Snowshoeing Season Started Today...

Today was the first day of the 2016 Special Olympics Snowshoe season and Riley and I were there. Well…in body. Having to leave the house at 7:30am on a Sunday morning…yea…that. And of course we had to rouse Riley at 7:15!  He who every. other. single. morning. gets up at 5AM sharp!!!

This was only my second time ever snowshoeing. You can read all about our first experience (also with Special O) by clicking on these red letters.

I am happy to say that I remembered there is indeed a left and right snowshoe and put them on accordingly. Sorry. Forgot to take photo proof. While not quite as bad as wearing shoes on the wrong feet…the straps do get in the way and seasoned snowshoers can spot a newbie within a 10 mile radius. I noticed at least a half-dozen people wearing them on the wrong feet.  ;)

What I did not learn from last time was what not to wear when going snowshoeing. A puffy coat and a super-duper neck wrap are not conducive to slogging up blue and black diamond trails when one is prone to hot flashes. Note to self…wear light layers next week.

What I did remember from last time…Riley can go like stink, never get winded and is therefore put in the long-legged “guys” group who like to go to the blue and black diamond trails. *sob sob*

And last but not least by any means…Riley did not utter “I’ll be whining” once. Shocking I know! Third season lucky??? Yup…I’m going with that. 

My Snowshoe Experience with #SpecialOlympics

Yesterday I went snowshoeing for the very first time and am still alive to write about it. Go me.

My rented snowshoes. Pretty slick these days.

Apparently there is a left and right foot. 

Mine are on backwards. 

This year Riley wanted to try (translation: I signed him up for) Special Olympics Snowshoeing. Like with any new activity, Riley does much better with a support person other than me or G. This week M could not make it so I decided what better time for me to go and watch; now that R has been broken in was used to going. So at 7:30am we left to meet the bus.

The athletes start out by walking a few laps (~150m ‘track’) to get warmed up. Then they practice racing. They are divided into 3 groups; run 4 races; 1-2 laps each. Competitive would not be a word to describe Riley. At all. So as you can imagine “I'LL BE WHINING!!” was heard A. LOT!  

After about 30 minutes it was time to head out into the trails. Stamina is Riley’s middle name. He loves this part of the program!! He was up at the front of the pack while I…well I…I…was at the back. The very back. The only person behind me was one of the coaches who had to be there.

M took this picture the 1st week.

You can get an idea of how far ahead they were.

It’s not like M had not warned me. She did. I was planning on waiting in the warm, cozy lodge reading a book while they went on their hike. It wasn’t until yesterday morning that I made the decision (mostly out of guilt) to go along.

With the lodge still in sight I seriously doubted my decision and thought I should have probably gone with a less energetic group. We were only halfway up the hill and I was already sucking wind and sweating profusely. Three quarters of the group were already out of sight. The only athlete I was able to pass was a young man whose snowshoe had fallen off. I wasn’t about to lose my momentum and stop to help him…surely that was a job for the rear coach.  :)

There was no rest for the weary with this group. By the time the rear coach and I caught up to the front of the pack they were packing away their water bottles and ready to get going again. Good thing I wasn’t thirsty.  

At the halfway point we stopped to take in the gorgeous scenery. I managed to get out my camera just in time to zoom in all the way and take this shot of them heading off again.  

   
Three-quarters of the way through we stopped at a rustic cabin for a quick snack. R ate quickly so I was able to snap a few pictures without having to use the zoom.

The day would not have been complete without a selfie of the two of us!

 OK...so maybe R could have done without the selfie.  ;)
BTW...R is not that much taller than me.
He was trying to run away so was that much closer to the camera. 

I can not say enough about what a wonderful organization Special Olympics is! If you ever have the opportunity to go watch, volunteer or participate, I guarantee you will walk away with a smile on your face. The sportsmanship, camaraderie and support...the best I have seen!

Season 1: Special "O" Snowshoeing #Wordless Wednesday

Mouth-watering Meals......Stage 1 #Operation IFO #Wordless Wednesday

Monday Macaroni Madness #Operation IFO

So how was everybody’s weekend? After 7-1/2 hours of work (out of the house) over 2 days last week I decided a quiet weekend was in order. After all, I have 3 more days (ok…so they are only half days…still…haaallloo) to go. 

Last Monday I took some video of Operation IFO. Then we had a breakthrough the following day and I never got around to posting it.

I tried to be inconspicuous and had the camera on the kitchen island in the hopes of recording R’s disgruntled dialogue. Instead, and much to my surprise, if you listen closely you will hear Riley’s negotiating tactics.

If you can't see the video, click here to play.

