http://spiritualcaregiving.blogspot.com/

This blog is written by Sheryl Karas who, for five years ending in 2005, worked as a Family Caregiving Consultant at the Alzheimer’s Association and Del Mar Caregiver Resource Center and wrote a monthly newsletter for families taking care of loved ones with progressive incurable memory loss and dementia. Those articles are now a book and this blog was created to share it with you.

The blog contains tidbits of personal stories as well as a great amount of practical wisdom in addressing the needs of both the elderly and their caregivers.

Tender Loving Eldercare (TLeC)

www.tenderlovingeldercare.com

Tender Loving Eldercare is a blog that shines brightly with practical eldercare advice gleaned from Linda’s many years of taking care of her parents. She intermixes the practical with the thoughtful in a delightful way that is sure to remind you that you are not alone in your eldercare and that eldercare has its joys and grace. Please check out Linda’s blog for wonderful information and advice.

From About Tender Loving Eldercare

Tender Loving Eldercare is a blog that helps you provide Tender Loving Care (TLC) for your aging parents.

44 million Americans (21% of the U.S. population) are currently providing unpaid care for older friends and family. (AARP Public Policy Institute and ASU Research)

This site was created to share my knowledge, resources, experience and insight into family caregiving. As a baby boomer, many friends are starting to face the same issues I have already experienced since my parents are older than most boomers’ parents. I am happy to share what I’ve learned being sole caregiver for my parents since 2000.

I hope it is a place where other family caregivers can go to learn from, encourage and support each other. I want to learn from you as well and welcome your comments!

And this site is here to increase awareness of, and empathy for, families in this stage of their lives — both the seniors and the younger generation caring for them.

I hope when you come here, you get something of value . . . . and leave feeling better than when you arrived.

Who is Linda Abbit?

I am the author of this blog and a classic example of the Sandwich Generation. I have a B.S. and M.S. in Education and am a daughter, wife, and mother — first to my son, and then to my aging parents. This blog is dedicated to the memory of my dear father, Al Brodsky (1906 – 2005), and in honor of my mom, Aida. Yes, the photos at the top of the page are of us.

For fun (and stress relief) I dance, practice yoga and play mah jongg. I love to read and laugh, though not necessarily together. One of my dreams is to see as much of this wonder-filled world as I can.

Frostie The Funniest Dancing Bird On This Planet jives to the Blues Brothers & Ray Charles hit from their Definitive Collection Album! Frostie is a 20-year-old Bare-Eyed Cockatoo, otherwise known as a Little Corella. This video was aired on NDTV: India, CNN, KHSL TV Channel 12, E! The Soup, FOX News, Ellen and Good Morning America (GMA)! Video of the day on MSN and Yahoo! As seen on TV in India, China, Chile, France, England, Germany, USA and Bangledesh! Featured in the Paradise Post and Contra Costa Times. (Video by Karla K. Larsson, Magalia – Paradise, CA on February 1, 2009.)

www.takingcareofyourparents.com

This blog documents a family’s struggle with a diagnosis of inoperable stomach cancer for their father and their process of dealing with the health care system.

The father has since passed away and the blog is now documentating their story with their aging mother that they moved out to California from Philadelphia.

This is the first blog entry and it can be found at www.takingcareofyourparents.com/page/6.

The worst day of my life

Today I’m flying back to Philadelphia to see my father who was diagnosed with inoperable stomach cancer. The cancer has spread rapidly and it’s too late to do anything…we think. The problem is that we’re not getting any information from the doctor. Very vague, quick passing comments but no frank discussion about my father’s condition. It’s frustrating to see my father suffering and we don’t have the facts to know if we can help him.

Today is going to be the worst day of my life when I see my father at the hospital. My father wants to go home so badly that they’ve had to strap him into a chair. He’s frustrated and weak. We know he’s very sick but the doctor isn’t giving us enough information. Should we line up hospice now? Does he have a week, a month or a year left? We need to know what’s going on.

