Welcome to Unlimited Parenting where we discuss parenting children with disabilities or and
special health care needs.
My name is Allison and today I am already laughing joined by my fellow partners in crime
Melissa and Sarah and we are here for another installment of everyone's favorite series
Bring Your Own Topic.
Sarah, would you like to start us off?
What's your topic here, Sarah?
I just brought my own topic on my way and it's...
You know what?
That's the best way to do it.
Are fridges your topic?
Because now let me tell you, I could talk about fridges.
Wow, are fridges?
I don't think I'll bring that up today.
Very cute.
No, it's actually kind of a funny story because I had this thought when I was in the grocery
store grocery store buying this product.
Are they halos or huggies?
Yes, because when we were up north, yes, was it north?
Yeah, we were up north.
We were trying to find these things.
We were training and we were in a grocery store.
The mini oranges?
We were like, where are these stinking things?
Are you really talking about?
I was like, where?
We could not find cuties anywhere.
We finally found them at the Harvard Center, but I think we had gone to two stores and
they didn't have cuties.
And two stores to find cuties because they don't go to the food line.
No, they went to Rose Hours.
Easy, easy, safe way.
Safe way, yeah.
Finally found them anyway.
So then in my small town where I live, I was trying to find them to bring them to our training
here.
I could not find them.
So I found halos, which are essentially the other brand of cuties.
So are they brands?
Is a cutie a brand and halo is a brand?
I believe you're correct.
I'm like, why?
Of all things, do we have cuties and halos?
So my question is, are you a cutie or are you a halo?
Is Mandarin orange an option?
Are these different things?
I'm not entirely sure I've had a cutie or a halo.
I did witness my daughter in Hale one last Friday when she was here, but someone in your
family had for sure had one of those.
I know.
I don't know.
Is a Mandarin orange the same as a cutie or a halo?
You're looking at me like I'm a pro-doos.
We literally had this conversation.
We literally had this conversation earlier when a whole bunch of adults are in a room.
They looked at the adultiest adult.
How am I the adultiest adult?
Because you're like 45.
She's older than I am and I'm not 45 yet.
Oh my word.
I can't believe that we are.
Okay.
Are you the oldest my age on the podcast?
You know how like, is that real?
Can you say doc?
Oh, isn't that like address?
Yes.
I don't really know.
But seriously, like, and then you, then I start, oh my.
Are halos tangerines?
Are halos clementines?
Are halos bad for you?
I guess so my, so my clementine and a tangerine.
Okay.
Right.
We're all different.
And a mandarin orange.
Halos are a type of clementine mandarin.
Okay.
That sounds like.
Good to know.
Yep.
So what, what is a cutie?
A really small child.
Um.
I.
And, and so I am not team cutie or team halo.
I am team whatever is in the grocery store.
They're all a type of mandarin oranges.
These are all mandarin oranges.
Okay.
Well, there you go.
Now I know.
Well, a cutie, they're actually two varieties of mandarin oranges.
Clementine mandarin, which are available November through January and W. Murcott mandarin available
February through April.
Cuties have several distinct characteristics that make them perfect anytime, anywhere.
Interesting.
See?
Learn something.
Not sponsored.
Right.
All right.
Well, which one are you?
I don't know.
I just ate a halo and it was cold and it was really.
I like them cold.
That.
I think that's a big.
I wonder what they would taste like if you popped them in the freezer.
Oh, does anybody put chocolate?
Don't look at me like that.
I've never put chocolate in the freezer.
Um.
So good.
Snickers.
Um.
Grapes.
You guys.
I will share my sour patch kid grape recipe.
So you take jello, sugar-free jello.
You wash your grapes, you put them in a Ziploc bag and you shake them with the jello and you
put them in the freezer.
They are the most delightful.
I don't know.
With sugar.
I cannot wait until this is on video because that was amazing.
It's like the new dance.
It's like the skippity toilet.
I mean.
First you take the grapes and you put them in the back.
You put them in the toilet.
Skippity toilet.
