It's Almost Time...And I Had To Spend WAY Too Much!

We finally got all of the school supply shopping done. Between three kids, it cost almost ninety dollars. That included a pair of shoes for the boy (girls already got new shoes). Back in MY day (God, I just made myself sound older than dirt) my parents didn't have to buy all these things. Especially the extras. Like antibacterial wipes, hand sanitizer and facial tissue.

Also, I don't ever recall needing more than TWO glue sticks. These days, kids need three LARGE or a dozen (or six, depending on grade and teacher preference) small sticks of glue.

The only things I had to take were my Trapper Keeper binder that had a few folders and the dividers, pencils, crayons and scissors in a pencil pouch and my lunch. Of course all in my awesome looking backpack.

I didn't get to take in the Tax-Free Weekend, sadly. But I was still able to find some pretty good deals, anyways. With three kids to shop for, I look for all the savings cuts I can when it comes to shopping for school that are listed.

I understand, that like us parents are, teachers are hurting economically, as are the schools themselves where funding is concerned. But to see some of the amounts PER item that they wish for us parents to buy really IS kind of obscene.

And no, I am NOT saying that the teachers and the schools should have to buy EVERYTHING...But why not pick up a little of the slack and provide the tissues, hand sanitizer and then antibacterial wipes? That would help US out.

The schools MUST also understand, that there are households (such as mine, included) that can only get so much PER child. With three children, all in school and all needing their supplies, it can be EXTREMELY difficult, financially.

Heck, even buying for one child can run you in to the ground, financially. Add in clothes, extra expenses (School Agendas, PE Uniforms, extra supplies for certain classes), it REALLY adds up.

I know that I may get a few teachers on here ready to jump me. But as a parent, I see that honestly, it is unfair to the parents to have to pretty much supply everything in the means of school supplies in the name of "free public education". It's NOT free when you are shelling out money you don't really have on things that should not be the parent's complete responsibility to supply.

Pens and pencils. Binders and backpacks. Uniforms (if required). Folders and dividers. Notebooks and composition books. That should be the END of the supply list.

Not that and a laundry list of other stuff.

I've got a friend who is financially hurting REALLY bad right now. Her daughter is going in to first grade, mom can't work, lives in low-income housing, and her nineteen-year-old son is helping with what little he has left over to get his baby sister at least SOME of her supplies.

Mom had to give up GROCERY money to buy those wipes, sanitizers and tissues. And to get a few pieces for the girl's uniforms.

I told her not to worry about the piddly crap, because the teacher WILL just have to understand and she will have MORE than plenty between the ones that will bring it all in.

She told me, with a shaky voice that she did it as to not be viewed as THAT mom. The one that is too damn dirt poor to get ANYTHING for her kid. To save her little girl from the good possibility of being made fun of for not having money.

The parents at our schools, and ALL the other schools in the country have parents with ALL variants of income status. Some dirt-ass poor. Some more than well-off. And some of us in the middle or are just keeping our heads above the water.

NO parent should feel in ANY way forced or coerced in to buying items that they CANNOT afford and have to make the choices (as a single parent) as she has had to do. All in the name of keeping her dignity in tact and making sure that her daughter isn't bullied because Mommy can't just go out and buy this, that and everything else on a whim.

If we are in a Public School setting where it is a "FREE public education", then by God, make it so! By not asking for the parents to do ALL the financial supplementation for YOUR classroom.

Donation... Give the gift of Smiles & of Yourself.

A while back, I had written a post about an experience that took myself and my husband by surprise. We knew that when the time was right, we were going to pass on the gift of giving to someone. We have since been on the lookout of who and how we were going to "Pay It Forward" to.

This is a concept I already had in mind for myself though, since I had turned the age of eighteen. Since then, I have been a Registered Donor to donate anything I can in the event of my death.

Who knew that at the age of thirty-two, just fourteen years after becoming a Donor, that I also would be seeing the whole topic of Organ/Tissue Donation from the other side of the fence. You can read my Corneal Transplant Recipient story HERE.

But also, I have been able to "pay it forward" monetarily. And thanks to the donations that were all pooled together, a record twenty-five children were able to purchase books at the Spring Book Fair at school.

Hayley had found a $100 bill in the school's soccer field a while back and brought it home. Sure I got on her for not turning it in right away. But then, I myself constantly forgot to take it with me to turn in as well.