When I moved the camera in order to capture R’s pinpoint accuracy at picking up one macaroni at a time in a piston-like manner…he was less than pleased. 

In order to maintain peace in Riley World this will be the only recorded evidence and hopefully one of the last blog posts of Operation IFO. One can only hope.

Have a great week!  

Why Operation IFO??? Let Me Explain...

Riley World is into its second week of Operation IFO (Increase Food Options). It has been all consuming. All I can think about, tweet about, FB about is Operation IFO.

I should have probably explained why I decided to begin Operation IFO before blasting you with updates and blog posts every waking minute. Heaven knows we do not need the authorities knocking on our door. Jooooo-king people.

Riley’s “menu” has been ummmm limited from the very beginning. For reasons that have sometimes been out of our control (weight loss due to seizures) and well life in general…over the last 4-5 years, as long as Riley would eat something...anything...we were appeased. 

Just to give you an idea of R's limited menu…here is THE list of foods R eats now or has eaten in the past:

Breakfast:

            Now:

·         Cheerios (original; dry)

·         Pancakes (occasionally – plain, no butter or syrup)

In the past:

·         White “toast” (lightly browned with a touch of butter)

Lunch:

            Now:

·         Hot dogs (sans bun)

·         Perogies (Cheemo brand – potato and cheddar cheese; preferably bite-size)

·         Mr. Noodles brand only - chicken flavour

In the past: (none of these were desirables but R would “eat” them)

·         Carrot soup (homemade pureed)

·         Ham or chicken “sandwich”:  two slices of white bread (no crusts or any sign of brown edges) with a single, see-through slice of deli meat.

·         Cheese Pizza

Introduced but not on a regular basis:

·         Hot dogs (with bun)

·         Plain McD’s hamburger/chicken McNuggets

Dinner:

            Now:

·         Lipton’s Chicken Noodle Soup:  as few noodles as possible; I add small cubes of tofu and 2 eggs swirled into the soup.

·         A modified Oyako-donburi (Japanese rice bowl dish): chicken broth with small cubes of tofu and 2 eggs swirled into the broth served over Japanese sticky rice.

·         Perogies

·         Mashed potatoes, carrots with a few bites of turkey/ham (special occasion dinners)

·         Mr. Noodles

·         Udon (plain)

In the past: 

I used to prepare at least 1 food item plus rice or potato that R would eat so we could eat all together. That one food item may just be carrots. Pasta was never a desirable but R would eat a minimal amount usually followed by soup or Mr. Noodles.

           

Snacks:

            Now:

·         Cheerios (original; dry)

·         McDonald's French Fries

·         Arrowroot (aka baby) cookies

·         Lay’s Salt & Vinegar chips (crushed)

·         Minigo (to take his meds)

Occasionally:

·         Rice cakes (butter popcorn flavour – Quaker brand only)

·        Cheddar Fish Crackers

·        Mini Ritz original crackers

·         Baby apricots (on vacation only)

·         Orange popsicles (only orange)

In the past:

·         Grapes (red or green)

·         Apples (peeled and cut into 8ths)

·         Orange sherbet

This list is pretty dismal isn’t it? I racked my brains to come up with any other food items that Riley will eat/has eaten over the past 19 years as surely I must be missing some things. I even asked G. He added a few items that I had forgotten but this seems to be it.

Hard to believe he has managed to survive over the last 19 years. So why/how did I let R’s food choices slide so far backwards? Well as Bec at Snagglebox writes in her post “How to Help a Selective Eater”… “Life with a restrictive eater can be really, really frustrating. But as long as they’re eating something, does it really need to be at the top of your list of things to tackle?”  For us…these past 4-5 years…it absolutely was not at the top of our list.

So what has changed? Well now that we are entering a new phase in Riley World, we have the time, energy and I am ready to tackle my old nemesis. Let the Games Begin!!  

Image from MorgueFile

Day 7 of Operation IFO...... A Breakthrough!!!

I know I promised I would not write another post about Operation IFO (Increase Food Options) but we have had a breakthrough. Already!!!

I am OVER. THE. MOON!!!!!  I am almost shaking and giddy with excitement! I am not sure if the moon and stars have aligned or, as my friend Marj posted yesterday on FB...

a sign of the apocalypse…all I know is today at lunch G and I witnessed a phenomenon in Riley World.

Today was Day 7 of Operation IFO (Increase Food Options). For at least one meal a day I have been trying to reintroduce Riley to a food item that he used to “eat”. Just as a reminder to those with young kidlets…Riley is 19. When he was younger we lived in survival mode (at times) and most definitely on a day-to-day basis. The thought of taking on his food challenges was not even on the radar back then. 

