Eyes Wide Open

For the longest time, my daughter could simply not be bothered by the intricacies of the world around her.  It was none of her concern.  She had her own world, after all...what did she need all of this extra stuff for? 

Eyes constantly downcast, she moved about her world alone for nearly three years.

And then, miracle of miracles, we found something that works for her.  Since starting OT (and, later, hippotherapy), she's a completely different little girl.

Eyes wide open, she engages the bulldogs in games where she crawls between their legs and their resulting kisses make her giggle almost to the point of happy little tears.  She makes eye contact with my reflection in the mirror, obviously being able to distinguish the reflection from the real thing. 

She looks us in the eye.

And not just The Hubbs and me.  We recently saw a few family members for the first time in a month or two, and the first thing they said - seriously, before even saying hi - was how much her eye contact had improved.

When you're flying by the seat of your pants, running from therapy to therapy in the hopes that just one of these things might possibly help your kid at some point, it's easy to get caught up in the chaos of it all.  I'd been noticing positive changes since our very first OT session, but I could never be sure if I was imagining them or not.  Until someone else said something.

And everyone has been noticing it lately.  It's not just me.  She's improving. 

My little girl is finally acting like a two-year-old.  She is extremely alert, and is noticing every little detail around her. 

Like the wallpaper border in her room...the one I painstakingly put up months before she was born, obsessing to make sure it was level and that you couldn't see the seams.  The one she's studiously ignored for almost three years.  Now there are huge, gaping eight-foot sections missing. 

Or the yarn that Mommy is using for her ever-present crochet projects.  Once an unimportant peripheral detail, this is now the stuff of legendary fun.  She steals balls of yarn, squealing with delight as I chase her across the house in a feeble attempt to retrieve the yarn before the ball becomes a bird nest.

Or the fact that when we're in the car, she seems to know where we're going.  After a certain point, she can tell if we're going to Grumma and Grumpa's house.  I never have to guess when that is, because she starts singing a happy little tune every time.  When we turn onto the street where our OT clinic is located, she signs "play" emphatically, and jettisons herself out of the car and to the door at a world-record pace...the moment I pull the parking brake.  This past week, just the second time we had visited Bear for hippotherapy, she did a huge happy dance in her car seat when we pulled into the farm's driveway.

I'm taking a cue from my daughter, and vow to move forward with my eyes wide open.  I sure wouldn't want to miss a single moment of this beautiful chaos.

Flying Monkeys

Some people have an easy time of things. Obstacles and accomplishments somehow line up like puzzle pieces in an intricate pattern, paving the way for what is to come…a Yellow Brick Road of sorts. Sure, from time to time we may venture off to pick apples only to be beaten by angry trees. From this, we learn. We adapt our behavior to avoid such undesirable situations in the future. But most of the time we skip and sing on our merry little journey to the Emerald City.

But what about the other people? The flying monkeys who seemingly have no control over their lives, the so-called wicked witch? Who’s to say they’re not the unfortunate victims of pure circumstance? Is there anything they can do – or could have done in the past – to shape their existence differently? Why is it that they always seem to be swimming upstream, fighting tooth and nail for every little milestone? And when one milestone is finally accomplished, a more daunting and difficult challenge springs up out of the earth in front of them…barely allowing enough time to catch their breath before embarking on yet another seemingly impossible journey?

Maybe it has to do with their personalities. Or perhaps the people and things with which they choose to surround themselves. Or cosmic forces.

Whatever the case may be, as I sit here taking a break from my skip down the yellow brick road I see them suffering. And I wish I could help. God, how I wish I could help.

Bear: Part Two

This was our second session with Bear, and The Princess loved it so much she didn't want to get off when her time was up. 

Quite a few of you asked yesterday how The Princess was positioned on Bear.  I realized that the photo quality wasn't the best from the BlackBerry, so I took the good camera along today.  Here's a head-on shot so you can see The Princess laying on her tummy across Bear's back.

