This is going to be another quick post...I just realized I totally forgot to do my assigned reading for my English composition class tomorrow, so now I need to read 60 or so pages in a night instead of a week. Oy.
Anyhoo...
Julie Time was good today. The Princess is tolerating more and more interaction, and is working on more complex puzzles and activities. That's not to say that she doesn't scream at Julie anymore, because - Lord knows - she certainly does. But the frequency of screaming has decreased drastically. This makes me a happy momma.
In the early afternoon we all kind of hung out and talked for a bit before I had to go to school. Ahh...family time.
School was fine - actually got out early again from bio lab, which was a nice surprise.
As I walked in the kitchen door, The Princess came running to greet me in her aqua feetie jammies with the cute little kitties on them. I caught her eye and got the biggest, most genuine smile I've ever seen...followed by a great big bear hug.
I love my life.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
I'll Make This Short, Since It's Tomorrow Already
Yikes! Where did today go? We'll try to keep this short and to the point since tomorrow (today - eek!) is the dreaded 6+ hour day of classes.
Jill popped by for a little DT action today, and The Princess was an absolute angel. She played with puzzles, visually scanning to match the shapes...and there's a fun one with shapes that go on pegs, which she did really well with too. Kiddo rocked the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics game on our front door...she turned the pieces to get them into the base and pushed on them to hear the song that goes with each letter. We played for a while with the Velcro ball and mitt set - she doesn't quite get the throwing part yet, but she loves to take the ball off Jill's mitt and stick it to mine...then take it off mine and stick it to Jill's...too cute.
Jill laughed out loud when she saw how many texture bins we have. She said that most parents pay no attention to her suggestions, choosing instead to let her do all of the activities with the kiddos without taking part themselves. I think she's starting to understand that's not how we roll. :)
So, The Princess's next DT session with Jill is scheduled for next week. I'll let y'all know how that goes when the time comes.
While Jill was here, The Hubbs ventured out for a while. He arrived home a few minutes before the session ended, bearing gifts (what a guy)! I am the proud owner of a brand-spankin'-new DVD copy of Whip It, which I absolutely love to death. This is one of the (very) few movies we've actually seen in the theater since The Princess was born, and roller skating holds an extremely dear place in my heart. The movie is fantastic, and it's absolute hooey that it flopped. Do yourselves a favor - run out to Wal Mart and buy a copy. You. Will. Love it. And maybe the DVD can develop enough of a following to convince Drew Barrymore to continue directing (or to convince the studios to let her keep directing, whatever the case may be).
Grumma's birthday was a couple of weeks ago, as you may or may not know, and her present was the promise of a dead-of-winter pedicure. This afternoon I called her, and the conversation went a little something like this:
Me: "Hey, Ma...I think it's about 18 degrees out. Feel like rockin' some flip flops?"
Grumma: "Hell, yeah!"
Me: "K. Leaving in 5."
Grumma: I don't know, 'cause I hung up to run out the door...
So I picked up my mommy and drove a few minutes down the street from her place to the nail joint. In we pranced, sporting long pants with winter coats and flip flops.
Rock. On.
As we were melting in our pedicure chairs, we decided we really needed manicures too. Our toes needed proper time to dry, dontchaknow... Somehow I managed to make it all evening without damaging or chipping the polish on any one of my twenty little digits. Impressive, right?
And now, after having watched Whip It and Fever Pitch (Drew-a-thon!) and finished my homework for tomorrow (today), I must bid y'all a good night.
Jill popped by for a little DT action today, and The Princess was an absolute angel. She played with puzzles, visually scanning to match the shapes...and there's a fun one with shapes that go on pegs, which she did really well with too. Kiddo rocked the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics game on our front door...she turned the pieces to get them into the base and pushed on them to hear the song that goes with each letter. We played for a while with the Velcro ball and mitt set - she doesn't quite get the throwing part yet, but she loves to take the ball off Jill's mitt and stick it to mine...then take it off mine and stick it to Jill's...too cute.
Jill laughed out loud when she saw how many texture bins we have. She said that most parents pay no attention to her suggestions, choosing instead to let her do all of the activities with the kiddos without taking part themselves. I think she's starting to understand that's not how we roll. :)
So, The Princess's next DT session with Jill is scheduled for next week. I'll let y'all know how that goes when the time comes.
While Jill was here, The Hubbs ventured out for a while. He arrived home a few minutes before the session ended, bearing gifts (what a guy)! I am the proud owner of a brand-spankin'-new DVD copy of Whip It, which I absolutely love to death. This is one of the (very) few movies we've actually seen in the theater since The Princess was born, and roller skating holds an extremely dear place in my heart. The movie is fantastic, and it's absolute hooey that it flopped. Do yourselves a favor - run out to Wal Mart and buy a copy. You. Will. Love it. And maybe the DVD can develop enough of a following to convince Drew Barrymore to continue directing (or to convince the studios to let her keep directing, whatever the case may be).
Grumma's birthday was a couple of weeks ago, as you may or may not know, and her present was the promise of a dead-of-winter pedicure. This afternoon I called her, and the conversation went a little something like this:
Me: "Hey, Ma...I think it's about 18 degrees out. Feel like rockin' some flip flops?"
Grumma: "Hell, yeah!"
Me: "K. Leaving in 5."
Grumma: I don't know, 'cause I hung up to run out the door...
So I picked up my mommy and drove a few minutes down the street from her place to the nail joint. In we pranced, sporting long pants with winter coats and flip flops.
Rock. On.
As we were melting in our pedicure chairs, we decided we really needed manicures too. Our toes needed proper time to dry, dontchaknow... Somehow I managed to make it all evening without damaging or chipping the polish on any one of my twenty little digits. Impressive, right?
And now, after having watched Whip It and Fever Pitch (Drew-a-thon!) and finished my homework for tomorrow (today), I must bid y'all a good night.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Only On Days That Start With "T"
Though it hasn't been an easy feat, we are getting pretty used to our new schedule around here. Between The Princess's therapies, the job search and my classes, there's not much time left over for the little things (like breathing).
Since Tuesday starts with a T, that means we had ST - AKA "Julie Time" - this morning. The Princess and Julie played in the princess's room, and The Girls (for all you newbies, that's my two American bulldogs...Dee and Sookie) are happy to report that they were not banished to the basement for today's session. The biggest thing I have to report from ST today was the lack of slamming on various doors throughout the hour-long session. You see, my girls are very social not-so-little creatures...and they feel it is their right - nay, their duty - to greet all visitors with a hearty sniff of the butt. When deprived of this essential task, they tend to cry like little babies.
Since The Girls were allowed to chill out in the living room today while Julie and The Princess worked in the back of the house, the crying was nearly nonexistent. Except when Julie busted out the bubbles. As you know, bubbles are a big deal around here.
As you may not know, Dee is more commonly known as Bubbles.
Can you see where the problem might arise? It goes something like this:
Julie: Princess, want bubbles?
Bubbles: *whine*
The Princess: ...
Julie: Bub...bles?
Bubbles: *whine* yipe
The Princess: Buh
Julie: YES! Bubbles!! Good telling!! (Then she proceeds to blow bubbles for The Princess.)
Bubbles: *whine, cry, wallow in self pity*
The Princess: Hahahahahahahahaha!
Poor Bubbles. Fortunately, we tricked her and Sookie into going outside. They happily pranced around the yard until after Julie and The Princess were done with the bubbles, coming in to a blissfully quiet living room to spend the rest of the session resting peacefully on the couches.
Only until the hour was up, that is. I can't begin to describe their elation when they realized they would be allowed to sniff Julie's butt. Finally! The moment they've been waiting for, for over a year! Bubbles and Sookie were just beside themselves...Julie stayed a few extra moments to scritch them behind the ears, and they are officially the happiest puppies in the whole wide world.
This evening I went to my bio lecture. Tuesdays are super-easy...just under an hour and a half and I'm done. Thursdays are a bit of a challenge - six and a half hours - but last week didn't seem too bad.
Oh, and we've set ourselves up with Skype. The Hubbs' mom has been itching to set something like this up so we can video chat, since we're not really within popping-in distance from one another. So we just got off the [phone? computer? whatever...] with them for the first time. It seems pretty stinkin' cool if you ask me.
Now, if you don't mind, I think I'll go brush my kid.
Since Tuesday starts with a T, that means we had ST - AKA "Julie Time" - this morning. The Princess and Julie played in the princess's room, and The Girls (for all you newbies, that's my two American bulldogs...Dee and Sookie) are happy to report that they were not banished to the basement for today's session. The biggest thing I have to report from ST today was the lack of slamming on various doors throughout the hour-long session. You see, my girls are very social not-so-little creatures...and they feel it is their right - nay, their duty - to greet all visitors with a hearty sniff of the butt. When deprived of this essential task, they tend to cry like little babies.
Since The Girls were allowed to chill out in the living room today while Julie and The Princess worked in the back of the house, the crying was nearly nonexistent. Except when Julie busted out the bubbles. As you know, bubbles are a big deal around here.
As you may not know, Dee is more commonly known as Bubbles.
Can you see where the problem might arise? It goes something like this:
Julie: Princess, want bubbles?
Bubbles: *whine*
The Princess: ...
Julie: Bub...bles?
Bubbles: *whine* yipe
The Princess: Buh
Julie: YES! Bubbles!! Good telling!! (Then she proceeds to blow bubbles for The Princess.)
Bubbles: *whine, cry, wallow in self pity*
The Princess: Hahahahahahahahaha!
Poor Bubbles. Fortunately, we tricked her and Sookie into going outside. They happily pranced around the yard until after Julie and The Princess were done with the bubbles, coming in to a blissfully quiet living room to spend the rest of the session resting peacefully on the couches.
Only until the hour was up, that is. I can't begin to describe their elation when they realized they would be allowed to sniff Julie's butt. Finally! The moment they've been waiting for, for over a year! Bubbles and Sookie were just beside themselves...Julie stayed a few extra moments to scritch them behind the ears, and they are officially the happiest puppies in the whole wide world.
This evening I went to my bio lecture. Tuesdays are super-easy...just under an hour and a half and I'm done. Thursdays are a bit of a challenge - six and a half hours - but last week didn't seem too bad.
Oh, and we've set ourselves up with Skype. The Hubbs' mom has been itching to set something like this up so we can video chat, since we're not really within popping-in distance from one another. So we just got off the [phone? computer? whatever...] with them for the first time. It seems pretty stinkin' cool if you ask me.
Now, if you don't mind, I think I'll go brush my kid.
Monday, January 25, 2010
The Dreaded W-Sit, Weighted Blankets, and Brushing My Kid
Oh, did we have fun with Sakina at OT today. We talked about all sorts of things I've been reading about and hearing about from other mommies, and spent the vast majority of our hour-long session in the gym.
As usual, The Princess headed straight to the ball pit and proceeded to bury herself as quickly as possible. She tolerated some pressure play with a textured ball, and even got out (without being dragged!) when I asked.
She spent some time in a new swing, which she absolutely loved. This one looks like a sling, and she laid on her tummy with her head, shoulders and arms hanging out one end and her legs out the other. Sakina swung her lengthwise toward a big orange balloon (balloons are almost as cool as bubbles 'round here, dontchaknow). The Princess cackled and giggled, and stretched her little body as far as she could to get to that coveted balloon.
Sakina showed me a couple of ways to try to help The Princess overcome her W-sit. Yes, the dreaded W-sit...every therapist or doctor we've ever encountered since The Princess has been sitting has mentioned this. They mention it often enough that I've begun to feel as though we're doing something wrong because this is her preferred position. I swear, we must correct her legs at least 85 times every single day.
But Sakina assured me that we are not the reason she's always in this position. It's a tightness in her hips from sitting like this for so long. She showed me how to assist The Princess in a "ring-sit" position, touching the soles of her feet to each other with her knees as far down as possible. I am compelled to note that The Princess is not a fan of this new development. The moment her little leg muscles begin to stretch, she screeches and tries to bolt. I've been assured that this is part of the process, and to do it little by little. Over time, her muscles will become accustomed to the revised posture, and she'll be better off for it.
I may meander a bit in making my next point, but stick with me and it'll make sense...I promise.
The Princess is a great little sleeper, but we have a bit of an issue at bed time. Typically, she is in her jammies at least an hour before bed time - we've found this works out much better than attempting to change the clothes of a very sleepy little girl. Quite often, she'll be running around playing in the living room when she's overtaken by a case of The Groggs. You know what I mean - debilitating sleepiness accompanied by the jamming of little fists into little eye sockets...laying down in the middle of the floor...all but begging to be put to bed.
This behavior leads to one little girl being scooped up in Mommy's arms, hung upside-down for Daddy to kiss (we call this Spider-baby kisses...she's found it hilarious since she was very small) and walked into her room where we sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star while tucking her into bed. She'll look up at us with that groggy little face, snuggle into her blankets and smile as we back out of the room.
And within five minutes, she's banging on a drum or throwing MegaBloks.
I've heard about a few possible OT-related things that help kids with this kind of busy-body-ness at inappropriate times. Some people use little sleeping bags to help the kiddo feel swaddled. Some use weighted blankets to help the kiddo feel grounded. Everything that talks about weighted blankets makes a huge point to tell the parent to be careful not to use too much weight. But they never give a limit. And what is a weighted blanket anyway?
I brought up this concern and my questions about the different methods with Sakina today, and she said that both methods seem to work great - it's just a matter of finding out if either of them will work with The Princess. Sakina told me that weighted objects - whether you're using a blanket, vest, what-have-you - should not exceed twenty percent of the person's weight who will be utilizing them. She brought out her weighted blanket, which turned out to be a quilt of sorts, constructed out of beanbag-like squares.
