Nov

26

My girls are so excited Feld Entertainment is coming back to the Twin Cities with another all new show featuring Disney’s princesses! This show will be family fun for all. 

Here is a synopsis of what the show is about: 

“Discover endless riches when Disney On Ice presents Treasure Trove comes to your hometown!  Disney On Ice sets the gold standard with its newest skating spectacular.  Get tangled up in Disney’s 50th animated feature with Rapunzel and Flynn and enter the worlds of your other favorite Disney princesses –Tiana, Cinderella, Jasmine, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Mulan and of course, the one who started it all, Snow White.  Ahoy, Mateys!  Set sail with Peter Pan, the always sassy Tinker Bell and the cantankerous Captain Hook and his pirate pals on an adventure beyond Never Land!  Trek the wilds of Africa with Simba, Nala, Pumbaa and Timon as they discover the true meaning of the ‘Circle of Life.’  Tick-Tock!  Tick-Tock!  Don’t be late to a very important date with Alice and the Mad Hatter as they march with the Queen of Hearts’ Army Of Cards.  Be sure to see this show full of memories guaranteed to last a lifetime.”

Mickey and all the Princesses

For more information, visit DIsneyonice.com

Once again this year our readers will be able to score a great deal on tickets to the Twin Cities show at the Xcel Energy Center December 8th through the 11th.
The tickets are reasonable priced, from $16, and up to $65 for front row VIP seats. (Group 12+ call 651-312-3486 for pricing)

Show times are:

Thursday, Dec. 8 – 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 9 – 10 a.m. & 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 10 – 11 a.m., 3 p.m. & 7 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 11 – 1 p.m. & 5 p.m.

You can snatch up 4 tickets for $44 on select shows!

This deal is valid on all weekend evening performances (Friday 7 p.m. / Saturday 7 p.m. / Sunday 5 p.m.) This offer is good until Wednesday, December 7th, so act soon!

(Offer Valid toward regularly-priced $16 tickets only, excludes VIP and Front Row Seats. Offer subject to ticket availability. For best seats redeem as soon as possible. Valid on up to 12 discounted tickets. Not to be used in conjunction with any other discounts, premiums or rebates.)

To Redeem:
Call 1-800-745-3000 Use code: MOM or online at ticketmaster.com also using code MOM.

Please make sure to drop me a comment by e-mailing waveofjoy@yahoo.com. The girls and I have made up a surprise package full of Disney Princess goodies to one lucky reader!

Dec

30

Early on in our marriage, I came up with a rule: if it isn’t used in a year, it’s out of here!  (Of course, keepsakes and photos are exempt from this.)

I do know a fair amount of pack rats. The reasoning is almost always the same: “I might need this someday.” What about today? There is probably someone who could use it now; couldn’t it go to them?

Let’s say for the sake of the argument that indeed, someday comes, and you do need it.  Can you find it? Or is it lost somewhere amongst the piles of clutter? It would probably be easier to go buy a new one that searching for hours or even days for the old (and probably rusted or ruined) one.

Less clutter is good! I challenge all who may have a hording tenancy to have a garage sale, donate to a used store, or just rent a dumpster and declutter your lives a bit!

Dec

30

Our daughter, Nora, has Sensory Processing Disorder. (Please see the links for info about what that is medically, this post is more about Nora’s unique experience than the disorder itself.) She was medically diagnosed at age 3. Now, at age 7, she is a thriving, happy child. But the journey to today wasn’t so smooth.

Nora had a rough entry into the world. I knew something wasn’t right the moment she was born, but the doctors and nurses brushed away my concerns. The first two weeks at home with her were awful. She would scream whenever picked up, bawl when buckled in her car seat, and vomit after ever nursing session. Finally at her two week check-up we got an answer, her collar bone had been broken, most likely during delivery. There is no consensus as to why some children develop SPD, but many of them had a traumatic birth.

Fast forward a couple years. At age 2, Nora was amazing. She spoke like an average five year old, using long descriptive paragraphs. Her memory was also incredible. She would talk about places and experiences many months after they happened. She did seem a bit sensitive to her surroundings, but being our first daughter, we chalked that up to her being a girl.

Age three was the turning point. She would climb up onto tall bunk beds or playground structures and jump off. She would spin around on sit-and-spins or playground carousels until she got sick. She would bend down and touch the ground often when walking. She’d scream and cry whenever she saw anything swinging, from a bumped chandelier to children at the playground.

We just thought it was Nora being Nora until one night, when I realized something wasn’t right. It was a very cold winter night. The wind was howling. Our porch swing started swaying in the wind. Nora saw it out the window and started screaming, “It’s going to fall! Make it stop!” Somehow she got outside. I can still see her, a little preschooler in a nightgown, barefoot in the snow, clinging onto the swing, battling with the wind, trying desperately to stop the swing, screaming “make it stop!” over and over again at the top of her lungs, tears frozen on her checks. Her father literally had to pry her hands off the swing and drag her back inside.

I mentioned the event to her preschool teacher. She had had a similar problem with Nora. Nora would scream whenever the classroom rocking chair would rock! We decided to get her help.

Her doctor was very understanding, and referred us to a therapist who specialized in SPD. Nora went to therapy for about six months. What a transformation! We were given tools to help her, many that we still use today. Nora still remembers her therapist as “the ball pit lady,” because she had a big ball pit there that Nora loved to roll around in.

Nora no longer screams at the sight of swings. In fact, sometimes she’s even up to going on them! We mostly notice her SPD when she is getting tired. She will bear walk (walking on arms and legs) or ram into people and walls. When I ask her why she touches the ground when walking, she says it’s “to make sure it’s still there.” She chews a lot. Her hair and shirt are the most frequent victims. We used to give her gum instead, but then noticed they all have artificial coloring (which makes her more hyper, and more likely to chew, creating an endless cycle!) so we now offer baby carrots or hard caramels.

