Category Archives: News and Events

Latest News: Team TLC Amazon Gift Guide

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I have been wanting to put together a gift guide for ages! Finally taking the time to do it.

These are items that we use unless indicated otherwise. This is by no means a comprehensive gift guide. I partly wanted to preserve in the digital world much of what Team TLC’s life is like during this time and perhaps give you an idea or two for your own family for any upcoming special occasion!

First, I am an advocate of shopping local whenever possible. I support going to the local used book store in your neighborhood and all locally owned shops where these or similar items can be purchased.

I am also an advocate of making home made gifts whenever suitable. We make tons of home made gifts in our house and give one another store bought gifts minimally.

I’ll be putting together two additional Gift Guides as well. One that lists unique and different gifts and the other will list natural, simple and/or home made gifts.

Reading and Books:

I don’t own a Kindle, but they seem like the perfect gift for the book lover:

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB – Includes Special Offers

Kindle Accessories

Some of Thomas and Lillian’s favorite books:

The Boxcar Children Bookshelf (The Boxcar Children Mysteries, Books 1-12)

Bobbsey Twins Complete Series Set, 1-12

Junie B.’s Books in a Bus! (Books 1-27!)

Magic Tree House Boxed Set, Books 1-28

Fairy Realm #1: The Charm Bracelet

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car

Encyclopedia Brown Box Set (4 Books)

The Blessing Cup (Paula Wiseman Books)

I have a widget already put together with my reading material .. TOO many to list individually! Camilla’s Favorite Books.

Electronics:

We are a TV-less house. We haven’t had a television in the house for about a year and a half and haven’t paid for television programing since about 2008.

However, we DO have movie night just about every Saturday night. I have a projector that I purchased back when I was facilitating trainings.

The link for the one I use is listed below. I connect it to my MacBook Pro and project it onto the wall in my bedroom. Fun stuff!

Epson EX5220 Wireless XGA 3LCD Projector, 3000 color lumens, 3000 while lumens (V11H551020)

I don’t have a bluetooth wireless speaker but have had the opportunity to be around one and they are amazing!! Much better than trying to hear the movie from the built in laptop speakers. This is on our bucket list:

Bluetooth Wireless Speaker (for GREAT sound while watching your movies)

This is the laptop I want to get for Thomas and Lillian. I like everything I’ve read about it:

Samsung Chromebook (Wi-Fi, 11.6-Inch)

This is fabulous for anyone who uses the iTouch or iPhone as a speech generating device! Serves a GREAT purpose:

iMainGo 2 3.5mm Aux Portable Speaker Case

I’m not a big user of much more electronics other than plugins and an adapter here and there. However, Amazon has their own Electronics Gift Guide with tons of popular items ..

Amazon’s Electronics Gift Guide

Movies:

Here at The Team TLC Casa we currently only watch G rated movies. I’ve let a few PG movies slip by and wasn’t pleased with the last one.

Family Movie Night:

Finding Nemo (Three-Disc Collector’s Edition: Blu-ray/DVD in Blu-ray Packaging)

Felicity – An American Girl Adventure

The Red Balloon (The Criterion Collection)

Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates

The Princess Diaries: Two-Movie Collection (Three-Disc Combo Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging)

Babes in Toyland

The Apple Dumpling Gang (Special Edition)

The Fox and the Hound / The Fox and the Hound II (Two-Pack)

Disney 4-Movie Collection: Herbie (Love Bug / Herbie Goes Bananas / Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo / Herbie Rides Again)

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Full Screen Edition)

Follow Me, Boys!

The Incredible Mr. Limpet (Keepcase)

Kiki’s Delivery Service

Babar The Movie

Swiss Family Robinson (Vault Disney Collection)

Adult Movie Night:

It Happened One Night

Harvey

His Girl Friday

We’ve got way too many movie favorites so I’ve put together a widget to house them all! Much more efficient than listing them. Team TLC Favorite Movies.

