Cordy Archives - Page 9 of 56

Aug 23, 2012

First Day of Second Grade

“But I miss my old teacher, mommy!”

I was worried that Cordy’s first day of school was going to go poorly. She’s had a lot of anxiety about being in a new class with a new teacher, even though she knows the teacher from breakfast and lunch times at school. The school work might be too hard this year, and she might not see her friends. So as we waited for the bus yesterday morning I tried to reassure her that she’d love her new class and her friends from last year would be with her.

She was happy to have her new school clothing and new backpack, though, and she put on a brave face waiting for the bus.

Srsly, when did my little girl turn into a KID?

Unfortunately, the bus didn’t arrive on time. After it was more than thirty minutes late – meaning Cordy would be late for school if it didn’t show up right then – Aaron made the choice to take her to school instead. We couldn’t risk setting the whole year off to the wrong start by making Cordy anxious over being late to school.

The bus did show up an hour after it was supposed to be here (and 10 minutes before class was to start at a school on the other side of Columbus), and they promised that they’d be on time the next day. They were only 15 minutes late today.

Mira was very unhappy that her sister got to go to school and she didn’t. Kindergarten always starts a day or two late in our district, so Mira won’t begin until Friday. She pouted at the door as Aaron’s car pulled out of the driveway.

I spent the whole day worried about how Cordy’s first day would go. They are team teaching this year, meaning she’ll have her class subjects split between two teachers, and have to adjust to two different styles of teaching and classroom management. Could she handle it?

Waiting for the bus to bring her home was even more stressful. Her route was scheduled to drop her off at 4:30. Fifteen minutes passed the scheduled time and I chalked it up to being the first day of school. Then thirty minutes passed. Then forty-five. Calls to transportation resulted in a busy signal or a “not in service” message.

Finally, just over an hour after her scheduled drop-off time, and two hours since she got on the bus, she arrived at home. If this continues, we’ll strongly consider picking them up from school each day. Last year’s afternoon bus promised to get better and still never improved beyond an hour and a half ride home.

Sneak attack photo. But hey, she managed to not lose her necklace all day!

The verdict? Cordy had a great first day. She loved her new teacher, she was happy to see her friends and she was no longer anxious about the school work. As we walked in the front door, her backpack erupted into a mountain of paperwork (for me? you shouldn’t have…) and she rattled off all of the good points of the day without taking a breath between each. We worked through her first homework assignment together as she smiled and sighed, “School is gonna be awesome this year!”

Oh, I hope for nothing less than awesome.

Filed Under: Cordy, school ·

Aug 22, 2012

End of Summer Trip, Day 1: Cedar Point

By Christina ·

Last week we had the chance to get away for a couple of days before the start of the school year. With only a couple of days to get in some fun, we stayed closer to home and traveled up to Lake Erie. Day one was an amusement park adventure to Cedar Point. We went there last summer, and at that time it was the first amusement park for both girls. We didn’t know what to expect last year, but Cordy surprised us by wanting to go on roller coasters, with her favorite ride being the Cedar Creek Mine Ride.

The entire drive up, Cordy talked about how she wanted to go right to the Mine Ride, followed by the Iron Dragon. We were impressed with her bravery, but reminded her that we had to make sure we went on things that Mira could ride, too. Mira, who was too small for anything but the little kid rides last year, was hoping she’d be tall enough to try some “big kid” rides this year.

When we arrived, we had the kids measured to determine ride height. Doing this outside the gate saves a lot of time, because the kids get colored wristbands that let everyone know how tall they are, so they don’t need to measure at every ride.

Mira was leaning in this photo

Cordy added several rides to her available list with her new height of 52″, while Mira was still a little too short for most coasters, but at 46″ squeaked by for the Iron Dragon.

Going on a Thursday in August is just perfect. The park was full but not too crowded, and lines for most of the rides were under a 15 minute wait. (The big coasters of course are a longer wait.) The weather was also gorgeous that day, with a cool breeze from Lake Erie.

After a few warm-up rides, Cordy really wanted to go on the Mine Ride. So Aaron took Mira to the antique cars while Cordy and I took on the Mine Ride. Cordy suddenly got anxious on the ride, which was a surprise considering how much she wanted to ride it. After the ride, she still said it was a lot of fun.

