Click, Read & Be Merry

"What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us"

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I've compiled an incomplete list of resources for parents of children with special needs and/or disabilities, limited to the United States - sorry overseas BlogFans. If you know of any other worthwhile links or resources, let me know, and I'll happily add them on.

Rehab Equipment Exchange This national network is a FREE service to facilitate the exchange and transfer of used rehabilitation equipment. Individuals can use the website to buy, sell, or donate used rehab items of many types, including wheelchairs, pediatric equipment, mobility aids, ADL (Activities of Daily Living) aids, communication devices, assistive technology, and exercise equipment.

PipSqueakers Squeaky shoes for babies with vision and mobility disabilities

Different Roads to Learning Products and programs designed to support the Autism Community

The Autism Superstore Affordable developmental toys and educational items

Seedlings Free and low-cost braille childrens books

National Association for Down Syndrome Ensuring all persons with Down Syndrome have the opportunity to achieve their potential in all aspects of community life

National Down Syndrome Society National advocate for the value, acceptance, and inclusion of people with Down Syndrome

The Arc Promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities

ASD Hope Help, Options & Parent Empowerment

Angel Food Ministries Non-profit, non-denominational organization dedicated to providing food relief and financial support

HealthWell Foundation Non-profit organization committed to addressing the needs of individuals with insurance who can not afford their copayments, coinsurance, and premiums for important medical treatments.

Patient Access Network Providing financial assistance to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses

Patient Advocate Foundation Providing mediation and arbitration services to patients to remove obstacles to healthcare including medical debt crisis, insurance access issues and employment issues for patients with chronic, debilitating and life-threatening illnesses

Partnership for Prescription Assistance Helps patients without prescription drug coverage get the medications they need for free or low-cost

Co-Pay Relief Provides direct financial support to insured patients, including Medicare Part D beneficiaries

Special Olympics Provides year-round sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship

American Council of the Blind Information and referral on all aspects of blindness, scholarship assistance, public awareness and training, advocacy

Beginnings For parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing

Hands & Voices Supporting families and their children who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as the professionals who serve them

Lifeprint American Sign Language resource site

Raising a Sensory Smart Child Helping your child with sensory processing issues

Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation Expanding knowledge, fostering awareness and promoting recognition of Sensory Processing Disorder

Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders Advancing the identification, prevention, and treatment of developmental and learning disorders.

NICHCY National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities

United Healthcare Children's Foundation Provides financial assistance toward the family's share of the cost of medical services

Social Security Benefits for Children with Disabilities

The Morgan Project Making opportunities reality granting assistance nationwide

National Autism Association Responding to the most urgent needs of the autism community, providing real help and hope so that all affected can reach their full potential. Offers one time grant through Helping Hands to pay for tuition, medication, evaluations or testing

Disabled Children's Relief Fund Provides disabled children assistance to obtain wheelchairs, orthopedic braces, walkers, lifts, hearing aids, eyeglasses, medical equipment, physical therapy and surgery

Queen of Hearts Foundation Helping children gain independence from disability caused by premature birth and brain trauma, such as cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus

eSpecial Needs One stop shop for adaptive equipment, rehab equipment, and therapy solutions for children and adults with special needs.

Ehlers Danlos National Foundation Overview, support and resources

Muscular Dystrophy Association Advocacy, clinics, support groups and camps for children and families dealing with a diagnosis of muscular dystrophy

Assembling with Saki

It would be unfair to title this one "cooking" with Saki, because there is absolutely no cooking involved. We have a delightful wintery appetizer for you, today, BlogFans. It's an appetizer that I don't partake in, because of my hatred of olives, but I do have to admit, they are pretty cute. Strap on your snowshoes and march to the store, because you will need:

1 can "Jumbo" black olives, pitted

1 can "Small" black olives, pitted

1 large carrot

1 ball fresh mozzarella cheese

1 jar pimentos (optional)