I can make one using rice for the filling - maybe some flannel on the outside. It can go in the freezer or in the microwave, and we can throw it out when it gets grody. No biggie to make a new one, after all. I'm glad I brought it up. I learned a lot more about the different methods of using weighted clothing/blankets/pads, and I'm interested to see how or if they will be a helpful tool for my little girl.
The last new development during today's session was the addition of the brushing technique. This is a deep-pressure massage treatment using a surgical (or other soft-bristled...ours just happens to be of the surgical variety) brush. The name pretty much says it all. You take this little thing and you brush your kid. Soles of the feet, legs from hip to the top of the toes; palms of the hands, arms from shoulder to the top of the fingers; back. When that's done we go over her whole body and compress each of her joints, from her head all the way down to her toes.
This, apparently, is supposed to help her calm down and find her center. The effects are said to last for about an hour and a half...so the brushing procedure is started over again after that time has passed.
So far, The Princess seems to find it entertaining. We'll see if that feeling continues when it becomes part of our daily routines.
Me? I still giggle every time I say (or think) I'm brushing my kid. It's gonna take a little bit of time for me to be a grown-up about this. For the moment, I'm happy to be a goof. I mean...think about it. It is kind of funny. Especially if you're a little immature, as well as very tired, as I am at the moment.
That being said, I think it's time for me to sign off for the evening before I start rambling nonsensically (any more than I normally do). G'night, y'all!
As usual, The Princess headed straight to the ball pit and proceeded to bury herself as quickly as possible. She tolerated some pressure play with a textured ball, and even got out (without being dragged!) when I asked.
She spent some time in a new swing, which she absolutely loved. This one looks like a sling, and she laid on her tummy with her head, shoulders and arms hanging out one end and her legs out the other. Sakina swung her lengthwise toward a big orange balloon (balloons are almost as cool as bubbles 'round here, dontchaknow). The Princess cackled and giggled, and stretched her little body as far as she could to get to that coveted balloon.
Sakina showed me a couple of ways to try to help The Princess overcome her W-sit. Yes, the dreaded W-sit...every therapist or doctor we've ever encountered since The Princess has been sitting has mentioned this. They mention it often enough that I've begun to feel as though we're doing something wrong because this is her preferred position. I swear, we must correct her legs at least 85 times every single day.
But Sakina assured me that we are not the reason she's always in this position. It's a tightness in her hips from sitting like this for so long. She showed me how to assist The Princess in a "ring-sit" position, touching the soles of her feet to each other with her knees as far down as possible. I am compelled to note that The Princess is not a fan of this new development. The moment her little leg muscles begin to stretch, she screeches and tries to bolt. I've been assured that this is part of the process, and to do it little by little. Over time, her muscles will become accustomed to the revised posture, and she'll be better off for it.
I may meander a bit in making my next point, but stick with me and it'll make sense...I promise.
The Princess is a great little sleeper, but we have a bit of an issue at bed time. Typically, she is in her jammies at least an hour before bed time - we've found this works out much better than attempting to change the clothes of a very sleepy little girl. Quite often, she'll be running around playing in the living room when she's overtaken by a case of The Groggs. You know what I mean - debilitating sleepiness accompanied by the jamming of little fists into little eye sockets...laying down in the middle of the floor...all but begging to be put to bed.
This behavior leads to one little girl being scooped up in Mommy's arms, hung upside-down for Daddy to kiss (we call this Spider-baby kisses...she's found it hilarious since she was very small) and walked into her room where we sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star while tucking her into bed. She'll look up at us with that groggy little face, snuggle into her blankets and smile as we back out of the room.
And within five minutes, she's banging on a drum or throwing MegaBloks.
I've heard about a few possible OT-related things that help kids with this kind of busy-body-ness at inappropriate times. Some people use little sleeping bags to help the kiddo feel swaddled. Some use weighted blankets to help the kiddo feel grounded. Everything that talks about weighted blankets makes a huge point to tell the parent to be careful not to use too much weight. But they never give a limit. And what is a weighted blanket anyway?
I brought up this concern and my questions about the different methods with Sakina today, and she said that both methods seem to work great - it's just a matter of finding out if either of them will work with The Princess. Sakina told me that weighted objects - whether you're using a blanket, vest, what-have-you - should not exceed twenty percent of the person's weight who will be utilizing them. She brought out her weighted blanket, which turned out to be a quilt of sorts, constructed out of beanbag-like squares.
I can make one using rice for the filling - maybe some flannel on the outside. It can go in the freezer or in the microwave, and we can throw it out when it gets grody. No biggie to make a new one, after all. I'm glad I brought it up. I learned a lot more about the different methods of using weighted clothing/blankets/pads, and I'm interested to see how or if they will be a helpful tool for my little girl.
The last new development during today's session was the addition of the brushing technique. This is a deep-pressure massage treatment using a surgical (or other soft-bristled...ours just happens to be of the surgical variety) brush. The name pretty much says it all. You take this little thing and you brush your kid. Soles of the feet, legs from hip to the top of the toes; palms of the hands, arms from shoulder to the top of the fingers; back. When that's done we go over her whole body and compress each of her joints, from her head all the way down to her toes.
This, apparently, is supposed to help her calm down and find her center. The effects are said to last for about an hour and a half...so the brushing procedure is started over again after that time has passed.
So far, The Princess seems to find it entertaining. We'll see if that feeling continues when it becomes part of our daily routines.
Me? I still giggle every time I say (or think) I'm brushing my kid. It's gonna take a little bit of time for me to be a grown-up about this. For the moment, I'm happy to be a goof. I mean...think about it. It is kind of funny. Especially if you're a little immature, as well as very tired, as I am at the moment.
That being said, I think it's time for me to sign off for the evening before I start rambling nonsensically (any more than I normally do). G'night, y'all!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Lookin' On The Bright Side
Finally, after a long first week at school, I decided to take a little bit of Me Time early this afternoon.
I filled up the bath tub with hot water, added epsom salts and eased myself in with the next book in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. Just as I started to get really comfy, I heard this: "Oh. My. God. Oh my God. Ohmigod ohmigod ohmigod."
Now, I know good and well that I don't have voices in my head, so that couldn't be the explanation. Could it?
I yelled to The Hubbs: "What's the matter?"
Hubbs, from the basement: "Oh my God."
Me: "What?"
Hubbs: "There's water all over down here. Drain the tub, drain the tub!"
After which I pulled the plug, set ol' Sookie Stackhouse on the back of the toilet and hauled my sopping body out of the water and into some sweats to head downstairs and help The Hubbs with the cleanup. Turns out it wasn't too much water, and not something we actually needed to call anyone in for, but what a pain.
You know that little plate in the tub, usually right below the faucet? The one that will either have the little lever if you have a self-stopping tub, or that just acts as a cover for that spot if it doesn't?
Yeah. No freakin' caulk around it. So when I settled my butt in the tub for a nice soak, water seeped around that useless little hunk of metal and started running into the basement.
It ran down the ductwork for the furnace and air conditioner, plink, plink, plinking away on the one and only thing it really could have damaged down there: our wireless router. I know, right? Very rude, indeed.
The Hubbs and I mopped up everything we could see, disconnected the router and wiped it down the best we could. It was still wet inside, so we threw it in a bin of rice (See? Texture bins come in handy!) to try to suck the moisture out. The problem was that this poor little thing took the bulk of the water...so we weren't sure if it would make it or not.
A few hours later, I grabbed the router out of the rice bin and plugged it back in. I am sad to report that it was either too weak or too old to make it through the procedure. We did everything we could...we really did.
With The Hubbs being a work-at-home kind of dude, we really can't be without the internet on any given work day. So...
Off to Wal Mart I trudged. I think I did admirably...this is one of those stores that seems to suck $100 out of my pocket every time I walk through the door, and I managed to get out of there for only $60 including the router. We needed a few other things, most notably The Princess's new vibrating toothbrush (which is an adorable Zooth brand Hello Kitty model), and I suppose if I look on the bright side I don't have to go to the store tomorrow.
The new router works great. It was a breeze to set up, and hopefully we won't have to go through such a silly thing again for a very long time. (Ha!)
Oh, one more thing as long as we're lookin' on the bright side: The Hubbs' grandpa is a whiz with caulk and has offered to take a look at our bathroom and caulk/re-caulk anything that needs it.
I filled up the bath tub with hot water, added epsom salts and eased myself in with the next book in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. Just as I started to get really comfy, I heard this: "Oh. My. God. Oh my God. Ohmigod ohmigod ohmigod."
Now, I know good and well that I don't have voices in my head, so that couldn't be the explanation. Could it?
I yelled to The Hubbs: "What's the matter?"
Hubbs, from the basement: "Oh my God."
Me: "What?"
Hubbs: "There's water all over down here. Drain the tub, drain the tub!"
After which I pulled the plug, set ol' Sookie Stackhouse on the back of the toilet and hauled my sopping body out of the water and into some sweats to head downstairs and help The Hubbs with the cleanup. Turns out it wasn't too much water, and not something we actually needed to call anyone in for, but what a pain.
You know that little plate in the tub, usually right below the faucet? The one that will either have the little lever if you have a self-stopping tub, or that just acts as a cover for that spot if it doesn't?
Yeah. No freakin' caulk around it. So when I settled my butt in the tub for a nice soak, water seeped around that useless little hunk of metal and started running into the basement.
It ran down the ductwork for the furnace and air conditioner, plink, plink, plinking away on the one and only thing it really could have damaged down there: our wireless router. I know, right? Very rude, indeed.
The Hubbs and I mopped up everything we could see, disconnected the router and wiped it down the best we could. It was still wet inside, so we threw it in a bin of rice (See? Texture bins come in handy!) to try to suck the moisture out. The problem was that this poor little thing took the bulk of the water...so we weren't sure if it would make it or not.
A few hours later, I grabbed the router out of the rice bin and plugged it back in. I am sad to report that it was either too weak or too old to make it through the procedure. We did everything we could...we really did.
With The Hubbs being a work-at-home kind of dude, we really can't be without the internet on any given work day. So...
Off to Wal Mart I trudged. I think I did admirably...this is one of those stores that seems to suck $100 out of my pocket every time I walk through the door, and I managed to get out of there for only $60 including the router. We needed a few other things, most notably The Princess's new vibrating toothbrush (which is an adorable Zooth brand Hello Kitty model), and I suppose if I look on the bright side I don't have to go to the store tomorrow.
The new router works great. It was a breeze to set up, and hopefully we won't have to go through such a silly thing again for a very long time. (Ha!)
Oh, one more thing as long as we're lookin' on the bright side: The Hubbs' grandpa is a whiz with caulk and has offered to take a look at our bathroom and caulk/re-caulk anything that needs it.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Just Call Me Thrifty McThrifterson
Saturday morning, and an epic battle with the alarm clock. 7:30 - for some reason - felt like the dead of night, and I just couldn't hang. Somehow, 7:45 was infinitely better...so I dragged my butt out of bed and into the shower.
By 8:30 I was in the car, generic Slim Fast shake in hand, driving to school for my three-hour psychology course...the official start of Week Two as a full-time student. Class went well, and I'm pretty confident about the upcoming exam that's slated for next week.
I rolled into the garage at about 12:30, taking a running leap into the house to see The Princess for the first time today (that's going to take some getting used to). There was hugging, smiling, tickling and giggling...and then we settled in for some lunch.
The early afternoon was spent unwinding from school and hanging out with the fam. In keeping with tradition, The Hubbs announced out of nowhere that he knew what we were going to do today.
Wii Music.
We've been looking at it in the stores since, oh, about the day it came out. There's been lots of talk about the possibility of procuring such a game at some point in time when we aren't broke (ha!), but up until today our bark has been far worse than our bite.
Until today.
I feel the need to defend myself here...I was all, "Before we go buying the game, let's see if we can rent it from Blockbuster. And why don't you go online to see what kind of price we could get from Amazon or eBay, so we have some sort of comparison when we get to the store?"
I tried. I really did.
Blockbuster didn't have any copies available to rent, so we headed across the street to Game Stop. Another disappointment...no copies on the shelf. Last ditch effort: The Hubbs waited in line to ask the video game dude if they had any copies in stock.
It was our lucky day.
They had one used copy (guaranteed for seven days - we can return for a full refund if it doesn't work right or if we don't like it. I checked to be sure. I know...I can be a funsucker, but I freak out at the prospect of spending a bazillion dollars on a video game you don't even know if you're going to like.) in stock for $17.99.
Score one for Thrifty.
Leaving Game Stop, we made a quick left on the sidewalk and veered into the next storefront: US Cellular. The Hubbs' phone has been in a sad state of repair for quite some time now. The glass is cracked and threatening to sever his hand with unruly shards, the battery doesn't hold a charge anymore, and it's just all-over kind of beaten up.
And can I just say Idon't care for somewhat dislike despise detest abhor going into the cell phone place? They're always trying to sell you crap you don't need and services you don't want. I get it that they're required to do this...and I feel sorry for each and every one of them because no one wants to hear the schpiel...but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
We happened to walk into the store when there were no other customers present (whew!), and were promptly greeted by the assistant manager. He asked what he could help us with, so we told him we were looking to replace The Hubbs' phone with a cheapo model...maybe with a full keyboard, but maybe not. He showed us a couple of full-keyboard phones that were in the neighborhood of $69, and we asked if there were any free or penny offers.
Yep.
The Hubbs is the proud owner of a brand-spankin' new Samsung flip phone, purchased for the gigantic retail price of $0.01 (plus tax on the normal retail price -- making our total come in just under $7.00).