And we talked about that a couple last week.
These junior high kids.
I don't.
The skippity bit.
I don't know.
You sound like the scat man.
Oh gosh.
I don't.
I'm the scat man.
You've never heard the nails.
I can't play it.
I'm going to have to pay royalties to somebody.
Oh okay.
I'm sorry.
Yeah.
So yeah.
It just sent me on a whole thought process.
Are you a cute or a halo?
So I guess I'm a halo today because that's what was available at my store.
You're very adaptable then.
I am.
There are only a few certain things that I'll choose a brand on.
But yeah.
Yeah.
Really?
Yeah.
Like what?
Cheese.
Oh like you're going for the Tillamook.
Yeah.
Manny's.
Really?
Isn't there only one type of Manny's?
Oh there's a store brand mail.
Oh you gotta get that.
Okay I have to get those foods.
I am a snob.
Is that milk?
Milk.
Walnut.
Oh I don't care about milk.
What?
What is that Walmart?
Best Foods?
No.
Best Foods is like.
Best Foods.
Best Foods is this side of the Mississippi and then the other side of the Mississippi
is Hellman.
And you're still saying you're not the adultiest adult in the room but you know the three kinds
of Manny's?
But there's Kraft also.
There is Kraft.
Yeah well and then there's Duke's in the south is apparently like really big and I only know
that because my cousin.
But I'm a Manny's connoisseur.
So what do you call this?
Coke.
You would just go.
A soda.
A coke.
You would just say anything as a coke?
Like I would write as a coke?
No I would call it soda.
No I don't.
Really?
Do you say soda or pop?
Soda.
I say pop.
Is it half your time in DC do you think?
No.
DC said soda.
They made fun of me mercilessly.
Really?
For saying pop.
Matt makes fun of me cause I say supper.
Okay but that is weird.
Okay let's just talk about the person that's eating supper.
That age is her.
Right?
Oh my god.
Nobody was calling her.
Were you called in for supper?
At four?
Did someone come out?
Did someone come out with a triangle?
Alright so I was.
I have a triangle on our camera and I love it.
And we followed that street and the farm and we had.
Oh well that is different.
I like supper.
Yeah.
Sarah tell us how was the 1930s?
We are from the 1900s.
Was it in?
Oh my have you seen those shirts?
Those shirts.
Yeah.
Banging the.
Be patient with me I'm from the 1900s.
And then I thought about it for a second and I was like well remember like the 80s?
And we were like oh my god those people were so old.
And now I'm like I'm from the 1980s I know.
Hey what do you mean?
It's just.
Yeah.
Yeah we're old.
Yeah.
It's not as old as you Allison.
I have imposter syndrome when it comes to my age.
That is really common right?
That's really common.
Do you guys feel your age?
No.
I look in the mirror and I'm like what's up 17 year old?
And then I'm like I feel like that Steve Buscemi with the skateboard.
What's up fellow cats?
I didn't feel my age until I fell playing softball last week.
True.
You're still feeling it.
She walked up.
I was like what's wrong with you?
She showed me her name.
I was like I think the bumpy part is supposed to be on the other side.
The bump is on the wrong side.
It's yeah it's brutal.
It's lovely.
We think that we are younger than that we still could do the things when we were young.
I know.
Sounds and looks good inside my mind.
We tell it's happening and I like wasn't so that's gonna leave a mark.
And it did.
It sure did.
It's still.
It's getting all sorts of colors.
Choices.
Choices were made.
It's a rainbow.
It's alright.
Melissa.
What's your topic?
Please spread the love of everything.
Do not let it be Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
I promise it will not be.
Well I was gonna talk about so I mean this time of year is stressful and it is so I was
really gonna talk about trying to find the unexpected joys in life and oh my god I'm
tuning out already.
No no no.
I'm gonna tell you this because I so I look at my kiddo and sometimes he makes me crazy
and sometimes he makes me just laugh out loud because he can really truly find the unexpected
joys in life.
He.
That's really sweet.
Right.
