October

October has been busy! Nothing particularly exciting, just a busy daily grind. My daughter did, finally, have an Occupational Therapy evaluation for the pain she experiences when writing. She likes some of the games & exercises, but not others. It seems her fingers are "locking", so she was shown a massage that can help relax her finger joints, and I have found that helps if she periodically stops her writing to do this exercise. She giggles like crazy getting the monkeys into the barrel with a special instrument (she has to use her fingers properly to do so.) We learned a new tic tac toe version- we each get a word (not an x or o) and the word has to be written correctly. I found it interesting the OT noted the same thing my daughter's vocal coach keeps correcting- scrunched up shoulders. I have been taking advantage of the weather and my daughter has spent a lot of time outdoors. She plays football with some neighborhood boys- they don't seem to be soft on her at all because she's a girl, and I think she is thrilled with that. She did end up with a nasty bruised cheek/eye after a tackle earlier this month. I told her that was it for injuries this month, but she didn't listen. She got a friction "rip" on her palm while playing on the playground equipment (it's basically a large, sloughed blister.) After getting ver the initial stinging pain, she had a temporary joy thinking this would get her out of schoolwork- it was her right hand- but, no, she can still read, type, and give me oral answers!

Field Trip: Hot Rods for Heroes

We are still recovering from a long and wonderful day with our pals from Hot Rods for Heroes.  Being a military family, we had an incredible chance to go behind the scenes at the NHRA qualifications this past weekend. While we were based at the Permatex/Follow A Dream team's pit, we also met Alexis DeJoria and Clay Millican and the Parts Plus team. My daughter was inspired by her experience watching the awsom Jay Blake (Follow A Dream) at work. She loved the slower cars, but the top fuel cars scared her a bit, so we sat at the pit after a few of those races. She said it wasn't so much the noise, but how much everything- from the ground to her teeth, shook when they go by. She saw science in action- from machinery, to chemistry, to physics, and the math involved in speed and racing. When the Permatex car brushed along the wall, she got to see the damage- the solid metal pipes were melted and fused. Talk about heat!

The damage: