Re: CHAT -- The news and news

[Guest guest]

Hi Ken!

Good news about your son! Great growth too! I am sorry about your

job - they just laid off over 60% of my company (my dept is " safe "

for now but I am looking) and their functions were absorbed by NY

office. AS a whole ADP outsources a lot to India and I get

frustrated when I call and get a rep who doesn't speak English well,

even though they are supposed to. Whenever someone named " Bob "

calls with an INdian accent I KNOW I have been outsourced - one

company we worked with required all agents to choose " American "

names - the caveat was no Elvis Presley's etc!

What do you do? I'm in MA not sure if I can help but let me know!

, mom to 5 and Emerence 2.5 22 mo 33 "

> Hi Everyone,

>

> There have been some items in the news lately that I could not

resist

> commenting on.

>

> " Golfer Daly will attempt to hit a golf ball over Niagara

Falls on

> Wednesday to mark the opening of Daly's first signature golf

course.

> Daly will need his drive to carry about 350 yards from Table Rock,

> Canada, to land his ball onto Goat Island, N.Y. The good news is

that's

> only 275 American yards. " -- from Pete McEntegart Sports

Illustrated.com

>

> Sorry Deb, I couldn't resist that one.

>

> Recently it was learned that Rafeal Palmeiro ( a baseball player

for

> the Baltimore Orioles) has tested positive for anabolic steriods.

It

> appears there will be many more baseball players testing positive

for

> this banned drug. Do you know what you call baseball players who

are

> not on steroids? -- Kansas City Royals

>

> In the United States, the White House is considering dropping

its " War

> on Terrorism " slogan and replacing it with its " Global Campaign on

> Terrorist Violence " -- REALLY ! Do you think with our president's

> limited vocabulary that this is a good idea?

>

> Walmart has announced that they will be opening a Walmart

Superstore in

> China. I think they should call it The Great Walmart of China.

>

>

> Now for our news. We took my son for his quarterly ped. endo

> checkup. In the past 3 months he has grown a lot. He height has

> increased about 1.2 inches and he has gained 4.4 pounds. That is

the

> biggest quarterly increase ever. The doctor has decided to keep his

> growth hormone and periactin dosages the same.

>

> There are 2 concerns for us. One is that he has developed this tick

> when he blinks. When he is tired, about once a minute, he scrunches

up

> his whole face to blink. It is an involuntary reflex. For now, it

only

> bothers us. doesn't realize he is even doing it. However, if

it

> gets worse then we will investigate it further. For the time being,

his

> doctor thinks it maybe something he will outgrow. We shall see.

>

> The other concern we have involves this Star Wars video game we

> purchased for him. It comes with this blue wand that is used as a

light

> saber. You wave it at the game and it shows up on your TV.

plays

> this game often and he really gets involved in swinging this light

> saber. He keeps whacking himself in the arm. He has developed some

> pretty big bruises. So, we have tried to limit his playing time and

we

> have gotten him some arm pads. The bruises are healing, however, my

ego

> is taking a beating because he is beating me at this game.

>

> Otherwise, is doing great.

>

> Last, once again, I am facing unemployment. My job is being sent to

> India at the end of the month and my employer is headed into the

toilet

> (i.e. going out of business or being acquired by a larger foriegn

> company). This just shows that the economy is recovering -- India's

> that is. I do have some prospects. I will let you know if they work

out.

>

>

> Ken M

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I work at Teradyne but not for long.

I design and develop ATE systems and I develop the software to

control them.

At Teradyne, I have been verifying software bug fixes. That function

along with some of SQA is moving to India ( or so I have been told).

I too was told in December that my job was safe. I have been looking

for a while also. So far there isn't a lot of need for hardware test

engineers.

Hopefully things will pick up soon. Thanks for the offer to help.

Ken M

> > Hi Everyone,

> >

> > There have been some items in the news lately that I could not

> resist

> > commenting on.

> >

> > " Golfer Daly will attempt to hit a golf ball over Niagara

> Falls on

> > Wednesday to mark the opening of Daly's first signature golf

> course.

> > Daly will need his drive to carry about 350 yards from Table

Rock,

> > Canada, to land his ball onto Goat Island, N.Y. The good news is

> that's

> > only 275 American yards. " -- from Pete McEntegart Sports

> Illustrated.com

> >

> > Sorry Deb, I couldn't resist that one.

> >

> > Recently it was learned that Rafeal Palmeiro ( a baseball player

> for

> > the Baltimore Orioles) has tested positive for anabolic steriods.

> It

> > appears there will be many more baseball players testing positive

> for

> > this banned drug. Do you know what you call baseball players who

> are

> > not on steroids? -- Kansas City Royals

> >

> > In the United States, the White House is considering dropping

> its " War

> > on Terrorism " slogan and replacing it with its " Global Campaign

on

> > Terrorist Violence " -- REALLY ! Do you think with our president's

> > limited vocabulary that this is a good idea?

> >

> > Walmart has announced that they will be opening a Walmart

> Superstore in

> > China. I think they should call it The Great Walmart of China.

> >

> >

> > Now for our news. We took my son for his quarterly ped.

endo

> > checkup. In the past 3 months he has grown a lot. He height has

> > increased about 1.2 inches and he has gained 4.4 pounds. That is

> the

> > biggest quarterly increase ever. The doctor has decided to keep

his

> > growth hormone and periactin dosages the same.

> >

> > There are 2 concerns for us. One is that he has developed this

tick

> > when he blinks. When he is tired, about once a minute, he

scrunches

> up

> > his whole face to blink. It is an involuntary reflex. For now, it

> only

> > bothers us. doesn't realize he is even doing it. However,

if

> it

> > gets worse then we will investigate it further. For the time

being,

> his

> > doctor thinks it maybe something he will outgrow. We shall see.

> >

> > The other concern we have involves this Star Wars video game we

> > purchased for him. It comes with this blue wand that is used as a

> light

> > saber. You wave it at the game and it shows up on your TV.

> plays

> > this game often and he really gets involved in swinging this

light

> > saber. He keeps whacking himself in the arm. He has developed

some

> > pretty big bruises. So, we have tried to limit his playing time

and

> we

> > have gotten him some arm pads. The bruises are healing, however,

my

> ego

> > is taking a beating because he is beating me at this game.

> >

> > Otherwise, is doing great.

> >

> > Last, once again, I am facing unemployment. My job is being sent

to

> > India at the end of the month and my employer is headed into the

> toilet

> > (i.e. going out of business or being acquired by a larger foriegn

> > company). This just shows that the economy is recovering --

India's

> > that is. I do have some prospects. I will let you know if they

work

> out.

> >

> >

> > Ken M

> >

[Guest guest]

Oh Ken I always enjoy your posts.........you manage to always find a way to

get us " Canucks " LOL

In fact I thought you might have emailed given the big plane crash up here.

You know CNN had better coverage than our Toronto stations. But one of our

most famous newscasters called CNN and they were interviewing him. I was

howling with laughter thinking " way to go Gord! Don't call your own news

t.v. station........call CNN!!!!!! "

Even though Toronto is the biggest city in Canada, I have still already

heard from several different people who know someone, who knows someone who

was on that plane. I am still in shock no one died. Incredible!

Oh, I can't picture the saber thing you were mentioning that is hooked

on right now, but I got wondering if he's been squinting so often with THAT

thing (you know " oh! it's coming at my face again " )....that he can't stop

blinking! Just wondering out loud.

Of course, if it persists, take him to the eye doctor, he could probably

give you some ideas.

Anyway, keep those crazy Canadian jokes coming!!

Debby

CHAT -- The news and news

> Hi Everyone,

>

> There have been some items in the news lately that I could not resist

> commenting on.

>

> " Golfer Daly will attempt to hit a golf ball over Niagara Falls on

> Wednesday to mark the opening of Daly's first signature golf course.

> Daly will need his drive to carry about 350 yards from Table Rock,

> Canada, to land his ball onto Goat Island, N.Y. The good news is that's

> only 275 American yards. " -- from Pete McEntegart Sports Illustrated.com

>

> Sorry Deb, I couldn't resist that one.