For those keeping score, that would be 2 for Thrifty.
Sitting in the parking lot outside the cell phone and video game places, The Hubbs asked if there was anything I wanted to do while we were out. I thought about it for a minute and decided that I'd like to cruise over to Old Navy to see what was available. We haven't been there in eons, and it sounded like fun.
They were having a sale. On their clearance items.
Long story short: eleven killer tops, one super-cute pair of jeans, and one adorable jacket. Anyone care to venture a guess as to what this haul cost me? I'll give you a hint...it was more economical than my trip to the local goodwill store for The Princess yesterday.
Don't be shy. Go on, make a guess.
$26.72. Including tax.
Three for Thrifty. Hell, this was such a good deal, I almost think it should count as three to make it a nice round Five for Thrifty.
This evening we basked in the knowledge that we saved a buttload of money while playing Wii Music, organizing my new mini-wardrobe, and watching Alvin and the Chipmunks (SUPER cute, by the way).
I feel guilty that none of this post is about The Princess...so here's her portion. My little girl was an absolute angel today. No tantrums. No freaking out in stores. No peeing herself in the middle of a store with no public restroom. No grabbing strangers' butts from her stroller perch. Lots of smiling and laughing, and plenty of eye contact.
A good day, all around.
Now, my dear readers, it's time for this sleepy momma to throw her feet up and veg out in front of some HGTV. Have a fabulous night!
By 8:30 I was in the car, generic Slim Fast shake in hand, driving to school for my three-hour psychology course...the official start of Week Two as a full-time student. Class went well, and I'm pretty confident about the upcoming exam that's slated for next week.
I rolled into the garage at about 12:30, taking a running leap into the house to see The Princess for the first time today (that's going to take some getting used to). There was hugging, smiling, tickling and giggling...and then we settled in for some lunch.
The early afternoon was spent unwinding from school and hanging out with the fam. In keeping with tradition, The Hubbs announced out of nowhere that he knew what we were going to do today.
Wii Music.
We've been looking at it in the stores since, oh, about the day it came out. There's been lots of talk about the possibility of procuring such a game at some point in time when we aren't broke (ha!), but up until today our bark has been far worse than our bite.
Until today.
I feel the need to defend myself here...I was all, "Before we go buying the game, let's see if we can rent it from Blockbuster. And why don't you go online to see what kind of price we could get from Amazon or eBay, so we have some sort of comparison when we get to the store?"
I tried. I really did.
Blockbuster didn't have any copies available to rent, so we headed across the street to Game Stop. Another disappointment...no copies on the shelf. Last ditch effort: The Hubbs waited in line to ask the video game dude if they had any copies in stock.
It was our lucky day.
They had one used copy (guaranteed for seven days - we can return for a full refund if it doesn't work right or if we don't like it. I checked to be sure. I know...I can be a funsucker, but I freak out at the prospect of spending a bazillion dollars on a video game you don't even know if you're going to like.) in stock for $17.99.
Score one for Thrifty.
Leaving Game Stop, we made a quick left on the sidewalk and veered into the next storefront: US Cellular. The Hubbs' phone has been in a sad state of repair for quite some time now. The glass is cracked and threatening to sever his hand with unruly shards, the battery doesn't hold a charge anymore, and it's just all-over kind of beaten up.
And can I just say I
We happened to walk into the store when there were no other customers present (whew!), and were promptly greeted by the assistant manager. He asked what he could help us with, so we told him we were looking to replace The Hubbs' phone with a cheapo model...maybe with a full keyboard, but maybe not. He showed us a couple of full-keyboard phones that were in the neighborhood of $69, and we asked if there were any free or penny offers.
Yep.
The Hubbs is the proud owner of a brand-spankin' new Samsung flip phone, purchased for the gigantic retail price of $0.01 (plus tax on the normal retail price -- making our total come in just under $7.00).
For those keeping score, that would be 2 for Thrifty.
Sitting in the parking lot outside the cell phone and video game places, The Hubbs asked if there was anything I wanted to do while we were out. I thought about it for a minute and decided that I'd like to cruise over to Old Navy to see what was available. We haven't been there in eons, and it sounded like fun.
They were having a sale. On their clearance items.
Long story short: eleven killer tops, one super-cute pair of jeans, and one adorable jacket. Anyone care to venture a guess as to what this haul cost me? I'll give you a hint...it was more economical than my trip to the local goodwill store for The Princess yesterday.
Don't be shy. Go on, make a guess.
$26.72. Including tax.
Three for Thrifty. Hell, this was such a good deal, I almost think it should count as three to make it a nice round Five for Thrifty.
This evening we basked in the knowledge that we saved a buttload of money while playing Wii Music, organizing my new mini-wardrobe, and watching Alvin and the Chipmunks (SUPER cute, by the way).
I feel guilty that none of this post is about The Princess...so here's her portion. My little girl was an absolute angel today. No tantrums. No freaking out in stores. No peeing herself in the middle of a store with no public restroom. No grabbing strangers' butts from her stroller perch. Lots of smiling and laughing, and plenty of eye contact.
A good day, all around.
Now, my dear readers, it's time for this sleepy momma to throw her feet up and veg out in front of some HGTV. Have a fabulous night!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Friday Fun: One Productive Day
Amy dropped by this morning for The Princess's in-home OT session, which went pretty well (all considered). We swung for a while, then had a battle of wills when the grown-ups wanted The Princess to say or sign "more". It progressed something like this...
a) I looked at The Princess and signed "more swing", phrasing it as a question -- Princess want more swing?
b) The Princess looked at me with what we like to call Omen Eyes - you know, eyebrows down, staring directly into your soul, like that little kid from the Omen movie??
c) I signed "more" as a question -- Princess want more?
d) The Princess ran over to the couch and buried her head in the cushion.
This went on for a while until The Princess looked directly at me, removed her thumb from her mouth, and said "MOE."
Close enough for me! More swinging followed, but for a shorter amount of time. When I asked The Princess if she wanted "more swing" this time, she pushed my hands away and moved on to another toy.
Amy provided the first draft of our new sensory diet, which I'll be working to implement along with a visual schedule over the next couple of weeks. Here's an abbreviated version of the diet, in case you're not familiar with what one looks like:
Morning
Give The Princess a bear hug right away in the morning
Massage her feet and back using deep pressure
Have her put on hand lotion
Brush her teeth with a vibrating toothbrush (gonna have to purchase one of these bad boys)
Let her help making breakfast/snack - crunchy foods such as cereal or apples
Jumping on trampoline (we don't have one, so we'll improvise until the goodwill has one we can afford)
Afternoon
Help vacuum or push laundry basket with heavy objects in it
Games on trampoline
Play with play-dough
Squish her between cushions or large heavy pillows
Chewy or crunchy snack - let her help prepare
Pulling on a rope
Evening
Bath tub games
Helping to make dinner - touching raw meat, mashing potatoes
Bear hugs
Pull on stretchy lycra-like material (finally, a use for the Pilates bands I never took out of the package!!)
We'll start out with three visual schedules - separate for morning, afternoon and evening. And they'll be as simple as possible...probably not including everything at first, but just the basics. We'll be using photographs to start with, then transitioning to clip art, and finally to words. I envision this taking a long time.
But it's a start.
Not an hour after Amy left, I took off for my English composition class. The instructor is cool - she reminds me a bit of Cyndi Lauper, which entertains me to no end - and I think I'm really going to enjoy the class.
After class let out (early!!), I headed to town with the intention of getting an errand or two out of the way. On my way to the bank I decided to hit the local goodwill store, and found some cute new clothes for my little princess.
Four shirts, three pairs of jeans, and a pair of shoes...not bad for $12, eh?
From there I headed to the bank to make a deposit, cruised across the street to get the car washed, ordered dinner while sitting in the car wash, ran into Wal Mart for a few essentials, picked up dinner and came home.
Where I proceeded to hang out with my family quite happily for the remainder of the evening.
Now, however, I need to get myself and my little princess to bed. Why, you may ask? Someone had the bright idea of taking a 3-hour psychology class on Saturday mornings. Silly girl.
a) I looked at The Princess and signed "more swing", phrasing it as a question -- Princess want more swing?
b) The Princess looked at me with what we like to call Omen Eyes - you know, eyebrows down, staring directly into your soul, like that little kid from the Omen movie??
c) I signed "more" as a question -- Princess want more?
d) The Princess ran over to the couch and buried her head in the cushion.
This went on for a while until The Princess looked directly at me, removed her thumb from her mouth, and said "MOE."
Close enough for me! More swinging followed, but for a shorter amount of time. When I asked The Princess if she wanted "more swing" this time, she pushed my hands away and moved on to another toy.
Amy provided the first draft of our new sensory diet, which I'll be working to implement along with a visual schedule over the next couple of weeks. Here's an abbreviated version of the diet, in case you're not familiar with what one looks like:
Morning
Give The Princess a bear hug right away in the morning
Massage her feet and back using deep pressure
Have her put on hand lotion
Brush her teeth with a vibrating toothbrush (gonna have to purchase one of these bad boys)
Let her help making breakfast/snack - crunchy foods such as cereal or apples
Jumping on trampoline (we don't have one, so we'll improvise until the goodwill has one we can afford)
Afternoon
Help vacuum or push laundry basket with heavy objects in it
Games on trampoline
Play with play-dough
Squish her between cushions or large heavy pillows
Chewy or crunchy snack - let her help prepare
Pulling on a rope
Evening
Bath tub games
Helping to make dinner - touching raw meat, mashing potatoes
Bear hugs
Pull on stretchy lycra-like material (finally, a use for the Pilates bands I never took out of the package!!)
We'll start out with three visual schedules - separate for morning, afternoon and evening. And they'll be as simple as possible...probably not including everything at first, but just the basics. We'll be using photographs to start with, then transitioning to clip art, and finally to words. I envision this taking a long time.
But it's a start.
Not an hour after Amy left, I took off for my English composition class. The instructor is cool - she reminds me a bit of Cyndi Lauper, which entertains me to no end - and I think I'm really going to enjoy the class.
After class let out (early!!), I headed to town with the intention of getting an errand or two out of the way. On my way to the bank I decided to hit the local goodwill store, and found some cute new clothes for my little princess.
Four shirts, three pairs of jeans, and a pair of shoes...not bad for $12, eh?
From there I headed to the bank to make a deposit, cruised across the street to get the car washed, ordered dinner while sitting in the car wash, ran into Wal Mart for a few essentials, picked up dinner and came home.
Where I proceeded to hang out with my family quite happily for the remainder of the evening.
Now, however, I need to get myself and my little princess to bed. Why, you may ask? Someone had the bright idea of taking a 3-hour psychology class on Saturday mornings. Silly girl.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
6.5 Hours
It's 11:48 PM, and I feel as though I haven't gotten a thing accomplished today. Where did the daylight go? Why do I feel so out of sorts?
Oh, that's right...this was my longest day thus far at school. From 3:00 until 9:20 I attended classes at the local college. Time I've gotten used to spending around the house. Amazing how quickly our perception of "normal" can change, eh?
I'm happy to report that The Princess did well during Julie Time this morning. I'm not sure if it's due to her getting more used to the schedule changes, or the switch to working in her room instead of the living room...but (knock on wood) she's been a doll recently about all of the therapies.
I heard The Princess specifically say "buh buh" once today, but that was it. The big thing during this session was the recorder with the playback button. Julie's been using this for quite some time...she'll record herself saying "bubbles" and show The Princess which button to push if she wants the machine to say it for her. Today, though, Julie recorded the word and set the little machine on the side...never indicating anything to The Princess.
So when The Princess grabbed the bubbles out of the toy bag, handed them to Julie, sat back on her heels and pushed that button...well, my jaw hit the floor. It's usually a much larger (think: epic) struggle to get the first round of bubbles going. The Princess seems not to understand, though I really think she's playing let's-see-how-far-I-can-push-the-grown-ups, and it often ends in tears. Sometimes screaming.
But no. Not today.
She hit that button like a champ countless times, and actually verbalized the request once. That's my girl.
Other than bubbles, she and Julie played with her favorite shape-sorter house with the keys to unlock the doors. She kills me with that thing...I don't think even I could get those doors open as quickly as she does! They also played with a couple of puzzles and did the night-night book. No screaming, not even any little mini-tantrums. All in all, a wonderful ST session.
Followed by my longest school day yet.
At 3:00 I had my "college experience" course, which turned out to be surprisingly interesting. After class let out at 4:20 I spent a few minutes shooting the breeze with the instructors, who both seem pretty cool.
From there I headed upstairs to the financial aid office to see if they'd gotten my FAFSA paperwork yet. I was told it's a good thing I stopped by since, for some reason, my package hadn't gone out in the mail. So I took my school financial aid paperwork into the atrium, plopped down at an empty table, and completed it while munching my turkey sandwich.
After returning the financial aid paperwork, I was on my way to biology. Turns out there's a gal in my class who I used to run track with. I've got to say, it's nice to know somebody...even if it's a 10+ year old acquaintance whose name I had to wrack my brain to remember. I was sure it was Jen. Not so much. How 'bout Katie? That's it. Side note: Jenn and Kaitie are two very important people in my life...funny how the names come up in a different context. Jello and Kaitie-Bear - I love ya!
The bio lecture goes by so quickly. I like the instructor, and on Thursdays after lecture we head down the hall for a three-hour lab. Guess who my lab partner will be for this semester? Katie. :)
Once our first lab was over with, I was itchin' to get home. I pulled into the garage at about 9:40, and have been unwinding and working on assignments since. It just doesn't feel like it could possibly be this late.