So I wrote this down because the other day we came home from Costco and I I'm glad you
brought up Tillamook because I got a giant pen pound block.
With the two backs.
Oh no no.
With the giant log.
The big long one.
Again this reminds me of a Golden Girls quote where it's like what are you gonna do with
your cinnamon sugar log and Dorothy goes well it's a log.
I'm gonna burn it.
It does.
I don't know.
Go on.
I'm not gonna burn this.
It's a big big thing of cheese and a big orange block of cheese and we brought it in.
Reese looked at it took one look at it and just laughed out loud and it is hilarious.
You want to say.
When you look at this it's funny.
It's huge.
It is funny.
It's a big chunk of cheese and you made me laugh and so then I started really thinking
about like unexpected joy.
Okay so.
Oh.
The cheese was really the cheese was really funny.
And then a couple other things that he thinks is really funny is when I was getting the
mail though a big gust of wind caught it and the coupons that they come you know on the
coupons it flew away.
And so he thought that was really funny.
But one of the unexpected joys that I had this weekend and this is actually what I'm
going to talk about is I didn't know that I would find joy in it but I now know and
I was able to share with all of my co-workers that trout bait is not poisonous.
And so that was an unexpected joy that I had.
I was able to call poison control and the reason I know this is because some trout bait
looks like really delicious pink glittery glittery marshmallows.
And unfortunately my son took a tour of my older son's tackle box and found those marshmallows
and consumed them all the while decorated in full.
So an unexpected joy that I was thrust upon this weekend is knowing the number to poison
control and knowing that I in fact did not need to load my son with charcoal and make
him an apocalypse scenario.
Trout bait is simple.
Exactly.
So more you know the more you know isn't it one eight eight eight eight eight eight.
I don't know it's in my phone.
I don't even know I just have poison control in my phone.
I said hey Siri call poison control and I'm sorry.
Wow that's my new into our phones.
And they did it.
And the only thing that I will take away from it is I was made to feel a little bit dumb
for calling poison control.
I was going to just say the way the poison control lady handled that situation reminds
me of when I was 17 at an IHOP and I asked for whole wheat hash rounds.
That's how she made you feel like you called and said are these hash browns gluten free.
That reminds me like excuse me.
But I did I was serious.
I was dead serious.
Okay I asked her for a virgin churlite.
I ate a spokane.
More proof that you are the adultiest adult.
Yeah I was I was an adult.
I was probably maybe 10 years old.
Yeah 10 years ago.
Maybe.
I asked for a virgin churlite and they said done.
Got it.
We can we can deliver that.
I can give that for you.
Yeah that feels so dumb.
They just put extra sprain in it.
Was it like in the moment that you realized what you were doing or it was like after the
fact that you were like.
When everyone was like.
Oh okay.
And it just became the running joke in our friend circle.
I had to get a lot of explanations.
I was so confused why I could not have whole wheat hash browns.
She was like that's very funny but really what do you want.
I was like you know I want the whole wheat hash browns.
And I remember I was with a guy who had a really big crush on me and he was trying so
hard to be so gentle.
He was like Alison.
Oh okay.
Hash browns come from potato.
And I was like aunt.
And he was like potatoes are just potatoes.
I mean like do you want sour cream.
Do you want gravy.
Like what are we doing here.
Do you want cheese.
Do you want it loaded.
And I was like as long as they're whole wheat.
And the lady was like whatever.
Were you on a specific whole wheat diet at the time.
Or you just.
No I was trying to stay a hundred and seventeen pounds.
And someone told me eating whole wheat was great.
And so I wanted everything to be whole wheat.
I'm surprised I didn't ask for a whole wheat Shirley.
Yes I am too.
Can I get a little bit of a cutie.
I'm a halo.
Thanks.
Oh you are.
My bad.
I'm so sorry.
Actually I'm just a lavender and orange.
I believe.
You cannot quote me on this but I think trout bait may be whole wheat.
Thank God.
I will survive an apocalypse because the trout bait is whole wheat.
I mean I mean in all fairness the lady from poison troll makes a good point.