I know millions of people are going through these same frustrations every day because of our broken health care system. Very vague communication and no details. I’m going to use this blog to document the rest of my father’s life and share our process so maybe we can get our politicians to fix our broken health care system.

The Atomic Mom shares …” a five year period during my life in which this life did not belong to me. I didn’t even belong to me. Anger and rage were both daily issues, and the slightest rise in voice tone was enough to make me quiver.”

The Atomic Mom shares her amazing story and gives others hope that there is a way to move on when you are living a nightmare.

Please read her story at: http://atomicmom.typepad.com/atomic-mom/2009/05/once-life-was-a-dark-place.html

In this video, I discuss kinetic or physical learning approaches that I use in my son’s homework routine in order to help him learn more effectively. We use a physical alphabet cheer for spelling words among other activities.

I mentioned before that kinetic learning is the best learning methodology for my son – so I wanted to share with you some of the ways we incorporate kinetic learning into my son’s homework routines.

Quickly I will mention that my son’s learning issues are language processing based. He has receptive languages issues (concepts going in) as well as expressive language issues (formulation of thoughts, retrieval of words).

He is in the first grade so this is the first year where we have had to incorporate encoding or spelling into our homework routine. The typical approach of repetition, writing the spelling words, etc. was not really working for my son. So we developed a physical chant alphabet where each letter of the alphabet is assigned a body position. We practice his spelling words every night with the physical chants. His teacher is very accommodating (he is at a school focused on language processing issues) in that she tests him both in a written format and in a format where he can do our “cheers”. When we are practicing his spelling words – we do the physical cheers or chants over and over again – and get pretty silly with it. Its physical – its fun and it really does help him to remember his spelling words. The difference in his spelling tests before we starting doing the physical cheers and after is amazing!!
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Based on Chapter 5 from The Beginners Guide to Natural Living by Larry Cook, host Zoe Simpson explains why eating whole, organic foods can produce optimum health.

Here is a list of the top 12 + 1 most toxic foods that you should be buying organic. If on a tight budget, use this guide to buy produce that has the most chemicals when grown conventionally.

Lyrics (Twinkle, Twinkle)
Peaches and apples grow on trees,
sweet bell peppers celery
nectarines, cherries potatoes
pears lettuce grapes strawberries tomatoes,
spinach is the last produce,
now buy organic there’s no excuse!

Organic foods: Are they safer? More nutritious?
By Mayo Clinic staff

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Original Article:http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organic-food/NU00255
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Organic foods: Are they safer? More nutritious?
Learn the difference between organic foods and their traditionally grown counterparts. Decide which is best for you, considering nutrition, quality, taste, cost and other factors.

By Mayo Clinic staff

You’re in a bit of a dilemma standing in front of the produce section of your local supermarket. In one hand, you’re holding a conventionally grown Granny Smith apple. In your other hand, you have one that’s labeled organically grown. Both apples are firm, shiny and green. Both provide vitamins and fiber, and both are free of fat, sodium and cholesterol.

The conventionally grown apple costs less and is a proven family favorite. But the organic apple has a label that says “USDA Organic.” Does that mean it’s better? Safer? More nutritious? Several differences between organic and nonorganic foods exist. Become a better informed consumer for your next trip to the supermarket.

Conventional vs. organic farming

The word “organic” refers to the way farmers grow and process agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meat. Organic farming practices are designed to encourage soil and water conservation and reduce pollution. Farmers who grow organic produce and meat don’t use conventional methods to fertilize, control weeds or prevent livestock disease. For example, rather than using chemical weedkillers, organic farmers may conduct sophisticated crop rotations and spread mulch or manure to keep weeds at bay.

Here are other differences between conventional farming and organic farming:

Conventional farmers vs. Organic farmers
Apply chemical fertilizers to promote plant growth vs. Apply natural fertilizers, such as manure or compost, to feed soil and plants.
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Stanford University children’s organic food report. Dr. Green of Stanford University discusses the report and discusses his personal reasons behind his research.