So, seeing as so much time has passed, we (Scott and I collectively) decided to donate the $100 to the school's Library for the Book Fair's "Students in Need" box. After the totals were counted, there was close to $190.00 to split between the kids. Pre-K through Fist grade students were able to spend up to $5 and those in Second through Fifth grade were able to spend up to $10.

It felt wonderful to see the long list and know that so many children were being helped this year. I'm NOT happy that they had to be on it, because of such financial hardships in their families. But I AM happy that these kids were able to continue on the path to a wonderful love and enjoyment of reading.

Although, there is something else, along with the love of reading that is very close to my heart. That is Organ/Tissue Donation Awareness. Not just because I am a Registered Donor, as is my husband. But because we as a family have experienced firsthand the miracles of Tissue Donation. To be able to regain (most of) my sight back is an honest miracle. And as a mother, being down just ONE eye is hard to deal with. No matter how much you do to "adapt".

Did you know that you can be a LIVING Donor? Blood, a piece of your liver, a kidney, bone marrow, tendons and other tissues.

Then, you have Donors that donate skin, corneas, major organs such as your hearts and lungs. Plus cadaver (deceased) donors can give their tissues, bones, livers, kidneys, and intestines.

Right now, in the United States of America, the statistics for Recipients CURRENTLY awaiting their "gifts of LIFE" stands at (provided by Organ Procurement & Transplant Network)..

All Organs 110,484
Kidney 88,087
Liver 16,164
Pancreas 1,384
Heart 3,188
Lung 1,758
Intestine 265

As a Registered Donor, you can potentially save up to eight people's lives, and enrich and better about 50 lives.

Giving has always been a part of me and of who I am. I give what I can, where I can, when I can. So signing up to be an Organ/Eye/Tissue Donor was a no-brainer for me. If you are interested in becoming a Donor, please visit OrganDonor.Gov or United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and find out more Organ Transplantation and becoming a HERO, and to find out how to register in your state or Provence.

Because to us, our Donors (living and deceased), and their families are indeed our HEROES!

GLBT and Kroger...BOYCOTT? (getting on my soapbox!)

Over at Facebook, I belong to the "Fan Page" for the retail grocery chain, Kroger(KROGER FACEBOOK FAN PAGE). You can ask questions, find out what weekly deals and sales that they are having (or will be having the following week) and converse with fellow customers of the establishment.

The store has re-done their FB page and so I had to search a bit for the DISCUSSIONS tab (which happened to be under BOXES). I like to "talk" with others on the boards in that manner.

Yesterday, I came across one titled "I will not shop at Kroger because you denied sponsorship to the LGBT community.". Of course, it did pique my interest. So, I opened it up and read the initial post that opened the proverbial can of worms. It went like this..

"Removing your use of your logo for the Cincinnati LGBT pride festival is a poor decision.

I live in Columbus, have a Kroger across the street from my house, but your regressive ways have made me rethink going to any Kroger location. I will spend my families money where I am appreciated.

I have already switched to Giant Eagle and will actively spread the word for others to do the same. "

Now, if you know me, I am ALL for the rights and equality for the GLBT Community. Yes, even marriage. But I am also not one to go off on a tangent such as this over the fact that CORPORATE OFFICE made the decision to remove their logo from the Pride Festival.

Was it wrong for Kroger to do such a thing? YES! In *my* mind it was. Kroger spreads talk of community and unity, and wanting to help others. But talk is cheap these days. But to pull out of the Pride Festival, in fear of what their customers *might* think (and HELLO!! Kroger, you DO have customers that are gay, you idiot Heads!) of them.

But to punish a LOCAL store in your area over what the Corporate Office (in Cincinnati, Ohio, mind you!) did (I feel) makes YOU just as bad as the Head Office. When you refuse to shop there (or at any retailer) and take a bunch of friends with you, then yes, you ARE denying a basic, everyday, hard-working employee a paycheck.

Same with gas stations. I do NOT buy the BP gas (for obvious reasons!), but I will not *refuse* to shop inside the convenience store. That store has nothing to gain from BP, except a small percentage of earnings from BP for "featuring" their BP product. Most of their income is through the selling of IN-STORE products, being that the store it's self is of it's own entity. A franchise.

My husband, for the last ten years of his life, has worked at Kroger Food & Drug. And for eight of those ten years (started as, then promoted, then had to go back to it due to certain circumstances and is presently there) Scott has been Head Frozen Food Clerk. Do you HONESTLY think he ENJOYS freezing his ass off daily to provide YOU, the consumer with "quick and easy" meals? I can tell you a resounding NO! At least not ALL of the time.

