The High and Lows of the Week

This week was stressful in a low-key sort of way. Some weird, tense situations came up that put me in a perpetual funk until the work week officially endedat 2:30 P.M. yesterday.

For one, I re-learned a very important professional skill -- defend your statement by giving as little information as possible. I participated in one of my most intense IEPs a few weeks ago, and the mother kept repeating the fact that her son has a mild hearing impairment as if it was having a devastating effect on his language. I argued that it wasn't as evidenced in his verbal responses and as documented through his progress in therapy and his academic work. He has been compensating just fine; actually, I did not know he had a hearing impairment until I recently reviewed his IEP again.

That was the big bone of contention. I truly said that in a positive way as in he was compensating just fine, but parents twisted it to criticize me for not doing my job right. Apparently, after I left the IEP, she said aloud, "I can't believe that SLP didn't know my son has a hearing loss." Talk about passive-aggressive and not saying that to me during the meeting. Not that I necessarily would have had a good comeback. Subsequently, the parents refused to sign until it was stated in the IEP that I didn't know he has a hearing loss amongst other details worked out with the other specialists. I'm sorry if I can't remember every single detail of 67 students. When I was traumatically removed from my original assignment back in October to do major damage control here, I reviewed goals and services from each IEP and not every single page of these 15-30 page IEPs.

The good news is that they finally signed after the case carrier wrote on a "supplemental team notes" page, "SLP mentioned she did not know about student's hearing loss."

So that and other criticism received and being caught in the middle of drama at work that was unrelated to me were the downers for the week. I know in the grand scheme of things, they're not major fiascos, but I still felt like a dummy. You're hardly ever recognized for your good work but 50 people will know about your mistakes in a day.

On that note, I did have a huge upper this week. In April, I did an assessment at a private school. Saving a lot of background information, this case was unique to me because 1) it was my first assessment at a private school; 2) it was my first IEP facing an advocate; 3) I didn't know the student nor parents since we don't service private schools but judging from parents' interactions with other specialists, they didn't seem that easy to get along with; 4) student has a diagnosis of autism and a slew of private services.

After I presented at the IEP, the parents looked at each other and said, "We don't know what our private SLP is working on." I was floored! If anyone could have read my mind, they would have heard me shouting, "Pay me $150/hr to work with your kid and not let you in on what I'm doing!"

But the professional part of me actually told them to look over my report and goals and if they have any questions after they discuss with So-&-So and Associates, they can contact me. (The parents kept name-dropping and asking if I knew these people and that people.) So mother and I have been playing phone tag, and we finally spoke on Wednesday. She politely asked if I would talk to the private SLP (if this is allowed) to discuss my findings, recommendations, and therapy ideas b/c she shared my report with the private SLP. She also asked if there is any way that we could cut the Inclusion Specialist's 10 hours of consultation to 5 hours and then have me consult the other 5 hours. I was like, whoawhoawhoa...b/c the I.S. is really good at what she does (working on inclusion, i.e., behaviors). I was flattered that she would want me to take half of that consultation time (of course for legit reasons of working on pragmatics in a group setting, etc.).

At the end of our conversation, I said, "Thank you for talking with me," and she said, "No, thank YOU. I mean it, I really appreciate you taking the time to diligently call me back and just from the IEP meeting and your report, we were all really impressed with how thorough you were and how you really knew your stuff." She elaborated on "we" as in her husband and her, their hoity-toity name-dropping advocate, private SLP, and two private behavioral agency representatives.

I was like, wow! That was really, really awesome to hear. I guess it's b/c that's the first time any parent has ever said that to me. I know I am not in this profession for the glory...but there are times, when we as SLPs can't help but feel underappreciated, especially when working with learners with autism. I feel like I put in so much work with the severe kids, but it is never enough and any progress (in communication) is not because of any work that I have done. It's just nice to hear a compliment and feel somewhat competent, after a week of hearing how incompetent I appear to be.

Rough crowd, man. I've been a relatively good sport about it, though. Although I was previously counting down the months until the end of this assignment, I am proud to say I haven't counted down the days. I will say that I've counted down how many more sessions with the student who is the bane of my current existence...5 more!

Thank God for weekends.

