spreadable kind.....Laughing Cow is the one he likes. ( or Moo HaHa as my husband calls it!!). This has been a big breakthrough for us as at least the pressure is off for one meal at least. I usually clamp it in between his gums where his chewing teeth should be (he's only got 3 teeth,the 4th on the way). I think the fact that he can control it a bit better than the "mush" food is why he's eating it better. Give it a try Diana, who knows what he"ll make of it but you know yourself anything is worth a try. Im going to try fat chips and waffles next, so fingers crossed.

Anyway thanks for replying earlier, we'll get there.

By the way has Jarrett (lovely name) got many teeth?

Better go and do some housework, groan.... Let ne know how you get on.

Bye Paula

Hello everyone. I am not one for words today. I am feeling pregnant, crabby, irratable, tired and meloncholy. (I don't think I can spell right either today) It is overcast here and that doesn't help. Russell is doing great, I am just waiting for his ultrasound on his tummy in April.

Melissa - I am here!! I only came on the computer once this weekend to read. We were really busy. I am envious of Jason! Way to go little man!!!! For being around the same age, Russell and Jason are worlds apart. He will get there someday. I wish Russell would feed himself something. He doesn't like anything in his hands. We try though. Cheerios have been our best bet. But half the time he plays with them. I bet you are proud!!!

Have a great day everyone, I will try to nap and come back in a better mood!!

Hi.

Hey hurray for UNOMAS, I am so glad that you are back up and running in the orginal chat room now maybe I can talk now. Boy did I have such a time trying to get into that room. I hope my prayers for your families have been heard by the man up above. I hope that your little ones are getting healthier and healthier. I have heard that a lot of them have the tonsilitus and bronical pneumonia. Poor babies. I am doing fine I have had my days and to day is a bright sun shiny day. Hope to see you all later in chat. Pam

Gwen-- Thanks so much for your reply. Kellan has a G Button, but still doesn't seem to gain weight. Maybe he'll just be a little guy!! He's always so happy and a joy to be around. He's 8 mo old now and is rolling all over, and would like to sit up, but his balance, and stomach muscles aren't quite ready for that yet. My three older kids love to play with him and they think that he needs to do exercises to get him ready!! Kids are soooo funny! have a good day, thanks again for your reply. I really enjoy reading about everyone--although I must admit it is a bit confusing for a beginner like me!!

just wondering did you see that?LOL Ro

GOOD MORNING UNO MAS:)

This is a wonderful site that has books,calendars,etc. with children with Downs'. I buy the calendars for teachers,etc. It is beautiful.

This is a wonderful site that has books,calendars,etc. with children with Downs'. I but the calendars for teachers,etc. It is beautiful.

Well, our 'unwanted company'(thunderstorms) left right about the time for bed, conveniently right after the chat was over, I'm sure! :( Hope you all had a great chat. I'll try to hit the daily chat once in a while - many people on? Or are there lots that are 'retired' like me (ha ha)? I's sure nice to have been able to retire in my twenty's. I've been one of the (I think) lucky ones to have stayed home with all my kids, so I've been home for almost 13 years now. I did go back to work when my 2nd was in kindergarten(for about 8 months), but it wasn't supposed to be, cause I immediately got pregnant(suprise, boss lady!).

Hey ladies, I'm so proud of Kelly, she's rolling across the floor. Maybe she won't crawl, just roll :). I think that's not too far off target - 6 months old?! She's not near sitting by herself, though. But PT is having results, now when she sits in supported sitting she most of the time sits 'big and tall' and straightens that back and neck out really straight. Used to be she'd slouch over and hang that head down really low (which is what I'm used to seeing older Ds persons looking like - unfortunate image in my mind). So needless to say, we're thrilled !!! Also, she's eating fruits for lunch and vegies, fruit & baby prunes for dinner. The prunes are working!!!! She's pretty darn regular now, and she LOVES them. She'll be the only school kid bringing prunes in her lunch - lol :). I guess when you start your kids young at something, and keep it up, they don't know the difference(till someone tells them, that is!).

Can't you tell that I'm just so excited at being her mommy?!