>

> Recently it was learned that Rafeal Palmeiro ( a baseball player for

> the Baltimore Orioles) has tested positive for anabolic steriods. It

> appears there will be many more baseball players testing positive for

> this banned drug. Do you know what you call baseball players who are

> not on steroids? -- Kansas City Royals

>

> In the United States, the White House is considering dropping its " War

> on Terrorism " slogan and replacing it with its " Global Campaign on

> Terrorist Violence " -- REALLY ! Do you think with our president's

> limited vocabulary that this is a good idea?

>

> Walmart has announced that they will be opening a Walmart Superstore in

> China. I think they should call it The Great Walmart of China.

>

>

> Now for our news. We took my son for his quarterly ped. endo

> checkup. In the past 3 months he has grown a lot. He height has

> increased about 1.2 inches and he has gained 4.4 pounds. That is the

> biggest quarterly increase ever. The doctor has decided to keep his

> growth hormone and periactin dosages the same.

>

> There are 2 concerns for us. One is that he has developed this tick

> when he blinks. When he is tired, about once a minute, he scrunches up

> his whole face to blink. It is an involuntary reflex. For now, it only

> bothers us. doesn't realize he is even doing it. However, if it

> gets worse then we will investigate it further. For the time being, his

> doctor thinks it maybe something he will outgrow. We shall see.

>

> The other concern we have involves this Star Wars video game we

> purchased for him. It comes with this blue wand that is used as a light

> saber. You wave it at the game and it shows up on your TV. plays

> this game often and he really gets involved in swinging this light

> saber. He keeps whacking himself in the arm. He has developed some

> pretty big bruises. So, we have tried to limit his playing time and we

> have gotten him some arm pads. The bruises are healing, however, my ego

> is taking a beating because he is beating me at this game.

>

> Otherwise, is doing great.

>

> Last, once again, I am facing unemployment. My job is being sent to

> India at the end of the month and my employer is headed into the toilet

> (i.e. going out of business or being acquired by a larger foriegn

> company). This just shows that the economy is recovering -- India's

> that is. I do have some prospects. I will let you know if they work out.

>

>

> Ken M

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Deb,

's squinting happens at anytime and is not related to TV

viewing. We have taken him to an eye doctor. His vision is perfect

and the eye doctor did not have a clue as to why he periodically uses

his whole face during a normal blink. Most of the time he blinks

normally. Just once in a while he has this involuntary reflex.

The game I was referring to is similar to a basball game that

connects directly to your TV. In this case it looks like the training

ball Luke Skywalker was fighting in the first (episode 4) Star Wars

movie. It has 2 cables coming out of it. One is the audio cable and

one is a video cable. They plug into the audio and video inputs of

yor TV. The game emits an infrared beam that is reflected by a blue

wand. The diplays this on your TV as a Light Saber. Various

characters from the Star Wars movies appear and you must fight them.

The game cost about $40 (about 2.5 million Canadian (including taxes -

- taxes being the largest part). We got it at Target. I have also

seen it at Walmart.

Regarding the plane crash. I am very surprised and glad that no one

died. They will find, in the end, that this is a weather related

accident caused by the pilot's failure to understand conditions at

the airport. Like in all accident's, this one is a chain of events in

which there are multiple opportunities to make a diferent decision

and avoid the accident. It will be interesting to see how much they

blame the pilot and how much they blame Air Traffic Control.

Besides being an engineer, I am also a pilot. I cannot stand to

listen to TV news people cover an aviation accident. I swear, they go

to the station and grap the person most ignorant about airplanes and

stick them in front of the camera to stay some of the dumbiest things

you ever want to hear in a news cast. Drives me wild.

Glad to hear from you. I hope all is well.

Ken M

> Oh Ken I always enjoy your posts.........you manage to always find

a way to

> get us " Canucks " LOL

>

> In fact I thought you might have emailed given the big plane crash

up here.

> You know CNN had better coverage than our Toronto stations. But one

of our

> most famous newscasters called CNN and they were interviewing him.

I was

> howling with laughter thinking " way to go Gord! Don't call your own

news

> t.v. station........call CNN!!!!!! "

>

> Even though Toronto is the biggest city in Canada, I have still

already

> heard from several different people who know someone, who knows

someone who

> was on that plane. I am still in shock no one died. Incredible!