She did.
The trout at the bait.
We eat the trout.
Sure.
But if you're in a crisis situation you don't care.
You're not thinking about the evolutionary food chain.
No.
It's like it's like it's going to pass away or not.
Because it's like this is a time sensitive situation.
I do find it in the human food sections.
Yeah.
I have to go to Cabela's for that.
And it's like a bright color and it I don't know.
It's just a lot of glitter.
Yeah glitter is probably the thing that maybe should not have been concerned about.
He did and he's alive and he's none worse for wear.
We're going to take him fishing this weekend.
He's going to watch the trout eat and then he's going to jump in for the fish.
That was not so.
He might.
I don't know.
He'll already be.
He had a wonderful time exploring the toolbox.
He didn't get poked too many times.
He did have a few flies like the you know the stuff to his pants.
The hook the fly hook stuck to his his shorts.
But I mean he had a great time.
I got the toolbox back to where it needed to be.
And there were just a few.
All of this happened in oh two minutes.
Yeah maybe maybe two minutes.
I mean the whole process was about 10 minutes start to finish.
And then we were on to our next.
I think we were on to a block of cheese after that.
You know so that's how I find joy.
We move on quickly.
Yes.
That's always one of the pluses is that things things are really intense.
Yeah for a short amount of time.
Yeah and then it's then you can breathe again.
Yeah.
What do you think Reese this a halo or a cutie.
You must be an angel.
He has to be a halo.
He's not a halo.
He may have angel men but he is a devil man.
Sometimes it's not.
Everly the other day she was like you know that yellow thing that angels have on their
heads is a plate.
And I was like wow I think it's just a halo.
She was like yeah but is it porcelain.
I'm like no honey.
It's never mind.
Just go watch Gravity Falls.
Maybe we're talking about it.
Oh I don't know.
Actually I was I was grappling between two topics but I think my topic is going to be
just kidding.
I was going to try and sing but it's a blind song but I can't summertime.
Oh and the living see you know.
Yeah.
Anyway so I and the reason I was thinking about it is because last night in my book
club group you were asking no one's making fun of me.
No we're just that was low hanging fruit was it.
We're not happy with it by now.
Yeah we are.
Okay yeah so they were talking about where they're sending their kids and for the summer.
Oh okay.
It's like residential.
Boarding school.
No yeah boarding school.
Now where their kids are going to be spending all day for summer.
Exactly.
I'm kidding.
A lot of people were sending them to eat trout bait.
I've already done that.
Check double check.
I have to find another summer activity.
They're all they're all going to the boys and girls club.
And as you well know my children are you know not going to the boys and girls club.
And it made me realize that that's kind of sad that all of their friends are going and
you know they're not.
I'm like well we're going to a summer play camp through Boise Parks and Rec.
And they were like oh that's going to be great.
They're going to have so much fun.
And you know the impetus for that was because a lot of other places are you know I don't
need to tell you this but the park is outside.
Yeah yeah.
Instead of being inside and around electronics and all of that jazz.
So they're going to be playing outside in the summer.
But what are what are your guys's kids doing for the summer.
Like they're going to be at the Boise Boise Park all summer long.
And I'm like looking around like what are my kids doing this summer.
And I'm just Google searching and a lot of these camps they run from 9 to 11.
Or they run for one week or you know X Y and Z. Maybe they're cost prohibitive whatever
the case may be like.
What are children with developmental disabilities doing for the summer.
That is the golden question.
Like to thrive or YMCA.
Do they have a yeah I was looking and I'm not.
And you know is it TASEP the for children who are supported by youth with a serious
emotional disturbance.
Oh yeah.
Through the yes program the summer camps couldn't find anything.
And I'm like really I'm having a hard time.
It's hard because some of our kids require someone to go with them and that is hard to
find.
So they can do these camps through the adaptive parts and programs.
And then those they require someone to be with them to assist them.
And they're only like Monday Wednesday Friday or they're only 9 to 1.
That's what I have found really hard.