But it is. And the OT is coming at 10:30 tomorrow morning, so I have to drag my butt out of bed and try not to look like the bride of Frankenstein by the time she gets here. That could take a while, so...
'Night, y'all!
Oh, that's right...this was my longest day thus far at school. From 3:00 until 9:20 I attended classes at the local college. Time I've gotten used to spending around the house. Amazing how quickly our perception of "normal" can change, eh?
I'm happy to report that The Princess did well during Julie Time this morning. I'm not sure if it's due to her getting more used to the schedule changes, or the switch to working in her room instead of the living room...but (knock on wood) she's been a doll recently about all of the therapies.
I heard The Princess specifically say "buh buh" once today, but that was it. The big thing during this session was the recorder with the playback button. Julie's been using this for quite some time...she'll record herself saying "bubbles" and show The Princess which button to push if she wants the machine to say it for her. Today, though, Julie recorded the word and set the little machine on the side...never indicating anything to The Princess.
So when The Princess grabbed the bubbles out of the toy bag, handed them to Julie, sat back on her heels and pushed that button...well, my jaw hit the floor. It's usually a much larger (think: epic) struggle to get the first round of bubbles going. The Princess seems not to understand, though I really think she's playing let's-see-how-far-I-can-push-the-grown-ups, and it often ends in tears. Sometimes screaming.
But no. Not today.
She hit that button like a champ countless times, and actually verbalized the request once. That's my girl.
Other than bubbles, she and Julie played with her favorite shape-sorter house with the keys to unlock the doors. She kills me with that thing...I don't think even I could get those doors open as quickly as she does! They also played with a couple of puzzles and did the night-night book. No screaming, not even any little mini-tantrums. All in all, a wonderful ST session.
Followed by my longest school day yet.
At 3:00 I had my "college experience" course, which turned out to be surprisingly interesting. After class let out at 4:20 I spent a few minutes shooting the breeze with the instructors, who both seem pretty cool.
From there I headed upstairs to the financial aid office to see if they'd gotten my FAFSA paperwork yet. I was told it's a good thing I stopped by since, for some reason, my package hadn't gone out in the mail. So I took my school financial aid paperwork into the atrium, plopped down at an empty table, and completed it while munching my turkey sandwich.
After returning the financial aid paperwork, I was on my way to biology. Turns out there's a gal in my class who I used to run track with. I've got to say, it's nice to know somebody...even if it's a 10+ year old acquaintance whose name I had to wrack my brain to remember. I was sure it was Jen. Not so much. How 'bout Katie? That's it. Side note: Jenn and Kaitie are two very important people in my life...funny how the names come up in a different context. Jello and Kaitie-Bear - I love ya!
The bio lecture goes by so quickly. I like the instructor, and on Thursdays after lecture we head down the hall for a three-hour lab. Guess who my lab partner will be for this semester? Katie. :)
Once our first lab was over with, I was itchin' to get home. I pulled into the garage at about 9:40, and have been unwinding and working on assignments since. It just doesn't feel like it could possibly be this late.
But it is. And the OT is coming at 10:30 tomorrow morning, so I have to drag my butt out of bed and try not to look like the bride of Frankenstein by the time she gets here. That could take a while, so...
'Night, y'all!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
A Good Day At Play Group
After my last post I began to feel guilty about staying in today. We did, after all, miss play group last week because it overlapped with one of The Princess's therapy sessions.
So I did what any self-respecting gal would do...I called my mommy and guilted her into going to play group with us. I knew that if I had someone else to hold me accountable I'd actually make the effort and get out of the house for a couple of hours (unappealing as that thought may have been!).
Grumma caved pretty easily, and I de-jammied myself and my daughter in time to leave for the 4:30 play group one town over.
When we got there, it was just the parent liaison and her kiddos, and a rep from NISRA. No other kids...that seemed odd, but we figured maybe they'd come later.
No dice.
Some may think this was a negative thing, but for my little girl it couldn't have been any better. As you probably know by now, The Princessdoes not do well in crowds. Nor does she excel at participating in large group activities, especially noisy ones.
So the entire play group today was her and two other kiddos. Here's an outline of what we did, and how she responded:
Free play: The Princess ran around like a maniac (par for the course).
Circle time: She sat pretty well for the story, participated in the dances during song time (I had to move her little body, but she was doin' the hokey pokey and "I'm a Little Tea Pot" without protest).
Craft time: The Princess made another snowflake like the one we did at the last play group (this one went to Grumma since she and Grumpa didn't previously have an original piece of her art - yes, Nana, I'm aware of the lack in your house as well...you're next on the list!).
Structured play: She participated in the "snow ball fight", which consisted of throwing wads of scrunched-up paper at one another, and loved the parachute play.
Snack time: The Princess sat at the table with us to partake in a most excellent snack of animal crackers and apple juice (which Grumma proceeded to spill from Kiddo's neck to her ankle - too funny!) without protest.
Circle time (again): She sat with me, went through the goodbye song and even clapped by herself a couple of times before all was said and done.
This is only the second time we've ever made it all the way to the goodbye song. And The Princess was not rocking, clutching her blanket or running for the door! In fact, she pulled me into the center of the room for some good ol' spinning before she grabbed her coat and headed for the door.
Grumma and I toted The Princess and her artwork out to the car and crossed the street to Wal Mart. Never, ever go into Wal Mart with my mother if you want to come out alive. Somehow I forget this very important rule every time I go with her "to run in and pick something up real quick".
Over an hour later we made our way back to the car with our groceries (hers: far more plentiful than mine), only to find that Grumpa's trunk is completely jam-packed with stuff. And the back seat of the car had already been consolidated to allow for The Princess's carseat on the way to play group...so we had to get creative.
Everything fit, but only just. That poor little car could use a good cleaning, Pop. I know you're reading this. Seriously...when was the last time you needed either of the two bowling balls in your trunk? Or the lawn chair? I love ya, dude, but your car is gross! $20 and a bottle of kid wine, I'll clean it out for ya. :)
Now, after hanging out with The Hubbs and the princess for a couple of hours, it's getting dangerously close to jammie time again. After all, tomorrow's a big day - my first 6+ hour school day...may as well get in all the veggin' I can before then.
So I did what any self-respecting gal would do...I called my mommy and guilted her into going to play group with us. I knew that if I had someone else to hold me accountable I'd actually make the effort and get out of the house for a couple of hours (unappealing as that thought may have been!).
Grumma caved pretty easily, and I de-jammied myself and my daughter in time to leave for the 4:30 play group one town over.
When we got there, it was just the parent liaison and her kiddos, and a rep from NISRA. No other kids...that seemed odd, but we figured maybe they'd come later.
No dice.
Some may think this was a negative thing, but for my little girl it couldn't have been any better. As you probably know by now, The Princessdoes not do well in crowds. Nor does she excel at participating in large group activities, especially noisy ones.
So the entire play group today was her and two other kiddos. Here's an outline of what we did, and how she responded:
Free play: The Princess ran around like a maniac (par for the course).
Circle time: She sat pretty well for the story, participated in the dances during song time (I had to move her little body, but she was doin' the hokey pokey and "I'm a Little Tea Pot" without protest).
Craft time: The Princess made another snowflake like the one we did at the last play group (this one went to Grumma since she and Grumpa didn't previously have an original piece of her art - yes, Nana, I'm aware of the lack in your house as well...you're next on the list!).
Structured play: She participated in the "snow ball fight", which consisted of throwing wads of scrunched-up paper at one another, and loved the parachute play.
Snack time: The Princess sat at the table with us to partake in a most excellent snack of animal crackers and apple juice (which Grumma proceeded to spill from Kiddo's neck to her ankle - too funny!) without protest.
Circle time (again): She sat with me, went through the goodbye song and even clapped by herself a couple of times before all was said and done.
This is only the second time we've ever made it all the way to the goodbye song. And The Princess was not rocking, clutching her blanket or running for the door! In fact, she pulled me into the center of the room for some good ol' spinning before she grabbed her coat and headed for the door.
Grumma and I toted The Princess and her artwork out to the car and crossed the street to Wal Mart. Never, ever go into Wal Mart with my mother if you want to come out alive. Somehow I forget this very important rule every time I go with her "to run in and pick something up real quick".
Over an hour later we made our way back to the car with our groceries (hers: far more plentiful than mine), only to find that Grumpa's trunk is completely jam-packed with stuff. And the back seat of the car had already been consolidated to allow for The Princess's carseat on the way to play group...so we had to get creative.
Everything fit, but only just. That poor little car could use a good cleaning, Pop. I know you're reading this. Seriously...when was the last time you needed either of the two bowling balls in your trunk? Or the lawn chair? I love ya, dude, but your car is gross! $20 and a bottle of kid wine, I'll clean it out for ya. :)
Now, after hanging out with The Hubbs and the princess for a couple of hours, it's getting dangerously close to jammie time again. After all, tomorrow's a big day - my first 6+ hour school day...may as well get in all the veggin' I can before then.
Wednesday = Day Off!!!
Today's our day off...no school, no therapy, just play group this afternoon if we choose to go. Here are a few recent favorite pics of my little princess for your enjoyment.
Dear Gosh, please help Brett Favre and the Vikings smear the Cowboys. And what does a girl gotta do to get a glass of chocolate milk around here? Thanks...I mean, Amen.
Mmm...Pop Tart!!!
This. Pose. Kills me.
Here's hoping y'all have a simply fantabulous day. More later on whether or not we bother to get out of our jammies.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
"Buh Buh"
I meant to post yesterday, I really did. But lately I've been experiencing this unexplained phenomenon...time keeps passing by, even when I'm sitting on my duff in front of the TV. There should be a pause button for mommies, one that we can push to put the world on hold while we take a few minutes (hours) for ourselves every once in a while.
Alas, there is no such device as of yet (and I'll leave the emphasis on the "yet" part), so I'll just need to learn to deal with the fact that the world continues turning even when I'm geeking out in front of HGTV.
Yesterday afternoon The Princess and I took our weekly trip to Milestones for her OT with Sakina. It went much better. She actually climbed the stairs and went down the slide by herself...TWICE. The exhilirated look on the way down was nearly as cute as the gigantic grin that promptly spread across her face as soon as she hit the ball pit at the bottom of the slide.
She was so much more cooperative yesterday than she has been in the past. I think she's getting used to Sakina, finally. She even kissed Sakina at least three times during our hour. How cute is that?!
After lots of big fun in the gym, The Princess spent a good deal of time stringing beads and checking out Sakina's texture bins (new this week). She was amazingly attentive...not to say she didn't protest at all, but at least she put up with it for the whole hour this week.
As you may or may not know, I am currently unemployed. Not by choice, but I wouldn't trade the time with The Princess for the world. It occurred to me yesterday morning that I should talk to Sakina to see if there were any openings at her clinic that don't require a certification. So, at the end of our hour, I asked. Her eyes got wide and she said if I had asked her last week she'd have had an opening for me that she thinks I'd be perfect for.
But it's been filled. Bad timing, but I gave her my resume to keep on file if she needs anyone else. What she's doing is actually pretty exciting - she's opening a sensory learning center in Crystal Lake, across the street from Milestones, and it will be the only one in the state of Illinois. If it takes off, she'll definitely need more people, and she said she would be willing to work around my school schedule so I can stay on track for my COTA.
Oh, and she said she'd check with other therapists she knows who have their own clinics to see if they need anyone. We'll see how it goes.
The rest of the day yesterday was spent marveling at the fact that time marches on, even when I'm vegging on the couch with short (okay, not always short...) play-breaks with my little buddy.
Today's big accomplishment? Six, count 'em, six, vocal requests from my little girl during her speech therapy with Julie. One of The Princess's very favorite things in the whole wide world is bubbles. So, as you can imagine, we work on this word a lot. It's been a point of contention for, oh, probably a year in her twice-weekly ST sessions with Julie.
So Julie came in today and dragged her toy bag back to The Princess's room and let the kiddo dig in. Naturally, the first thing she came out with was the bubbles. Last time this happened it was a disaster. The Princess knew what was expected of her (to say or sign "bubbles"), but she just couldn't do it. A meltdown of epic proportions ended that doomed session early.
But today, today my little girl was amazing. She sat there on the edge of her bed, looked directly at Julie and - without prompt - said "Buh buh".
What?!
Yeah, that's right. She said buh buh. Six separate times. Always making direct eye contact, never waiting for a prompt.
I love everyday miracles. The small things that could seem inconsequential to a casual observer, but that we know to be so much more important. I live for this.
Oh, and I had my first biology class today. And it didn't suck. But it was nowhere near as cool as what my princess accomplished with Julie this afternoon.
Alas, there is no such device as of yet (and I'll leave the emphasis on the "yet" part), so I'll just need to learn to deal with the fact that the world continues turning even when I'm geeking out in front of HGTV.
Yesterday afternoon The Princess and I took our weekly trip to Milestones for her OT with Sakina. It went much better. She actually climbed the stairs and went down the slide by herself...TWICE. The exhilirated look on the way down was nearly as cute as the gigantic grin that promptly spread across her face as soon as she hit the ball pit at the bottom of the slide.
She was so much more cooperative yesterday than she has been in the past. I think she's getting used to Sakina, finally. She even kissed Sakina at least three times during our hour. How cute is that?!
After lots of big fun in the gym, The Princess spent a good deal of time stringing beads and checking out Sakina's texture bins (new this week). She was amazingly attentive...not to say she didn't protest at all, but at least she put up with it for the whole hour this week.