>

> Oh, I can't picture the saber thing you were mentioning that

is hooked

> on right now, but I got wondering if he's been squinting so often

with THAT

> thing (you know " oh! it's coming at my face again " )....that he

can't stop

> blinking! Just wondering out loud.

> Of course, if it persists, take him to the eye doctor, he could

probably

> give you some ideas.

>

> Anyway, keep those crazy Canadian jokes coming!!

>

> Debby

>

>

> CHAT -- The news and news

>

>

> > Hi Everyone,

> >

> > There have been some items in the news lately that I could not

resist

> > commenting on.

> >

> > " Golfer Daly will attempt to hit a golf ball over Niagara

Falls on

> > Wednesday to mark the opening of Daly's first signature golf

course.

> > Daly will need his drive to carry about 350 yards from Table Rock,

> > Canada, to land his ball onto Goat Island, N.Y. The good news is

that's

> > only 275 American yards. " -- from Pete McEntegart Sports

Illustrated.com

> >

> > Sorry Deb, I couldn't resist that one.

> >

> > Recently it was learned that Rafeal Palmeiro ( a baseball player

for

> > the Baltimore Orioles) has tested positive for anabolic steriods.

It

> > appears there will be many more baseball players testing positive

for

> > this banned drug. Do you know what you call baseball players who

are

> > not on steroids? -- Kansas City Royals

> >

> > In the United States, the White House is considering dropping

its " War

> > on Terrorism " slogan and replacing it with its " Global Campaign on

> > Terrorist Violence " -- REALLY ! Do you think with our president's

> > limited vocabulary that this is a good idea?

> >

> > Walmart has announced that they will be opening a Walmart

Superstore in

> > China. I think they should call it The Great Walmart of China.

> >

> >

> > Now for our news. We took my son for his quarterly ped. endo

> > checkup. In the past 3 months he has grown a lot. He height has

> > increased about 1.2 inches and he has gained 4.4 pounds. That is

the

> > biggest quarterly increase ever. The doctor has decided to keep

his

> > growth hormone and periactin dosages the same.

> >

> > There are 2 concerns for us. One is that he has developed this

tick

> > when he blinks. When he is tired, about once a minute, he

scrunches up

> > his whole face to blink. It is an involuntary reflex. For now, it

only

> > bothers us. doesn't realize he is even doing it. However,

if it

> > gets worse then we will investigate it further. For the time

being, his

> > doctor thinks it maybe something he will outgrow. We shall see.

> >

> > The other concern we have involves this Star Wars video game we

> > purchased for him. It comes with this blue wand that is used as a

light

> > saber. You wave it at the game and it shows up on your TV.

plays

> > this game often and he really gets involved in swinging this light

> > saber. He keeps whacking himself in the arm. He has developed some

> > pretty big bruises. So, we have tried to limit his playing time

and we

> > have gotten him some arm pads. The bruises are healing, however,

my ego

> > is taking a beating because he is beating me at this game.

> >

> > Otherwise, is doing great.

> >

> > Last, once again, I am facing unemployment. My job is being sent

to

> > India at the end of the month and my employer is headed into the

toilet

> > (i.e. going out of business or being acquired by a larger foriegn

> > company). This just shows that the economy is recovering --

India's

> > that is. I do have some prospects. I will let you know if they

work out.

> >

> >

> > Ken M

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Ken

One quick comment regarding the plane crash. Someone wrote a letter to the

editor today in our newspaper that said " thank God it happened in

Canada.....if it was in the States, the US t.v. networks would be

speculating on terrorism the entire time. " And it is funny (it's the first

thing I thought) but not one single entity said that on t.v. during those

initial few minutes.

Oh and I'm sure the saber would only be about a thousand

Canadian.......surely you are jesting!! LOL

Deb

CHAT -- The news and news

> >

> >

> > > Hi Everyone,

> > >

> > > There have been some items in the news lately that I could not

> resist

> > > commenting on.

> > >

> > > " Golfer Daly will attempt to hit a golf ball over Niagara

> Falls on

> > > Wednesday to mark the opening of Daly's first signature golf

> course.

