Wednesday, September 4, 2013

5 Ways to Encourage Special Education Students

beautiful-teacher-daughters
Okay, okay I'll admit it! I have a beautiful family
I never anticipated our daughters 
Sydnee (the bride) and Sloane (maid of honor)
to be teachers.
Steve and I are so proud of them!

Sydnee was an undecided senior in high school
taking the same class with a young man
who suffered a tragic accident
leaving him profoundly paralyzed.
She believes God used this experience to mold
her future as a Special Education teacher.
 Sydnee has a big heart for her students!
Recently, she was challenged to find a learning environment
for one of her classes.
Should this be her job? Not sure.
She rose to the challenge but not without challenges.
See these boxes
school-books
 they all had to be moved
by me
using these
handtrucks
Sydnee is expecting my first grandchild
everyone else was busy...figures.
We got the job done though...
here's the room conducive to learning
storage room now classroom
Finally, I was/am impressed with Sydnee's philosophies
which is the subject of this post

1. Have the same goal for all your students 
2. Understand your students but don't be easy on them
  1. hard-work-and-learning
    3. Make reminder rules visible so your students know them
     4. Provide a welcome learning environment that is not "different" from other classrooms.

    5. Treat your students like all other kids. 


    Take it from me, "The Happy Handicap" we don't want things easy or treated differently!
    Please share your ways to encourage special education students by leaving a comment.

    Always Encouraged,
    Tammy
    The Happy Handicap 


Friday, August 30, 2013

Top 10 Features from Pin It Monday Hop #22

Good day everyone! Here we are once again for our Top 10 Post Features from Pin It Monday Hop #22. We just love to feature your creations. Again, thank you so so much for linking with us last week. All featured projects are re-pinned to our Pin It Monday Hop Features Pinterest Board.
----oooo-----
Judy of Pursuit of Functional Home

HOST
Her favorite posts are…
by: Deby of Sew So Easy
" Very unique and pretty clutch bag. It also comes with a free pattern."
Ruffle Clutch Bag by: Deby of Sew So Easy
"I love these chalkboard pantry printables. Very cute and neat."
Rustic Chalkboard Inspired Pantry Label Printables  by: New Mama Diaries
----oooo-----
Tammy of The Happy Handicap
CO-HOST
Her favorite posts are:
"Love my 2 daughters and would love to wake up to #3, especially if she speaks Swedish! Sure hope you make it to Sweden Nicki! Wish I could send money but for now, I'll just keep my fingers crossed for you."
Our Swedish Daughter
"Alice and I have something in common - the love of lists! I also don't want my wheels to fall off! I heart that Alice is from London and uses the word "whilst". She's thorough in her list making, I couldn't think of one thing she missed about why I blog."
Why on Earth Do I Blog? by: Alice of Mums Make Lists
"Why I love it? Shelly is talented! Her bar table upcycles are a work of art. Let's all take a roadtrip to Nebraska to visit Cubby's Bear Trap and behold those tables! I also think it's cool Cubby knew great talent when he saw it which is BIG kudos to Shelly."
Cubby's Old_New Bar Tables
----oooo-----
Barb of Second Chance To Dream
Co-Host
Her favorite posts are:
Crab Pasta Salad
by: Grand Parents Plus
"I love crab and I love pasta salad but have never put them together. Gotta try this one."
Crab Pasta Salad by: Grand Parents Plus
10 Things to Stay Connected as a Couple
by: Gaye of Calm, Healthy, Sexy
"Such a critical topic with today's marriages. Our marriage has to stay top priority."
10 Tips for Staying Connected as a Couple
25 Creative Ways to Light up Mason Jars
by: Katie of Upcycled Treasures
"Tons of fun ideas shared here. "
25 Creative Ways to Light up Mason Jars by: Katie of Upcycled Treasures
----oooo-----
Jenn of Endlessly Inspired
CO-HOST
Her favorite posts are:
"Such a simple project, but it came out so beautifully. I love the stripe of color in the center!"
That's A Wrap by: Crafty Lumber Jacks
25 Creative Ways to Light up Mason Jars
by: Katie of Upcycled Treasures
"Mason jars are my favorite. I have wanted to make a Mason jar chandelier for so long, and there are so many great ideas here!! "
25 Creative Ways to Light up Mason Jars by: Katie of Upcycled Treasures
" I am in the midst of redoing my guest room and have been trying to come up with a unique headboard idea. LOVE this entire room!!"
Pallet Love Pallet Love by: Cathey with an E
Have a great day everyone! Pin It Monday Hop #23 is still OPEN. Link-up now and who knows you might be featured next week :) See you at the hop.
Grab, Wear it, Be proud!
Pin It Monday Hop I was Featured
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffunctionalhome.com" title="Pin It Monday Hop I was Featured" target="_blank"><rel="nofollow" img src="http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b584/pofh1/PinitHoplogoFeatured_zps319554bf.jpg" alt="Pin It Monday Hop I was Featured" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
© 2013 Microsoft Terms Privacy Developers

Thursday, August 29, 2013

3 Surprising Things about Skin Cancer

My husband Steve visited his dermatologist today
 for a suspicious-looking spot on his head
ugly, huh?

