In which Feisty Pants is not horrified by the Universe

                So Feisty Pants has had a horrible, awful, no good week.  Just ask her.  It all started last Thursday when she had to go for yet another sleep study.   Somewhere. some poor med student must be getting a PH.D. in Feisty Pants' sleep habits, she has been studied that much.   They really are absurd on the face of them. Take a kid who may not sleep well, glue leads and wires all over them, stuff a Bane like mask over their face, take them totally out of any version of their comfort zone and then watch from another room to "help" them.   I don't know about other kids, but my feisty one has seen this movie on Syfy a thousand times over and it never ends well.  So, yeah, she's really gonna sleep.

              And in order to get her to cooperate at all (Read that as no punching.) we have to bribe her.   With a shopping excursion as soon as it was over.  So no sleep the next morning either.   I don't care how many chocolate chip muffins and minion fries and lip balm you come home with.  Her sleep schedule is now all blown to hell and good luck getting her back on track.  Now mix in a sinus headache because it is raining pollen here. And hormones because she is fourteen.   And total appalled embarrassment because she has (gasp,  shudder) parents.  Two of them.  And they insist on talking to her public.   I don't know how she copes with it.  She's a saint, that one.

             But today, the stars have aligned and miracles have occurred.  The great Unicorn in the sky has smiled down upon her.  She got her ipad.  (This is a HUGE deal to a kid with garbled speech and she knows it)  The case came in BLUE too.  Her favorite color. And her miserable embarrassments, um er, I mean parents took her to the pet store as promised.  She didn't bite anyone at the sleep study either so she got four goldfish.  Whereupon she promptly named them John, Paul, George, and Ringo.   I was surprised and delighted by her choice. I asked if she knew who the Beatles were. "Yeah," she replied. "Hey Dude!"  I don't know if she heard the song wrong or just cannot pronounce Jude, but whatevs.  I'll take it.   Happy kid.  Happy Mom.  You'll have to excuse us as we ride off into the sunset.   Na na na na na na na na na Hey Dude.....

 

PS- Still looking for anyone who wants to share caregiver stories with a great advocacy organization.  Drop me a line if you're interested.

Calling All Caregivers!!

               In light of this week's disastrous new inhumane low from our supposed  leaders, I have to decided to do something other than (in addition to?) merely swearing and bursting into flames. Health care is an absolute human right, especially for the disabled and elderly.   I know of an amazing organization called Caring Across Generations (link below).  They work to advocate for families caring for elderly parents and disabled relatives. (They have also partnered with groups advocating for better conditions for paid caregivers in our homes with the novel idea of maybe treating care givers better makes for better care and thus allows the elderly and disabled to live at home and in our communities.   Shocking, right?)

               To that end, they have asked yours truly if I would mind trying to collect a few stories to help educate law makers and policy makers on what we, the families and caregivers, truly need.  This way they will be better able to advocate for us and our loved ones who need care. So, if you have a few minutes, and are willing to answer a few questions, please answer the following questions for me. 

               Simply copy and paste the questions into an email .  When you have answered, send them along to me at Feistypantsmom@gmail.com. I will pass them along to Caring Across Generations.  If you would be willing to give them your contact info, in case they know of any media who wish to follow up, even better!  The powers that be need to hear our voices.  They need to see our stories.  Together we will make this better place for all the feisty ones (young or just young at heart) and their tired fams out there.  If this doesn't apply to you, dear reader, but you know someone to whom it does, please nag them mercilessly, um er I mean, please pass this along.  The more voices, the better. 

              So, here are my nosy questions:

1)Who do care for, why, and for how long have you been a caregiver?

2)What joys do you experience from this?

3)What are some of your biggest challenges?

4)Is it difficult for you and your family to find the type of care needed?

5) How difficult was it to navigate the care system?

6)What do you know now that you wish you knew when you began this journey?

7)How has your experience of care giving changed the person you are now?

8) What do you wish society at large understood about your situation?

9) What one thing could be done to help you in your caregiving?

As promised, the link to Caring Across Generations: caringacross.org/

What to do when Spring has sprung too hard.

             So spring has definitely sprung here in the Southern Tier.  It's too warm to sleep with the windows closed but too cold to sleep with them open.  Stray cats are randomly singing arias at all hours of the day. It's rainy and humid so my frizzy, wavy hair is now Texas sized frizz. When it isn't raining, it's raining pollen leading to all sorts of sneezes, wheezes, and woes for Feisty Pants.  So if you and your feisty (or not so feisty) one are like us and randomly stuck inside for the afternoon and therefore totally dying from the tortuous boredom (Just ask Feisty Pants. She will tell you all about it.) here are four fun, sciency  (shut up- it is too a word) things to do on a rainy afternoon.  You can then claim this was all in the name of good parenting and totally not because it was fun and cool. 

            

1)Glow in the dark flowers:

  You will need: a clear glass (for a vase), yellow highlighter, a flower, water, knife, black light.

  Use a sharp knife to cut open the highlighter and remove the ink cartridge.  Squeeze/stir the ink into the water in  the glass.  Add the flower.  Allow to sit for several hours and then check with the black light. 

Full instructions here:Kiwi Crate- glow in the dark flower

 

2)Homemade super bouncy balls:

    You will need: corn flour, glue, borax, food coloring, bowls, measuring cups, measuring  spoons, bowls, plastic forks.

 Mix 2TBS hot water and  1/2 tsp Borax in a small bowl.

 In a separate bowl, mix 1TBS corn flour, 1TBS glue, a few drops food coloring.

 Pour the first bowl ( borax) into the second bowl  (corn flour) and mix everything until it solidifies.  Roll into ball shape and allow to harden for 10 to 20 minutes.

Full instructions here:Good Housekeeping -diy bouncy balls

 

3)Soap foam:

    You will need:  1 bar of Ivory Soap (must be Ivory), microwave safe bowl (large) or plate, microwave.

 Unwrap the bar of soap, place in dish and nuke.   It will take about 90 seconds to 2 minutes (depending on your microwave) to reach peak size.

Give it a minute or two to cool and then have fun playing with it.  Don't worry, you can still use it.  It will just have strange consistancy.

Full instructions (and explanation) here:Thought Co- Ivory soap foam

 

4)Upside down planter:

    You will need:  Clean soda bottle (2 or 3 liter), knife, seedling (tomatoes, peppers, whatevs)dirt, string for hanger.

 Remove label and cut off bottom of soda bottle. Ease seedling into narrow opening (the top of bottle).  Gently fill with dirt and hang.

Full instructions here:The Crafty Crow- upside down planter

 

So there you are.  Go be a fabulous parent and enjoy.  You could even reward your little scientists and yourselves with ice cream for all your hard work and learning.  It's what all the cool scientists do.