She still has good days and bad days. School, especially reading, has been a challenge. Following the words on a line can make her dizzy. She often will mix up the sounds of words she’s trying to pronounce. For example, when sounding out the word “cat” she will say “c,” “aaa,” “t,” … “act” instead of putting the sounds in the right order to get “cat.”

Children with SPD often have low self esteem, and Nora is no exception. She is very self conscious. When she talks to friends, she will often nervously rock back and forth or chew on her hair. She will make comments like “you don’t love me” a lot, which can be heartbreaking. Her helper with her esteem is her cat, Luigi. She will seek him out and snuggle with him whenever she is feeling down. She is responsible for his food and water, which gives her a feeling of being needed.

Nora amazing us. Having SPD is like having all your senses turned up to full volume. Every noise, every movement, every smell, every bite full of food, every touch can overwhelm her. But for the most part she’s got the mastery over her senses, She’s winning the battle.

Dec

24

It can be hard to uncover the true facts about a topic, especially on the internet. Take, for example, the ban on food colorings in Europe. After reading about it in a popular magazine, I did some research. Turns out, the ban is voluntary. The article didn’t bother mentioning that significant (to me, anyway) fact.

I am not out to shove my views and opinions on anyone. I feel it is important to be an educated consumer. Clinging to an unchecked fact can be a dangerous thing. I encourage you, the reader, to look into the links pertaining to this blog’s articles to form your own conclusions on matters. I have tried to list neutral links from well known organizations. If you have a link to add, please feel free to e-mail it to me.

Dec

16

At age two my eldest son was a handful. He literally would be bouncing off the walls while playing. He talked in a shrill squeaky shout. He would grow frustrated easily, and my mother was sure he had ADD. (He didn’t.)

I don’t recall how I can across the theory, but I decided to try eliminating artificial colors and flavorings from his diet. The biggest change I noticed was his sleep. He would actually sleep the whole night, and was able to focus more. He was still full of energy, to be sure, but seemed happier.

Fast forward 13 years. Somehow, we had forgotten about our no dyes and colors policy until one day I read a blurb about it in a magazine. Turns out, there is such a strong link to hyper behavior and artificial colorings, they are banned in Europe! We decided to try to ban them from our diets, as well.

Again, just like with the HFCS, we were amazed by what all contained artificial coloring, often called FD&C on the food label. Almost all treats, from ice cream to fruit snacks to favorite cereals had the dyes. The worst thing was realizing the gum my daughter chewed to help her stay focused (recommended for ones with sensory processing issues) also had dyes, and we have yet to find a gum that doesn’t.

Slowly our family is eliminating all the FD&Cs from our diet. The kids are discovering which ice creams, candy, and cereals are free of both HFCS and FD&Cs. It makes for a slower grocery shopping trip, but we think it’s worth it! We have already noticed a difference in our daughter. She has less sensory trip-ups, and exhibits fewer nervous behaviors, such as hair and nail chewing.

Dec

16

After a member of our family was told he has hideously high levels of cholesterol, our family begin a journey into healthier eating. We started small: things like portion size, the food groups in their proper place in our diet, and more fresh and natural foods.

As we started become more aware of what we were putting into our body, my children became more critical of what was acceptable to eat. We did research, finding that sugar and other sweeteners have over fifty different names that food companies use on their labels! One of the first things we decided to try to greatly reduce the consumption of was high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). After they heard me mention a news story about mercury found in some products with the ingredient, the kids took over in earnest.

Well, this will be easy, I thought. Until we ventured out to our local grocery store! Things I never even thought to read the ingredients list of turned out to be some of the worst offenders. Bread! Almost all the brands of bread offered all had HFCS! We finally found a brand, Country Hearth, that didn’t have any.

country hearth bread

I am also making more home made breads. Another big offender is ketchup. We have yet to find a brand that doesn’t use HFCS. I suppose I should just make my own.

Cereal is another huge offender. Most of the cereals marketed as being the “healthiest” actually have HFCS. All Brand, Corn Flakes, and Rice Crispies all failed our new edible criteria. In fact, we have changed how we eat breakfast altogether, which I will blabble about another day.

If we had the resources to grow and make all our food from scratch, we would, but that’s just not feasible. So what is one to do? It is utterly impossible to not eat any sweeteners today. They are everywhere, from hams to crackers to canned fruit. (Yes, we eat lots of fresh fruits, but the selection gets very thin in mid-winter in a small town.)

Moderation is our key. As a family, we are striving to cut out sugars, especially HFCS whenever we can. And just as important, my children now read the labels of the foods they eat, make wiser decisions based of those facts, and are hopefully a bit healthier as a result.

Dec

13

Way to many people have blogs, in my opinion. At least, the wrong kind of blogs.  Blogs should give something to the reader, even if it is nothing more than a smile. Too many seem to be screaming “Look at me! Look at ME!” I don’t want to be that sort of writer.

When I had my first child, I knew it all. Everyone was a bad parent but me. With my second child, I was an expert. Now, with six children, I am neither an expert nor a great parent.  I now understand that no one way of parenting is right, and no parent is perfect.  Parenting is a journey,  sometimes funny, other times heartbreaking.

I am not out to voice my opinion as superior over anyone’s.  I am also not out to shamelessly promote products or goods because they were given to me for free.  I will honestly write what I think.

Future writing topics are sure to include parenting, raising a child with sensory processing disorder, nature, humorous happenings, and other items worth discussing.