And here's another quick video from today's session:

Oh, and the newest thing that happened today (so far, that is) didn't even really have anything to do with hippotherapy.  On the way home I handed The Princess her fruit snacks and granola bar, which are her usual travelin' snacks.  I also had a juice box in my purse just in case, and decided it couldn't turn out too badly so I opened it, took a slug and passed it to the back seat.  Where she proceeded to drain it without spilling a drop.

Go Princess!

Meet Bear

Bear, this is everyone.  Everone, this is Bear.  He's one of The Princess's new therapists, and our first session was today.  It went great - I don't recall ever having seen The Princess so relaxed.  She was a little apprehensive at first, but once Bear got moving, she just melted on his back.

After half an hour riding on Bear's back, it was time to get down and head over to the speech therapy building to meet Miss Cindy - our new ST.  But we couldn't very well leave without saying goodbye to Bear...

...and returning our riding gear.

I wish y'all could have seen her after her time with Bear.  Something about the movement of that big loveable horse seemed to align all of her puzzle pieces, and you wouldn't believe the organization of her actions afterward.  It really is something to behold.

Miss.  Cindy.  Is.  Awesome.  Her therapy room is set up in the old chicken coop, believe it or not, and she has all the best toys.  AND a long straightaway that's absolutely perfect for running.

I think we're gonna like it here.

It's The Little Things

Ah, three o'clock in the morning...my old friend.  I'm going to be in trouble when my schedule shifts back to that of the normal working world.  But for now I'm happy.  Turns out I'm a bit of a night owl, in case you haven't noticed.

I've spent the better part of this evening on the computer, setting up my Etsy shop and my craft blog, and not getting much else accomplished.  Somewhere in the neighborhood of 11:30, I realized it was getting pretty quiet. 

The Princess has become a bit of a night owl too recently.  She's been staying up late with Momma, stealing yarn and wreaking havoc around the house until all hours.  So I thought it was odd that it had been quiet for so long.  A realization like this usually tells me that she's gotten into something that she shouldn't have.  Ever so quietly, I tiptoed across the house...not wanting her to hear me as I went to her room to bust her.

And she was sleeping.  Curled up on her bed like an angel, cuddling Dirt Pink with the light on.  My little girl put herself to bed tonight.  I covered her with another blankie, swept the hair out of her face, kissed her on the cheek and backed out as quietly as a mouse.

It's the little things in this life that make it great.

New URL

There's been a bit of concern recently about publishing personal information on blogs, and it's gotten me thinking.  I've come to the conclusion that removing the last names from my URL is a good idea, so that's what I've done.  The new URL for this blog is http://one-moms-journey.blogspot.com/.

Sorry if this causes difficulty for anyone...but it makes me feel better, privacy-wise.

One Crafty Broad

Ok, y'all...I'm entering into the wonderful world of Etsy.  Come have a look at my shop if you have the time - it won't take long.  There's only one item so far, but I plan to rectify that situation very soon!  Keep stoppin' by, and feel free to purchase some of my most excellent merchandise any time.  ;)

I'm also starting a second blog, which will be focused on my crafty side.  Lord only knows how I'm going to keep all of this stuff updated at the same time, but I'm jumpin' in with both feet anyway.  Wish me luck!

~One Mom

My Little Fighter Pilot

My sweet little girl has been exhibiting some new clumsy tendencies lately: running across the room only to slam into the door, tripping over the base of the gate which she has navigated successfully thousands of times, misjudging steps and other non-disastrous but noticeable little things. These new developments have led us to believe something is “off” with the way her system is processing information, perhaps above and beyond the autism-related challenges with which we deal on a daily basis.

Our initial reaction to her increased clumsiness was to question her eyesight. She seems to see things well up close, but for a long time she had issues with eye contact. The eye contact issue is getting better with the therapies, so I’m pretty sure that’s unrelated...but that didn’t stop me from thinking it. Her depth perception, especially, seems to be off. She can sit down and string little, bitty beads like a champ. She can make eye contact from across the room. So why is she running into things with seemingly no perception that they are coming as fast as they are?