> > > Daly will need his drive to carry about 350 yards from Table Rock,

> > > Canada, to land his ball onto Goat Island, N.Y. The good news is

> that's

> > > only 275 American yards. " -- from Pete McEntegart Sports

> Illustrated.com

> > >

> > > Sorry Deb, I couldn't resist that one.

> > >

> > > Recently it was learned that Rafeal Palmeiro ( a baseball player

> for

> > > the Baltimore Orioles) has tested positive for anabolic steriods.

> It

> > > appears there will be many more baseball players testing positive

> for

> > > this banned drug. Do you know what you call baseball players who

> are

> > > not on steroids? -- Kansas City Royals

> > >

> > > In the United States, the White House is considering dropping

> its " War

> > > on Terrorism " slogan and replacing it with its " Global Campaign on

> > > Terrorist Violence " -- REALLY ! Do you think with our president's

> > > limited vocabulary that this is a good idea?

> > >

> > > Walmart has announced that they will be opening a Walmart

> Superstore in

> > > China. I think they should call it The Great Walmart of China.

> > >

> > >

> > > Now for our news. We took my son for his quarterly ped. endo

> > > checkup. In the past 3 months he has grown a lot. He height has

> > > increased about 1.2 inches and he has gained 4.4 pounds. That is

> the

> > > biggest quarterly increase ever. The doctor has decided to keep

> his

> > > growth hormone and periactin dosages the same.

> > >

> > > There are 2 concerns for us. One is that he has developed this

> tick

> > > when he blinks. When he is tired, about once a minute, he

> scrunches up

> > > his whole face to blink. It is an involuntary reflex. For now, it

> only

> > > bothers us. doesn't realize he is even doing it. However,

> if it

> > > gets worse then we will investigate it further. For the time

> being, his

> > > doctor thinks it maybe something he will outgrow. We shall see.

> > >

> > > The other concern we have involves this Star Wars video game we

> > > purchased for him. It comes with this blue wand that is used as a

> light

> > > saber. You wave it at the game and it shows up on your TV.

> plays

> > > this game often and he really gets involved in swinging this light

> > > saber. He keeps whacking himself in the arm. He has developed some

> > > pretty big bruises. So, we have tried to limit his playing time

> and we

> > > have gotten him some arm pads. The bruises are healing, however,

> my ego

> > > is taking a beating because he is beating me at this game.

> > >

> > > Otherwise, is doing great.

> > >

> > > Last, once again, I am facing unemployment. My job is being sent

> to

> > > India at the end of the month and my employer is headed into the

> toilet

> > > (i.e. going out of business or being acquired by a larger foriegn

> > > company). This just shows that the economy is recovering --

> India's

> > > that is. I do have some prospects. I will let you know if they

> work out.

> > >

> > >

> > > Ken M

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

[Guest guest]

Ken,

Is taking any meds for attentional issues? I know that in the

past you have voiced concerns over his ability to attend to school

tasks, etc. If so, he could have developed a tic from them. Even if

he has not, it is not unusual for a child at some point to have a

facial tic, especially if stressed or undergoing any sort of physical,

social, emotional, etc change.

As long as the tic is not bothering him and he is not being teased

about it, I'd just let it be and not even point it out to him. It

will probably disappear or fade over time. If it does become an

issue, then you will have to address it somehow. Until then, try to

ignore it.

Jodi Z

[Guest guest]

Hi Deb,

Funny you mentioned the terroism angle. No reporter here

mentioned terrorism either. I had not thought about it until you

mentioned it.

Regarding the Start Wars TV game, yes I am jesting. Since it is

imported from China, I suspect it would cost about the same in

beautiful, scenic Canada.

Ken M

> > > Oh Ken I always enjoy your posts.........you manage to

always find

> > a way to

> > > get us " Canucks " LOL

> > >

> > > In fact I thought you might have emailed given the big plane

crash

> > up here.

> > > You know CNN had better coverage than our Toronto

stations. But one

> > of our

> > > most famous newscasters called CNN and they were

interviewing him.