And quite a few parents have called looking for summer opportunities.
And you're right.
They're either one week or they're just in the mornings.
It's not it's not full time care for your child in the summer.
And you have to get really creative as a parent.
And it's it's not scary.
It's not fun.
I am so lucky that my husband works for a school district and his home all summer.
I don't know what we would do otherwise.
So so you have a spouse who's home during the summer.
And then Sarah for your son it's your community support worker right.
So we actually have to have two.
OK.
So that we can split the day because it's a long day.
Yeah he requires 100 percent assistance to do everything.
Yeah.
Feeding hygiene wheelchair all of the things.
And so it's a lot of it's an intense it's an intense job.
So we try to split the hours because it's a lot for one person to do for eight nine
ten hours a day so that we can work.
We're single parents supporting ourselves and yeah.
But we don't have care for the first week.
And he's that going to AAC camp which is three hours each day Monday through Friday that
first week.
But we still have to have someone on site available to help him if needs be.
So we're probably going to have to split.
I'll have to take two and a half days off and his dad will have to take two and a half
days off.
OK.
To share the to share the care.
Share the care.
I like that.
Yeah.
And yeah for twelve and a half weeks while we're at a school.
We get real creative.
Another thing that I had heard was people will go to the Facebook groups and they'll
look for like paraprofessionals or teachers who are out for the summer.
Because we got his other care health tech needed to work during the summer.
Why am I not finding these people.
Are you like looking at a certain time where the SEOs are good and you can like really
we are.
I mean I'm asking his actual.
We are.
Oh cool.
What.
Yeah.
What are some.
I'm a parent.
I've just called.
Tell you I'm in region four and I'm and I don't know what to do with my child for the summer.
I guess technically my children have autism diagnosis.
Oh so you know we could do a B.A.
Yeah that's common.
I mean and there's camps.
Parents are piecing things together.
Is essentially how summer care happens.
The piecemeal.
It's all together.
Grandparents.
E.I.
Yeah.
H.I.
A.B.A.
Older siblings.
Yes.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
It's hard.
It's really hard.
I think I can't wait for your kids to do this summer and summer experience at the park and
see how this works.
I did it.
And have when I did it when I.
In the 1930s.
I remember you get to go sunset.
At Sunset Park.
Did you have supper there.
Shut up.
A supper.
Yeah it's so fun.
We had water days.
We did art.
Yes.
They still keep us.
We had a whistle and make our own clothes.
You learned how to.
Oh.
You had me.
A whistle.
And I'm like wait with a pocket knife.
Because she needs to know that.
Listen if knives are going to be around.
Those kids are going to be happy.
You died of dysentery.
No but for real that was really fun.
Abraham Lincoln was there.
Smurf of Gats.
Four scores.
Did you know Sarah helped write that.
Did not.
For our audience.
We have only 40.
She's literally the youngest one in the room.
She is not.
Stop.
I am getting cold.
Oh I know I have gray hair.
I get it.
No it's me.
It's a personal problem.
I have been having a really hard time with age the past couple of days.
Why?
I don't know.
I have literally never cared.
I have never been vain.
I have never been like.
I've never been like oh crow's feet or the line that's permanently on my forehead now
or the gray hairs that I get.
All of these.
Oh.
But you don't see my hair.
And then I woke up and I was like oh my hip popped.
And then my tooth.
That's where it all starts.
This is my third tooth infection.
And I'm like I agree.
And by the way I want you guys to know I brush at least twice a day.
And I floss.
So sometimes you just get these little cracks at the bottom of number 19.
You know a lot of bacteria builds up and you just have to get the tooth pulled.
I'm really.
Use your hand if you're done with my tooth.
I'm so hot on your tooth.
We are all done.
I'm done talking about you.
I'm not going to let you put it.
But you're done hearing about it.
I am so.
And you know what?
You know what is so funny to me personally is that the first time we recorded this BYOT
my topic was the dentist.
That's right.
Because it had just happened.
And this is like what the third or the fourth episode.