This morning we visited my family’s eye doctor. We’ve all been going to see him since, well, probably before I was even born. He’s a wonderful guy and, though he may be more expensive than the value places, a fantastic doctor. The man is worth his weight in gold, if you ask me.

At first The Princess wasn't sure what to think, so she bounced off the walls like a fly trying to escape a car through the windshield. Once Dr. Bert sat down and handed her something to play with, he was immediately allowed into the club. The Princess sat patiently in my lap and looked obligingly at Dr. Bert. She tracked a light in both lit and dark conditions. He checked her pupils, and she giggled for him. He pulled out this barrel that they use to gauge non-verbal patients’ eyesight – about as big around as a coffee can, a little taller, with vertical black and white lines across the surface – and spun it in front of her. The Princess thought this was the coolest part, and she cackled heartily.

Now, I don’t claim to be an expert of any kind in eye-doctor-type stuff, but I believe Dr. Bert when he tells me something. The man has never steered me wrong before, after all. So when he told me that The Princess’s vision is, at the very least, 20/40…well, let’s just say I was happy to hear it. It's hard to gauge anything more specific than that at this stage, but I'm happy to report that her chances of becoming a fighter pilot are still pretty good. 

We'll make sure she gets fairly regular checkups going forward, just to make sure everything stays on track...but how cool is it that she doesn't need glasses?!

So why the clumsiness? It could have something to do with her ears, and Dr. Bert recommended that we see an audiologist to get a full checkup done just in case. From what he said and some things I’ve read, it seems many autistic individuals have issues with eyes, ears or both. It can’t hurt to check, right?

And if her ears are fine, maybe we just need to accept the idea of having a world-class klutz on our hands. She wouldn’t be the first in the family, and I’m sure she won’t be the last!

Momma Knows Best

Like any self-respecting student of the English language, I’ve developed a love for clichés. Many of these overused sayings don’t make literal sense, and that’s part of what I love about them…they can be interpreted differently and applied to most situations if I just try hard enough. Everything happens for a reason. Treat others as you would have them treat you. Home is where the heart is. It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon.  It takes a village...

I became a mommy nearly three years ago, the day my sweet little girl came into this world. I wouldn’t trade this opportunity for anything, and I feel deeply blessed to have been trusted with the responsibilities of teaching, protecting, loving and caring for her. I’m beginning to think that we are chosen for certain tasks based on what we can handle…whether we know it or not.

Had you asked me if I thought I could survive parenting a special needs child four years ago, my answer would have been a resounding no. It’s amazing to me how much I’ve grown and changed in the past few years. What I would have deemed impossible then is now reality. The Hubbs and I have stood together, taking on the world as a team, and we’re better off for it. Sure, there are moments when we are overwhelmed – we’re not superheroes, after all. My self-imposed challenge these days is to step back and look at the big picture, rather than focusing on the small parts. When I do this, I see beyond a shadow of a doubt that we’re making it. It’s not always pretty, but our little family is chugging along and progress is being made.

I posted last night about our recent ST troubles, and I feel I should mention my unease over the big decision we made yesterday. Though I was confident that we were doing the right thing, I found myself unable to sleep and feeling queasy while I waited to hear back from our service coordinator. Upon waking this morning, I realized my stomach was in huge knots. What if we were doing the wrong thing?

I’m happy to say that we are apparently following the right path, because everything is falling into place already. Our service coordinator called this morning to let me know that there is an opening at a hippotherapy clinic about twenty minutes from our home. They’ll be able to see The Princess twice a week to replace our old ST, possibly starting as soon as this coming week. After The Princess’s positive experience last fall at the pumpkin patch, I’m confident that she will love this new treatment.

As I type this post, my stomach is slowly relaxing to its normal state. I feel as though a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders, knowing that our service coordinator and other providers had some of the very same concerns about this ST as we did. They just didn’t voice them earlier because they wanted us to make our own decision about this person. It’s not just me. Other people have seen it too.