For the most part things have been going relatively well.

Today we were going to be out at lunch so what better opportunity to try eating out. In preparation the conversation went like this:

Me:       I have to go to work for a while.

R:         I’ll just stay home.

Me:       You and dad can go for a walk and then we can go for lunch together.

R:         I’LL BE WHINING!!

Me:       We can go to Pizza Hut for lunch OR we can come home and I can make you pizza for lunch.

R:         Just go to Pizza Hut. (muttering away to himself)

And away we went.

We arrive at Pizza Hut early so we were the only ones there. Perfect. We ordered our food and Riley watched his iTouch and ate his Cheerios while we waited. I warned Riley that the pizza would be hot so he would have to wait a bit before he could eat it. Grumbling/muttering ensued. G and I resumed our no eye contact/no verbal interaction stance.

The pizza arrived.

I put half the pizza (2 small personal sized pieces) onto his plate. I cut the quartered pieces in half (to cool quicker) and in hopes that he would eat them as is. 

Now when Riley was younger he used to pick off the bottom “crust” and only eat the soft, bready part and some of the cheese. When he was finished it was pretty hard to tell whether or not he had actually eaten anything since there were so many remnants left over. Oish. 

G and I held our breath as Riley picked up the first piece.

He inspected the first piece and picked at a few brown bits. Not surprising.

He bit into the topping (cheese) of the pizza.  Oh nooooo. Reeeelax. It’s only his 1^st piece.

He ate a bit of crust.  This is good. Very, VERY good! (all the while making sure not to make any eye contact with R)

He finished his first eighth!!!  YES!!!

When he was on his last piece, without saying a word I put another piece on his plate. I was waiting for the fallout. Nothing happened. What’s going on?!?!? I did not dare look so I glanced over at G. He had the “OMG! WTH is going on!” look in his eyes too. We sat in silence. Eating. Like regular people. Only not talking or having any interaction of any kind. That’s OK. That will come.

I put the last piece of pizza on R’s plate. This was what was left.

I was pretty sure the gates opened up and music started to play.  :D

Operation IFO (Increase Food Options)

If you follow us on Facebook you are probably aware that we have begun Operation IFO (Increase Food Options) in Riley World. 

Image from MorgueFile

Since we decided to take the summer off in Riley World, I, in all my infinite wisdom, decided that come September I would refocus my energies on some things that I have let slide over the years.

One of my goals this fall will be to try and increase the number of food options that Riley will eat. I admit it. Over the past 4-5 years I have slacked off. Riley has never had a very extensive menu but lately things have dwindled down to only a few options for each meal.

*Disclaimer:  I am not recommending you try any of my strategies with your own child. Much has led up to the tactics that I have employed here. Fifteen…yes 15 years in Riley World. Desperate times have called for desperate measures. I kid. Maybe.

Trust me…I am not going into new territory here. For the moment I am only trying to reintroduce foods that Riley used to “eat”. One thing I have noticed these first few days is that the gagging and dry heaving which used to bring us both to tears have not shown up. Yet.

Here is how the first few attempts went down. I promise after this post I will only bore update you via Facebook. Unless of course we hit a major breakthrough or I have nothing else to write about.  ;)

Day 1 Lunch:  Homemade Cheese Pizza

In the past Riley would "eat" Pizza Hut cheese pizza. I know what you are thinking…homemade pizza is not the same and you would be absolutely right. However after 15 years both Riley and I are a little more flexible let's face it...I am...just...tired so homemade pizza it shall be.

Me:       (In my excited voice)  Riley I’m going to make pizza for lunch.

R:         (Grumbling)  Like Pizza Hut.

Me:       Yes!  Would you like cheese pizza or pepperoni pizza?
             (Note: R does not eat pepperoni however "choices" work well.)

R:         Cheese pizza.

Me:       Alright.

R:         Just say ok please.

Me:       OK.

R:         That’s better.

We are also working on eating/biting into said pizza by the slice as opposed to serving up small bite-size pieces. Go big or go home I say.  

After much grumbling, complaining, table-slapping, yelling, picking, and let us not forget…positive reinforcement and well ummm negotiating, R managed to choke down eat 3 pieces of a personal size pizza. Attempt numero uno…COMPLETE!

Day 2 Lunch:

I decided to go back to the ol’ “First…/Then…” technique.

Me:       Riley would you like soup or hot dogs for lunch? (soup being his preferred choice of late)

R:         Soup please. (Sounding happy and pleasantly surprised)

Me:       Sure. First cheese stick; then soup.  Bazinga!

R:         Just soup please.

Me:       (No response. I just walked away. Walked away quickly.)

