 |
| Visit with Great Grandma Clarice |
 |
| Dinner at Uncle Tim and Aunt Jackie's home |
 |
| Davey chillin |
 |
| William and Uncle Archie's sculpture |
.Be gentle.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Special Family Visit
Monday, August 15, 2011
Adventures in Southern California
I got the photos of the boys vacation trip with Grandma and Grandpa yesterday. They went to Lego Land and the San Diego Zoo. I would highly recommend Lego Land for all of your Lego fans. And of course the boys could not stop talking about how wonderful the trip to the Zoo was. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I did.
Be gentle
 |
| Those faces say it all |
 |
| Uncle Tim, Will, Grandma and Davey |
 |
| Uncle Tim, Will and Grandma |
Sunday, August 14, 2011
New family member!
Veronika is here! We are all so happy. Veronika has been part of our family for a long time. She has lived with us as our Au Pair before. We are so blessed she has decided to come back to America to be with our family!
Welcome Veronika
What is an Au Pair?
The word "Au Pair" is a French term, which means "on par" or "equal to", denoting living on an equal basis in a reciprocal, caring relationship between the host family and the children. An aupair will typically be a young woman and sometimes a young man from a foreign country who chooses to help look after the children of a host family and provide light housekeeping. The aupair is given room and board and is typically paid a weekly "pocket-money" salary. Aupairs generally stay with their host family for one year, sometimes two years.
Be gentle.
Welcome Veronika
What is an Au Pair?
The word "Au Pair" is a French term, which means "on par" or "equal to", denoting living on an equal basis in a reciprocal, caring relationship between the host family and the children. An aupair will typically be a young woman and sometimes a young man from a foreign country who chooses to help look after the children of a host family and provide light housekeeping. The aupair is given room and board and is typically paid a weekly "pocket-money" salary. Aupairs generally stay with their host family for one year, sometimes two years.
 |
| Huury up Dad! |
 |
| Do I look OK? |
 |
| I am so excited! |
 |
| She's here! |
 |
| So happy to see you! |
 |
| Smiles everywhere |
 |
| So happy |
 |
| Look how much Will has grown since the last time Veronika was here |
 |
| It is about time! |
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Happy International Left Handed Day 2011
Today salutes the Southpaws in the world. Celebrate the lefties in your life!
How many lefties do you have in your family?
William is left handed. My Dad was a lefty. David's Grandma was a lefty.
Left-handers, who account for around 10 percent of the world's population, spend 364 days a year in a world that seems to be built for right-handed people. August 13 is the exception. In 1976, a special day was created just for lefties and now it is celebrated annually all over the world.
A little fun trivia......
Brain organization
No-one has come up with a definitive reason for WHY some people are left-handed, but about 13% of the population around the world are, and it is thought to be genetic - it definitely runs in families. Researchers have recently located a gene they believe "makes it possible to have a left-handed child " so if you have that gene, one or more of your children may be left-handed, whereas without it, you will only have right-handers - sorry! The good news is, that if you are left-handed yourself, you have that gene and will pass it on through the generations!
The way the brain works is incredibly complex, but this simplified explanation will give you some understanding of where our left-hand dominance comes from. The brain is "cross-wired" so that the left hemisphere controls the right handed side of the body and vice-versa and hand dominance is connected with brain dominance on the opposite side - which is why we say that only left-handers are in their right minds!
The left hemisphere (RIGHT HAND CONTROL) controls Speech, Language, Writing, Logic, Mathematics, Science, this is the LINEAR THINKING MODE.
The right hemisphere (LEFT HAND CONTROL) controls Music, Art, Creativity, Perception, Emotions, Genius, this is the HOLISTIC THINKING MODE
LEFT-HANDERS DAY
AUGUST 13TH
WARNING!
LEFTY ZONE
THE USE OF YOUR RIGHT HAND
PROHIBITED IN THIS AREA
By Order of The Left-Handers Club
So if you don't have sinistrophobia (that's a fear of left-handedness or anything on the left side of your body), read on for some fun left-handed facts.
2. In sets of twins, there is a tendency for one of them to be left-handed. Davey is right handed and William is left handed (Twin theory supported?)
3. Neurologists have said that left-handers are able to adjust to seeing underwater better than right-handers. Olympic swimming champion Mark Spitz happens to be a leftie.
4. There have been eight left-handed U.S. Presidents. For the record they are: James A. Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Harry S. Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.
5. Left-handed? Then you are in some interesting company. Some famous lefties past and present include: Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, Benjamin Franklin, Julius Caesar, Judy Garland, Jimmi Hendrix, Michelangelo, Marilyn Monroe, Jerry Seinfeld, Oscar de la Hoya and Babe Ruth. A much longer list can be found here.
5 surprising facts about left-handed people
Psychologists have found that lefties and righties reacted to a scary movie in sharply different ways. What else distinguishes the left-handed?
POSTED ON MAY 2, 2011, AT 4:20 PM
President Obama, who's left-handed, signs papers in the Oval Office: Studies suggest that lefties are more restrained decision makers than their right-handed counterparts. Photo: CC BY: The White House
Human beings have been predominantly right-handed for more than 500,000 years,according to new research findings. Yet 10 to 12 percent of people prefer using their left hand — and scientists continue to probe the differences between that group and the right-handed majority, often with surprising results. Here, a look at five ways lefties are different than righties:
1. They're more affected by fear
In one recent experiment, lefties who watched an eight-minute clip from the film Silence of the Lambs exhibited more symptomsof post-traumatic stress disorder than did their right-handed counterparts. That may be because the right side of the brain, which is dominant in lefties, is more involved in the fear response, according to Dr. Carolyn Choudhary of Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, as quoted in The Telegraph. But more research is needed, Choudhary warns.