It's been very peaceful here without my boys, but they are having a great time in WEst Virginia - is it Brenda that lives there??? Going to go to the zoo this week, and wherever else we can think of. We have a really neat place here called the Butterfly House. It's a big atrium with, don't quote me, about 60 different species of flutterbys, and there's about 1500 flying around. I'ts really neat, but Karly who's 3 1/2 didn't care much for them when they flew too close. She's my brave little extravert, but not at the butterfly house!!!

Well, I hope all those little sweeties (Stevie Marie and Russell) have recovered nicely from surgeries, and hope those hubbies are doing and will continue to do well, and that all test results come out good, Steff and Ro (? - doing this without a notebook, forgive me if names don't match :)) ((((((HUGS TO ALL)))))) Beck

Hi Paula.I just wanted to let you know you are not alone. My 19 month old son Jarrett will not eat either. He will only eat yougart and applesauce,he has been doing this for about four months.He use to eat very well.Maybe its there age? He goes to Easter Seals for his theraphy's and they are working on eating but so far no luck.If you find out any magic way to get Ethan to eat please tell me the secret. I'm starting to worry that we too will have a twelve year old that only eats yougart! Good luck and remember to duck when your feeding!!!!

Hi...haven't had much time to post anything lately, and actually you ladies are SOOO intimidating..hahaha! I can't figure out how you keep track of everybody Ro, you are truley amazing. You must have a huge cheat sheet!!?! I do love reading all the posts here on the message board and keeping up with how everyones doing and what they are going through. It definatley helps to not feel as if we're going at it alone. Kaylee goes back to school tomorrow, after being out for basically the whole month with the tonsils and then spring break. Hoping and praying that she jumps right back into the program! Jc, I did read your post a few days back and hope Vinson is doing ok? and you? sounds kinda hard right now. sorry.

geesh, starting to sound like the acadmey awards..just wanted to say hi-

Rob and Christine Izzo,

Twins:) Jason and Nicholas:)

It has been a while since we chatted but I remember that Nicholas is due for surgery. Has he had the surgery yet or is it still pending?

If you get this can you let me know the status on the little one :)

If you'd like to meet the family their website link is up top :)

Ro

Becky sorry you couldn't come chat. We missed ya:(

Hopefully the thunder boomers leave out soon, I always hate it when I have plans on the computer and they arrive. Like "UNWANTED COMPANY".LOL

Well there is always Thursday at 6:00 and 1:00 weekdays:)

Just a quick note:

Jim, Tracey and Andrew;

Hello and Welcome, Hope you enjoy our company as much as I enjoyed yours:)

Hey T stopped by as well:) Miss her so much:(

Her Grandpa funeral is tomorrow and it will be tough for her family send extra prayers for them please:)

T, we love ya girl.

It has been so quite on the board today:(

Did you all find a garage sale or something?:)LOL

No really I missed everybody.

Hope to see you in the morning:)

RO

Hope to see you all in chat tonight. Don't know, cause we have thunderstorms moving in, and I really don't want to be on computer in a thunderstorm! :( Hopefully it will pass!

Ro, Cindy, and Brenda - I really wanted to chat with you guys but for some reason I kept getting booted out. I hope to chat with you soon. (I need to get some serious work done on this computer.) Thanks! LeeAnne

Hey Ro - I was just thinking backwards. I'm cst also (StL,MO), so that would make it 8 our time, huh.

Becky where you live?

Try the front of your phone book and it should tell you the time zones.

Texas is c.s.t.zone and it would be 8:00 p.m when the chat is going on.

Did I confuse ya?

If you check shortly it should be on:)

RO

Hope everybody had a great weekend and is well rested for the coming week. I definately thing God works in mysterious ways. Stevie starts two weeks of spring break tomorrow and he was better behaved this weekend than he has been in the last year! I love West Virginia!!! I think we should all go visit Brenda. It's a beautiful state. Are you any where near Martinsburg Brenda? I'll be there for koolaide next time I come down.

Steff- I just wanted to say thanks for your thoughts. I hope your hubby's tests come out okay. Insurance SUCKS doesn't it!

Melissa- I admire your drive and determination to do better for Jason. When I was doing preschools six years ago, I gotta a lot of we don't take kids "like that". I didn't know how to be obnoxious back than like I do now. I'm behind you 100% You keep fighting.

Ro- I loved your post about friendship. I find myself self sharing things here that I don't share with my family. I definately consider people here my friends even though we've never met.

