Won't you take the time to click?

I received some news today that has prompted me to action.  Some of you may have heard about the Pepsi Challenge that is taking place.  Well, there is also the Pepsi Refresh Project.  They have several different (okay, thousands) ideas all trying to get votes for an award of $50,000 from Pepsi.

Here is the reason I am prompted to action.  An incredibly intelligent sweet little bass violin playing, Irish dancing, and singing 11-year old girl (the niece of some very dear family friends) was afflicted with strep and then diagnosed with PANDAS.  The disease is brought on by an autoimmune problem, and attacks the brain causing chemical imbalances which result in the sudden onset of OCD and/or tic disorders such as Tourette syndrome.  Because PANDAS has not been validated as a disease classification yet, medical insurance will not cover the costs of treatment.

The link at the top right of my blog page will take you to the Pepsi Refresh Project site where you can vote for the work of Dr. Cunningham from the University of Oklahoma - whose research will help to validate PANDAS and establish proper methods of treatment, which may one day lead to a cure.  Here is a link to the National Institute of Mental Health, PANDAS Information webpage if you would like to read further about this issue.

So many of you, my friends, spend hours a day surfing the web.  I am not asking for money, just about 30 seconds of your daily web surfing time to click over to the site, and vote for this project to receive some additional grant funding.  You may vote up to 10 times per day - all on the same project, or spread over up to 10 different projects.  You can log-in through facebook connect, or set-up a direct log-in with pepsi (and you don't even have to receive email from them when you register... I know - because that is how I have signed up to do my clicks every day).

A Reading Schedule is a good thing

I have decided that maybe people do know what they are talking about when it comes to child rearing and schedules... Let me clarify, I mean a schedule where certain things are to be done at certain times - you know what I mean, wake up, go to school, go to bed, etc.  Not schedules of the calendar nature, i.e. soccer, music, karate, baseball, voice all taking place two times a week with tournaments on Saturday.  In that calendar nature I truly believe today's children are over-scheduled.

For school, Matthew has one constant assignment as homework every night.  He is to read for 10 minutes.  Now, to me, this does not sound like that big of an issue.  (I am quite certain my parents can remember checking to make sure I was sleeping, only to find me under the covers with a flashlight reading a book.) He can sit and play "Call of Duty" for an hour and not realize that 10 minutes have gone by, let alone 60 minutes.  He can sit and have you read two or three books to him at a time.  But ask him to grab a book and read himself... every 45 seconds he was asking if he had read 10 minutes yet.  A task that should have taken only 10 minutes was actually taking 20 because of all the starts and stops he had.

It used to be such a hassle to get him to read.  He would whine about having to do it, and I would put it off.  Because, honestly, who likes listening to a whiny kid?  I think I detest whining more when it comes from my own than when I hear it from others, but that just makes sense.  We are all more tolerant of others' children than we are of our own.  And because I let him off the hook earlier in the day it would be a last minute scramble to get the reading in before he had to go to bed.  Frustrating on many levels, for both of us.

So now?? Yes, we have a schedule.  Well, maybe routine is the better word.  He gets home from school, takes off his backpack, and knows to grab a book.  He will read for about five minutes now before asking if it has been 10 minutes yet.  He knows that in order to get his after-school snack or be able to watch any of "his" shows on tv, he has to get his reading done first. The other day I added an additional incentive to the package.  But I think I'm going to change how the incentive is awarded.  In future, he will have to read until I tell him his time is up, without asking if it's been 10 minutes, in order to get the additional incentive.  This idea makes me smile in an evil sort of way, yet I'm confident it will work.

Spring has sprung... a leak

Our Easter this year was nice.  We went to my grandparents', like we do every year, and the number of great-grandchildren was chaotic.  Chaotic, but fun.  Here are some of the pictures from the egg hunt they did.  As for other thoughts, news, viewpoints...

I realize that April showers are a necessary part of the yearly weather cycle.  But one has to wonder: Does all of the rain have to come in the last few days of April, rather than be spread out a day here and a day there throughout the month?

I think it is safe to say we are looking forward to sunny days.  Time to play outside, time to do yard work! Being home more often than not these days, I think it is time to do some serious work on the flower beds, and maybe reclaim the garden area.  Not to actually plant a full garden, but to get rid of a lot of the over-growth.  Although - the strawberry patches will be taken care of - and I think I might plan some sweet corn this year.  Now that I sit here and type this out - I guess I better ask Matthew about it as well.  I suppose I can pretend to be a good mom and see if he has an interest in planting something in the garden this year.

Our past few months have been relatively uneventful.  We've taken a few road trips here and there to see friends, I went to a concert, and work continues in its slightly sporadic way.  The boy continues to grow.  As for me... I'm floating along.  I believe I'd rather be steering myself in one direction or another, but haven't yet decided what direction that is.  So I float.

Months go by...

... and I have been silent.  So here is a quick update for you.

I have found a new job, and been working at it for a couple of months.  I'm now a project manager for a company that is based in Chicago, but lucky enough to do most of my work from home.  I go into the office for a couple of days every two or three weeks.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed the work load picks up soon.  Reactive work is not my style, nor my preference, if I am totally honest. (Which, except for one notable exception, I am.)

Matthew is continuing to do well in school and the fun of math is picking up a bit.  The other day he asked me to teach him how to count by fours.  He continues to work on his reading, but is becoming a bit stubborn about it.  Hrmm, I wonder where he gets that stubborn streak from?!?!

Lastly, I had stated somewhere on this thing about rediscovering the world through my child.  The intention of that statement was somewhere along the lines of seeing the world again as a child does, rather than the somewhat cynical view that developed in my adult years.  Here is an update to that intention...  I am seeing the world again through the eyes of a child, but I am also seeing the world as my parents saw it, while raising my siblings and me.  I have developed a whole new respect for them, and the choices they made.  Way to go Mom and Dad!!