Arts & Crafts:

Elmer’s 3D Washable Glitter Pens, Classic Rainbow and Glitter Colors, Pack of 10 Pens (E199)

Crayola 240 Sheet Construction Paper

Yuzen Chiyogami- set of 40 Origami sheets (#YW-112)

Canvas panels 8 x 10 inch (pack of 12)

Dimensions Needlecrafts Paintworks Paint By Number, Butterflies And Bamboo

RoseArt Washable Poster Paints, 12-Count, Assorted Colors, Packaging May Vary (354VA-6)

Crayola 64 Ct Short Colored Pencils Kids Choice Colors

Crayola 64 Ct Crayons

Home:

Lillian cannot drink from a regular cup. It just spills all down her front side. This is what we use. I use one per week and then throw it away:

Hefty Zoo Pals Cups Safari Collection Cups, Lids & Bendy Straws

I love using this:

Bodum Brazil 8-Cup French Press Coffee Maker, 34-Ounce, Black

This is not the exact one I use, but it’s similar. I use mine daily and this is the one I use to make my homemade fries:

Victorinox Swiss Army 8-Inch Fibrox Straight Edge Chef’s Knife

This is not the exact paring knife I use. Mine is very old with a wooden handle. I use this daily too:

Mercer Cutlery Genesis 3.5″ Forged Paring Knife, Steel/Black

I use these almost daily. Multi-purpose! I use for ketchup, nuts, candy on movie night, and more:

NEW, Dozen 2½ Oz. (Ounce) All-Purpose Ramekin Individual Sauce Cups, Condiment Sauce Cups, Sauce Ramekins, Dipping Sauce Cups, Stainless Steel, Commercial/Restaurant Grade Quality

I use one like this to make the Rooibos tea that Thomas and I love so much:

Luigi Bormioli Michelangelo Masterpiece 84-ounce Pitcher

I love my little teapot for loose tea! Works great with tea bags too:

Heat Resistant Glass Teapot With Removable Infuser 24 oz

I stopped using the microwave about 6 months ago so I use this daily. I warm left overs in this or I use the stove top or oven. Just depends on what I’m warming:

Black & Decker TO1332SBD 4-Slice Toaster Oven

I use these for all sorts of things. I store popcorn, nuts, crackers, chocolate chips, and dried fruit in these jars. I also use them to drink my Rooibos tea! I prefer glass to plastic for storage and I LOVE that they are multi-purpose and not one use like canister sets:

Ball Wide Mouth Quart Jars with Lids and Bands, Set of 12

I have had this for over 10 years. I use it for not only pizza, but when I make fries or nachos. When I make fries or nachos I layer the pan with aluminum foil and coat with either olive oil spray or coconut oil spray:

AirBake Ultra by T-fal T492ABA2 Insulated 15.75-Inch Perforated Pizza Pan Dishwasher Safe Bakeware, Silver

Lillian and I love these towels since we both have long hair. Perfect:

Turbie Twist Cotton (3 Pack): Aqua, Purple, Navy Blue

Games:

I grew up playing this with my cousins, aunts and uncles! I just love playing it with Thomas and Lillian:

UNO 40th Anniversery Edition Card Game

This one too:

Sorry Classic Edition Board Game

This too! My cousins and I played tons of Go Fish and Crazy Eight:

Economy Playing Cards, 12-Decks

This too:

Games: Marbles: Classic Marbles

This too … except Lillian won’t play it due to her inability to copy with the unexpected!! (The buzzing when accidentally touching the sides!):

Operation Game

This is a fun and fabulous game that I’ve had since Lillian was a toddler. They both love it! We hardly play it anymore as they’ve moved past this type of game:

Ravensburger Snail’s Pace Race – Children’s Game

I didn’t play this one growing up, but love playing it with Thomas and Lillian:

Candy Land – The Kingdom of Sweets Board Game

This too:

Chutes and Ladders

We don’t own this one, but I played it tons and tons with my cousins! Would love to have it for our family:

Pressman Toys Pre205312 Chinese Checkers

Spent hours and hours with this growing up:

Green Toys Jump Rope, Green

This too:

Classic Hula Hoop Set of 3

Thomas and Lillian LOVE playing with this:

Play-Doh 24-Pack of Colors

This too! They love the one with glitter in it:

Crayola 57-4415 Model Magic Modeling Compound, 2-lb. Bucket, Asstd Colors, Four 8-oz. Pouches

Thomas LOVES these! I personally don’t like the licensed themes or the play themes that would have him use his imagination for battle and destruction type of scenarios.