Shawna-Your Michael sounds alot like Stevie. Stevie often has conversations with himself and answers himself and laughs at what he's saying. He often says "what" when he gets in trouble. Now his favorite is 4 waffles not eggs if I'll make them for breakfast. His favorite food is also noodles. He still wears a pull up to bed at age 9. Loves to be tickled and to giggle. It must be the name. (His middle name is Michael")

Tina- Hope you had a great weekend. Just wanted to tell you I think Cassie is pretty darn cute too!!

Marie-Can you believe it!! It was true!!! I didn't yell at Stevie the entire weekend. Not once at all. Please let me know what happens tomorrow with the bus company. I have some ideas for you. Something else to tell you to that you'll never believe. Hope you had a good weekend. Hugs to Jared from Stevie.

Do you guys use the new volcano chat tonight? I;m still trying to figure PST to my time. :)

Where is everybody?

Welcome Paula:)

Glad you found this site.

T,

Here is a hug for you and yours.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Be thinking of ya:)

Love Ro

p.s. how is Bren's head?

Hi all. Im Paula from Dublin Ireland and I love your site. It's the "bees knees"!!! Stacey from Alaska thank you for enduring my "unpolished" first performance in the chat room earlier. Your a very patient person!!

I have a nineteen month old son wDS called Ethan. I would love to talk to someone who could give me some advise regarding feeding my little maggot. He spits everything out. (and I mean everything, chocolate and all ....he's no son of mine!!) The only thing he doesn't spit is yougart so you can imagine feeding time in our house. I'm usually wearing whatever he's supposed to be eating. Did anyone have any similar problems and if they did DOES IT GET ANY BETTER. My husband and I have this vision of the futures of this 12 year old sitting across the table from us pebble-dashing us with his food. Help LOL Paula

Go VOTE!!!!!!

Way I hear it She is CURRENTLY leading:) by quite a few but don't let off:) The contest runs till the end of MARCH:) Keep Voting:) Link is up top:)

WOW!

Guess what tonight is????

No, Bathes are on Saturday and if I recall right that was yesterday:)LOL

No today is Sunday. Do you remember?

It happens at 6:00 PST.

Have a clue yet?

Alot of people miss it. Regretting it after cause it is so much fun.:)

Keep your mind CLEAN:)

You have to have more than one person and the more the merrier:)LOL Keep it CLEAN!

Kids are usually not there:)

Suppose to be relaxing:) but it is not.

You go in feeling fine but you come out sore:)

Do you know yet?LOL

Come on folks do I have to spell it out for ya?LOL

Oh alright it happens twice a week at night:) and every weekday at 1:00 PST.:)LOL

Keep it "CLEAN"!!!!.

You come out sore cause you usually laugh your "KEESTER" off. I love that word:)

Get to share info and not get overcharged:)

IT IS CHAT NIGHT:)

We now have 2 chat rooms so more people can participate.

Up top I see something "NEW"

Up on the LEFT, there are 1, 2, 3, 4, wow "5" boxes there:)

Check out the new one:)

Hope to see ya there .

RO

p.s. thanks Michelle Mc.

Thank you, Mary..and thank you, Ro,
Wonderful, inspiring words to make my day a little brighter..
Love y'all (meaning ALL of you.)LOL..*hugs* Tina

Came in my e-mail and thought I would share it:)

This is for all of you:)

Friendship is a strange thing... We find ourselves telling each other the deepest details of our lives...things we don't even share with our families. But what is a friend? A confidant? A lover? A shoulder to cry on? An ear to listen? A heart to feel? A friend is all of these things and more. No matter where we met, no matter how long we've been together...I call you a friend. A word so small, yet so large in feeling, a word filled with emotion, a word overflowing with LOVE. Truly great things come in small packages. Once the package of friendship has been opened, it can never be closed. It is a constant book always waiting...waiting to be opened...and enjoyed. We may have our disagreements...we may have our disappointments...we may argue...we may concern one another...friendship is a unique bond that lasts through all tribulations. A part of each of us goes into our friendships...our humor...our experiences...our tears. Friendships are foundations...necessary for life...and love. Friends...you and me...You brought another friend and then there were three...we started our group...our circle of friends...there is no beginning...there is no end. Even though I don't speak to you all everyday... or even as often as I would like to...You have all crossed my path of life in one way or another...some of you I've only bumped into... some have walked a while with me... and some of you will continue to walk with me...but DON'T EVER THINK FOR A SECOND that since we aren't in constant contact...that I don't think of you all... because if it wasn't for coming across all of YOU... who knows? I would be a completely different person...and...well...I'm happy with how I've turned out so far. Thank you. Keep this going...mail it to all your friends...those you have and those you have lost along the way! I love you all...