As you may or may not know, I am currently unemployed. Not by choice, but I wouldn't trade the time with The Princess for the world. It occurred to me yesterday morning that I should talk to Sakina to see if there were any openings at her clinic that don't require a certification. So, at the end of our hour, I asked. Her eyes got wide and she said if I had asked her last week she'd have had an opening for me that she thinks I'd be perfect for.
But it's been filled. Bad timing, but I gave her my resume to keep on file if she needs anyone else. What she's doing is actually pretty exciting - she's opening a sensory learning center in Crystal Lake, across the street from Milestones, and it will be the only one in the state of Illinois. If it takes off, she'll definitely need more people, and she said she would be willing to work around my school schedule so I can stay on track for my COTA.
Oh, and she said she'd check with other therapists she knows who have their own clinics to see if they need anyone. We'll see how it goes.
The rest of the day yesterday was spent marveling at the fact that time marches on, even when I'm vegging on the couch with short (okay, not always short...) play-breaks with my little buddy.
Today's big accomplishment? Six, count 'em, six, vocal requests from my little girl during her speech therapy with Julie. One of The Princess's very favorite things in the whole wide world is bubbles. So, as you can imagine, we work on this word a lot. It's been a point of contention for, oh, probably a year in her twice-weekly ST sessions with Julie.
So Julie came in today and dragged her toy bag back to The Princess's room and let the kiddo dig in. Naturally, the first thing she came out with was the bubbles. Last time this happened it was a disaster. The Princess knew what was expected of her (to say or sign "bubbles"), but she just couldn't do it. A meltdown of epic proportions ended that doomed session early.
But today, today my little girl was amazing. She sat there on the edge of her bed, looked directly at Julie and - without prompt - said "Buh buh".
What?!
Yeah, that's right. She said buh buh. Six separate times. Always making direct eye contact, never waiting for a prompt.
I love everyday miracles. The small things that could seem inconsequential to a casual observer, but that we know to be so much more important. I live for this.
Oh, and I had my first biology class today. And it didn't suck. But it was nowhere near as cool as what my princess accomplished with Julie this afternoon.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Time After Time
Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick and think of youcaught up in circles, confusion is nothing newFlashback, warm nights, almost left behindsuitcases of memories, time after--sometimes you picture me, I'm walking too far aheadyou're calling to me, I can't hear what you've saidThen you say go slow, I fall behindthe second hand unwindsif you're lost you can look and you will find metime after timeif you fall I will catch you, I'll be waitingtime after time
after my picture fades and darkness has turned to graywatching through windows, you're wondering if I'm OKsecrets stolen from deep insidethe drum beats out of timeif you're lost you can look and you will find metime after timeif you fall I will catch you, I'll be waitingtime after timeyou said go slowI fall behindthe second hand unwindsif you're lost you can look and you will find metime after timeif you fall I will catch you, I'll be waitingtime after timetime after timetime after timetime after time
--Time After Time, by Cyndi Lauper
This song holds a very special place in my heart, and as The Hubbs and I strolled down Memory Lane this evening I began to understand why. You see, D - The Hubbs' best friend - is a phenomenal self-taught piano player.
He played this the night I met him, the very day his father passed away. I have never been so touched by music as I was on that evening. Meeting D for the first time is something I will never forget as long as I live.
As D sat down at the piano in that smoke-filled living room, someone had the brilliant idea to mike him. I've just finished listening to the sound footage from that evening, and as I listened I found myself transported back to that night. This man, this perfect stranger, came in and sat down at our friend's piano. And proceeded to play the most profoundly sad music I had ever heard, straight from his heart.
As the evening went on, the soundtrack turned more and more upbeat. Time After Time, I would find out later, was one of his old stand-by crowd-pleasing songs.
But I had never before heard the song played like this. To this day, the original recording sounds wrong to me. Nevertheless, any time I hear a portion of the song - Cyndi Lauper's version or D's - I stop and pay attention.
After listening to D's years-old performance this evening, it occurred to me that the lyrics may just be a little more profound than I had ever given them credit for in the past. Living my life with this beautiful, sweet little autistic girl of mine has given me a new perspective.
Read the lyrics again...I'll wait.
Now think about them. Really think. Forget for a moment that this is a plaintive love song, and try replacing the singer with yourself...and the other person with your child.
For those of you who are not closely acquainted with a special needs child, this is a fairly accurate snapshot of what it's like for those of us who are. Certainly, it can be interpreted in many ways...and this is just my personal take on it. I understand that it can apply to all children. It just happens to have tugged on my heartstrings in that oh-my-gosh-I-have-to-share-this kind of way.
Constant confusion...hesitance to make a move for the fear that this child or person will not understand.
Fear of falling behind. Boy, ain't that the truth...no matter how proud we are of our little ones and their everyday miracles, there's always that underlying fear of never being able to catch up. To whom? Doesn't matter. Fear is not a logical beast.
The chorus, really, says it all.
If you're lost you can look and you will find me...time after time...If you fall I will catch you, I'll be waiting...time after time
This, and this alone, is what we want our children to understand and embrace. The undisputable fact that we, as their parents, are there for them every step of the way. There will be hard times, of that we can be sure, but we are the lighthouses...the safety nets...here to guide these wonderful little people through life and to catch them when they happen to misstep. And to make sure, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that they know this: with us, they are safe...they are loved...they are perfect. Despite their imperfections.
If The Princess learns and comprehends only one thing in her lifetime, I dearly hope it is this.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here
Roughly ten and a half years after graduating high school, I find myself once again in the position of the student. It's a surreal feeling, though oddly comfortable.
I was always a good student, excelling in honors-level classes throughout junior high and high school. I was in the top of my class, and loved what I was doing. Always the over-achiever, I participated in cross country, volleyball, basketball and track...on top of the full load of honors classes and ever-important art room time.
I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, so I never went to college. I've spent the last ten and a half years as a full-time participant in the work force. Eight and a half of those years were spent at the last company I worked for. The past two months have been spent on the job hunt and constantly working with my daughter at home, scheduling and attending all of her therapies and play groups, and simply enjoying her company.
This morning at 8:45 I found myself in a classroom with about ten other people, with more trickling in, waiting to find out what was in store. My first psychology class was to begin at 9:00.
I looked around the room and found myself marveling at how young everyone around me seemed. The sheer amount of acne and still-not-fully-developed bodies around me was overwhelming.
Then the instructor walked in. He looked like any normal guy I may have worked with over the past ten years, dressed in a button-down plaid shirt with jeans and hiking boots. He introduced himself to the class and gave us a short rundown of his background before asking us all to do the same.
As I listened to my classmates giving their abridged life stories, it hit me again how young they all are. On the list of information being provided by everyone was when they graduated...all within the past six months. One boy graduated from Johnsburg High School on Thursday. Of last week.
There is one woman in the class who has to be about my parents' age. She's been steadily taking part-time classes since she got out of high school, working her way through. At one point she got into cab-driving, then bought her own cab, which eventually turned into a fleet of cabs. Nightmare after nightmare caused her to sell her business, and she is currently enrolled full-time with the intent of becoming an art therapist.
Three or four of the other girls introduced themselves as stay-at-home moms, most of whom are focusing on some part of the nursing profession.
One of the waitresses from El Puerto, our favorite Mexican joint, is in my class.
As I listened to their stories I learned that there is one boy in the class who is going to be an air traffic controller, another boy who aspires to be a Christian counselor of some kind, and a whole lot of people who have absolutely no idea what they want to do when they grow up.
My turn.
"My name is Amy, and I graduated...oh, about ten years ago. I'm the mother of a two-year-old autistic girl, and I am coming back to school to focus on occupational therapy so I can work with kids like her."
Larry, the instructor, looked at me...and I swear I saw his face soften for a moment. He had been looking rather bored during the previous few students' oh-gee-I-don't-want-to-talk-about-myself speeches, and he gave me a kind smile. He commented about how great it is that I've found what I want to do with my life, and that I have a personal connection with my intended profession. He asked a couple of questions about my daughter, and seemed genuinely interested in the answers.
That was all I needed. What does it matter that the girl who was sitting kitty-corner in front of me was doodling hearts on her notebook throughout the entire three-hour class (when she wasn't turned completely around in her seat staring into space - rudely - while Larry was lecturing)? Who cares if I've got ten years on most of the people in that room?
The rest of the class was taken up by a lecture on the first chapter of our textbook, which I'm happy to report I found extremely interesting.
Larry is a great speaker, and a motivating teacher. I can tell already that I'm not making a mistake by going back to school. Not that I really thought I was...it's just a big adjustment and a huge leap of faith.
In fact, I think I'm gonna like it here.
And for the parents...a picture of me on my first day of school:
I was always a good student, excelling in honors-level classes throughout junior high and high school. I was in the top of my class, and loved what I was doing. Always the over-achiever, I participated in cross country, volleyball, basketball and track...on top of the full load of honors classes and ever-important art room time.
I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, so I never went to college. I've spent the last ten and a half years as a full-time participant in the work force. Eight and a half of those years were spent at the last company I worked for. The past two months have been spent on the job hunt and constantly working with my daughter at home, scheduling and attending all of her therapies and play groups, and simply enjoying her company.
This morning at 8:45 I found myself in a classroom with about ten other people, with more trickling in, waiting to find out what was in store. My first psychology class was to begin at 9:00.
I looked around the room and found myself marveling at how young everyone around me seemed. The sheer amount of acne and still-not-fully-developed bodies around me was overwhelming.
Then the instructor walked in. He looked like any normal guy I may have worked with over the past ten years, dressed in a button-down plaid shirt with jeans and hiking boots. He introduced himself to the class and gave us a short rundown of his background before asking us all to do the same.
As I listened to my classmates giving their abridged life stories, it hit me again how young they all are. On the list of information being provided by everyone was when they graduated...all within the past six months. One boy graduated from Johnsburg High School on Thursday. Of last week.
There is one woman in the class who has to be about my parents' age. She's been steadily taking part-time classes since she got out of high school, working her way through. At one point she got into cab-driving, then bought her own cab, which eventually turned into a fleet of cabs. Nightmare after nightmare caused her to sell her business, and she is currently enrolled full-time with the intent of becoming an art therapist.
Three or four of the other girls introduced themselves as stay-at-home moms, most of whom are focusing on some part of the nursing profession.
One of the waitresses from El Puerto, our favorite Mexican joint, is in my class.
As I listened to their stories I learned that there is one boy in the class who is going to be an air traffic controller, another boy who aspires to be a Christian counselor of some kind, and a whole lot of people who have absolutely no idea what they want to do when they grow up.
My turn.
"My name is Amy, and I graduated...oh, about ten years ago. I'm the mother of a two-year-old autistic girl, and I am coming back to school to focus on occupational therapy so I can work with kids like her."
Larry, the instructor, looked at me...and I swear I saw his face soften for a moment. He had been looking rather bored during the previous few students' oh-gee-I-don't-want-to-talk-about-myself speeches, and he gave me a kind smile. He commented about how great it is that I've found what I want to do with my life, and that I have a personal connection with my intended profession. He asked a couple of questions about my daughter, and seemed genuinely interested in the answers.
That was all I needed. What does it matter that the girl who was sitting kitty-corner in front of me was doodling hearts on her notebook throughout the entire three-hour class (when she wasn't turned completely around in her seat staring into space - rudely - while Larry was lecturing)? Who cares if I've got ten years on most of the people in that room?
The rest of the class was taken up by a lecture on the first chapter of our textbook, which I'm happy to report I found extremely interesting.
Larry is a great speaker, and a motivating teacher. I can tell already that I'm not making a mistake by going back to school. Not that I really thought I was...it's just a big adjustment and a huge leap of faith.
In fact, I think I'm gonna like it here.
And for the parents...a picture of me on my first day of school:
Friday, January 15, 2010
Waking Up Laughing
I opened my eyes this morning to the hushed sounds of The Hubbs taking care of The Princess...sitting her on the pot (fruitless, though the endeavor might have been), changing her Pull-Up, setting her up with a sippy cup and a bowl of trail mix to start her day.
The shutting of her bedroom door, and the sound of him retreating to the downstairs office to start his work day.
I couldn't help but smile, thanks to that sweet man.
Mere minutes later I dragged myself out of bed when I heard The Princess singing ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma in her room. I know it's not on purpose, but every time I hear that sound out of her sweet little mouth I can't stop myself from "answering" by scooping her up for a hug. She certainly doesn't seem to mind.
Today is our "day off". No therapy. No play group. Just me and my kiddo.
She is currently singing happily while running from one end of the house to the other, raspberry filling from a recent cereal bar smeared across her face, her un-brushed hair flying out in tendrils behind her. She couldn't be happier.
Sometimes I get so caught up in the therapies and other hullaballoo that I forget to stop and smell the roses. Well, not today.
I've been doing a little bit of soul-searching lately, especially this morning...after yesterday being one of "those" days. I'm beginning to understand what's important to me, and that I'm not alone.
Believe me - this is a big deal for someone who is used to people nodding their heads with empty expressions when she talks about her kid. They pretend to understand, but they can't possibly even begin to scratch the surface.
There are so many people out there who truly understand. It's just a matter of finding them.
You may notice some differences to the format of all the stuff you see to the right side of your screen while you're reading this. Pay attention. And if you only follow one of those links, make it diary of a mom.
This perfect stranger touched me more than she will ever know with her blog and an understanding comment on my previous post.
The shutting of her bedroom door, and the sound of him retreating to the downstairs office to start his work day.
I couldn't help but smile, thanks to that sweet man.