Thomas has this one:

LEGO City Police Forest Station 4440

And this one:

LEGO City Police Patrol Car 4436

And this one:

LEGO Space Moon Buggy 3365

He wants this one:

LEGO City Fire Station 60004

And this one:

LEGO City 60022 Cargo Terminal Toy Building Set

And this one:

LEGO City Fire Truck 60002

And this one:

LEGO Space Center 3368

And this one:

LEGO Space Shuttle 3367

You get the idea … 🙂

(Amazon Affiliate Links)

Latest News: Team TLC Favorite Movies

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Team TLC has movie night just about every Saturday night. We are a TV-less house but we DO have a family movie night once per week.

I use this projector which I acquired when facilitating trainings, Epson EX7220 Wireless WXGA 3LCD Projector, 3000 lumen color, 3000 lumen white (V11H550020), (amazon affiliate link) connected to my MacBook and project our movie onto my bedroom wall! Fun Stuff Y’all!

We mostly watch G rated movies. However, I have found some PG movies that are acceptable for my preferences. Whenever Thomas and Lillian are having a sleepover with The Romano Duo (my Mom and Step-Father), I have a Team Member C movie night. You’ll be able to tell which are mine! I prefer the oldies!

I get most of our movies from the library. We have just about seen all of the appropriate movies the Washoe County library has available. So, sometimes I rent/stream from Amazon. I search for the $1.99 or $2.99 movies.

Here’s a fun and frugal tip! With Amazon Prime Membership you not only get free 2 day shipping, but you get access to unlimited streaming of 40,000 movies and tv episodes and you get to borrow books from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. My book is available there!

You can sign up for a 30 day free trial Amazon Prime membership and receive these benefits! Just remember to mark your calendar to cancel the membership BEFORE you get charged the yearly fee … unless you think it’s worth it to keep it.

Here ya go!

Invaluable: Blog Mentoring Testimonial

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“Feeling inspired to write on a particular topic, I kept putting off taking any action toward the goal. It occurred to me that if I started the process by beginning to write on a blog it would get me writing and provided a platform to be of service to others in the process.

Always captivated by Camilla’s enthusiasm and expertise at whatever she undertakes, I knew I could trust her to set up the blog without me having to figure out how to do it (which, to be honest, I know I would have never done!).

Camilla met with me and covered all of the details, giving me the opportunity to simply start writing. She has been readily available if I have any question, large or small, since I started posting.

Camilla’s assistance has been invaluable to me in taking real steps to launching this leg of my creative expression. I am grateful!” –Terry Lowey, M.S., M.F.T. Austin, Texas — Author of Secret of the Wizard’s Wand and Blogging about being Single at Terry Lowey –November 2013

**Note from Camilla: Terry and I met in 2007 in Reno. We established an immediate connection. She just recently moved to Austin and we continue to stay connected. I highly recommend visiting her blog. She is writing authentic and useful material that I am so in sync with … and you may find something that is exactly what you needed!

Terry wanted simple and basic just so she could begin writing. She knew if it was too complicated, she would not do it!

To learn more about Blog Mentoring, go here.

He Swam Into the World on November 13, 2005

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… And continues to give the gift of himself every minute of every day …

Some people say, “I can’t believe (s)he is already 8 years old.” I think to myself, “I cannot believe he is only 8 years old!”

Having not been able to give birth to Lillian at The Birthing Center, I was so excited to be able to deliver Thomas there and for it to be a water birth also.

Honestly, I had a rougher pregnancy with Thomas than Lillian. He was absolutely healthy, but I felt horrible. I was so nauseas and tired the entire time.