See I can be serious SOMETIMES:)

Love Ya RO

Hi to you all,

I want to thank you all for the nice comments that you made about the poem "YOU ARE UNIQUE" that I posted on the BB board

I hope you are all fine

I noticed on some message's that were posted, dealt with discrimination against our special DS children. (As most of you all know, my site fights against discrimination) not just about our DS children, BUT ALL special needs people. I will print anything and expose the perpetrator's (No holds barred) that discriminate against ANY disabled child. So if any one of you wants to send me any news clippings, or your personal experience with discrimination. I will print it.

Melissa

Keep up your legal fight against "that church", as that is the best way to deal with this kind of ignorance.

Marie "expose" that bus company. They are in charge for the well being of our children.

Having said all this I must admit that in all of Spencer's 26 years, we have never had any personal discrimination from the general public, that is why it came as a shocking blow to us, when we found out all the discrimination came from the medical profession (sly and undercover)

Our legal case is still proceeding, and we have had three independent medical reports from independent professor's of medicine

# G.Ps Dropped below minimal standard of care on Spencer.

#ENDOCRINOLOGIST: States that the steroids in the cortisal creams that they put Spencer on for seven years caused his weight to double from 140lb to 300 lb, gave him diabetes, and sleep apnoea, and probable bone detieriation.

#CARDIOLOGIST (this was the worst report) States that they have decreased Spencer's normal short life span by 2 to 3 years. Put Spencer into heart failure at least 3 times, thickened is blood,(too many red blood cells) gave him massive oedema (fluid retention) and the report also claims, that all the other doctors that were dealing with Spencer, either ignored the symptoms of "Cushing Syndrome" ( Which was caused by the cortistal steroids) in the skin cream, or they just did not care. This is called negligence and discrimination.

These are only short abstracts from the statements we received from our lawyer.

Our next step is that Bill and I have to have a meeting with a "Barrister" (not sure what you call them in the USA, but they are the ones that wear the funny wigs) to set a court date which can be a long wait.

For those who do not know Spencer, Spencer will be 27 years old in December. He was born with a hole in his heart, the doctor's did not want to operate on Spencer when he was a baby because he was DS. We were told that Spencer would not reach the age of 11 years old.

I will be placing another poem that I have dedicated to Spencer on the BB board. Its called "I'm Special" you will all recognise your own DS children in this poem.

I am sorry this post is so long.

best wishes to you all

Good evening, ladies.

You know, it figures. The one day I have time to check the message board and come out with all sorts of pearls of wisdom, no one is here, well hardly anyone.

Melissa, I would have said something ,too. Some people are so rude! I haven't run into much of that, other than my one "retarded" neighbor who was ready to run screaming from looking after Michael after she said she'd be available if she was needed. Oh well, what can you do? You can't live with 'em, and you can't shoot 'em.

There was something else I thought of, but now it's gone. Guess it wasn't that great. You guys are lucky. I just spent the last two hours or so sending off e-mails, so I'm almost talked out. I'm a sanguine, though, so I can usually find something to talk about; it might be as interesting as discussing naval lint, but I'll be talking. Just call me Non-stop Shawna, I guess. Shall I try and break my own record for useless blithering and mindless palavering?

I remembered what I was going to say. Tonight it was just me and Michael. Everyone else was gone, and he was like a speed demon or something. It was like someone fed him sugar or something.....I didn't, really. Anyhow, he LOVES looking at photos, so we took some time and looked at almost all the pictures in the photo gallery. Some of the older entries seem to have lost their pictures. Who would be able to fix that?! Michael really thought it was a hoot to look at the pics of the other kids; kept saying "baby", or "new shoes" if he saw their shoes. I have to say it, we got some really cute kids here. As soon as I figure out how to do it without a scanner, I'll try and upload some pics myself. We have a computer-compatible camcorder, and I'm sure that my hubby could work some magic and do that for me. We'll see.