And the petty junior-high kid in me couldn’t be more relieved by the fact that I won’t have to inform the ST of this change…our service coordinator is handling that for us. Breaking up is hard to do, but everything happens for a reason.  It takes a village to raise a child, and we're just working to mold our village around her the best we can.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Three in the morning certainly is a peaceful time, isn’t it? I have yet to find this kind of silence at any other time of day. As I sit here in the eerie glow of my monitor I can feel my family sleeping all around me, and I feel safe. I’m talking warm fuzzies all the way down to the core here, people. This is something to be remembered.

So I blog.

I realize my posts may seem random lately, but I ask you to bear with me. I’m trying to find my groove in this whole world of blogging, and it’s becoming more and more apparent as I go on that treating this page as a diary – recording everything that goes on in our day-to-day lives – just isn’t working for me. I’m trying to find my writing style, and will be attempting to post about more specific things here…though I’m sure there will be times (probably a lot!) that you’ll see meandering late-night musings like this one in the future.

So fear not, dear readers, for I shall never stop rambling!

My dear, sweet little princess is doing well. We had DT today with Jill, one of the newer members of our “village”. When she walked through the door, The Princess smiled and ran to greet her…and even helped to bring her supplies (toys!) into the living room. She sat down and gave Jill her full attention, choosing the texture bin – big surprise!! – and sticking with it for a good, long while. Then came the puzzles and the fishy game, accompanied by an abundance of giggles and fantastic eye contact.

Which got me thinking…

I believe this is the third time Jill has ever been to our house. The Princess obviously remembered her and greeted her as if she were a member of our family. So why are things always so difficult when our speech therapist comes to the house? It’s like night and day from what I saw this afternoon…The Princess runs to hide, and often cries. The sessions have become hour-long power struggles between our very rigid ST and my poor, sweet little girl who just gets so frustrated that every time we see the ST she breaks down in tears.

Those of you who are close to our family, or who have been reading this blog for a while, know that I’ve had my misgivings about this provider for some time now. But recently there have been a few moments in which, I’m sorry to say, I’ve just wanted to slap this woman. Moments in which she has displayed absolutely zero compassion for my child, zero respect for her other providers, and zero acknowledgment of her challenges other than with speech. When The Princess starts to stim on a toy, she takes it away and says something like, “No! We don’t need to do silly things like that.” This happened on Tuesday, and I wanted to yell at her. I’m not a therapist, and I’m aware that when The Princess starts stimming on an object it means she needs some sensory input. Very simple solution: stop what you’re doing, give her some sensory input – whether it is swinging, “flying”, brushing, playing with her hair, putting on lotion, what have you – and then go back to the task. This person scolds my daughter for doing things she simply can’t help, and I can’t abide that in my house.

There are other issues with this person as well, but I won’t go into that here. Suffice it to say that I called our service coordinator today and she is making some calls for me to get The Princess set up with a different ST. I hope the switch can be made soon…the way things are going right now, no one is benefitting from these sessions.

Me Likey

Mmm…paczki. It’s been so long since I had one that I nearly forgot what they taste like, but I’ve got to say I “heart” Fat Tuesday. This may be one of my new favorite holidays…right up there with Discount Chocolate Day (happened to be yesterday…the day after Valentine’s Day), Cut-Rate Peeps Day (just after Easter), Thanksgiving and Halloween (the kid does the trick-or-treating, I get the candy…good deal!).

After lunch today I logged in to my Blogger account, only to find that I had forgotten all about Fat Tuesday. I had remembered Nana’s birthday, which was a plus, but what kind of good, wholesome Polish girl neglects the opportunity for a nearly unlimited array of paczki at every bakery worth its salt? Realizing my mistake, I rushed downstairs to tell The Hubbs that we all had to run out for a short while. Being the good sport that he is, he went along with it and piled into the car with The Princess and me. I revealed my plan as we pulled into a parking spot in front of our local bakery…and he was with me 100%.

Inside the bakery we faced the difficult task of choosing six paczki out of a wide variety of flavors. We finally settled on buttercream, cheese, blueberry and raspberry, and headed home with our oh-so-yummy-looking treasures.

They tasted every bit as good as they looked.