Dog Walker

I called my bro up around lunch time to see how he was doing. Unfortunately, he's been really sick since yesterday so I asked if he needed anything since I was stopping by the market. He asked me to pick up some stuff...and to come by to play with Max since he hasn't been able to all day.

When I got to my bro's, Max and Ella, their downstair neighbor's adorable doggy, greeted me in the backyard. All 3 of us when upstairs to find my bro sprawled on the couch in his PJs. Poor guy! He was so sick so I just made sparse conversation, played with Maxwell, and then washed their dishes despite my brother telling me like 5 times that I don't need to. (For some reason, a sinkful of dishes drive me nuts. I think it's largely due to my Gramma's upbringing.) By the time I finished, my bro had fallen asleep again so I took Maxwell on my first walk alone with him. We didn't get too far b/c I started getting paranoid (since I was heading south on Hauser instead of north, towards the "safer" area). We got about halfway down the long block when Max did his business. Good thing I had brought two baggies...and folks, there we have it -- my first pooper scooper experience. To top it off, Max does this kicking thing after he pees and poops so he started kicking his poop everywhere! I had to jump to get out of the way! Gross!

Aside from that incident, Max is so cute. Hubby bought Max a mallard doggy toy that he can't wait to get his paws on. (Bro didn't want me to give it to him today b/c he has "too many" toys...like two.) I love Max.

Home Improvement

I am not particularly fond of home improvement projects...but considering this is the second time our bathroom has flooded since we've been living here (and who knows how many times prior), our carpet was disgustingly wet and in danger of molding. (Not to mention the countless times our turtle has had accidents on the carpet, too...)

On Saturday, we were practically on our way out to my co-worker's "BBQ" (with no BBQing) at the beach (which I supposedly neglected to tell hubby who hates the beach), when I flushed and the water kept rising and rising and rising...and then spilling over as I frantically yelled, "HELP!! HELP!!! HELP!!!!" Hubby rushed in and guided me to turn off the pipes and plunge (after the obligatory, "Why do you break everything?!"). Too bad 1/3 of the bathroom carpet was already soaking wet. We spent another hour trying to remedy the situation before we left for the "BBQ."

I don't know if this comes with the marriage territory, but I'm really surprised that Hubby still came with me to the beach, despite his alleged claim that I did not inform him of the location of this "BBQ." In the past, he wouldn't have come with me, ESPECIALLY if he found out the morning of that a friend of mine that he has never met was throwing a gathering at the beach. He was a good sport, though. We got to Playa del Rey Beach around 3 and dropped off peanut-butter brownies and chocolate chip cookies. After about half 45 minutes, we took off for Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Target to look for a steam vacuum cleaner. We ended up purchasing one at Target, whereby using our first wedding gift card. (Aww, our first home appliance/purchase together. :)

On our way home, we stopped by a new Mexican joint on Jefferson for a delicious dinner of carne asada burrito and nachos. We came home, ate, put together the steam vacuum (rather, Hubby did while I continued eating), and then Hubby steam vacuumed the bathroom. By the time we settled down, it was close to 11:30 P.M. and we were tired.

Yesterday morning, our bathroom floor was still pretty wet. When I got home from church, I walked in and was overcome by a funky smell...not a good sign. So Hubby vacuumed again (to try to suck out more water) while I moved furniture around and stuff off the floor so that he could steam vacuum the rest of our place. As tiring as that was, I'm glad he did because he has stopped smoking inside (woohoo!), but our place still wreaks of stale smoke.

After steam vacuuming the bathroom a third time, we decided to tear up the carpet b/c we weren't getting anywhere. We've always known there is linoleum underneath the poorly-installed carpeting so with this second plumbing fiasco and our fear of the floor molding, we went about tearing the carpet up with reckless abandon (rather, Hubby did while I held the trash bag open, showed signs of disgust, and then took it downstairs to the dumpster). After several hours of pulling nails, sanding down rough parts, my independent journey to the hardware store, installing "carpet jams," and all sorts of other big and little tasks, we finished around 5 P.M. All the while, I had flashbacks of helping my bro and his partner with their place...oooh, how much I don't like home improvement tasks! At least our bathroom is fixed and improved. Nothing's worse than plumbing problems, that's for sure.

