The NFC B-Day Chat Thread

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No plans except trying to keep the girls calmed. Both have hyperaccusis, which means loud noises don't just scare them, they are actually painful. When you were a kid did anyone ever put his/her mouth near your ear as if to going to whisper something and then yell as loud as possible? Yeah, it hurt, didn't it? That's hyperaccusis. And here in Cowley the 4th of July begins on the 3rd of June and runs until August 10th. <sigh> Everyone has fireworks, and everyone lights stuff off as soon as it gets dark - for weeks before and after! Then on whichever weekend in July falls closest to the 23rd, we have pioneer days. It's been a tradition ever since the first anniversary of this town to wake everyone up with a loud blast. Hootsie Spomer (I think that was Hootie's last name) started it way back when by lighting off a stick of dynamite at 5 am. It continued until the town fathers decided that that kind of explosion could be very dangerous (duh), and they made him stop with the dynamite. So Hootsie got a wagon and put a cannon in it. Then he'd drive it all around town and shoot it at various locations. Now it's a pickup truck with Nick and John lighting off huge big bang rockets as they drive around. I sat down with them and explained about Katie's hyperaccusis (Kendra wasn't born yet) and asked them nicely to avoid our corner. Katie's bedroom is right at the end of their trailer house nearest the street corner, and she'd literally wake up screaming and wet her britches. We actually ended up giving her kiddie tranquilizers to get her through that and through the huge town wide fireworks display, which happened to take place in Dave Rael's lot, right across the street from us. So the 5 am wakeup call still happens, just not right at the girls' bedroom window. And Dave decided that his field right across the canal from his lot was a better, safer spot anyway, so his display is moved about 2 blocks down now.

He knows how to do the 4th, let me tell you! He hosts a barbeque to end all barbeques. People on the north side of town bring salads and sides, people on the south side bring desserts. And that alternates from year to year. He provides and cooks all the meats....lamb, a whole hog, and burgers and dogs....and provides coolers of sodas. He has several porta-potties brought in, and stuffs backpacks with kid friendly fireworks Each child in attendance gets one of those. The kids sing "God Bless America" as loudly as they can. All this takes place across the street from us, and all are welcome. Folks come from the neighboring communities even. Then they all move over to the canal (that change is just 4 years old) and he and his employees proceed to put on a show that rivals any I've ever seen, and in 65 years and celebrating the Fourth from one end of the country to the other, I've seen some doozies! It's not unusual for him to go through $20,000 worth of professional grade fireworks.

Katie now has several sets of headphones and those little foam thingies that you stuff in your ears. She has a pair at school and she's allowed to just go over to her cubby quietly and put them on if the noise level gets too high, especially at assemblies and such. She has a pair in the car and uses them when the family goes to a movie or when we fly somewhere. She has a pair in her room and here at my house. She just automatically reaches for them when she needs them, then puts them back where they were when she's done with them. Kendra hasn't reached that point yet - she doesn't like to keep them on and hasn't learned that connection between the noise level and her comfort level yet. But she's getting it - slowly. And the town still has their loud celebrations - they just do it taking the girls' special needs into account. But this time of year is pretty traumatic for our two girls, so we focus a lot on them.
 
