Mingle and Play 2010

The B.C. Family Hearing Resource Center had its annual Mingle and Play this week. It was from Tuesday to Friday, but by the time Friday came I was too tired..so we only made it there for three days. That was enough driving with a van full of children for me. It was tons of fun for the kids and always good to talk to other parents. It is quite something to see all these kids with hearing aids and cochlear implants together. If God takes us down the path with a continual decrease in hearing loss resulting in a need for cochlear implants it doesn't seem so scary to me anymore.
We had a very fun visitor one day, Ronald McDonald. Here the kids are all counting as it was Ronald's turn to go hide. The black and white tunnel was where he was hiding. Lots of laughs.
I think this is such a neat picture, notice the little guy turning around and peeking from behind his hands. Danielle loved the liquid paints. (I only have the kind where water is added as I think they are a lot less messy) Every day the girls went right away to the crafts, their favorite section, and sometimes even made more than one. Timothy did not make a single craft, he didn't even go in that area at all, absolutely no interest in the crafts. (boys) It was great some young girls were volunteering, so they could explain to the girls what to do and help them. (I didn't have to be there the whole time)

There were a lot of things for Danielle to do, perfect for her age. Timothy always had to be doing something. Here is blowing up all the blow-up toys. There were probably about thirty blocks that all stuck together that he spent a lot of time blowing up one day with his mouth and a hand pump and then the next day they were all deflated. Someone had taken all the air out! That took all the air out of him too, he was so disappointed and didn't even try to blow it all up again.

Danielle making another masterpiece.

The "Bug" man came one day, which was a total hit with all the kids and adults(??). This is Carylon, someone who has become a big part of our life over the last couple of years since Sharleen was diagnosed, but now that she is going to school we won't be seeing her anymore.(waaa) It will seem really strange at first, who is going to answer my continual questions now? I know that life always works out. Timothy holding the snake. He said later he wanted it around his neck but was too scared to ask. Not my thing that's for sure. Although I did have one around my neck when I was in Thailand, guess I am getting old. Sharleen and Niessa with the wood bug on them. At first, neither of them wanted to go up, but I am so glad they did because you can see from the pictures they are glad they did too. (big smiles) Notice is the background the teacher is signing. Everything the bug man (or any of the visitors) said would be signed. I should have picked it up, think of the extra calories I would burn in a day. lol. Girls doing more crafts.
One thing I thought a lot about with my experiences that I had at the center this week, was how we are all shaped by different perspectives. Last year there were some really neat tricycles that Timothy absolutely loved and was really disappointed that they were not allowed out this year, since the organizers were worried about sharing issues and safety. I thought sharing and taking turns is a part of life and they are tricycles, not motorbikes, but of course, I didn't say anything to them and told Timothy to basically "suck it up" and find something else to do. But then for lunch, they served peanut and butter and jam sandwiches. I was told before lunch that they would first make all the other sandwiches and then the P&J and they would be on a separate table from all the other food. At that point, if I wasn't good with it I could have taken the kids and left and had lunch some were on the way home. But that is not always easy either. I try to stay calm and not let it consume my thoughts and actions but it was quite the lunch. I made sure I stayed close to Danielle and that she only ate off her plate and not touched anyone else's food. ( kid's hands are just everywhere) Sharleen of course wanted to have P&J so why not, but I told her to wash her hands right away and not to kiss Danielle. But then your mind goes crazy and what about all the toys, there were over forty kids so that's a lot of sticky hands touching things. It's tough, I really don't want to live in a "bubble" and she has to learn not to eat anything with peanuts and to ask if the food is OK for her to eat, something that I have been kinda trying to do but she just looks at me totally confused. Since I don't serve peanut butter to the rest of my kids it's hard to teach her that she can't have any and that it might well, kill her. How in the world do you teach THAT to a two-year-old?? But anyway, back to the different perspectives, I would much rather have my child bumped, pushed over, and even bleeding from the tricycles than have to deal with her having an anaplastic (not spelled right) reaction and dash off the ER. What feels safe for one adult (me with the bikes)is not for another and vice versa.(serving peanut butter at lunch.) They knew I was coming and I told them I had a child with severe peanut allergies, but I left it at that, I would hate to ask them not to serve what they wanted. Is it OK for the safety of one child to ask that in a social setting (church nursery, school, etc. ) everything be peanut-free? What about an egg or another kind of allergy...I hate the thought of being an inconvenience to someone.