What a difference a year makes, eh?

Cedar Point has three areas specifically focused on rides for kids, so we wound through the frontier area and then into Camp Snoopy, where both girls tried out just about every ride in the area. Mira loved that she was tall enough for each ride, and thankfully Cordy was still short enough for each ride.

Mira as the Red Baron

Eventually we found our way to the front of the park again, and Mira begged to go on the Iron Dragon, since she’s tall enough to ride it. It’s a suspended coaster and has always been one of my favorites. Cordy and I rode it last year, and while it scared her a little she wanted to go again this year.

But as we stood in line, Cordy started to get anxious again. I reminded her how much fun she had last year, but by the time we climbed into the seats, she flipped out. As the shoulder harness snapped into place, she looked at the attendant and cried, “Please don’t make me ride this! They’re trying to kill me!” Want to know the fastest and most embarrassing way to get booted from a ride? That would be it. The attendant signaled for the harness to be released and asked Cordy and I to please exit the ride, with no chance to explain. I’m amazed he didn’t call security over that one.

We waited for Aaron and Mira to finish the ride as Cordy calmed down. Mira came out of the exit beaming and shouting to me, “Mommy, I LOVE the Iron Dragon! I want to go AGAIN!” It appears we now have a coaster junkie on our hands! (I’m so proud.)

Cordy did calm down after a little break, but decided she didn’t want to try any other “big” rides for the day. We were disappointed, but understood that her anxiety sometimes gets the better of her. She still enjoyed several other smaller rides, and I’m sure next year she’ll want to try again. While Mira was bummed that she was too short for some of the other coasters, she was still big enough for the Jr Gemini and the Woodstock Express. Despite being small, she had plenty of thrill moments to keep her screaming and cheering.

Note: Cedar Point has a neat feature called Parent Swap to make sure you can ride the rides. You can sign up at Guest Services, then one parent waits in line for a coaster. After the ride, they give their parent swap pass to the ride operator, and the other parent can then walk up the exit and get on the ride immediately. It’s great for those who still want to ride but have kids who can’t go with them.

In the late afternoon, we played games and browsed the shops. Mira rode the Iron Dragon one more time with me so I’d get the chance to ride it. Oh, let’s be honest – she wasn’t doing me any favors, she REALLY wanted to ride it again. At the games, Mira won a stuffed Pokemon in the water gun races (with some help from Aaron), and Cordy won two stuffed frogs.

We were quickly losing our energy around dinnertime, and took one final ride on the midway carousel before going to our hotel.

long arm, in-motion shot

I loved getting to spend the day having fun as a family. There were so many laughs, and smiles and sighs of happiness. Yes, Cordy did have a meltdown, but those certainly aren’t uncommon for us, and she did recover to enjoy the rest of the day.

The kids got to ride just about every ride they wanted to (and were tall enough for), some multiple times. It felt awesome to see our daughters so happy as they skipped through the park, clutching their stuffed animals and looking for the next ride. We had a good mix of thrill rides and taking moments to relax and get ice cream, play games or enjoy a slow ride on the Cedar Point and Lake Erie Railroad.

and hang with Snoopy

There are still things we didn’t get to see, but there’s so much at Cedar Point that it’s hard to do it all in a single day. I think we can call the day a success, though, judging by how hard the kids slept that night. Mira said she dreamed about growing just two inches by next year so she’ll be tall enough for many of the roller coasters at Cedar Point. She has big plans to conquer them all!

Giveaway!

Want to make some of your own family memories at Cedar Point? I’m giving away a pack of FOUR tickets to Cedar Point for one lucky reader. These tickets are good only through the end of the 2012 season (including HalloWeekends), so please be aware of the short date on them!

To enter, just leave a comment below telling me the first amusement park you ever went to. Be sure to leave a way for me to contact you if you’re randomly selected as the winner. Contest is open to anyone 18+ but be aware you have to get to Cedar Point on your own if you live far away.

Entries will be accepted through August 28, 2012. Good luck!