Mere minutes later I dragged myself out of bed when I heard The Princess singing ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma in her room. I know it's not on purpose, but every time I hear that sound out of her sweet little mouth I can't stop myself from "answering" by scooping her up for a hug. She certainly doesn't seem to mind.
Today is our "day off". No therapy. No play group. Just me and my kiddo.
She is currently singing happily while running from one end of the house to the other, raspberry filling from a recent cereal bar smeared across her face, her un-brushed hair flying out in tendrils behind her. She couldn't be happier.
Sometimes I get so caught up in the therapies and other hullaballoo that I forget to stop and smell the roses. Well, not today.
I've been doing a little bit of soul-searching lately, especially this morning...after yesterday being one of "those" days. I'm beginning to understand what's important to me, and that I'm not alone.
Believe me - this is a big deal for someone who is used to people nodding their heads with empty expressions when she talks about her kid. They pretend to understand, but they can't possibly even begin to scratch the surface.
There are so many people out there who truly understand. It's just a matter of finding them.
You may notice some differences to the format of all the stuff you see to the right side of your screen while you're reading this. Pay attention. And if you only follow one of those links, make it diary of a mom.
This perfect stranger touched me more than she will ever know with her blog and an understanding comment on my previous post.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
One of Those Days
I pride myself on being a glass-is-half-full kind of gal. Ask anyone who knows me...I'd much rather be positive than negative any day of the week.
But sometimes you just can't help it.
I'm having one of those days. My beautiful, wonderful, sweet little girl is pushing back - hard - against all of her therapies now. Yes, I understand she's a two-year-old with her own mind and, therefore, her own ideas of what she should and should not have to do.
It's just frustrating that she can't communicate those ideas to me.
Sure, she can tell me when she's hungry by presenting me with a bowl. She indicates thirst by handing me a cup. She hands me her blanket when she wants to swing in it. She grabs my hand and drags me, incessantly, toward the door because she wants to leave. Where does she want to go? I have no clue. But it's one of the cutest things I've ever seen.
I love these things, these little ways she's found to communicate certain desires to us. I just wish there was a way to break through the barrier...I have language and she doesn't.
Speaking? Sorry, not in the cards.
Signing? Nope. She doesn't want anything to do with it.
Photos? She doesn't seem to grasp the concept.
Pictures (drawings)? Not even close.
Most days this is no big deal to me and I'm more than happy to just be with my little girl and play detective. It's a constant investigation, trying to figure out what it is that she wants or needs, and quite often it ends badly. I can't help it. As much as I wish I was a mind reader, I'm just not.
She hasn't gone potty in the toilet in days.
I'm just frustrated. I would never change anything about The Princess...she is who she is, and to change any little part of her would make her, well, just not "her" anymore.
But I have no idea what it feels like to be a regular parent, if there is such a thing. I don't know what it feels like to say something to my child and for her to look back at me with comprehension, let alone to formulate a response.
My daughter can't even call me Mommy, Mama, Ma...the connection is just not there. She can't answer a simple yes/no question with a nod or a shake of the head. She can't sit still and smile for the camera.
If you're in a situation like mine, you know what this is all about. You just can't help it. Someone shares a story or pictures of their little one, who is around the age of yours, doing things you couldn't possibly dream of your child doing. Or a friend or family member with a younger child shares something similar...something your kid can't possibly begin to even think about doing, even though they're much older. You're happy for that person, but you start to feel sad.
Sad for yourself, sure. But it's more than that. Look past the mask of self-pity, and you'll see a gut-wrenching fear for the child. What's their life going to be like when you're not in the room with them? How are other people going to treat them? How in the world are you going to protect them from all of the ignorant people out there that simply don't know any better than to pick on these kids?
These days come from time to time, and nothing makes me happier than when that feeling goes away. I'm going to go play with my little girl, and try to get back on track.
But sometimes you just can't help it.
I'm having one of those days. My beautiful, wonderful, sweet little girl is pushing back - hard - against all of her therapies now. Yes, I understand she's a two-year-old with her own mind and, therefore, her own ideas of what she should and should not have to do.
It's just frustrating that she can't communicate those ideas to me.
Sure, she can tell me when she's hungry by presenting me with a bowl. She indicates thirst by handing me a cup. She hands me her blanket when she wants to swing in it. She grabs my hand and drags me, incessantly, toward the door because she wants to leave. Where does she want to go? I have no clue. But it's one of the cutest things I've ever seen.
I love these things, these little ways she's found to communicate certain desires to us. I just wish there was a way to break through the barrier...I have language and she doesn't.
Speaking? Sorry, not in the cards.
Signing? Nope. She doesn't want anything to do with it.
Photos? She doesn't seem to grasp the concept.
Pictures (drawings)? Not even close.
Most days this is no big deal to me and I'm more than happy to just be with my little girl and play detective. It's a constant investigation, trying to figure out what it is that she wants or needs, and quite often it ends badly. I can't help it. As much as I wish I was a mind reader, I'm just not.
She hasn't gone potty in the toilet in days.
I'm just frustrated. I would never change anything about The Princess...she is who she is, and to change any little part of her would make her, well, just not "her" anymore.
But I have no idea what it feels like to be a regular parent, if there is such a thing. I don't know what it feels like to say something to my child and for her to look back at me with comprehension, let alone to formulate a response.
My daughter can't even call me Mommy, Mama, Ma...the connection is just not there. She can't answer a simple yes/no question with a nod or a shake of the head. She can't sit still and smile for the camera.
If you're in a situation like mine, you know what this is all about. You just can't help it. Someone shares a story or pictures of their little one, who is around the age of yours, doing things you couldn't possibly dream of your child doing. Or a friend or family member with a younger child shares something similar...something your kid can't possibly begin to even think about doing, even though they're much older. You're happy for that person, but you start to feel sad.
Sad for yourself, sure. But it's more than that. Look past the mask of self-pity, and you'll see a gut-wrenching fear for the child. What's their life going to be like when you're not in the room with them? How are other people going to treat them? How in the world are you going to protect them from all of the ignorant people out there that simply don't know any better than to pick on these kids?
These days come from time to time, and nothing makes me happier than when that feeling goes away. I'm going to go play with my little girl, and try to get back on track.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Even Princesses Need A Break Sometimes
My poor sweet little girl has had it. She has recently started with three new therapists in addition to the one she'd been seeing. For a little while, she handled everything fine...but even the most patient two-year-old is going to have to assert her independence from time to time.
Julie came by this morning at our new (later, thank goodness!) time. The moment she set down her toy bag, The Princess jumped right in and brought out the bubbles. As she's done every other time they've ever played with bubbles, Julie tried to get The Princess to say or sign the word. The Princess hit the floor.
Poor kiddo just wants no part of it. We've been parading new people in and out of here like it's some kind of museum, and she's sick of it. Through the entire hour session today, The Princess threw herself on me no less than thirty-seven times. When she cooperated with Julie, it was under extreme protest.
Just before the hour was over, The Princess stormed into her room, grabbed Dirt Pink and flopped on her bed. Think teenager...that kind of floppage.
More and more demands are being put on her every day, both from people she knows well and from utter strangers. It's got to be a lot to deal with.
After she spent about a half-hour calming herself down in her bedroom, I decided to throw the kid a bone and let her watch some Baby Einstein. I didn't even give her any flack about standing in a daze in front of the TV.
On a whim I called Grumma to see what was going on in her neck of the woods. I told her that The Princess was having issues with all of the structure being imposed upon her, and that she could really use some time at Dizzyland (that's what we call my folks' house)...where she's allowed to do anything she wants. Grumma said to come on over, so we packed everything up lickety-split.
Before heading to Dizzyland, I drove to school with The Hubbs and The Princess. I needed to return some textbooks I had purchased at the book store before realizing I could save $130 by buying them online. My new copies had arrived in the mail, so I just needed to get some scratch back for the copies I'd purchased from school.
From there we headed directly to Dizzyland, did not pass go, did not collect $200 (bummer!). In the driveway we grabbed the diaper bag and unfastened The Princess's seat belt harness. She was waiting at the front door in the blink of an eye.
I opened the door for her and she shot up two flights of stairs to the living room, making a beeline for the toy bin. She was happy as a clam, so it seemed like as good a time as ever...
The Hubbs and I took off to catch a matinee showing of "Avatar", which was amazing. I'm not in the business of reviewing movies, and I don't like to spoil things for other people...just know that we loved it.
Believe it or not, The Hubbs had never been to Fratello's in Volo, so we headed over there for dinner after the show. Tuesday is my folks' Fratello's night, and we laughed when we realized Pop and Uncle Harv were likely to show up while we were eating.
Sure 'nuff, The Hubbs looked over my shoulder and saw them first.
I was up out of my seat and on the move...cruised right up to Pop before he even saw me, flung my arm around his waist and said, "Hey, you're kinda cute...wanna come home with me?" That got a few laughs. :)
After dinner we visited at Dizzyland for a while and I'm just settling back in at home. The Princess is all tucked in, wearing her monkey jammies and cuddling her cowboy boot. I know, right? But I swear...she's seriously cuddling footwear for bed tonight.
Tomorrow she has the day off. Even princesses need a break sometimes.
Julie came by this morning at our new (later, thank goodness!) time. The moment she set down her toy bag, The Princess jumped right in and brought out the bubbles. As she's done every other time they've ever played with bubbles, Julie tried to get The Princess to say or sign the word. The Princess hit the floor.
Poor kiddo just wants no part of it. We've been parading new people in and out of here like it's some kind of museum, and she's sick of it. Through the entire hour session today, The Princess threw herself on me no less than thirty-seven times. When she cooperated with Julie, it was under extreme protest.
Just before the hour was over, The Princess stormed into her room, grabbed Dirt Pink and flopped on her bed. Think teenager...that kind of floppage.
More and more demands are being put on her every day, both from people she knows well and from utter strangers. It's got to be a lot to deal with.
After she spent about a half-hour calming herself down in her bedroom, I decided to throw the kid a bone and let her watch some Baby Einstein. I didn't even give her any flack about standing in a daze in front of the TV.
On a whim I called Grumma to see what was going on in her neck of the woods. I told her that The Princess was having issues with all of the structure being imposed upon her, and that she could really use some time at Dizzyland (that's what we call my folks' house)...where she's allowed to do anything she wants. Grumma said to come on over, so we packed everything up lickety-split.
Before heading to Dizzyland, I drove to school with The Hubbs and The Princess. I needed to return some textbooks I had purchased at the book store before realizing I could save $130 by buying them online. My new copies had arrived in the mail, so I just needed to get some scratch back for the copies I'd purchased from school.
From there we headed directly to Dizzyland, did not pass go, did not collect $200 (bummer!). In the driveway we grabbed the diaper bag and unfastened The Princess's seat belt harness. She was waiting at the front door in the blink of an eye.
I opened the door for her and she shot up two flights of stairs to the living room, making a beeline for the toy bin. She was happy as a clam, so it seemed like as good a time as ever...
The Hubbs and I took off to catch a matinee showing of "Avatar", which was amazing. I'm not in the business of reviewing movies, and I don't like to spoil things for other people...just know that we loved it.
Believe it or not, The Hubbs had never been to Fratello's in Volo, so we headed over there for dinner after the show. Tuesday is my folks' Fratello's night, and we laughed when we realized Pop and Uncle Harv were likely to show up while we were eating.
Sure 'nuff, The Hubbs looked over my shoulder and saw them first.
I was up out of my seat and on the move...cruised right up to Pop before he even saw me, flung my arm around his waist and said, "Hey, you're kinda cute...wanna come home with me?" That got a few laughs. :)
After dinner we visited at Dizzyland for a while and I'm just settling back in at home. The Princess is all tucked in, wearing her monkey jammies and cuddling her cowboy boot. I know, right? But I swear...she's seriously cuddling footwear for bed tonight.
Tomorrow she has the day off. Even princesses need a break sometimes.
Monday, January 11, 2010
I'd Like Dessert With My Breakfast, Please
Mondays can be hard for some people. I get that. I, for one, love them. Starting this Saturday I will be going to school full-time, and Monday will be my day off. You know what this means, right? Spending the day with my princess.
This morning we woke up a little after 9:00 and shared a breakfast of apple cinnamon Cheerios...and when I say we shared it, I mean I fed The Princess and she let me exist in the same room with her and the food. This kid was hungry!! Naturally, her hunger couldn't be fought off with a mere gigantic bowl of cereal. To help combat that little hunger monster I gave her a strawberry fruit-n-cereal bar as her breakfast dessert.
What...you don't have dessert with breakfast? Who are you people?
After breakfast we came into the living room to watch what was left of Playhouse Disney (not much by that point in time!) and play for a while. The Princess had a ball picking up handfuls of rocks and dropping them back in the bin, and mixing them all together by plunging her hands in and getting crazy.
Somewhere around lunch time The Princess started getting a bit cranky so into the bath tub she went. We tried out the bath finger paints (ripoff...they're colored soap and you can't paint with them - not liquidy enough), and The Princess practiced splashing for a good long while.
If you know my little girl, you know she is not a big fan of meat. It's funny, actually...give her a piece of meat and she'll eject it with enough force to injure any innocent bystanders who are unfortunate enough to step into the path of the flying reject.
What's not so funny about this is the fact that it's not totally obvious (at least to me) what other foods contain enough protein to substitute for meat. Peanuts, I know, are high in protein...but what is there other than that?
After a bit of web searching I came across a good site that was easy to navigate, and found that protein is in a lot more than I knew about. Milk, eggs, bread, cheese, chick peas (yay hummus!) and baked beans are all good sources. Knowing this, I feel much better.