And I think The Princess may have a thing for powdered sugar…just a hunch. I’ll try to snap a picture or two on the next round to share with y’all.

Now for the real challenge: finding something I like that doesn’t make me fat. But that’s a challenge for another time. This day’s already shot…no sense in turning back now!

Are You Listening, God?

You know what kills me?  The fact that I don't know what will help The Princess.  I know she loves OT, and it has a very positive effect on her.  I know she tolerates the others, but I don't see the same response lately as I do with in-clinic OT.

In two months, my daughter will age out of the Early Intervention program in Illinois...and graduate up to Early Childhood Education.  This means that the public school system will be responsible for providing the care she needs and, frankly, that scares the shit out of me.  The in-home and in-clinic therapists we've come to know and love will no longer be our service providers through the state.

A couple of people have recommended keeping up as much private therapy as we can even after she starts preschool.  Sounds good to me, but it's easier said than done...how do I know what to keep?  How do I pay for it?  Each OT session in the clinic runs about $150, and that's once a week.  So let's say there are only 4 Mondays in the month...that's $600 every month.  Just where, exactly, is that money going to come from?

And that's just for one therapist.  We currently have four.

Oh, and there's a sensory learning program at the new place our in-clinic OT is starting up.  She says she believes it will really help The Princess, and I believe her...she has yet to steer me wrong.  The downside: this one-month treatment costs $3,000, and there are no guarantees.  But if there's a chance it could help her, how can I say no? 

Some sort of sign would be really nice right about now.  Are you listening, God?  I could use some help on this one.

Crochet Guessing Game

Anyone care to guess what this is?

Here are a couple of clues:

 

Just finished my first throw pillow cover - brown ruffles on one side and deep red on the other.  Y'all know I'm lovin' this stuff recently, so I just had to share.

Smart Man

Guess what I did today?  Well, after spending three hours sitting in front of the gum-popping, chair-kicking sarcastic brat in psych class, that is?

After that, anyone would need a break.  And what better way to waste a perfectly good Saturday than to tackle a new crochet project?  Especially after my trip to JoAnn yesterday, where I procured three sets of most excellent purse handles?  Yeah, I thought so too...so this is how I spent my day.

Here's the finished purse empty and flat on the floor:

And here it is in The Princess's chair so you can get an idea of the size.  I just love the shadows that the ruffles throw. I think it looks so stinkin' cool!

Propped up against the coffee table leg:

And a close-up of the ruffles:

I thought for sure I'd have a problem following this pattern, but it all went off without a hitch.  I'm starting to think I might be kinda good at this crocheting business after all.

And The Hubbs loves it...he figures if I make purses for myself, perhaps I won't have the urge to buy so many.  Smart man.

Triple Yay!

First off, I just have to say Go me!!! The fifth week of school starts tomorrow, and I’m officially getting straight A’s. Don’t know how long that will last, so The Hubbs took me out to our favorite Japanese place to celebrate tonight while The Princess hung with the Grumparents. Mmm…maki rolls and tempura. Can’t beat that with a stick!

If you can’t tell, today went pretty stinkin’ well in One Mom Land. Amy popped by this morning for The Princess's in-home OT session, and brought some good news with her. I had sent over my resume to her HR department a couple of weeks ago and received an immediate call saying that they’d love to work with me…but there were no openings. HR Lady said she’d hang onto my resume in case something opened up, I thanked her, and that was that. Amy told me today that their therapy aide will be leaving by fall to pursue an out-of-state PT school, and that they’re hoping I’ll be able to fill her shoes when she leaves. I know, right? How much more perfect could it get? I’ll tell you how…they’ll even work around my school schedule for me, even when it changes from semester to semester. So, if nothing else comes up before then, it looks like I have a pretty good chance for a job in the fall working in the field I’m looking to get into. Double-yay!

My composition class went very well today. This was the day we were to turn in our rough drafts for our first essays – one copy for the teacher and another for peer review. I was pretty happy with mine before heading to class, but I didn’t know how it would be received. My peer reviewer told me that she thinks I’m a fantastic writer. How can it get better? Oh, that’s right…the teacher said my draft was excellent and just made a couple of suggestions for honing it before the final draft is due next week. This was the first real graded assignment in this course, and I aced it. Triple-yay!