(And if you don’t want to win but just want to leave a comment telling me how my kids have grown a foot since last year, feel free!)

Full disclosure: I was provided with four tickets to Cedar Point as the result of winning a blog contest. (Thanks, Tracey!) Our wallets will show that no other compensation was received, as it took several tries to win the stuffed animals we went home with. Tickets in the giveaway are being provided by Cedar Point. All opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Cedar Point or the folks who witnessed Cordy’s meltdown.

Filed Under: Aaron, Cordy, family time, giveaways, Mira ·

Aug 20, 2012

End of Summer

By Christina ·

School begins on Wednesday, and it couldn’t come soon enough. It’s been two weeks since summer camp ended, which means it’s been two weeks of a new, less structured routine for Cordy that has kept her on edge every day.

I hate this period between camp and school – I can’t keep her entertained when I have to work, but she gets anxious and frustrated by no solid routine. Mira picks up on her anxiety and, right out of the Little Siblings Handbook, chooses to antagonize her. It’s really a two week period of survival around here, and we all celebrate when school begins again.

The good news is that Mira will be attending Cordy’s school for kindergarten. There was some question last year about if they would find a seat for Mira, since the school isn’t our home school and they didn’t accept any students from the lottery. The prospect of having two kids at two schools on opposite sides of Columbus was less than ideal, so I appealed to the principal at Cordy’s school, begging for Mira to be admitted.

Begging isn’t an exaggeration, either. I considered sending flowers and baked goods as well, but the principal told me at the end of May that it was looking good for Mira and to just be patient through the summer.

Patient is hard for me.

It took all summer, but two weeks ago we finally received the letter telling us that Mira was accepted. Whew. Now I only need to worry that they won’t get kicked off the bus for fighting with each other every morning. Or that Mira will make the principal regret her decision when she finds out that Mira is the opposite of Cordy.

Even though I’m counting down the hours until I can hand them their backpacks and send them back to school, we did get the chance to take a quick family vacation before the end of summer. Mini-vacation, I guess you could call it. Last Thursday and Friday were spent in northern Ohio at Lake Erie. (Hence why this blog sat quiet last week.)

I’ll be writing more on it this week, but here’s a quick preview:

Full report coming soon, including details of how Cordy and I got booted from an amusement park ride.

Filed Under: Autism, Cordy, Mira, school ·

Aug 13, 2012

Life Isn’t Fair, Kid

By Christina ·

Conversation with Cordy last Sunday after I got home from BlogHer.

Cordy: Mommy, life just isn’t fair.

Me: Oh? Why do you say that?

Cordy: Because sometimes there are things you can’t do that others get to do.

Me: Yes, that’s true, sweetie. Life isn’t always fair, but you should be thankful for what you do have. Are you upset I went to New York and you didn’t?

Cordy: NO, mommy! I mean like saying things. Grown ups gets to say things that kids would get in trouble for. It’s not fair.

Me: Sorry, Cordy. There are just words that are only for grown ups to say and even then we probably shouldn’t be saying them.

Cordy: Like the other day when daddy called a man f**king…

Me: YES! Uh, yes, like that. Daddy shouldn’t have said that word. At least not in front of you. And you shouldn’t repeat it either.

Cordy: See? It’s just not fair.

Me: No, no it isn’t.

(Psst: If you weren’t at BlogHer and want to see a clip of me in the fashion show, check out the BlogHer TV widget over at the top of my sidebar! They currently have the fashion show running!)

Filed Under: being a mom, Cordy, daily life ·

Jul 11, 2012

Dye-Free in a Brightly Colored World

By Christina ·

A few weeks ago Cordy came home from summer camp with bright blue streaks down her legs and blue around her mouth. I could already smell the artificial raspberry flavor, but still asked her about how she ended up covered in blue. “We had popsicles at camp!” she happily explained.

“But sweetie, you know brightly colored foods aren’t good for you.”

“Yeah, I know,” she replied, “but it was a special treat!”

And that special treat left her distracted and less in control for days. Sigh.