When we finally finished, we quickly showered and got ready to have dinner with Hubby's BGF. Since she didn't want Chinese food and wanted something unique to the Westside, we brought her to Enterprise Fish Co., where I had a delicious glazed sea bass with string beans and a crunchy risotto cake, creme brulee, and a hard-earned Newcastle.

Thank goodness I have today off. This weekend has been spent cleaning up our place (dusting, vacuuming, washing, organizing my junk/piles). Unfortunately, the last house chore for this weekend is cleaning Lil F's tank...

3 Sneezes

Hubby says that whenever I sneeze, I always sneeze at least three times. Today, I was assessing a student that I just met for the first time when I sneezed three times. Immediately after, the student said, "make a wish!" Apparently, when you sneeze three times in a row, you're supposed to make a wish.

I wonder how many 100s of wishes I've missed out on!

Visiting the In-Laws

It sounds so official to say that. :) I must admit that I get all dorky-giddy when my husband and brother refer to each other as "brother-in-law."

On Saturday morning, Maxwell and Bro dropped Husband and me at LAX to fly out to Vegas to visit the in-laws. We haven't seen them since our wedding so we were looking forward to it...also because it meant a mini-vacation. We arrived and met up with in-laws at Mandalay Bay, our usual meeting spot, and then went to have lunch at a Filipino restaurant. It was soOOOo delicious...but so much red meat!

Afterward, we went to in-laws and rested a bit before meeting up with MIL's best friend at Red Rock. We played (i.e., gambled) for two hours and then headed home to have more delicious Filipino food for dinner. Hubby and I turned in early that evening.

On Sunday, we slept in and then headed back to Red Rock where I checked in to the Spa for a deep tissue massage treatment. It was my first deep tissue massage, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially at 30% off! My masseuse was very interesting, too; she is from Hawaii, where she was previously a social worker who received speech therapy when she was little. After my treatment, I alternated between the steam room (with eucalyptus aroma), hot and cold jacuzzi, and lounge area. When I got bored, I left and ran into Hubby. We checked into our room (with VIP elevator access -- perhaps compensation for rooming us 250+ feet away from the elevator lobby?) and got ready for dinner.

Dinner was another enjoyable event. We had reservations at T-Bones to celebrate Father-in-Law's birthday and parents-in-laws 38th wedding anniversary. Hubby and I went overboard, ordering all sorts of dishes (at 25% off!). I started with lobster chowder and then had a few slices of my petite filet mignon with a side of spinach and cheese on roasted tomatoes. The awesomest part is that we received a delicious slice of carrot cake and creme brulee, both compliments of the house. We were stuffed...and thought that the best way to work it off was to gamble a bit.

The pinnacle of our slot-playing experience was when Hubby and I walked past some $1 slots. We looked at each other and said, "why not?" Hubby put in $15 and kept hitting the button to bet more lines. Before I could stop him, he had placed a max bet...of $5! With full commitment, he hit play...and won $10! We couldn't resist...intermittent reinforcement is powerful. In a matter of minutes, Hubby reaped in over $150 in three $5 hands! Gotta play to win!

We turned in pretty early and woke up the next morning to meet in-laws for a brunch buffet. A few hours later, we were on our way back to LAX.

I have to say that it was great to be vacationing on a Monday...that is usually spent in M.B.

Max's Turtle

So here's Max "posing." Bro says that every time he knows his picture is being taken, he instantaneously goes from happy to sad, "puppy eyes." Since he's not very photogenic, I tried to trick him by using my iPhone camera instead. Didn't quite work...


Here's Max with his new toy turtle. I got an e-mail today from bro that said, "Yesterday, he kept looking for a place to bury his turtle...I think he loves it so much he wants to hide it. He took it outside and dug a hole and put it in it. I had to hurry and get it out and wash it. chrrr."

:)

I love Max updates!

Happy Mommy's Day!

I wish all of the mothers in my life a very happy one. This year, Mother's Day has been a little bit different for me...I've been a lot more sentimental in a somewhat global way.