In the late afternoon on November 13th, I began having contractions. Naturally, I decided that this was the very time I had to get caught up with the Wall Street Journal print editions I had gotten behind with reading! There I was pacing around the house reading WSJ and stopping to have contractions in between!

We met the midwife at the birthing center about 9:00 pm. Things were moving along pretty quickly as I was doing my best to stay relaxed so that things could progress. After she checked us both and filled the huge bathtub with water, I got right in. I was having tremendous labor pain in my back but kept visualizing this young man making his exit and relieving me of my pain!

I didn’t have to wait too long as he moved his way right along and joined us pretty quickly! After waiting for my temperature to get back to normal, the three of us made the 10 minute drive home. It was about midnight when we arrived and Lillian was sleeping so she got to meet Thomas the next morning!

Today, November 13, 2013, on HIS special day he came and got me, told me to close my eyes and led me to his room. He said he had a gift for me. When I got to his room I removed my hand from my eyes and he had beautifully made his bed! Take my breath away … HE had a gift for ME on HIS special day! This was more of a gift than a nicely made bed.

I feel that ALL children are a gift and that some of us fail to see the gift they bring to us. Not on purpose. We just seem to forget all that we knew about life when we were young. As some of us get older, we lose the pure love, compassion and generosity that were our nature during childhood.

In the beginning of motherhood I did not get this or choose to see and receive the gift. Being in my 12th year now with this parenting journey, coupled with my own awakening and learning journey, I see it so vividly.

Almost daily I have moments where a gesture or words spoken by Thomas bring forth the feeling that time does not exist, we are engulfed in a wave of silence and I have just been given a lesson that I needed right at that very moment.

By the words of wisdom and gestures I share with him, I am teaching these things to myself. For this young man doesn’t just act like he’s listening, he comprehends my words and actions and shares it with me at a different moment in time.

Yesterday he asked so gently if he could have an ice cream as a birthday treat while we waited for Lillian to finish her therapies. I reminded him we had ice cream at home and that he could have some. He said, “Okay, that sounds good.”

Lillian’s therapy center is only seconds from the fast food place that has soft serve ice cream. After I parked, I filled my mind with thoughts of abundance and generosity and changed my mind. After all, it was only a $1 cone.

Thomas had gotten out to play so I asked if he still wanted that ice cream cone. As I turned into the parking lot a homeless person was sitting on the curb.

In addition to ordering the ice cream for Thomas, I ordered a chicken burger. At least, I think it was me. I felt an overwhelming urge to order that burger and give it to the person we had just passed. I had Thomas hand it to him as we pulled next to him. I have NEVER done this before.

The man thanked us many times. As we drove off, I told Thomas that it doesn’t matter the reason that man is sitting there or even if he is really homeless. I felt moved to share kindness and I did.

I explained that we never want to NOT share kindness due to judgment of another or for fear that our kindness will not be well received. Once we perform an act of kindness it’s really no longer our business. I’m sure Thomas will remind me of this beautiful moment just when I need it most.

“The sage is kind to the kind and kind to the unkind.” -Lao Tzu

My heart is so full of love for Thomas. It adds to my own love of self and truly causes my heart to skip a beat at times. No matter what paths he chooses for his journey or where it leads him, I will always love him.

This amazing child with his wise old soul has brought much into my life. I am blessed daily by his presence, his love, his wisdom and his humor. I LOVE that I get to be his mentor and his mother and that HE gets to be my mentor and son! We knew what we were doing when we chose one another for this journey.

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one …. And … It’s really none of my business what you think of me … xoxo

 

Beautifully Written: D iz for Different Amazon Review

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★★★★ Amazing book! Insightful, humorous, kind, open-hearted, and worth reading more than once! As a parent of a special needs child, this book gave me some alternative methods in detailing with my child on a daily basis, as well as encouraged me to add more laughter into my life. I know we all need that:-) I would highly recommend this book! –Maria Kendzierski, January 26, 2013

If you would like to write an Amazon review of D iz for Different go here (amazon affiliate link). It’s not necessary to have purchased the book through Amazon. If you have an Amazon account, you can write a review.