Blooie said:
No plans except trying to keep the girls calmed. Both have hyperaccusis, which means loud noises don't just scare them, they are actually painful. When you were a kid did anyone ever put his/her mouth near your ear as if to going to whisper something and then yell as loud as possible? Yeah, it hurt, didn't it? That's hyperaccusis. And here in Cowley the 4th of July begins on the 3rd of June and runs until August 10th. Everyone has fireworks, and everyone lights stuff off as soon as it gets dark - for weeks before and after! Then on whichever weekend in July falls closest to the 23rd, we have pioneer days. It's been a tradition ever since the first anniversary of this town to wake everyone up with a loud blast. Hootsie Spomer (I think that was Hootie's last name) started it way back when by lighting off a stick of dynamite at 5 am. It continued until the town fathers decided that that kind of explosion could be very dangerous (duh), and they made him stop with the dynamite. So Hootsie got a wagon and put a cannon in it. Then he'd drive it all around town and shoot it at various locations. Now it's a pickup truck with Nick and John lighting off huge big bang rockets as they drive around. I sat down with them and explained about Katie's hyperaccusis (Kendra wasn't born yet) and asked them nicely to avoid our corner. Katie's bedroom is right at the end of their trailer house nearest the street corner, and she'd literally wake up screaming and wet her britches. We actually ended up giving her kiddie tranquilizers to get her through that and through the huge town wide fireworks display, which happened to take place in Dave Rael's lot, right across the street from us. So the 5 am wakeup call still happens, just not right at the girls' bedroom window. And Dave decided that his field right across the canal from his lot was a better, safer spot anyway, so his display is moved about 2 blocks down now. He knows how to do the 4th, let me tell you! He hosts a barbeque to end all barbeques. People on the north side of town bring salads and sides, people on the south side bring desserts. And that alternates from year to year. He provides and cooks all the meats....lamb, a whole hog, and burgers and dogs....and provides coolers of sodas. He has several porta-potties brought in, and stuffs backpacks with kid friendly fireworks Each child in attendance gets one of those. The kids sing "God Bless America" as loudly as they can. All this takes place across the street from us, and all are welcome. Folks come from the neighboring communities even. Then they all move over to the canal (that change is just 4 years old) and he and his employees proceed to put on a show that rivals any I've ever seen, and in 65 years and celebrating the Fourth from one end of the country to the other, I've seen some doozies! It's not unusual for him to go through $20,000 worth of professional grade fireworks. Katie now has several sets of headphones and those little foam thingies that you stuff in your ears. She has a pair at school and she's allowed to just go over to her cubby quietly and put them on if the noise level gets too high, especially at assemblies and such. She has a pair in the car and uses them when the family goes to a movie or when we fly somewhere. She has a pair in her room and here at my house. She just automatically reaches for them when she needs them, then puts them back where they were when she's done with them. Kendra hasn't reached that point yet - she doesn't like to keep them on and hasn't learned that connection between the noise level and her comfort level yet. But she's getting it - slowly. And the town still has their loud celebrations - they just do it taking the girls' special needs into account. But this time of year is pretty traumatic for our two girls, so we focus a lot on them.
Click to expand...
I wonder if my husband has a form of that....he can't handle noise much at all. He's worn ear plugs for years due to being in farm equipment all the time. Sometimes I wonder if the plugs damage the ears.
 
@Blooie I'm with Kendra and Katie...hate loud noises and personally don't care too much for crowds.

The only fireworks I love are those with lots of in the sky sparkles and viewed from afar.

And hope this year's 4th will be better for the girls.
 
Good morning all!

Looks like a beautiful day shaping up here. We had a terrific rain storm night before last and spent most of yesterday cleaning up the mess. Today should be easier. Why does it always seem to rain after the windows are washed?
 
Good Sunday Morning,


You WASH windows?
lau.gif
 
sunflour said:
Good Sunday Morning,


You WASH windows?
lau.gif
Click to expand...

These days, for me, it's kinda pointless. This house has double-pane windows that had some sort of coating and inert gas or something that was supposed to make them better at insulating. That was 20 years ago . . . . On a lot of them, the seals have gone, and there is now a splotchy opaque haze on the surfaces in between. It doesn't matter how much I clean the surfaces I can touch, those windows will never look clean.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
idunno.gif
 
Bunnylady said:
These days, for me, it's kinda pointless. This house has double-pane windows that had some sort of coating and inert gas or something that was supposed to make them better at insulating. That was 20 years ago . . . . On a lot of them, the seals have gone, and there is now a splotchy opaque haze on the surfaces in between. It doesn't matter how much I clean the surfaces I can touch, those windows will never look clean.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.:idunno  
Click to expand...


Perfectly logical and 100% defensible. They only get dirty again either ways :)
 
Bunnylady said:
These days, for me, it's kinda pointless. This house has double-pane windows that had some sort of coating and inert gas or something that was supposed to make them better at insulating. That was 20 years ago . . . . On a lot of them, the seals have gone, and there is now a splotchy opaque haze on the surfaces in between. It doesn't matter how much I clean the surfaces I can touch, those windows will never look clean.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
idunno.gif
Click to expand...

I know what you mean - we replaced ALL our windows last year - they are quite dirty, but no haze in between those double panes
wink.png




Exploded a just laid egg today in the microwave - it had..a little more than acceptable poop on it today..so washed it, cracked it into a pyrex measuring cup and popped it into the microwave...Sounded like an early 4th firecracker...
lau.gif
Forgot to at least prick or scramble it....There was egg all inside the appliance, even on the ceiling. Guess that's a Senior Moment?
 

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