As Duckie says in “Pretty in Pink”, I’m off like a dirty shirt. Gotta review for my psych test in the morning…tryin’ to keep up this good track record as long as I can. See y’all on the flipside!

How Do You Know?

How do you know you’re doing right by your kid when…

• you’re parading therapists through the house almost on a daily basis?
• you’re dragging her to therapies and play groups away from home?
• you’re bringing her with you as you run the week’s errands?
• she can’t speak and, therefore, can’t tell you how she’s feeling?
• you’re flying by the seat of your pants?

The answer is simple: you just know. You look into those big, beautiful, trusting blue eyes…and you just know.

Another Day Lost to Crochet

Snow day!

We knew it was coming, but it was still fun to wake up this morning to a pretty snowfall.  When I opened my eyes and crawled out of bed, I saw a fresh white blanket covering the filth that is winter in my little corner of the world.

We had cancelled Julie Time for today as of last night, since The Princess decided to take a five-hour nap after OT (unheard of...this child does not nap) and restart her day at 8:30 pm.  Didn't think it'd be the best idea for any of us if Julie came by today after The Princess spent all night playing.  When I went to bed at a little after two o'clock this morning, she was still playing in her room.

We needn't have feared.  She was up at nine o'clock on the dot, as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as ever.  It turns out we'd have been just fine to have Julie Time today...but everyone needs a day off every once in a while. 

With the snow peacefully falling, the bulldogs snuggled up on the couches and the kiddo happily running around the house after her ball - which she's learned to throw with great speed and questionable accuracy - I should have taken the opportunity to study.

"Should have" being the operative phrase.

What did I do all day, you ask?  Why, I crocheted, of course!  I started this project late last night, and finished up about a half-hour ago.  I'm very proud of myself, and my confidence is quickly raising to astronomical heights.  I know not everything will go right, but I'm quite happy with my track record so far.

This particular project is a purse/bag, which measures about 12 inches wide by 15 inches tall.

The red "belt" is not permanently attached, and I have plans to make additional belts in different colors...so I can change them at my every whim. 

Here's a close-up of some of the stitching - I'm really happy with the consistency across the entire bag.

And here's what it looks like with The Princess's blanket inside to give it some shape...

Not bad for a project that took a little over a day, eh? 

Now, if I could just dedicate myself to studying as much as I've been crocheting lately...but that's a thought for a different time.

An Hour in the Life of The Princess

Since we started adding new therapies to The Princess's schedule, I've been receiving a lot of questions about just what, exactly, goes on in each of the therapies. 

The short answer: she's two.  All therapy consists of playing.

The long answer: well, it's kind of complicated...I'm still learning all of this stuff myself.

But I find myself talking more and more about OT.  It's quickly becoming her favorite and my passion.  Sakina was kind enough to let me take a few pics and video clips during our session today, and I've edited them together to make this video:



For friends and family members who are not going through this with your own kids, I hope this answers some questions (such as why we like Sakina so much!!).

Have a beautiful evening, y'all.

One More for the Road

After completing my throw blanket last night, my fingers started itching.  I wanted to do more, but I didn't want to start another huge project.

What's a girl to do?

With The Princess and The Hubbs both tucked snugly in bed, I loaded me some Heath into the DVD player (A Knight's Tale - Love. That. Boy.) and dug back into my bag of tricks.  There was one pattern in particular that I was interested in trying.

But I was scared.

Why?  Because it was for a three-dimensional object.  I've only ever crocheted squares and rectangles before...only having used a pattern once. 

Bolstered by one of my favorite movies playing in the background, I decided to just go for it.  If it sucked, I could always just pull it apart, right?

Surprise of surprises...it didn't suck.  It even turned out looking very much like the picture on the pattern, though I used a different filling (didn't have polyfil, so I raided one of The Princess's texture bins for some pinto beans - worked out rather nicely!).