> > I was

> > > howling with laughter thinking " way to go Gord! Don't call

your own

> > news

> > > t.v. station........call CNN!!!!!! "

> > >

> > > Even though Toronto is the biggest city in Canada, I have

still

> > already

> > > heard from several different people who know someone,

who knows

> > someone who

> > > was on that plane. I am still in shock no one died.

Incredible!

> > >

> > > Oh, I can't picture the saber thing you were mentioning that

> > is hooked

> > > on right now, but I got wondering if he's been squinting so

often

> > with THAT

> > > thing (you know " oh! it's coming at my face again " )....that he

> > can't stop

> > > blinking! Just wondering out loud.

> > > Of course, if it persists, take him to the eye doctor, he could

> > probably

> > > give you some ideas.

> > >

> > > Anyway, keep those crazy Canadian jokes coming!!

> > >

> > > Debby

> > >

> > >

> > > CHAT -- The news and news

> > >

> > >

> > > > Hi Everyone,

> > > >

> > > > There have been some items in the news lately that I

could not

> > resist

> > > > commenting on.

> > > >

> > > > " Golfer Daly will attempt to hit a golf ball over

Niagara

> > Falls on

> > > > Wednesday to mark the opening of Daly's first signature

golf

> > course.

> > > > Daly will need his drive to carry about 350 yards from

Table Rock,

> > > > Canada, to land his ball onto Goat Island, N.Y. The good

news is

> > that's

> > > > only 275 American yards. " -- from Pete McEntegart Sports

> > Illustrated.com

> > > >

> > > > Sorry Deb, I couldn't resist that one.

> > > >

> > > > Recently it was learned that Rafeal Palmeiro ( a baseball

player

> > for

> > > > the Baltimore Orioles) has tested positive for anabolic

steriods.

> > It

> > > > appears there will be many more baseball players

testing positive

> > for

> > > > this banned drug. Do you know what you call baseball

players who

> > are

> > > > not on steroids? -- Kansas City Royals

> > > >

> > > > In the United States, the White House is considering

dropping

> > its " War

> > > > on Terrorism " slogan and replacing it with its " Global

Campaign on

> > > > Terrorist Violence " -- REALLY ! Do you think with our

president's

> > > > limited vocabulary that this is a good idea?

> > > >

> > > > Walmart has announced that they will be opening a

Walmart

> > Superstore in

> > > > China. I think they should call it The Great Walmart of

China.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Now for our news. We took my son for his quarterly

ped. endo

> > > > checkup. In the past 3 months he has grown a lot. He

height has

> > > > increased about 1.2 inches and he has gained 4.4

pounds. That is

> > the

> > > > biggest quarterly increase ever. The doctor has decided

to keep

> > his

> > > > growth hormone and periactin dosages the same.

> > > >

> > > > There are 2 concerns for us. One is that he has

developed this

> > tick

> > > > when he blinks. When he is tired, about once a minute,

he

> > scrunches up

> > > > his whole face to blink. It is an involuntary reflex. For now,

it

> > only

> > > > bothers us. doesn't realize he is even doing it.

However,

> > if it

> > > > gets worse then we will investigate it further. For the time

> > being, his

> > > > doctor thinks it maybe something he will outgrow. We

shall see.

> > > >

> > > > The other concern we have involves this Star Wars video

game we

> > > > purchased for him. It comes with this blue wand that is

used as a

> > light

> > > > saber. You wave it at the game and it shows up on your

TV.

> > plays

> > > > this game often and he really gets involved in swinging

this light

> > > > saber. He keeps whacking himself in the arm. He has

developed some

> > > > pretty big bruises. So, we have tried to limit his playing

time

> > and we

> > > > have gotten him some arm pads. The bruises are

healing, however,

> > my ego

> > > > is taking a beating because he is beating me at this

game.

> > > >

> > > > Otherwise, is doing great.

> > > >

> > > > Last, once again, I am facing unemployment. My job is

being sent

> > to

> > > > India at the end of the month and my employer is headed

into the

> > toilet

> > > > (i.e. going out of business or being acquired by a larger

foriegn

> > > > company). This just shows that the economy is

recovering --

> > India's

> > > > that is. I do have some prospects. I will let you know if

they

> > work out.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Ken M

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

[Guest guest]

Hi Jodi,

Thanks for asking.

