Please Help

There are more than a few significant helpers in G's life.

Morning school - 2 teachers, 2 classroom assistants, occupational therapist, busdriver (or should I say vandriver), and school secretary (goes out of her way to be nice to G)

Afternoon school - 2 main teachers, 2 secondary caregivers, principal (goes out of her way to be helpful)

Church - 3 teachers

That makes FIFTEEN potential Christmas presents to buy - and I've probably forgotten some people.

What in the world do I do about this?!?

And - yes - I do realize it's October, but I can't stop wondering what real moms do about things like this.

Please help.

C'mon, you know you have the answer.  And please don't say "just bake them all cupcakes designed to look like pencils" (Janis).  Remember that you're advising ME.  Thank you.

Thought for Thursday

This one is from Gwenn Mangine, a missionary in Haiti:

"This is all I know. In the end, we will NOT regret choices we make to sacrifice our "extra" to provide others with the "necessary." We will not look back and think, "wow, if only I'd given a little LESS away to the poor, my life would be so much better." I just don't think that happens."

Who's On First

G's speech challenges do result in some frustrating conversations.

Tonight he informed me that he wanted to brush his teeth. 
I said, "No, you can brush your teeth later."
He asserted, "Brush my teeth!"
I responded, "G, Mama said No. You can brush your teeth later."
Pointing & gesturing to the other room: "Brush my teeth!  Brush my teeth!"
(Lightbulb suddenly piercing the darkness)
Me: "G, what do you... Oh... you want mac and cheese..."

Because, you know, "Brush my teeth" and "Mac and cheese" sound exactly the same.

I realized that I needed to inform the blogging community about this discovery, so I got my List of Ideas (Scrap of Paper in a Random Pile)... and learned that I had already written myself a note: "Brush my teeth"="Mac and Cheese."

G may be taking a while to learn enunciation.  But I'm not moving any faster in the listening comprehension department.

Oh - also on my List of Ideas was this note: "People"="PooPoo."  Now THAT would have made a story worth blogging about.

Good Times

I don't know why, but if you walk around with your knees bent and your back hunched, it is hilarious.  Don't believe me?  Just ask G.

Happy Birthday, Bapi

Learning to Read

Lately G is making discoveries all the time.

"Look!  Joseph!"

"Look!  Mama!"

 "Look!  Poo-Poo!"

Ok.  Perhaps I should have thought a little more before I taught him that one.

Cholera

Maybe you have heard that Haitians are now enduring an outbreak of cholera?  LATimes.com reports that over 2,000 people are already sick (over 100 have died) in the Artibonite Valley.  

"Officials feared the disease could reach the capital, Port-au-Prince, 55 miles to the south, where hundreds of thousands of people are living in fetid conditions in the camps."