The Princess feasted on honey graham crackers with peanut butter for lunch, and after that we hopped in the car for our appointment with Sakina. If you're just tuning in, Sakina is The Princess's once-a-week in-clinic occupational therapist. She went home to India for vacation shortly after we met her, so it's been three weeks since our second - and most recent - visit.
Unfortunately, everything we did in those two sessions seems to have been lost over the long gap between visits. The Princess was bouncing off the walls in the gym again, and unable to concentrate in the therapy room. No worries, though...we have a standing appointment for every Monday in the foreseeable future, and I'm sure things will even out as our schedule becomes more normalized.
One thing I'm proud to report from today's session is that The Princess signed "potty" to me. It took me a minute to realize what she was doing, but once I got it she was so happy. She dragged me across the hall to the potty, went, washed her hands, and returned to the therapy room. She also signed "play" almost perfectly more than once today.
On the way home from Sakina's clinic, The Princess and I stopped to get the oil changed and to pick up some necessities from the local grocery store.
Now we're home, it's dark out, and the TV is calling. And that pizza smells fabulous. See y'all on the flipside.
This morning we woke up a little after 9:00 and shared a breakfast of apple cinnamon Cheerios...and when I say we shared it, I mean I fed The Princess and she let me exist in the same room with her and the food. This kid was hungry!! Naturally, her hunger couldn't be fought off with a mere gigantic bowl of cereal. To help combat that little hunger monster I gave her a strawberry fruit-n-cereal bar as her breakfast dessert.
What...you don't have dessert with breakfast? Who are you people?
After breakfast we came into the living room to watch what was left of Playhouse Disney (not much by that point in time!) and play for a while. The Princess had a ball picking up handfuls of rocks and dropping them back in the bin, and mixing them all together by plunging her hands in and getting crazy.
Somewhere around lunch time The Princess started getting a bit cranky so into the bath tub she went. We tried out the bath finger paints (ripoff...they're colored soap and you can't paint with them - not liquidy enough), and The Princess practiced splashing for a good long while.
If you know my little girl, you know she is not a big fan of meat. It's funny, actually...give her a piece of meat and she'll eject it with enough force to injure any innocent bystanders who are unfortunate enough to step into the path of the flying reject.
What's not so funny about this is the fact that it's not totally obvious (at least to me) what other foods contain enough protein to substitute for meat. Peanuts, I know, are high in protein...but what is there other than that?
After a bit of web searching I came across a good site that was easy to navigate, and found that protein is in a lot more than I knew about. Milk, eggs, bread, cheese, chick peas (yay hummus!) and baked beans are all good sources. Knowing this, I feel much better.
The Princess feasted on honey graham crackers with peanut butter for lunch, and after that we hopped in the car for our appointment with Sakina. If you're just tuning in, Sakina is The Princess's once-a-week in-clinic occupational therapist. She went home to India for vacation shortly after we met her, so it's been three weeks since our second - and most recent - visit.
Unfortunately, everything we did in those two sessions seems to have been lost over the long gap between visits. The Princess was bouncing off the walls in the gym again, and unable to concentrate in the therapy room. No worries, though...we have a standing appointment for every Monday in the foreseeable future, and I'm sure things will even out as our schedule becomes more normalized.
One thing I'm proud to report from today's session is that The Princess signed "potty" to me. It took me a minute to realize what she was doing, but once I got it she was so happy. She dragged me across the hall to the potty, went, washed her hands, and returned to the therapy room. She also signed "play" almost perfectly more than once today.
On the way home from Sakina's clinic, The Princess and I stopped to get the oil changed and to pick up some necessities from the local grocery store.
Now we're home, it's dark out, and the TV is calling. And that pizza smells fabulous. See y'all on the flipside.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Frazzled, But Dazzled
This past week has been a whirlwind...two new therapists came in to meet my sweet little girl and start working with her and I've been doing my best to keep up. Thank God for Outlook calendars, and the fact that they sync so easily with the ol' CrackBerry!
Monday: this is the day we'd usually have OT in-clinic with Sakina, but she was on vacation so we hung out and played at home instead.
Tuesday: Julie time!
Wednesday: Play group in the morning and then Jill, the new DT, stopped by for our initial appointment.
Thursday: Would have been Julie time, but the poor gal had a bad day with the poopy weather and ended up cancelling.
Friday: Amy, the new in-home OT, came by for her initial visit.
And this is just the scheduled Princess-related stuff! It doesn't include housework, job hunting, school preparation, housework or housework.
I have to say Amy is a peach. Must be something in the name, eh? She made it to our place about 10:30 in the morning on Friday and parked on the living room floor with her gigantic bag of toys. She and I talked for the majority of the hour, getting paperwork out of the way and getting to know one another. She's young and pretty, and so easy to talk to.
She tried to engage The Princess in a couple of different activities, but mostly let her highjack any toy that looked appealing. Kudos to her for this...lots of therapists don't let the kid take charge the first time out, but this is one of the fastest ways to get on The Princess's good side. Amy understands that she's invading The Princess's territory and that it's a good thing to let the kiddo get used to her a bit first before trying to assert any authority.
We talked about different calming/stimulating methods that can be adapted so they can be used outside of the clinic, and I appreciate her taking the time to go through these things with me. Amy will be back in two weeks, and will have a rough sensory diet for The Princess the next time she visits. I'm excited about this prospect, as it seems a lot of The Princess's difficulties seem to be in the sensory processing area.
With all my ranting about therapies and scheduling, I almost forgot to mention the fact that Friday was my mom's birthday. Happy birthday, Ma! She went out plowing with Hambone for a while and they both ended up here in the early afternoon. Surprisingly enough, they stayed for a few hours to visit...so I took that opportunity to bake a last-minute cake for her.
Mmm...red velvet.
Hambone had to take off, so I said I'd take Mom home after dinner. We made saganaki pizza and Dad dropped by after work to join in the festivities. Mmm...more red velvet.
Around 9:00 or so, Mom and Pop took off and The Princess went to bed. The Hubbs and I retired to the dungeon...I mean basement...to watch Fanboys, and loved the hell out of it. If you have not seen this movie, pop it into your Netflix queue. You will not be sorry!
Sleep, glorious sleep!
Yesterday we decided to hit Borders to see if we could find a couple of books Amy had recommended. The coffee was good, but unfortunately they didn't have what I was looking for.
I'm glad to report that the library had one of them, and I'm definitely going to need my own copy. It's one of the best resources I've found to date for parents of autistic children. No less than twenty times since I've started reading the book, I've found myself wishing I could bust out the highlighter. And I can't wait to try these activities with The Princess.
Check it out: 1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
I'm currently on the waiting list for the other two, and will let you know what I think when I have a second to check them out.
One thing I've noticed the therapists have been pretty big on is texture bins. Jill had a salt bin with toys in it, and Amy had pinto beans with craft pom poms. Both suggested hiding toys inside a bin of something and having The Princess dig them out.
We've started doing this with puzzle pieces - I hide them and when she takes them out, she puts them back in the puzzle board. We now have seven bins on top of the entertainment center for this kind of play, filled with all kinds of different textures:
Holiday shaped pasta (in three colors, great for sorting!) - Thanks, Nana!
Multi-color pony beads (also great for sorting)
Multi-color glass rocks - the kind you put in vases with fake flowers, etc
Pinto beans
Oatmeal
Rice
River rocks
Changing up the textures makes it more interesting for The Princess, and the bonus to this is that she actually pays attention to what she's playing with. She plunges those little hands right into the bin and explores the contents with wild abandon. We've just started this, but I can see it's going to be a hit.
Another new thing we started this weekend was tapping nails and turning screws on her Handy Manny's Repair Shop workbench. We worked on tapping nails last night, and I added the screws today. It's great fun to watch her as she figures out how the new things work. She had tried tapping the screw at first, but quickly figured out - on her own - that they needed to be turned.
This work week is the last before I start my classes, and it's destined to be a busy one. But I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.
Monday: this is the day we'd usually have OT in-clinic with Sakina, but she was on vacation so we hung out and played at home instead.
Tuesday: Julie time!
Wednesday: Play group in the morning and then Jill, the new DT, stopped by for our initial appointment.
Thursday: Would have been Julie time, but the poor gal had a bad day with the poopy weather and ended up cancelling.
Friday: Amy, the new in-home OT, came by for her initial visit.
And this is just the scheduled Princess-related stuff! It doesn't include housework, job hunting, school preparation, housework or housework.
I have to say Amy is a peach. Must be something in the name, eh? She made it to our place about 10:30 in the morning on Friday and parked on the living room floor with her gigantic bag of toys. She and I talked for the majority of the hour, getting paperwork out of the way and getting to know one another. She's young and pretty, and so easy to talk to.
She tried to engage The Princess in a couple of different activities, but mostly let her highjack any toy that looked appealing. Kudos to her for this...lots of therapists don't let the kid take charge the first time out, but this is one of the fastest ways to get on The Princess's good side. Amy understands that she's invading The Princess's territory and that it's a good thing to let the kiddo get used to her a bit first before trying to assert any authority.
We talked about different calming/stimulating methods that can be adapted so they can be used outside of the clinic, and I appreciate her taking the time to go through these things with me. Amy will be back in two weeks, and will have a rough sensory diet for The Princess the next time she visits. I'm excited about this prospect, as it seems a lot of The Princess's difficulties seem to be in the sensory processing area.
With all my ranting about therapies and scheduling, I almost forgot to mention the fact that Friday was my mom's birthday. Happy birthday, Ma! She went out plowing with Hambone for a while and they both ended up here in the early afternoon. Surprisingly enough, they stayed for a few hours to visit...so I took that opportunity to bake a last-minute cake for her.
Mmm...red velvet.
Hambone had to take off, so I said I'd take Mom home after dinner. We made saganaki pizza and Dad dropped by after work to join in the festivities. Mmm...more red velvet.
Around 9:00 or so, Mom and Pop took off and The Princess went to bed. The Hubbs and I retired to the dungeon...I mean basement...to watch Fanboys, and loved the hell out of it. If you have not seen this movie, pop it into your Netflix queue. You will not be sorry!
Sleep, glorious sleep!
Yesterday we decided to hit Borders to see if we could find a couple of books Amy had recommended. The coffee was good, but unfortunately they didn't have what I was looking for.
I'm glad to report that the library had one of them, and I'm definitely going to need my own copy. It's one of the best resources I've found to date for parents of autistic children. No less than twenty times since I've started reading the book, I've found myself wishing I could bust out the highlighter. And I can't wait to try these activities with The Princess.
Check it out: 1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
I'm currently on the waiting list for the other two, and will let you know what I think when I have a second to check them out.
One thing I've noticed the therapists have been pretty big on is texture bins. Jill had a salt bin with toys in it, and Amy had pinto beans with craft pom poms. Both suggested hiding toys inside a bin of something and having The Princess dig them out.
We've started doing this with puzzle pieces - I hide them and when she takes them out, she puts them back in the puzzle board. We now have seven bins on top of the entertainment center for this kind of play, filled with all kinds of different textures:
Holiday shaped pasta (in three colors, great for sorting!) - Thanks, Nana!
Multi-color pony beads (also great for sorting)
Multi-color glass rocks - the kind you put in vases with fake flowers, etc
Pinto beans
Oatmeal
Rice
River rocks
Changing up the textures makes it more interesting for The Princess, and the bonus to this is that she actually pays attention to what she's playing with. She plunges those little hands right into the bin and explores the contents with wild abandon. We've just started this, but I can see it's going to be a hit.
Another new thing we started this weekend was tapping nails and turning screws on her Handy Manny's Repair Shop workbench. We worked on tapping nails last night, and I added the screws today. It's great fun to watch her as she figures out how the new things work. She had tried tapping the screw at first, but quickly figured out - on her own - that they needed to be turned.
This work week is the last before I start my classes, and it's destined to be a busy one. But I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
A Perfect Thursday
My house is oddly silent. The Princess is in bed, The Hubbs is out plowing with Hambone, and the bulldogs are snuggled up on the couch. I'm getting a bit groggy, and will be heading to bed before too long.
But I just couldn't bring myself to let the day end just yet. It's been so perfect.
This morning The Princess and I rolled out of our beds at about 9:00 or so and staggered into the kitchen to eat our Cheerios in our (sadly, not matching) feetie jammies. Looking out the kitchen window, I saw that the snow had started to fall overnight...but my driveway was clear. Hooray for big brothers with plows on their trucks!
Checking the BlackBerry, I noticed that he had called while we were all still in Slumberland. The message went something like this: "Hey Sis...that's me making the awful noise in your driveway. Whatcha up to today? Gimme a call."
That message was left a full hour before I heard it. Oops! This being-out-of-work thing is making me realize I'm not as much of a morning person as I had originally thought. Turns out I prefer to sleep in a bit in the morning and stay up blogging into the wee hours.
The next couple of hours were spent leisurely getting The Princess and myself dressed, watching some Playhouse Disney, and playing with the kiddo.
All of a sudden I realized I hadn't called Hambone back yet. Just about the time I started to feel bad about that, he pulled in the driveway. We all had a quick lunch of ham sandwiches and talked about the storm. Looked like it'd be a good one and Hambone would hopefully get a good amount of work out of it. The snow let up for a bit while he was here, and he decided to go home to catch up on things before the second round of plowing needed to be done.
So The Hubbs went back to his basement office and I hung out with the princess. We started "Sweet Home Alabama" and played with puzzles until The Princess disappeared into her room. A few minutes later she appeared at my side with her pink fuzzy monkey-print feetie jammies. She put on her cutest little face and asked me (with her eyes, of course...being a non-talker) to help her get into them.
It was just so stinkin' cute, I really had no other choice.