And I'm still stinking talking about the dentist because I am still going.
OK so next time when you tell me do not whatever you do talk about Willy Wonka I'm going to
be like do not whatever you do talk about the dentist.
You're done.
I can't help it.
I'm running out of ideas.
All right.
Huh.
No no other ideas for the summer.
That was it.
OK.
But wait if my kids were a little bit older.
Mm hmm.
Would VR could help them with job over the summer right.
Some summer work progress.
There are some right.
Like what if my kids were older.
What else would you say.
Well I would say I would say start earlier because school is out like in two days.
I know.
OK.
So good.
But but for real this has been a topic in the Facebook groups that I'm seeing so much
lately.
Yeah.
Oh honey.
This is.
Yeah.
It's too late right.
It's too late.
Stuff is full.
If stuff exists it feels up.
Can I can I just touch a little bit on what you just said.
Sure.
So I was at the parks and rec the summer play camp.
It opened what 7 a.m.
Yeah.
On a random day by 9 o'clock.
It's full.
They were full.
Yeah.
I went back in and I was like I just wow out of curiosity.
I wanted to see how many spots were left at the park that my kids are going to.
None.
Not a spot.
And it said sign up for the waitlist.
And I was like can you imagine if you were ill.
Yeah.
Or you had overslept that day.
This is what you were really banking on for the summer.
And now what do you do.
I don't know.
I got some gymnastics places that yeah I'm like summer programs.
Yeah like broccoli.
If you're in Boise.
Yeah.
We had those when I worked there.
We had the day camps that that were there the after school programs just for kids does
it.
Yeah that's a good one.
The Boise.
So the Boise schools programs that have the just for kids.
Do you have to be a Boise school person to go to just for kids.
I don't know.
That's a good question.
I don't I don't we'll have to get back on that one.
But like the YMCA has their summer camp program.
That's right.
The community programs where you live they have those options available.
So and churches and you know summer Bible camp.
Those are just things that I can think of that I've seen signs for.
That's more than I had.
But yeah I mean it's just really selective and fills up quick.
I don't know if it's a town or a place where we've got like summer wilderness like camp
like in you know like Minnesota has like send your kids off to to camp really for a week.
You want to go to Moss.
Yeah.
I mean those I mean YMCA does have camps.
And I think prior to covid the watershed.
Didn't they have some.
But it was one of those like preschool and or money.
I mean if you're from the watershed please correct me if I'm wrong because I would love
to know.
But it was like a few days a week and then like a little bit of time.
And I don't know.
I just feel really crouchy about summer offerings for children with disabilities.
I will tell you summer I get stressed out.
Yeah really stressed out.
And there's a lot of added anxiety when May comes around.
And I realize this is my topic like three days before Memorial Day.
So it's way too late.
But it's been really heavy on my noggin.
As a little Bailey Sarian reference.
It's been it's been bothering me for a long time.
I'm like I know when when families call and want and ask that question it pains me to
tell them that A it's too late probably or B there just isn't anything that even exists
for our kids because there's truly not a lot of options.
And we got to braid it and piece it.
And yeah.
I refuse to end on such a depressing note.
So someone do something funny.
Do the funny thing.
I mean oh my gosh she's like.
My ducks also make me happy.
They bring me unexpected.
These were my thing.
Why am I not on that list?
I don't know.
I'm not on that list of things.
Your work gesture.
Your little friend my cousin and does the dance.
I'm not.
Do the dance.
Yeah well and you're wanting us to do the funny thing.
So you do the dance.
And this is overall the skippity toilet.
You guys if if only we had the YouTube now.
All right I'll hold on to it for December.
There we go.
Thank you so much everyone out there for listening in and know that if you are in Idaho or planning
on moving to Idaho and have any questions on systems or services for children with disabilities
please consider reaching out to us on our website at ipulidaho.org that's I P U L Idaho
dot org or by calling us at 208-342-5884.
Be sure to tune in next time until then this has been Unlimited Parenting.
Thanks for listening.
Otherwise Khan is baking the day!