No, is not taking any meds for attention problems.

There is no stress at the moment. His friends have not said

anything, at least not that we are aware of.

His attention disorders are related to his very active and vivid

imagination centered around his favorite TV shows or movies.

We intend to do just as you suggested, just monitor it and

hopefully it will fade as he matures.

By the way, I have been wondering, how are the driving lessons

going?

How was the convention?

Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate them.

Ken M

> Ken,

>

> Is taking any meds for attentional issues? I know that in

the

> past you have voiced concerns over his ability to attend to

school

> tasks, etc. If so, he could have developed a tic from them.

Even if

> he has not, it is not unusual for a child at some point to have a

> facial tic, especially if stressed or undergoing any sort of

physical,

> social, emotional, etc change.

>

> As long as the tic is not bothering him and he is not being

teased

> about it, I'd just let it be and not even point it out to him. It

> will probably disappear or fade over time. If it does become an

> issue, then you will have to address it somehow. Until then, try

to

> ignore it.

>

> Jodi Z

[Guest guest]

Ken,

The driving lessons have stopped for now. Max did his 6 hours and

then gave it up. He was so tense that he actually hurt his right

ankle and foot. It took two weeks for him to stop limping! I guess

he was tensing it up so much that it led to injury. I don't know

whether to be happy or sad about it. I know he's not mature enough

to drive a car, but I hate for him to give up so easily. He doesn't

know it yet, but my plans for the next month now that I am done with

teaching for the summer are to take him out driving in parking lots

a few times a week. I don't care if he drives a few feet. He will

face his fears and get over them!

I was not able to go to the convention this year, either. I have

received a scholarship to be certified in Orton Gillingham, a multi-

sensory approach to teaching reading, writing and spelling. It's a

2 year graduate program and in exchange for the scholarship, they

want blood. I had to go for lectures during the time of the

convention. Once school starts up again, I will have to go twice a

week and tutor, then stay for a lecture. I know it's an honor, but

one does not get something for nothing....

Jodi Z

[Guest guest]

Hi Jodi,

How big is your yard? Do you have a lawn tractor?

Maybe you could take Max to an amusment park and let him drive

the bumper cars. Only instead of trying to bump into people, he

could try and avoid hitting people, you know like driving on the NJ

turnpike.

Any go kart tracks near by?

Good luck with your certification. It sounds like it will be very

rewarding but difficult to accomplish.

Ken M

> Ken,

>

> The driving lessons have stopped for now. Max did his 6 hours

and

> then gave it up. He was so tense that he actually hurt his right

> ankle and foot. It took two weeks for him to stop limping! I

guess

> he was tensing it up so much that it led to injury. I don't know

> whether to be happy or sad about it. I know he's not mature

enough

> to drive a car, but I hate for him to give up so easily. He doesn't

> know it yet, but my plans for the next month now that I am done

with

> teaching for the summer are to take him out driving in parking

lots

> a few times a week. I don't care if he drives a few feet. He will

> face his fears and get over them!

>

> I was not able to go to the convention this year, either. I have

> received a scholarship to be certified in Orton Gillingham, a

multi-

> sensory approach to teaching reading, writing and spelling.

It's a

> 2 year graduate program and in exchange for the scholarship,

they

> want blood. I had to go for lectures during the time of the

> convention. Once school starts up again, I will have to go twice

a

> week and tutor, then stay for a lecture. I know it's an honor, but

> one does not get something for nothing....

>

> Jodi Z

[Guest guest]

Hey Jodi,

Not trying to but in or anything, and I don't know if this would even

be available to you, but we have a golf cart that all our kids drive,

it won't go over 40 so no worries there, and they get to practice.

(Storm even drives it!!!) It is loads of fun out here on our ranch.

They chase the goats with it (poor goats!) We were going to get a four

wheeler, but I am glad we have this instead! it is great practice. My

husband also lets them drive the truck around on the ranch to

practice. If you know anyone that has a track of land to run around

on, it is a great way to get the feel of driving without pesky roads

or traffic! (other than goats and trees of course!) LOL! Storm ran

into a tree. (forgot about the brakes!) Loads of fun!

Blessings,

Carmen