But now my bed is SCREAMING for me, so I'd better go. Eight bells comes soon for dumb mommas who stay up too late.

Have a wonderful Sunday, ladies.

Ciao for now.

Shawna

Melissa, You have the right to say something back to these people that make these useless statements! I have never realized why people think they need to say something just because our children are a little different.I guess it's just human nature thinking you're supposed to say "something". Most people do not mean to be "ugly" when they make statements,they think they are being friendly towards you and your child.Luke is 10 years old now and he (WE) really have had some experiences with people in the last 10 years! HAHA!!! I used to get VERY upset with people"defending" Luke! I would ask people if something was wrong with my son,if that was the reason they were staring. I would tell them"yes, he has DS"& would ask them if they knew anything about it& if so please tell me ALL they know!HAHA I would say just enough to let them know they were being rude! It doesn't bother me now& we all learn to deal with it as years go by,but it sometimes can hurt(you hurt for your child) it's normal for a real mom to protect her child,handicapped or not! Hang in there,our kids are more normal than not!!!!!!!Don't ever forget that. Take care and God bless LINDA(TENNESSEE)

Hello once again, I must be sensitive or something . becasue i got a littel upset at a woman today that looked me and sad (well i am shocked he is so intelligent). I looked ast her and said what did you expect? and walked away. was i bein way to sensitive? I dont know i am more protectve over Jason i just cant help it. Any way Jason Ate

Pizza

and chocoalte ice cream all by him self. and guess what???

JASON IS DRINKING FROM A STRAW!!!! yippiee for him..

ADRIENNE? WHERE ARE YOU???? I MISS YOU. :-)

I LIKE THIS HTML STUFF IT IS COOL CAN WE DO COLORS?????

Melissa

Hello once again, I must be sensitive or something . becasue i got a littel upset at a woman today that looked me and sad (well i am shocked he is so intelligent). I looked ast her and said what did you expect? and walked away. was i bein way to sensitive? I dont know i am more protectve over Jason i just cant help it. Any way Jason Ate

Pizza

and chocoalte ice cream all by him self. and guess what???

JASON IS DRINKING FROM A STRAW!!!! yippiee for him..

ADRIENNE? WHERE ARE YOU???? I MISS YOU. :-)

I LIKE THIS HTML STUFF IT IS COOL CAN WE DO COLORS?????

Melissa

Hello once again, I must be sensitive or something . becasue i got a littel upset at a woman today that looked me and sad (well i am shocked he is so intelligent). I looked ast her and said what did you expect? and walked away. was i bein way to sensitive? I dont know i am more protectve over Jason i just cant help it. Any way Jason Ate

Pizza and chocoalte ice cream all by him self. and guess what???

JASON IS DRINKING FROM A STRAW!!!! yippiee for him.. ADRIENNE? WHERE ARE YOU???? I MISS YOU. :-) I LIKE THIS HTML STUFF IT IS COOL CAN WE DO COLORS????? Melissa

Trene My younger son has feeding problems because of cerebral palsy. It was very upsetting to me and him to have to force the bottle into his unwilling mouth for hours a day. We finally got a gastric tube at age 18 mos. He gained weight quickly and became strong and healthy. I did not like it a first but now I don't even think about it. My 7 year old has Ds,loves his little brother and can run the feeding pump. At school they say he only knows his numbers to 4, but he can turn the pump dial to set rate and set it at 300 and then turn the dial to run. (Yes I supervise this.) Gwen

hi

Good morning, ladies. Well, here goes...Actually, I don't have a joke today, but I do have a funny story, courtesy of my funny kid, Michael. In case you don't know, Michael is 8 and has DS. Friday morning, my empty laundry hamper was upstairs and Michael went and sat in it and said "Ride." He wanted to ride down the stairs in it! Like any good mother, I used the "N" word right away, and asked him to CARRY the hamper downstairs,please. The next thing I know, Michael is sliding down the stairs, with the hamper on the step below and his feet in it. I guess he didn't have the nerve to push himself down the stairs while inside it. So, he slid down, one step at a time. I thought it was a cute answer to get what he wanted, without endangering life and limb.

Do any of you have any experience with your kids "talking to