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you (drumroll, please) the teacup pincushion:

And from another angle:

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.  I think one of my next projects will be making different colored beanbags for The Princess to play with...and to be used for weighting her backpack.

My First Big Crochet Project

Little did I know that I was being just a little bit psychic this morning as I was choosing yarn at Michael's for my first big crochet project.  The Hubbs patiently endured my indecision as I stood there like a deer in the headlights, attempting to choose three colors to use to make a throw blanket.

It's funny, but I never thought of yarn as expensive.  Until I realized how much of it you use to make things, that is.  The pattern for my throw was from Vanna's Choice by Lyon brand, and it said to get five skeins - each - of three separate colors.  The skeins are about $4 apiece...do the math with me, people - that's over $60 for one stinkin' throw!

I must give props to The Hubbs, for he noticed my dismay and gently turned me around to the one-pound skeins (more than six times the amount of yarn in one Vanna's Choice skein) and pointed out the fact that they were on sale for $5.99 each.  Good eye, mister!

Ah, the color selection...the hard part.  I finally settled on off-white, black and mustard yellow for the throw.  As long as we were there I decided to get supplies for a couple of other projects as well, so all in all it turned out to be a good trip.

Where does the psychic part come in, you may ask?  As I was parked on the old plaid sofa working on my throw, a little event commonly known as the Super Bowl came on the old boob tube.  The Colts were favored, and we were kind of rooting for them.  The Saints, having just knocked out Bret Favre's chances of one more Super Bowl before his next attempt at retirement, were kind of on our shit list.

Yet, for some reason, here I was...crocheting away on my very first pattern project, using The Saints' team colors.  As soon as I realized this, they started pulling ahead.  Funny, how that works...I'm just gonna say I knew it all along, and that I have a blanket to prove it.

And since this is the first project I've ever completed from a pattern, I feel a great need to share some photos.  I'm proud of this thing like you wouldn't believe...and The Princess is obsessed with the tassels, of course!

Here's a texture shot of the throw blanket laid out on the floor:

A little photographic evidence that I actually kept the rows straight and even:

Draped over the desk chair:

And one more for good measure:

The new official tassel inspector:

She's very thorough...

Cutest thing I've seen all weekend...have a great night, y'all!

Flashback: A Monday To Remember

After reading back through yesterday’s post, I realized I totally forgot to include a very big achievement of The Princess’s this week – oops, I guess that’s what I get for neglecting the old blog for a week straight, eh?

Humor me. It’ll be worth it.

On Monday we made our regular trip to the clinic for OT, and The Princess headed straight for her happy place as usual. If you’re new here, the “happy place” is the ball pit in the gym. Since day one at this clinic, The Princess has been unbelievably attached to this ball pit. It seems to provide just the right proprioceptive input for her little body, and very often it’s a fight to get her out.

The previous Monday’s session involved a lot of coaxing her out of the happy place and up the stairs to go down the slide…landing right back in the happy place for more good old fashioned sensory input.

This Monday, however, was a bit different. I was nothing short of shocked when I asked my little girl if she wanted to get out and go down the slide, and she listened, getting out of the pit by herself and heading straight up the stairs to the slide. No further prompt from me, no having to ask twice. She remembered it from last week and went up those stairs all by herself. She plopped onto her butt when she got up to the platform, and scooted to the top of the slide. She grinned from ear to ear as Sakina and I chorused, “Ready…set…”, and squealed in absolute delight as we yelled, “Go!!!” and let go…allowing her to plummet down the slide unassisted and land smack-dab in the middle of her happy place.

Unlike last week, there was no fight to get her out of the ball pit for the subsequent trips down the slide. She did, however, figure out a different way to get what she wanted. After the “Go!!!” plummet, she’d careen into the ball pit and giggle with delight. Within seconds after that first trip down the slide, my little girl got up, marched to the bottom of the slide, gave it an appraising look, and mounted the slide at the bottom, grasping the sides, and proceeded to climb back up to the top.

This was no easy feat the first time, considering she was in stocking feet. But The Princess would not be deterred. She marched her way up that slide like a champ, and you should have seen the look of pride on her little face when she realized she’d made it to the top without ever having to touch the floor in between.