2. They're angrier
Left-handed and ambidextrous people are more susceptible to negative emotions, including anger. A small study published last year in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease found that the brains of lefties process emotions differently than those of righties, with more communication between the brain's two halves. As a result, the areas that produce negative emotions experience greater activity, according to the Daily Mail. Then again, maybe lefties are just "more angry because the world is designed for the right-handed majority," says John Cloud in TIME.
3. They're more inhibited
That emotional wiring also may explain why righties tend to charge ahead, while lefties "tend to dither," according to behavioral psychologist Lynn Wright, as quoted in NewScientist. A study performed by Wright at Abertay University in Scotland found that lefties were more restrained andmore worried about making mistakes.
4. They associate "left" with good
Most people tend to have positive associations with the concept of "right" and bad associations with "left." Lefties are the opposite. In a recent study, Stanford researcher Daniel CasasantoCasasanto says, as quoted by the Stanford Report, despite so many signals from language and culture "telling them the exact opposite."
1. They're more affected by fear
In one recent experiment, lefties who watched an eight-minute clip from the film Silence of the Lambs exhibited more symptomsof post-traumatic stress disorder than did their right-handed counterparts. That may be because the right side of the brain, which is dominant in lefties, is more involved in the fear response, according to Dr. Carolyn Choudhary of Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, as quoted in The Telegraph. But more research is needed, Choudhary warns.
2. They're angrier
Left-handed and ambidextrous people are more susceptible to negative emotions, including anger. A small study published last year in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease found that the brains of lefties process emotions differently than those of righties, with more communication between the brain's two halves. As a result, the areas that produce negative emotions experience greater activity, according to the Daily Mail. Then again, maybe lefties are just "more angry because the world is designed for the right-handed majority," says John Cloud in TIME.
3. They're more inhibited
That emotional wiring also may explain why righties tend to charge ahead, while lefties "tend to dither," according to behavioral psychologist Lynn Wright, as quoted in NewScientist. A study performed by Wright at Abertay University in Scotland found that lefties were more restrained andmore worried about making mistakes.
4. They associate "left" with good
Most people tend to have positive associations with the concept of "right" and bad associations with "left." Lefties are the opposite. In a recent study, Stanford researcher Daniel CasasantoCasasanto says, as quoted by the Stanford Report, despite so many signals from language and culture "telling them the exact opposite."
5. They may have an advantage in politics
Casasanto's conclusions could actually favor left-handed politicians, at least in televised events like debates, says Jocelyn Rousey in Mediaite. Casasanto found that politicians tend to accompany statements they see as positive by gesturing with their dominant hands. When a rightie uses his dominant hand to give a thumbs-up, television viewers — who see the image flipped — see him gesture on the left side of their screen. The left-handed, meanwhile, "appear to be putting things in a much more positive light for the 90 percent of viewers who are right-handed."
Casasanto's conclusions could actually favor left-handed politicians, at least in televised events like debates, says Jocelyn Rousey in Mediaite. Casasanto found that politicians tend to accompany statements they see as positive by gesturing with their dominant hands. When a rightie uses his dominant hand to give a thumbs-up, television viewers — who see the image flipped — see him gesture on the left side of their screen. The left-handed, meanwhile, "appear to be putting things in a much more positive light for the 90 percent of viewers who are right-handed."
Friday, August 12, 2011
Healthy babies
Wouldn't it be great if all parents expecting a special needs child had access to a program like this? What a great idea. We had so many questions and this would have been a blessing. Hopefully more programs like this will develop in other areas if they are not already in place.
Sutter offers program for pregnant women expecting special needs delivery
Published: Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 3B
Last Modified: Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011 - 8:34 am
The Sutter Special Start Program launched Tuesday to give free medical, social and emotional support to pregnant mothers who are expecting a special needs delivery.
The program at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento will help parents whose fetuses have been diagnosed with conditions such as cystic fibrosis, cleft lip or palate, neural tube defects, congenital heart defects and abdominal wall defects.
"When a woman is pregnant with a child with a particular condition, that could be very scary, isolating and overwhelming," said the program's coordinator, Jacqueline Masullo. "This is a place where they can open up with their feelings and feel supported by the staff."
Parents will be offered resources and medical guidance as well as a chance to network with others going through the same experience.
For input about what to include in the program, Sutter tapped mothers as advisers.
"Having other parents to learn from … to see their children growing, happy and successful just gave me inspiration and hope," said Jana Newman, whose 8-year-old daughter, Natalie, has cystic fibrosis. "And getting the right resources and the right information is just so critical."
Stephanie Davis also emphasized the importance of having a network of reliable medical information.
When she was pregnant with her daughter, Faith, and was told that her child might have cystic fibrosis, Davis had never heard of the disease except on the television show "The Real World."
"We were told, 'Try not to look on the Internet,' because there would be a lot of scary information on it at the time," she said. "I didn't even know what to ask, basically. I had so many answers I wanted, but didn't know the proper questions to ask."
With this program, Sutter hopes to ease these anticipated problems by providing a weekly parent chat line, hospital tours for parents, and postpartum support.
"Most pregnant women think their babies are going to be totally normal, so it's a bit of a shock," said Dr. William Gilbert, a perinatologist and medical director of Women's Services at Sutter. "We have developed tool kits or information profiles on many different conditions that are based in literature and scientific data that will educate and will tell you what to expect with these conditions."
For more information about joining the program, visit sutterwomens.org or call (916) 453-3468.
LEARN MORE
For more information about joining the Sutter Special Start Program, call (916) 453-3468 or visit sutterwomens.org.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)