Mother's Day usually prompts me to reflect on my Mommy, Aunties, and Grandma and all of their loving qualities. This year, I know so many more mommies and their amazing accomplishments -- mommies with infants, babies, teenagers, and even quarter-life kids. And of course the mommies-to-be (BGF is going to deliver any day now!). In talking (and informally interviewing for personal purposes) so many mommies this past year, my respect and admiration for mommies is so much deeper.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and mothers-to-be in my life!

Pampered Max

Maxwell is getting quite comfortable in his new home. Bro's been getting him situated nicely, including finding the right bed for him. This is actually his second bed, which seems to be the one. Max goes through a routine of "fluffing" his bed for a minute or two (i.e., scratching the entire area that he will flop down on) before kerplunking down. On Tuesday, Max went to Petco to get a $75 haircut + conditioning. I almost went to pick him up because I was so anxious to see his new do. He is so handsome and cute!


Maxwell has also really taken to his new toy that I got him. Of course I got him a turtle stuffed animal! When I gave it to him, he seriously had it in his mouth for a really long time and didn't want to let it go (maybe almost 10 minutes?). Bro noticed that he's really gentle with the turtle...as opposed to that pink thing (see above picture).


Max is actually really camera shy, so this is a great head shot. :)

Friday R & R

Since Hubby went to visit his friends this afternoon, I went to Manhattan Beach after work to transition smoothly into the weekend. :)

MB is probably one of the nicest beaches around (vs. Venice and even Santa Monica). I've gone there on several occasions during my lunches, just to get away and momentarily de-stress. It definitely has a different feel for several reasons. One thing's for sure; it's quite an upscale area. I am so in awe of the beach front houses; each one with its own style and personality. I would take pictures, but I don't want anyone suing me...There is one beach front house in particular where the downstairs room facing the beach is literally like a show room. There's a treadmill, plasma TV, work desk with several flat monitor screens, lounge area...and a nice, shiny red Harley Davidson right in front of the window. It's like straight out of a magazine or something.

Anywho, I walked for an hour along the boardwalk, amongst a ton of mommys and babies and owners with their adorable doggies. Afterward, I headed off to Bro's to visit them and play with Maxwell. I gave him his new toy and he loved it! Since Bro and FBIL were enjoying a lazy afternoon with libations, I joined the party and imbibed with a Stella. Afterward, we went for a quick walk to bring Maxwell out. We enjoyed a salad for dinner...and then donuts for dessert before I headed back home.

Great way to kick off the weekend, might I add.

Welcome Home, Max!

On Monday, Bro and FBIL brought home a new addition to the family. Introducing Maxwell/Maximilian Benjamin Liang-Navarro!

"Hi! I'm Max!"

Well, we call him Max for short. Mr. Handsome Max went to a grooming appointment earlier today so he will look a lot different the next time I post pictures. I hear that the groomers got rid of his nappy fur...They wanted to shave him down to 1/8 of an inch but Bro said, absolutely not! So they left it at 1/2 an inch. I was hoping to pet-sit tonight, but plans didn't follow through.

We don't quite know Max's history/story, but my bro and FBIL picked him up from an animal shelter on Overland and Venice on Monday afternoon. I met him Monday night and saw how he instantly fell in love with his new parents and home. He was recently named Benjamin but we decided that Maxwell was a more fitting name (although I'm kinda liking Maximilian). Poor baby is a bit emaciated, but in good time, he will be healthy and well.

Yay, Max! Welcome home!

Record Week

This week was a record week of 7 IEPs in 4 days. My last IEP started at 2 PM today. Thankfully, it ended around 3:30; I was anticipating it ending around 6, like last year. It's still such a foreign idea that my speech-only IEPs could be so much more stressful than my ones for severe autism. You would think it would be the other way around...

In reflecting back on this week, I've realized a lot. Sometimes I forget that there will be many times/cases when I need to humbly accept that my work will go unrecognized, and it's okay.

I also continue to realize that it's so wonderful to be married. After today's meeting, Mr. B. (SDC Teacher-friend) asked me again, "So, how's married life?" And my whole composure completely changed. My face suddenly lit up with the goofiest smile, and I said, "It's been such a stressful and exhausting week...but the best part of everyday was going home to my husband." No matter how stressful our work hours are, at the end of the day, being with each other and making each other laugh is restorative therapy that prepares us for the next day.

Still, thank God it's the weekend!