After helping The Princess out of her clothes and into her jammies, a wonderful thought occurred to me. There was really no reason for me to sit around the house in a tee shirt and jeans when I could be rockin' the feeties along with the princess. So I repeated the process on myself and curled up with a fleece blankie to watch the rest of my movie.
Somewhere along the way Julie called and regaled me with the story of her day, including two spinouts and lots of scheduling mix-ups due to miscommunications with parents. She sounded so frazzled, and I felt bad for her. I can certainly relate to having one of those days. So we agreed to forego today's session so she could get home and throw her feet up for a while.
You know what this meant...no reason for me to get dressed again! Score one for Momma.
The snow picked back up in the afternoon, and is getting heavier and heavier as we speak. During the afternoon hours we got about six more inches, on top of the four or five we had by morning. Hambone plowed and took The Hubbs with him to do a friend's place about five minutes from here. By the time they got back (while I've been typing this post) we've gotten about another three.
And it looks like a blizzard out there right now. Looks like it'll be a long night for Hambone and all of the other plow kings around here.
Funny, though, how snow can be the prettiest thing you've ever seen when you're watching it fall from the comfort of your feetie jammies, snuggled on the couch with your bulldogs and a fuzzy blanket.
But I just couldn't bring myself to let the day end just yet. It's been so perfect.
This morning The Princess and I rolled out of our beds at about 9:00 or so and staggered into the kitchen to eat our Cheerios in our (sadly, not matching) feetie jammies. Looking out the kitchen window, I saw that the snow had started to fall overnight...but my driveway was clear. Hooray for big brothers with plows on their trucks!
Checking the BlackBerry, I noticed that he had called while we were all still in Slumberland. The message went something like this: "Hey Sis...that's me making the awful noise in your driveway. Whatcha up to today? Gimme a call."
That message was left a full hour before I heard it. Oops! This being-out-of-work thing is making me realize I'm not as much of a morning person as I had originally thought. Turns out I prefer to sleep in a bit in the morning and stay up blogging into the wee hours.
The next couple of hours were spent leisurely getting The Princess and myself dressed, watching some Playhouse Disney, and playing with the kiddo.
All of a sudden I realized I hadn't called Hambone back yet. Just about the time I started to feel bad about that, he pulled in the driveway. We all had a quick lunch of ham sandwiches and talked about the storm. Looked like it'd be a good one and Hambone would hopefully get a good amount of work out of it. The snow let up for a bit while he was here, and he decided to go home to catch up on things before the second round of plowing needed to be done.
So The Hubbs went back to his basement office and I hung out with the princess. We started "Sweet Home Alabama" and played with puzzles until The Princess disappeared into her room. A few minutes later she appeared at my side with her pink fuzzy monkey-print feetie jammies. She put on her cutest little face and asked me (with her eyes, of course...being a non-talker) to help her get into them.
It was just so stinkin' cute, I really had no other choice.
After helping The Princess out of her clothes and into her jammies, a wonderful thought occurred to me. There was really no reason for me to sit around the house in a tee shirt and jeans when I could be rockin' the feeties along with the princess. So I repeated the process on myself and curled up with a fleece blankie to watch the rest of my movie.
Somewhere along the way Julie called and regaled me with the story of her day, including two spinouts and lots of scheduling mix-ups due to miscommunications with parents. She sounded so frazzled, and I felt bad for her. I can certainly relate to having one of those days. So we agreed to forego today's session so she could get home and throw her feet up for a while.
You know what this meant...no reason for me to get dressed again! Score one for Momma.
The snow picked back up in the afternoon, and is getting heavier and heavier as we speak. During the afternoon hours we got about six more inches, on top of the four or five we had by morning. Hambone plowed and took The Hubbs with him to do a friend's place about five minutes from here. By the time they got back (while I've been typing this post) we've gotten about another three.
And it looks like a blizzard out there right now. Looks like it'll be a long night for Hambone and all of the other plow kings around here.
Funny, though, how snow can be the prettiest thing you've ever seen when you're watching it fall from the comfort of your feetie jammies, snuggled on the couch with your bulldogs and a fuzzy blanket.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Highlight of the Day: Blue Snowflake
I don't know how other moms do it and work full-time. I know I had a more-than-40-hour-a-week job for the first two and a half years of The Princess's life, but I certainly wasn't as involved as I am now.
This morning we started by dismantling the indoor Christmas decorations. I put away the tree, the Santa Stitch, all of the ornaments and garland that were placed around the house. The Peanuts tree, complete with Linus's blanket, was shoved back into its box. The trifle dishes were emptied of ornaments and returned to their packaging. Stockings, tree skirt and angel went back into their boxes for another year.
That was no small job. And I'm still finding little bits of Christmas every time I turn around. Perhaps by Thanksgiving I'll have gotten it all put away.
By the time 9:30 rolled around, The Princess and I had eaten breakfast and were ready to go. We hopped into the car and headed to Crystal Lake for the O&A play group while Daddy worked. Play group was fun, for the most part. The Princess always enjoys the free play time, and Kiera was kind enough to indulge her with an endless stream of bubbles to play with.
It was a larger group than normal and The Princess interacted well with the other kiddos, until a couple of little ones started crying. Unfortunately it got a bit loud for her liking and she began to cry and cover her ears. She and I walked over to a quiet area by our diaper bag and busted out Dirt Pink (her most favorite blankie). I laid him (Dirt Pink) on the floor and The Princess got right on and laid down. Drawing two corners together by her neck and the other two by her feet, I lifted her up and swung her back and forth for a few minutes.
Works like a charm every time.
The Princess, Dirt Pink and I walked over to join everyone else for circle time, where we sang songs and listened to a story called "A Stranger In The Woods". The Princess was snuggling on my lap and not really participating, but at least she was tolerating the group atmosphere. If you know her, you know this is a big deal.
After circle time came Mommy's favorite part - craft time! The project today was to make a snowflake relief painting on blue construction paper using white paint and a cotton ball. The Princess isn't ever really sure what to do with these art projects, but she's a good sport about letting me help her by doing things hand-over-hand.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to present The Princess's art project from today's play group:
This morning we started by dismantling the indoor Christmas decorations. I put away the tree, the Santa Stitch, all of the ornaments and garland that were placed around the house. The Peanuts tree, complete with Linus's blanket, was shoved back into its box. The trifle dishes were emptied of ornaments and returned to their packaging. Stockings, tree skirt and angel went back into their boxes for another year.
That was no small job. And I'm still finding little bits of Christmas every time I turn around. Perhaps by Thanksgiving I'll have gotten it all put away.
By the time 9:30 rolled around, The Princess and I had eaten breakfast and were ready to go. We hopped into the car and headed to Crystal Lake for the O&A play group while Daddy worked. Play group was fun, for the most part. The Princess always enjoys the free play time, and Kiera was kind enough to indulge her with an endless stream of bubbles to play with.
It was a larger group than normal and The Princess interacted well with the other kiddos, until a couple of little ones started crying. Unfortunately it got a bit loud for her liking and she began to cry and cover her ears. She and I walked over to a quiet area by our diaper bag and busted out Dirt Pink (her most favorite blankie). I laid him (Dirt Pink) on the floor and The Princess got right on and laid down. Drawing two corners together by her neck and the other two by her feet, I lifted her up and swung her back and forth for a few minutes.
Works like a charm every time.
The Princess, Dirt Pink and I walked over to join everyone else for circle time, where we sang songs and listened to a story called "A Stranger In The Woods". The Princess was snuggling on my lap and not really participating, but at least she was tolerating the group atmosphere. If you know her, you know this is a big deal.
After circle time came Mommy's favorite part - craft time! The project today was to make a snowflake relief painting on blue construction paper using white paint and a cotton ball. The Princess isn't ever really sure what to do with these art projects, but she's a good sport about letting me help her by doing things hand-over-hand.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to present The Princess's art project from today's play group:
This beautiful piece of art is currently adorning my kitchen door.
After play group we headed home to straighten up a little bit before our new developmental therapist dropped by for her first visit. Her name is Jill and she's a sweetheart.
The Princess greeted Jill in her usual Julie-fashion...she went straight for the toy bag. Jill took the time to tell me what DT is all about and, though it's still a rather abstract concept, I appreciate that immensely. We talked about the OTA program at MCC that's starting in the fall and she may actually be doing that along with me. She's been interested in OT for a while and is thinking about making a switch before too long.
For a first visit, it went extremely well. There were no tantrums and no battles of will. The Princess vocalized requests a couple of times, which is huge...especially with a new person. The session lasted about 45 minutes until it was no longer productive. This was fine with me, since I wanted to pick Jill's brain and get a feel for her.
She'll be back in two weeks for the next visit, and The Princess and I have some homework to complete by then. The homework involves taking turns and imitating, and it should be fun.
Jill took off for her next appointment, and The Princess and I jumped back in the car to return our library books that would have been due tomorrow. Don't want to get caught in a snowstorm, dontchaknow...
From the library we headed over to Grumma's house where we spent a couple of hours playing and watching Playhouse Disney on On-Demand. Not to mention digging through snack mix to find favorites and, of course, chasing bubbles around while giggling uncontrollably.
After a stop at the grocery store, The Princess and I are currently chillin' out at home with Daddy and The Girls. It's been a big day...perhaps it will be an early night.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Yes, I made a turkey. No, you may not have my leftovers.
Popping the top button open on my jeans, I'm taking this short break at the computer to recover from a Thanksgiving-worthy dinner. Why? It's Tuesday. Need a better reason? Don't have one. For no particular reason, I baked a 13-lb turkey today and made gravy, mashed potatoes and stuffing to go with it. I even went the extra mile and cracked a brand-spankin'-new can of cranberries.
The best part? We don't have to share the leftovers.
Hem and haw all you want. Call me rude, I don't care. The fact of the matter is that you'd be just as excited at the prospect of hoarding your turkey dinner leftovers...the difference is that I said it out loud.
We have enough packed Gladware in the fridge to feed our family for a week. Good thing, too, 'cause it's a busy one.
Yesterday we got a pass...no occupational therapy since Sakina is on vacation. Julie was here this morning, and The Princess did a great job. Tomorrow we have play group followed by developmental therapy at home in the afternoon. Thursday: Julie will be back. Friday: OT at home with the new 2x/mo therapist.
Add in the facts that Friday is my mom's birthday and we're T-minus 12 days and counting until I start school full-time, and it's about to get crazy around here! Maybe cooking for a whole week wasn't such a bad idea after all.
The best part? We don't have to share the leftovers.
Hem and haw all you want. Call me rude, I don't care. The fact of the matter is that you'd be just as excited at the prospect of hoarding your turkey dinner leftovers...the difference is that I said it out loud.
We have enough packed Gladware in the fridge to feed our family for a week. Good thing, too, 'cause it's a busy one.
Yesterday we got a pass...no occupational therapy since Sakina is on vacation. Julie was here this morning, and The Princess did a great job. Tomorrow we have play group followed by developmental therapy at home in the afternoon. Thursday: Julie will be back. Friday: OT at home with the new 2x/mo therapist.
Add in the facts that Friday is my mom's birthday and we're T-minus 12 days and counting until I start school full-time, and it's about to get crazy around here! Maybe cooking for a whole week wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year!
I challenge you, dear readers, to find a crazier party than the one we threw this New Year's. The Princess was a real trouper - here's a shot of her at midnight on the nose:
Cheers to all of you wonderful people who take the time to read my musings. Here's hoping you find health, wealth and happiness in the coming year.
Insane, right?
She had been doing so well - her eyelids finally fluttered shut at 11:57. The Hubbs and I wished each other "Happy New Year" in hushed tones as we put the sleeping beauty in her bed. Naturally, this woke her up and she proceeded to play in her room in the dark far later than she should have.
This morning The Princess and I had a date with my friend M. We cruised on over to her place to pick her up and went to JC Penney for a little bit of harmless browsing. After that we were very thirsty, so it only made sense to go to Mickey D's for lunch. The Princess loves their fries, and though I know they're not that great for her, it's something she'll eat. That's always a plus.
After lunch we hung out at M's place for a while before heading back home. The Hubbs was a bit restless, so we decided to load up the sled and head over to Grumma and Grumpa's house. I was excited to find that my new mittens had been completed, and here I am in the whole winter ensemble, towing my precious cargo in the back yard:
Before too long, The Princess started to fuss. Which quickly turned into a full-out scream. The poor thing was overheating in her winter gear, so we nixed the sledding mission in favor of an activity that can fix anything.
After The Princess's bath, we put her in some fuzzy feetie jammies and braided her hair. She's a real sport about the hair, and it always looks so cute the next day when she lets me do it. Once this was taken care of, she climbed right back into her favorite spot in the house...the toy box!
'Twas the Day Before New Year's Eve
'Twas the day before New Year's Eve, and all through the Tucky
The Princess was nothing if she wasn't lucky.
Her Nana and Grampy and JAK were to come
And so was Aunt Marli, to join in the fun!
Here's Nana with the kiddos, showing their smiles:
K walked on her own in our little girl's room:
The Princess was nothing if she wasn't lucky.
Her Nana and Grampy and JAK were to come
And so was Aunt Marli, to join in the fun!
Here's Nana with the kiddos, showing their smiles:
Aunt Marli wasn't so fortunate...escape's the new style:
The Princess was elated to see the fam again so soon:
We ate and we talked, and we talked and we ate
Too soon they had to go, so Mar wouldn't be late
She hopped a plane home and we got in our jammies
The Princess laid down with her piggies and lambies
And when she awoke, she couldn't conceive
The party to come - it was New Year's Eve!
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