He gets crap for pay, as he (sometimes) works up to a ten-hour shift, busting his ass to place products on his shelves, make sure orders that come in are stocked with what he needs to supply YOU with to grab off of those shelves and has to hear customers bitch and yell at him for what the WAREHOUSE scratched (did not send) on the order (which is NOT up to him).

When you refuse to shop, you are taking away pay from him, and his fellow employees. And in turn, you are taking it from my kids, and their (fellow employees) families. We rely on those paychecks (just like anyone else in any other employment position) to clothe, feed and house our children. And when you "boycott" a store for what is OUT OF THE *LOCAL STORE'S* control, you not only hurt that store and their employees, you hurt US, THE FAMILIES of those employees.

Everyone wants equal rights. Is it really and honestly fair to "boycott" a single store for what their Corporate Office did? What (Corporate Office) did was INDEED blatantly WRONG. Call THEM. Write to THEM. Email THEM. Don't make the "little guy" suffer. They get the shitty end of the stick. It's Corporate that needs to have a hole burned in their pockets. Not my husband (or my children).

Special Needs, Special Education, Aides, And Stuff.

As the mother of a Special Needs child that is NOT Neurotypical, I love to educate others (the public at large) on what it's like as a parent, but also for our kids, that have a SILENT Disability.

What is a Silent Disability you ask? Well, to put it in layman's terms, it means that someone has a disability, or a combination of different disabilities that does NOT outwardly show in physical appearance. They may walk and talk just fine. But on he INSIDE, it is a completely different story. The person may have Lupus or Fibromyalgia. Or they have Bipolar or Oppositional Defiance Disorder. And there are MANY upon many other ailments, malady's and illness that seem to not appear to be noticed on the outside of the body.

My son has several mental disorders. They impede and impact his daily living and social skills. And also his eating and sleeping habits. He has very few friends. He has a very difficult time with outward, verbal expression. He has emotional set backs, as well as a decreased maturity level (that is NOT within 'normal' range for a boy his age). For the most part, he looks, walks, and talks just like you and I. But when he displays his "quirks" and has manic episodes, and angers so badly that the devil looks like an angel, then you know something is seriously off with my boy.

Have you ever gotten upset at ANY person that parks in the Handicapped Parking space, only to see them get out and walk in to the store, minus a cane, walker, or scooter. And even without an oxygen tank? Are you more upset that they took that spot from a REAL disabled person? Or that they walk and act "just fine"? Maybe for you, it's both?

I've honestly lost count of how many stares my mother-in-law and I have gotten as we step out the van and WALK to the store's entrance from her handicapped parking space. She is disabled and cannot stay in the store and walk for too long. And she has a hard time breathing, but not needing oxygen (yet). She has Systemic Lupus, a colostomy bag and she tires easily due to the Lupus. But you cannot see that from just looking at her.

Now, back to children with Special Needs (of any kind, really). I was reading on my local news station's web page that a near-by county is CUTTING Behavioral Aides from their schools. Why? They suddenly became a part of the county's budget cuts.

http://www.wset.com/news/stories/0610/746253.html?ref=tw

Those that work with kids like mine are an integral part of those student's having the ability, focus and willingness to learn, and learn effectively. To take them away from those kids (as was said in the article) for even just ONE school year, can set those kids (potentially) back for SEVERAL years to come.

I'm sorry, but no basic Teacher's Aide will be able to 'effectively' assist those children in the manner that they need the help to be within the mainstream classroom setting. Not unless they too have children that have some type of mental/behavioral disability/disorder.

Even then, for as long as I have been dealing with and learning the ropes with my own child, it does NOT make me an "expert" in the field of Childhood Neurological Behavioral Sciences. I'm just a MOM that has a lot of personal experience and literature-based knowledge of what is wrong with MY child.

Many, if not MOST of those children have SSI Disability, as well as Medicaid Insurance. If need be, the kids can still have their Aides (those that will require the most one-on-one assistance), and Medicaid can pick up the bills. All they will need is a Pre-Authorization from their Specialist. Ninety-nine percent of the time, Pre-Auth's are APPROVED.

In the end, it's truly a win-win situation. No money out of the school's pocket (or the children's parents). And the kids get the Aides that they desperately need in order to receive the best education possible for their abilities (and disabilities).

Honestly, this is a 'no-brainer'....