When I called him for lunch he came down to find this at his place at the table.

  

Before he even sat down… “It tastes terrible!”

Now for those of us who have no food aversions being “particular” can be unimaginable or difficult to understand to say the least. After all, it is not unusual for kids to be particular eaters right??  In Riley World it goes beyond what one might consider a reasonable dislike/aversion of certain foods. To better explain some of the challenges we face in Riley World, here is a great article “How to Help a Selective Eater” by Snagglebox. Bec writes the most awesome stuff!!!

Back to the cheese stick. Now of course I knew there were alarms going off all over Riley World about said cheese stick. You saw the picture right?? Go ahead…scroll up and look again. It is not the most attractive piece of bread. It has bits and pieces of yucky stuff on top. The texture is sure to be well…bumpy. YUCK!!!  Ten years ago I would have never attempted anything close to a cheese stick. Ten years ago I would have stayed the course of his limited diet. Ten years ago I had no grey hair either. Ok. Maybe some. HAVE YOU SEEN ME NOW!!! 

Me:       Riley. First cheese stick then soup.

R:         (Picking away at the cheese bits)  I’m all done.

G:         Can I try Buster?

R:         Sure dad.  (Relieved to be rid of one of them off his plate)

G:         Mmmmmm…it’s good. You try.

R:         (Still picking)  I’m not hungry to eat this cheese stick.

Me:       How about you eat just one piece?

R:         (Totally relieved)  Ohhh.kay. That sounds good to me!

Me:       (Quickly remove one off his plate)

R:         (Still picking. Gingerly takes a bite.)  How many more?

Me:       All of it.

R:         (Grumbling)  All of it.

Riley did manage to eat the cheese stick. Soup was on standby and in front of him before he swallowed the last bite. I am counting this as a SUCCESS!!

This has become quite the epic post so before I sign off I am going to leave you with a few observations which will also serve as reminders to me over the coming days…weeks…months…years.  *sigh*

·         Portions must be small enough that when stuffed into R's mouth in its entirety…will not require the Heimlich maneuver. 

·         NO eye contact. If he even suspects you are glancing his way you will hear “You are looking at me! STOP LOOKING AT ME!”

·         Do NOT engage in verbal communication. Any form of conversing will illicit any of the following complaints multiple times “This tastes terrible! or How many more? or I’m not hungry anymore. or This is different.”

Seriously…are we only coming up to day 6 of Operation IFO?!?!?  Heaven help us. 

It’s Official…I’m a Dragon Buster!!!

I am no longer a newbie. Wooo-hooo! Yesterday I paddled in my first regatta; am now officially a Dragon Buster; and earned the coveted sticker for my paddle.  :)  

For those who do not know me in real life, exercise has never been high on my list of ummm “likes”. I have never been a fan of the great outdoors (due to my bug phobia) and will willingly admit if put in a situation I am a fair-weather sports player.

So you can imagine the reaction I received when announcing I was going to become a dragon boat paddler. Everything from encouragement and the thumbs up to shock and stunned silence. Ha!

I will even admit…I was sceptical…and afraid…very, very afraid. What if I couldn’t do it? Have you ever seen a dragon boat race???  Well…me neither. BUT…what I had heard about it was quite daunting. It was a team sport where timing and working as a unit were required until the boat crossed the finish line. Eeep!  What was I thinking!?!?

After the first couple of practices I was hooked! I find a real sense of calm being out on the water. Even in the pouring rain. Trust me no one is more shocked about this than I am.

I know what has made my experience so awesome has been my teammates. They are an amazing group of women. We are all breast cancer survivors and more importantly we all look good in pink…thank goodness for THAT! 

In case you were wondering what Dragon Boating is…here is a clip (~3 minutes) from the Breast Cancer Challenge race yesterday. There were 2 heats; 9 boats in total. We were in the second heat with 5 boats racing. We finished 2^nd overall!!!  Our boat is the one with the black paddles. 

I don't know about you but I was exhausted watching that!  *wink*

A Woman's Week at the Gym...

Since this past Wednesday I have been working at a job out of the house. I know! For the next 2 weeks. Full time. Blogging, Twitter and FB time has and will be significantly reduced. You are disappointed I know but these things happen. You will be OK. 

During this brief work stint I will do my best to keep you informed on any earth-shaking news in Riley World or else just pass along humorous and trivial information. So as not to disappoint let's get started with the latter.   

Although I have never had the opportunity to have a session with a personal trainer I somehow think this is how it would turn out for me too. 

Dear Diary,

For my birthday this year, my husband purchased a week of personal training at the local health club.

Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.