What you can't see are the 3 "horns" he calls them

This is Steve
acting silly

Here's the surprising stuff:

1. The large brown spot is benign. The doctor explained if it's uniform in shape, it's usually not cancer or pre-cancer.

2. The "horn's" which you can't see are pre-cancer. Pre-cancerous spots produces something that
feels similar to a briar in your skin.

3. Pre-cancerous spots are usually rough to the touch. Your skin may not appear too disturbing
but if it's unusually rough, have it checked.

Steve had one benign spot and four pre-cancerous patches
just as described above,
the ones that needed treated felt like briars or scaly skin

before treatment & after treatment  

Watching the doc spray burn his poor head was painful for me!
I can't imagine how he felt!
precious baby

Steve asked the doc "What if I start crying?"
She replied "I'll cry with you. I'm a good cry buddy!"
sweet, sweet lady

Is it just me?
or
did that suspicious spot move backwards?

Please protect your skin with sun block and clothing.
if you see a suspicious spot, prickly or scaly skin
have it checked
prevention is one of the best medicines!

looking for suspicious stuff,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap

If you have a tip about your experiences with skin cancer, please share it in a comment,
your advice may save us all!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Who is Right?



I stayed with my grandparents a lot when I was young. I could walk to their house. I enjoyed spending my afternoons after school and also my summer vacations with them. I cherish the hours I spent sitting in the porch swing under the huge shade trees in the front yard. My grandpa, Amos truly talked with me. I remember one of the things he would always say "Timmie (he called me that instead of Tammy), you've got to have common horse sense!" I understood what he meant then but I have a deeper understanding of what he meant now. He was right. I've seen highly educated people who couldn't do the simplest things because they weren't common to their senses and I suppose horses are just generally smart.

My grandma Bernice was a foreigner. Not really. She was his 2nd wife. My "real" grandmother passed before I was born. I love Bernice. She was like my second mother. I dreaded seeing her everyday. I knew just as soon as I saw her, she would pull me close and start smacking on my face with her smelly Topps snuff breath and black teeth. I willingly let her do it because she always said "You gotta love your young-uns!" She was right! The best way to direct, encourage and rear a child is to love them to pieces. You can get rid of the smelly breath and black teeth though.

My dad Clyde has taught me many things but the one I probably didn't agree with until lately is "You got to have the right 'quipment!" He keeps his yard and gardens immaculate and works on everything. But he's always says "If you don't have the right equipment you can't get the job done." My husband is a direct echo of my Dad's philosophy on this one. They are right! Since I've become a homemaker, in the kitchen and cleaning all the time, I've bought a lot of the right 'quipment to make my life a little easier.

My mom Juanita can do almost anything except make friends with a computer. She drives me crazy scrimping on stuff. The one thing she won't never ever cut costs on is White Lily flour. She says "It rises best and ain't no other flour can come up to it!" Sometimes I buy off-brand flour.  When I spoon it out of the canister, I feel guilty. I can hear her saying White Lily is the best. She's right! White Lily is the best but sometimes, I just don't want to pay the price.

I often wonder if my kids were asked what they remember about me teaching them what they'd say? I hope they'd say I taught them about Jesus. A couple of my favorite sayings (quoting scripture actually) when they were growing up was "Honor they father and they mother so thy days may be long on earth" and "Vengeance is mine saith the Lord I will repay". I pray I have instructed them in the ways of Jesus so they can pass it on to their kids. I purpose to teach my grandchildren the Bible also so when they look back at what I've said to them, they can say "She was right!"

What have you learned from your ancestors? Leave me some comment luv so all of us can be wiser!

Soaking in the wisdom,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Recipe Review: Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

Why do you want to make a recipe when you see a picture of it?
I don't even like Chicken & Dumplings
my husband does
this recipe looked easy so I tried butchered it, please...read on
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 Tbsp. Butter...
 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 onion, finely diced
2 (10 ounce) pkgs, refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces
Place the chicken, butter, soup, and onion in a slow cooker, and fill with enough water to cover.
  Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High. About 30 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is cooked through.
It started off well
although I change every recipe
why do I do that?
 I used chicken tenderloins instead of breast halves
would this make a difference?
chicken is chicken, right?
Took some time
to remove these

then this...still going good

added some of these
the recipe didn't call for

cook 5-6 hours on high
WHAT?
the answer to your question is
yes, I did read this before attempting the recipe
however,
not a patient person
so....

here's where I did something
"un-cooking-ethical"
brought out the Mad Max (that's my pet name for him)


I emptied the crockpot contents
into my big frying pan
then went to grinding that chicken
cause I didn't have the patience
to wait for it cook up and fall into lovely little pieces

I'm still not sure how the lady that wrote this recipe
tore her biscuit dough into those long flat pieces
mine look like meatballs


 Our Chicken & Meatball Soup was tasty!
Would I make this again?
prolly not!


 Not one for the recipe archives,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap

 p.s. I'm sure this would have been just like the picture
if I had followed the directions.
they give them to you for a reason...