When summer camp started, I asked about bringing in dye-free foods for snack time. They said we could but that it probably wasn’t necessary, as they were making efforts at healthy snacks this year and couldn’t think of any that would have dyes in them. Fruit, water, all-natural lemonade, graham crackers, cheese sticks, etc – all safe for Cordy to eat. With that knowledge, and a reminder to everyone about Cordy needing to avoid food dyes, I assumed we were in the clear when it came to snacks.

I guess I didn’t factor in “special” treats. Her class takes several field trips, and as a result they sometimes get a treat for the kids when they’re out and about. Cordy is aware that artificial food dyes make her feel bad and that she shouldn’t eat them, but she’s also a seven year old who, at that age, would have to show the impulse control of a zen master to say no to a treat when everyone else was getting one.

We consider her reaction to artificial food dyes an “allergy” even though it technically isn’t. It’s listed on all of her medical forms under allergy simply because it’s too complicated to provide the full explanation. Allergy produces a better response from others than “sensitivity” so that’s what we call it to get their attention. Only it still gets overlooked by teachers and caregivers far too often. It’s not life-threatening so therefore it isn’t given the same consideration as a peanut or shellfish allergy.

But we know it’s there. We’ve seen the difference between Cordy exposed to food dyes and Cordy without them. When she’s dye-free (and by that I mean hasn’t had any in over a week), she’s calmer, better able to focus, and seems more present in our world. Her repetitive behaviors (pacing back and forth, flapping, etc) are decreased, too. She’s more in control of herself and seems happier as a result.

When she was younger, people tried to tell me it wasn’t the dyes – we were just giving her too much sugar. So I set up my own test. I kept her dye free for over a week, then gave her a sucker (rock candy) that had no dye in it – pure sugar only. No reaction.

Days later, I gave her the same thing, only this one was bright blue with artificial coloring. Forty minutes later, the signs were there: she couldn’t sit still, she was irritable, emotionally out-of-control, and she wasn’t as interactive with us. She stayed like that for days, just from one little blue sucker. It was a frightening realization.

We’re not perfect with keeping her dye free, but we try to minimize the damage. Still, it’s very hard to find treats free of dyes. Annie’s makes fruit snacks without the artificial coloring. And Welch’s has all natural freeze-and-eat juice popsicles that look very similar to the artificial junk ones.

I also was recently told about Unreal, a line of candy that is free of artificial food dyes, but still looks and tastes like many of the popular candies we see everyday. It’s just rolling out, so it’s still hard to find, but I did manage to track down and buy it at Michael’s craft store. Their version of M&Ms? Really good.

So after the blue popsicle incident, we brought a bag full of Cordy’s treats to her summer camp to hand out to her when others are getting treats she can’t have. She’s usually pretty understanding about it, especially when we can give her some of the more yummy treats. But I know she longs for Starburst or a sucker now and then.

I only wish more food manufacturers would remove the bright food dyes from their foods. There’s no nutritional value to these dyes and there are natural dyes that can be used instead. Don’t believe me? Look at McDonald’s new Cherry Berry Chiller. That drink is about as bright pink-red as it could possibly be without glowing. I thought for sure it was one giant cocktail of dyes and artificial flavors, but it isn’t. It gets all of its color from fruit and vegetable sources, and the flavoring is all natural fruit juice and puree.

Who expected that? If McDonald’s can do it, there’s no reason other companies can’t do it, too.

I hear more and more stories of parents who are discovering their kids are sensitive to food dyes. I know we’re not alone in experiencing some kind of adverse reaction to dyes. Research has linked it to hyperactivity. Some kids get rashes and eczema from red food dye. Others have stomach discomfort. Others – like Cordy – have various behavioral changes. And these dyes are in everything the kids come in contact with, from candy to mac and cheese, to chewable pain relievers and even toothpaste.

Europe has already figured this out, and most foods there are artificial-dye-free or contain warnings about having artificial coloring int them. What’s taking the United States so long to catch up with a public health issues that other first world countries have already known and addressed?

For now, we continue reading every label and try to educate those who care for our daughter about the importance of keeping her dye-free. It’s not that we’re crunchy green parents against all processed foods (because our grocery cart would prove we’re not) – it really is a matter of our daughter’s health.

Photo credit: Photos by *Micky