1 box toothpicks, bonus points if you get the ones with fancy things at the top

Drain all your olives. Pat dry, and very carefully slice the "jumbo" olives lengthwise. Gently open, and stuff the olives with a piece of fresh mozzarella, leaving a stripe of cheese showing down the middle. Cut your carrot into rounds, and cut a wedge out of the round. Using a toothpick, carefully stack your carrot round, stuffed olive and one small olive. Trim a tiny piece of carrot off of the discarded wedge, and make a small slit in the front of the small olive. Shove the carrot piece inside, making a beak. Garnish with a pimento scarf, if desired

Makes: One flock of penguins

Cooking With Saki

Tidings of comfort and joy to you, dear BlogFans! Are you enjoying the holiday season? I know we are, here at the Costa Casa. Christmas goodie making has been in full swing since last week, and I thought since I can't give my beloved readers tasty treats from my kitchen, at the very least I can teach them how to make it their damn selves :)

Jingle all the way to the store, because you will need:

One box of cake mix, any flavor

The ingredients to bake said cake

A tub of pre-made frosting that will taste delicious with the cake you picked

1 bag bittersweet chocolate

Vegetable shortening

Mix up that cake batter - I'm not going to hold your hands on this one, kids. Read the box. Bake your cake in a 9x13" pan according to directions. Cool completely. This is very important. We used funfetti cake. Who doesn't lurve funfetti?

Our helpful friend Charlie Chameleon supervises

Break that cake into pieces in your mixer, and scoop in the tub of frosting. We used creamy vanilla, but the possibilities are endless, really.

All set to mix in the fancy Kitchenaid stand mixer

One more gratuitous shot of the stand mixer. I think I hear angels heralding.

Turn that bad boy on and watch it go. Be sure to scrape the bowl frequently, as this creates quite the sticky mess.

Mmmm....Delicious goopy goodness

Cover this mixture and put it into your fridge. It will get sort of hard, the way cookie dough does. Using a cookie scoop, or any sort of spoon, scoop out spoonfuls of the dough and set them on a sheet of waxed paper. Try to keep them all the same size. When you're all done scooping, rub a tiny bit of shortening onto your hands (gross, I know, but trust me, BlogFans, it's for your own good). Carefully roll the balls between your hands until they're nice and round. *this would be where I would put the picture of the naked cake balls, had I not accidentally deleted it from the camera* Put all of them and the waxed paper onto a baking sheet and stick it into your freezer for an hour or two. When time is almost up, melt your chocolate in a double broiler, adding enough vegetable shortening to make it easy to work with. For us, this is usually 1-2TBL per 1.5lbs of chocolate. One by one, drop the frozen cake balls into the chocolate and then fish out with a fork. Put them on waxed paper or parchment paper while they cool and the chocolate sets. The chocolate will set very quickly on these, since they are frozen, so if you want to add any sort of sprinkles, be like the wind, BlogFans.

Somewhere around the 100th cake ball I begin to detest the smell of chocolate and cake.

Once they are cooled and set, transfer to your fridge. They will keep for about 2 weeks in the fridge in an air tight container.

Sidenote: If your Hubbin' is like mine, consider hiding the cake balls, lest you not have any to share with the neighbors.

I'm in the hi-fidelity first class traveling set & I think I need a Lear jet

..and I know all you guys get that Pink Floyd reference, because I can tell by my site tracker that you're a bunch of pot smoking hippies. Don't deny it. Yes, I mean you.

Anyway, let's discuss money.

I love saving money any way I can. I often trade coupon and shopping tips with friends, trying to save a buck here or there.

Last week as I was chatting with a long time, much loved, friend, she mentioned a site called ebates. At first, I was all "WTF is an ebate?" and she explained it to me. BlogFans, I couldn't believe my ears. And before you go accusing me of being one of those sell out bloggers, ebates is not paying me to blog about them, it really is just that cool.

Once you make an account at ebates, bookmark that site. If you have any online shopping to do, go to their site, type in the store you want to shop at, and have at it. We bought a baby shower gift today on Target.com, and received 3% cash back on our $350 purchase. They mail checks out a few times a year.

I don't know how you feel about online shopping, BlogFans, but I happen to love shopping from my couch, while wearing fuzzy slippers and drinking wine. So go sign up at the ebates website, they'll give you five bucks just for making an account. Tell 'em Saki sent you :)