Latest News: Freelance Blogging and Writing

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I have exciting news to announce! I’ve decided to completely and totally lean into writing and blogging … sometimes with wild, reckless abandon! HA!

I am making myself available for freelance opportunities as a blogger. Either for one time projects or on an ongoing basis. In addition to also making myself available for freelance writing opportunities for online magazines or publications.

My area of expertise is special needs parenting, and simple, natural, and inspired living. I am also able to expertly research additional topics utilizing my 10 years of paralegal experience and ongoing blogging and writing outreach.

Depending on the time commitment I will only be accepting one to a few projects at a time. If interested, contact me using this form about your blogging and writing needs.

PLUS!!!  I’m available on a limited basis for Blog Mentoring. Go here to learn more about it.

 

Fantastic: D iz for Different Amazon Review

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(D.J. and Diana with their copies of D iz for Different)

★★★★★ Get ready to change your mind! D iz for Different not only addresses how to accept the things you cannot change, but how to become aware of and embrace the joy and beauty every day and in everyone. Oh…if you can’t find it…Camilla will show you how to create it!

Camilla continues to take each day as it comes and make the most of it and everyone she meets. Read her journey and tips…her life was not always this way. Everyone can benefit. I recommend this book highly. – Diana Michelotti, May 25, 2013

If you would like to write an Amazon review of D iz for Different go here (amazon affiliate link). It’s not necessary to have purchased the book through Amazon. If you have an Amazon account, you can write a review.

Relaxing and Enlightening: Reiki Testimonial

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“I had my first Reiki session with Camilla. She made me feel very comfortable and the session was relaxing and enlightening. Can’t wait for my next session. Thank you Camilla!” – Lindsey Swanson, Reno, NV – 9.6.13

Inspiring and Thought Provoking: D iz for Different Amazon Review

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★★★★★ Camilla Downs has really written an exceptional book. She opens up about her own life so that she might truly help others find some insight into their own. I have had the privilege of belonging to a support group with her for children with chromosome 18 disorders and have found her posts there to be wonderfully supportive and hopeful and when I found out she wrote a book, I couldn’t wait to read it.

It was everything I thought it would be. As a mother to a four year old with special needs, it’ made me really think about my own life and relationship with my daughter. The one thing I have to say I took away from this book was the prevailing message throughout the book about “living in the moment’. Not letting outside distractions take away from what you’re doing or experiencing with your child or anyone else for that matter. It really hit home for me. How many times was I reading a book to my daughter and thinking about all kinds of other things or perhaps the tv was on in the background. I was reading the words but I wasn’t in the moment. I have become very conscious of that because of this book. I have had a tough time as of late with a lot of worries. I have a lot on my plate, but I now find myself sitting with my daughter and putting it all aside to really engage with her and with what we’re doing in that moment and it has made a huge impact. Learning to put aside all these distractions has made me more aware of her and even more in awe of what’s she’s learning and doing every day that I was before.

Thank you Camilla Downs for helping me to open my eyes. You have made an impact on my life and I’m sure the lives of many others. I am in the process of getting my degree in child development and I have now decided to focus on working with special needs families. You have inspired me to look into being certified as a special needs life coach. That is my ultimate goal. I would love to talk to you more about that sometime when I get closer to actually pursuing my certification. Thanks for all you do. You are an amazing woman, mother and spokesperson for so many. I wish you a long and prosperous career doing what you love. –Katelyn’s Mom – June 1, 2013

If you would like to write an Amazon review of D iz for Different go here (amazon affiliate link). It’s not necessary to have purchased the book through Amazon. If you have an Amazon account, you can write a review.

Deeply Relaxing: Reiki Testimonial

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“This was my first time experiencing Reiki and it was wonderful. I was so deeply relaxed and comfortable I was in and out of sleep! During my session with Camilla I even got a vision of a beautiful image I want to paint. Camilla had just the right colors and scents in the room too, catered just for me! I’ll definitely be doing this again in the near future. Please give her Reiki sessions a try, she’s got a gift. :)” – Natalie Gorden, Reno, Nevada – 8.30.13