Browse Category: work

Pool Party

Last Sunday it was Mother’s Day but many of us at work didn’t have their mom’s nearby.  However, our dear friend Mai was in town and she wanted to have a picnic.  So, the girls at work and I planned a pool party at my place.  We all gathered outside by the BBQ and Jes fired up the grill for the skirt steak, kabobs, corn, and chicken wings.  It had rained that morning but the sun came out just in time for the guests to arrive.  Unfortunately, the sun was in and out all day and no one actually went into the pool that day.

Instead, we hung out on the patio chairs while the food cooked and then took a short break inside to eat, and then all came back outside for more sun.  We had a fun time chatting, laughing, and making fun of each other, as usual.

Mai also got to meet Koa and they spent some quality time together.  I knew they would hit it off and Koa was like butter in Mai’s hands.  Here are the rest of the photos.

Take me to the ZoOoOoO!!

I’ve been on the Pediatric Rehab service for over a year now and we finally had the perfect group of kids for a trip to the Oakland Zoo.  In fact, the last time any group that had gone to the zoo was over 3 years ago so this was indeed the “Perfect Storm” of kids, staff, and weather.  The group photo above is really cute in real life but I’m not allowed to post recognizable photos of the kiddies.

Last Friday, we packed up our outing bags, slathered sunscreen on all their faces, and piled 4 kids all in wheelchairs and 5 adults in the Adventure Van.  Just the week before, we had a big car wash with the same four kids so the van was squeaky clean and ready for the outing.

The weather was perfect and all the kids (and grown-ups) were giddy with excitement.  Lots of the kids propelled their own wheelchairs but there were a few steep hills that really got our hearts pumping.  We headed over to the African savanna area and saw elephants and giraffes right away.  One of my kids is hard of hearing and has been learning all the different signs for the animals.  He brought pictures of the animals and each time he spotted one, he would point to the corresponding picture and we’d all make the sign for that animal.  It was like animal sign language bingo all day long.

The Oakland Zoo is such a great place to visit and I would have loved to stay longer to see everything.  We had to cut out some of the park so that we could take the long-awaited train ride around the secret exhibit filled with emus and wallabies.  By 2:30, we had to get everyone back in the van and head back to the hospital.   Our cheeks were all pink from the sun and we were exhausted but it was such a worthwhile trip when you have the right group of kids.

Team Building Pho

April is OT Month and every year we usually have a team building activity in the afternoon and go out for dinner as a group to celebrate our achievements of the past year.  This year we did something a little different…we took a cooking class!  It was held by a non-profit that partners with a restaurant who offers up their space and time for a mere $25 and donates the proceeds to charity.

We learned how to make spring rolls, mixed up our own sauces, and had some pho.  The activity was a little less hands-on than I was hoping for and the food was dumbed down a bit but it was still fun tasting everyone’s concoctions.  We also got complimentary wine so that also made it more interesting.

Here’s the pho that I prepared.  All I had to do was scoop the broth that was pre-made and plop in a bunch of noodles, meat, and veggies.  Phew, that was hard!

Final Four!

Once again, we raised funds for the BORP Roll n Shoot Tourney and played some wheelchair basketball on Saturday.  Last year we got beat up and only scored seven times out of all 4 games.  Of course we came in dead last but had a lot of fun.  This year we didn’t actually get to practice as much as last year so I was bit worried when we arrived at the court.

Luckily we came a little more prepared with our shirts in the colors of the kids on the Children’s logo.  We even got hooked up with tattoos and window clings that we taped to our backs with medical tape.  We were a rag-tag bunch, a little ghetto, but oh so awesome.

We played our first game and we won!  Then in the second game we won again!  In our third game, I scored TWICE!, and we won after an overtime shoot-out. Check out this video clip:

In our fourth game, we won and swept our pool.  That took us to the Final Four and we played the other pool’s second-best team and got beat by only one point!!

Our coach MacKenzie was such a good sport with our ADD tendencies and rowdiness.  We raised money for a wonderful organization and had a fun-filled day playing w/c bball.  Who knows…maybe we’ll get to the finals next year?!

Here are photos from the tournament.

Fun Pot Sticker Friday

Every Tuesday morning at work, the Rehab Team gets together to plan a Fun Friday activity.  Some days we take the kids to the park and on other days we stay in and play games.  We have a great group of kids right now and they’re mobile and healthy enough to do some really cool things.  This Friday, we made pot stickers and the kids had great time.  I prepared the ingredients the night before and left the carrots, chives, and cilantro for them to shred and cut.

They had a choice of meat, cabbage, water chestnut, mushrooms, chives, and many others.  Each child made their own stuffing for their individual pot stickers and then wrapped it all up with the wonton skin that I bought.  Once they finished a batch, I fried up their creations and they got to roll back to their rooms with a tasty treat.  So fun!

There’s something really cool about seeing kids participate in cooking activities.  They always seem to get excited about doing the “grown up” things like cutting, shredding, and stirring.  This is truly occupational therapy in action.  Play is every kid’s occupation but so is brushing your teeth and meal preparation.  The kids are doing something functional, building hand strength and social skills, and it’s therapeutic both physically and cognitively.  This is one of those time when I can say that I love my job.

Tuesday Dinner at the Ballpark

On a whim, we decided to go to a Giants game for our usual Tuesday dinner and invited the girls from work since they were playing the Pirates. Steph and her husband are from Pittsburgh and jumped at the chance of watching their home team with garlic fries. I drove the girls to my house, stopped at Safeway for snacks and beers, and we had a mini happy hour at home before the 7:15 game.

Patty showed us how to properly prepare Coronitas complete with fresh lime juice, salt, and a few drops of Tapatio and we shared a couple bags of potato chips. When the boys arrived, we walked across the street to the game and settled into our $12 bleacher seats.  Jes also managed to sneak in 2 ice cold cans of Coors light in his pants.

It was a breezy but really pretty night at the ballpark.  The Giants fans were crazy as usual and the Pirates won.  We also had a fun time cheering for players we didn’t know and singing along to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at the 7th inning stretch.  My dinner consisted of a Giants dog, nachos with lots of jalapenos, and a Coors Light.  Mmmmm.  It turned out to be one of the cheapest Tuesday dinners we’ve had in a while and we all had a fun time.