Q&A #181

I didn't know you were a lefty! No wonder you're so super awesome!! Lol 
LOL Yep! So is Kameron! Frank and Kass and Kenn are right handed. Keeghan and Kellsey haven't made up their minds yet. I'm rooting for the left hand! ;) 


How did u make the philly cheese steaks?
Courtesy of Schwan's, of course! They sell the meat, the bread, (we cut the loaf in half and then sliced it down the middle. It comes with three loaves, so it made 6 sandwiches). I bought these to grill and put on top... not authentic Philly style, but still really yummy! Then of course we bought cheese wiz from the store to top it all off. 


I have wanted to ask this before and the extra thumb made me think of it again! My little boy Kameron is now 6 and has Mosiac DS. He was born with a fully formed extra pinky on his right hand. It was only connected by skin and no muscle or bone had to be cut to remove it. They just put a few stitches in the day after he was born to cut off the blood supply. It fell off on its on in about a wk. He also has webbed toes on both feet. The question I have for you through is Kennedy's or Kellsey's finger nail or toe nails really thin. Kameron's are very thin and grow very fast. I don't know anyone personally with DS or that has a child with DS so all I have to go on is what his doctors say. I have asked all of then, and some say it is common and some says it is not! So I was just curious if you have the same problems with the girls! I have more problems with his toes nails, because they sometimes want to break in the middle of the nail. So we have to be really careful putting on his shoes or socks. And I try to keep them cut as short as possible.
Kennedy and Kellsey both have thin fingernails... they don't split down the middle, but Kennedy's especially, get hang nails ALL the time. They do grow fast, too. I am constantly cutting them all. I know there are nail strengthening creams out there... whether or not they work, I don't know. 


Plowing while it's still snowing is not bad as long as they continue to make passes on the streets.
I hope you enjoy your day. How much snow do you actually have? Think you'll ever go back to school? 
Well, the thing is, he plowed one side of the street and not the other, and then never came back! LOL We had maybe 5-6 inches from what neighbors were showing. We should be back for a full week this next week. Temps are nearing the 60's! Woohoo!


Off-topic question: How do you get screenshots of what's on your iPhone?
Press the power button on top and the home button (the circle) at the same time and it will take a picture of your screen and put it in your photo album. :)


Thanks for letting me be a part of your amazingly HUGE blogroll! I have NO idea how you keep track of everyone! If you take some sort of medication for memory, please tell me what it is! :) lol 
LOL That's why I HAVE the blogroll, because I can't remember anything! :)


Well, I'm on there and nothing has changed, but how in the world do you manage to keep up to date on everyone's blog? You've got quite a few on your blogroll there.
I'm afraid I haven't kept up as well as I'd like to in the past year! 


Very productive day!!! What did you fix the kids for supper on Vday? Anything special? 
LOL! Nope! We ran through McDonald's. By the time our day was done, we were all exhausted!


Sounds like you were so busy! We have that today... do your kids give you a hard time about getting in and out of the car like mine do?
Well, it was just Kennedy with me for most of our running and she enjoys the busy-ness, especially going to the pet store! 


You didn't actually go out and make a real snowman in the snow?! 
No... with Kellsey still recovering from her T&A and the other kids recently having the flu, I just decided to play it safe. We'll have PLENTY of snow opportunities next year in Colorado. They weren't too brokenhearted over it. 


Im sorry if you have already answered this before, but is Kellsey talking at all yet? I wish you would put up a new video of her "talking" or playing with the other kids, the "hair dresser" playing would have been cute on tape! lol I loveeeeeee your blog, and check it out all the time! I am in love with your family ;) in a non stalkerish way of course! haha! 
WELL, depends on who you ask. LOL She talks a lot at school and for other people, apparently. Of course the word "talk" is to be taken lightly as her words are all approximations and wouldn't be understood by anyone who hasn't been around her for awhile. She doesn't talk to me much. I get a few words out of her here and there. "Baby, Book, Cup, Eat, Done, Ma, and Stuck" are her most common words with me. She uses "Stuck" when her books or her baby are stuck at the bottom of her toy bin lol. Then someone will go dig them out for her. She will say a very rough approximation of "play" but she'll only repeat it if I say it first, as in "Go play." And of course she has her staples "Hi, bye, yay, and NO!" (Really wishing we could take that last one OUT of her vocabulary... and Keeghan's too for that matter! haha) She knows quite a few signs, too: "More, Thank you, All Done, Baby, Eat, Yes, and Stop" (as in "Stop that!" which is usually directed towards her brothers! ha!) I will have to shoot some video, I never really think about it. Frank is the video guy. I think about pictures that I can look back on later. It's how my brain is trained. He likes video better. I bet once he's home you'll be seeing more video! ;) 


Random question.... I have always heard the DS kids/adults are heavier (as in fatter) then others but I see that both your girls are pretty lean... is it true or just another 'rumor'? 
OK, so here's my medical disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a medical professional so anything written here should just be taken as what I've heard, read and seen in the last 6 1/2 years ;). I have seen MANY adults with Down syndrome who are overweight. When Kennedy was a baby, I heard over and over that people with Down syndrome are at risk for obesity. This terrified me, especially because I have struggled with my weight for years, and it sucks!  There are a few things that come into play here... thyroid issues, which are common with Down syndrome; lack of exercise and poor diet among other things. A lot of people with Down syndrome tend to go for foods that are "easy" and what is easy? Junk. (Believe me, I'm not immune to this!) This is usually stemmed from years of poor diet which could be stemmed from anything... sensory issues being my biggest guess. I have worked hard to make sure that Kennedy eats a variety of foods. She loves fruits and veggies. I limit her sweets and try to limit her carbs as much as possible... we're a carb loving family, so that's hard! Mostly I work on portion control. I am trying to teach good habits now so that when she's out on her own later (whatever that may mean), they will carry over. 
Kellsey of course is a little bit of a different story... she, like many kids who have come from Ukraine, has actually slimmed down a little since coming home. They were fed mainly carbs and starches in the orphanage because they are cheap and readily available. They also fed her candy and cakes like they were going out of style! Now that she is getting more veggies (and the few fruits she's not allergic to), she slimmed down some. She's actually bigger than Kennedy was at 4 years old. Go figure! Anyway, I am doing the same with Kellsey now... and thankfully, she loves her veggies and a wide range of food, too... when she's not being stubborn! ;)
I have met just as many adults with Down syndrome who are slim and in shape and wear cute, stylish clothes as I have ones who are overweight. My hope is that my girls will continue to see how important it is to keep their bodies healthy, whether I'm with them or not. :)