Friends seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

MONDAY:

Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god-- with blond hair, dancing eyes, and a dazzling white smile.  Woo Hoo!!

Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines... I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!

Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!

TUESDAY:

I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door.

Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile.  His rewarding smile made it
all worthwhile. I feel GREAT!  It's a whole new life for me.

WEDNESDAY:

The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it.  I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals.  Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.

Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.

My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair monster. Why would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators?  Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life.  He said some other crap too.

THURSDAY:

Butt hole was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl.  I couldn't help being a half an hour late -- it took me that long to tie my shoes.

He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny witch to find me.

Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine -- which I sank.

FRIDAY:

I hate Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic, little aerobic instructor.  If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it.

Christo wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps!  And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the darn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.

The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher.  Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

SATURDAY:

Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel.

SUNDAY:

I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun -- like a root canal or a hysterectomy.

I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!

Hope you enjoyed my first #FridayFunny courtesy of our Fairy Godmother!   

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Bowling Playoffs...the Finale!

Riley’s first season of Special Olympics 5-Pin Bowling came to a close tonight and what a season it was. If you have a special needs child/teen/adult it is a wonderful organization to be a part of. I can not say enough good things about our experience.

When Riley was younger the idea of joining “team/organized” sports without a support person (or with me or G) was not in the cards. The stress was frankly more than any of us (ok...mostly G...I'm KIDDING...geeez) wanted to deal with at the time. Now-a-days, although at times still ummmm tense, Riley has enjoyed putting on his team bowling shirt and cheering on his team mates as well as fellow bowlers every Thursday night.

And thank goodness for volunteer coaches and scorekeepers…especially when they are young, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, Fair Maidens. *wink*  Remember R is almost 19.  :)

Riley started the season being able to handle playing only 2 of the 3 games with scores of 90 and 40. Eeep…it was a little rough in the beginning. Even though it was stressful for him that first night his enthusiasm (as evidenced by his now famous spin-o-rama/happy dance after a strike) shone through.

He ended the season tonight bowling a 121, 166 and 163 with a season high score of 242 (which included 5 strikes IN.A.ROW) and one other game over 200. Not too shabby for his first season.

Next up…Special “O” Bocce Ball and Golf and Challengers Baseball. Looks like we may end up with an athlete in the family after all.  Foooooore!!!

Zumba & Me

Yesterday afternoon I went to another Zumba class with a girlfriend. OK. So it was only my second class in about ummm 3 years. In case you are not aware of all the hype around Zumba you can watch this YouTube video:

  

Yup. This video is what Zumba is all about…or at least that is what “THEY” want you to believe. Did you watch at least the first 30 seconds?  Buff bodacious bodies…on the beach…in a disco (or wherever people Zumba). 

I call  BULL SH*T!!!

Of course I will elaborate.

It all started the other day on Facebook with this picture on a friend’s wall. Of course I had to make some snarky comment and the next thing you know I was going.

We got to the gym and were waiting for the class to start. You know that feeling like you have met someone before? Well guess what? The instructor…her son and Riley went to Gymboree together. I know! Over 15 years later and our paths cross at a Zumba class of all places. 15 years later and she is still looking svelte, in amazing shape, perky as all heck and I…well…am…well…not…any. of. those. things. What the hell was I thinking introducing myself!?!? 

Now I like to think of myself as somewhat coordinated. After all I took tap dancing and baton as a kid, played musical instruments in elementary school, and even played sports in high school. So makes sense right???

Well according to G…not so much. Back when we were still all googly-eyed over each other (yes we actually once were) and practicing our “first dance” for our wedding, I remember the words “two left feet” and “dragging around a sack of potatoes” coming out of my soon-to-be husband’s mouth. What the hell was I thinking?!?!?  Baaahaaahaaa.

So in we went. The room had mirrors plastered all over one ENTIRE wall! We were facing THAT wall. THAT wall was NOT my friend. AT ALL! Those mirrors?  I am positive they bought them from going out of business Fun Houses because there is no way my leg was only going a (as in one) foot off the ground. It was at least up to my shoulders if not the top of my head!!!

Then came the combination salsa/samba/Bollywood and belly dance moves. Let me just say the “magnificent middle” body that I have acquired and Zumba will never be friends. This body is not made for gyrating hips, Gangnam-style galloping or graceful chasseing back and forth. I consider myself extremely lucky I did not trip over my two left feet or knock myself out with my flailing arms.

My fingers are starting to seize up and before I end up having to crawl to bed I will stop here. Believe it or not I will be going back. That is why they make you pay in advance.  Haha! 

Oh and just so you know...this is a more realistic picture of the Zumba class I went to.