For a moment, she sat at the top and beamed. We all rejoiced in her accomplishment, and she scootched herself back into launching position…waiting for the “Go!!!” When the moment of freedom arrived, she squealed in pure delight the whole way down, sending balls flying left and right as she splashed into the pit at the bottom of the slide.

Where she sat for a moment, seemingly thinking. No, not thinking. Taking her sock off. Seriously.

Once she had rid herself of both of the progress-impeding garments, The Princess mounted the bottom of the slide and made it to the top in half the time it had taken her previously. Hard work, followed by pure glee the likes of which only a toddler can understand, then the reward of sliding back down…only to start the whole cycle over again.

We must have watched her climb up that slide more than twenty times, I kid you not. And I could have stayed there all day long. As long as I may live, I will never forget the pride and accomplishment stamped all over her angelic little face.

She'd Have My Head

Hello again, my dear friends and family. I’ve thought about posting so many times over the last week, but for some reason it never seems to happen. This post, or some form of it, has been sitting in my drafts for no less than six days now. Why haven’t I just posted it already? There’s the super-secret crafty surprise we’ve been working on for the grandparents for Valentine’s Day, my recently renewed love of crochet, The Princess’s therapies, school, the job search, family time...so many reasons not to write.
Since I’ve been so lax in my updates lately, this is likely to be a long one. Here goes nothin’.

The Princess spent last weekend at her grumparents’ place, yukkin’ it up with Grumpa and snugglin’ with Grumma. All three of them had a blast together while The Hubbs and I took the weekend off. We went out to a nice dinner at one of our favorite Japanese places on Friday, followed by a few impromptu stops into shops that looked interesting. Weird, not having to spend the extra few minutes getting the stroller out of the trunk, strapping Kiddo in, and making sure we have all we need before venturing into the store. Naturally, the first place I wanted to stop was an educational toy store we’ve seen a million times, but have never visited. Go figure. A night without her, and we decide to spend it in a toy store! Let me tell you...it’s a different experience shopping sans The Princess. We walked through the store slowly, looking at what we wanted to see, meandering through the toys at a glacial pace. No one cried, screamed or pulled random things off the shelves. No one covered her ears or eyes, going into sensory overload. Nice? Yes. But it felt as though I was missing an arm.

It was certainly nice to see her again by the time Sunday rolled around. When we walked into my folks’ place, she immediately made good eye contact and came running, arms wide open, with a gigantic grin on her face. Ain’t nothin’ better than unconditional love, people. Remember that.

Therapies this week have gone well for the most part. The Princess and Julie aren’t getting along very well these days, but that seems to be a cycle. You see, Julie comes to the house twice a week to dictate what The Princess does, and the little princess either deals with it or…well…not. The past couple of weeks have been moving more toward battlegrounds than cooperative playgrounds, but I have to remember that she is two years old.

Lately, The Hubbs and I have been growing more concerned about The Princess's eyesight. She shows massive amounts of coordination for the most part, but then there are things which simply don’t seem to fit…she’ll be happily running from one end of the house to the other – which she’s done no less than seventeen million times – when she runs smack into the door. The other day she was walking through the hallway and biffed her head so hard on the metal gate that she came out with a bruise down her right cheek, from forehead to mouth. We can’t imagine what could be causing this clumsiness, short of some visual impairment. So, on my way home from school today I called the eye doctor’s office where I’ve been going since…well, forever. I explained to the lady on the phone that my daughter needs to have her eyes checked, and what the challenges are (in my eyes – no pun intended). These challenges include the fact that The Princess is non-verbal, and that she often has issues with sitting still and following tasks suggested by others. I was assured that Dr. Bert is fully capable of performing an exam on her and, since I already know and trust him and his staff, I made the appointment. A week from Tuesday, we’ll see if The Hubbs and I are right. If we are, I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like to get this kiddo to wear glasses…but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

School is going very well – just got my first quiz back in biology, and I got a 94. Not bad, considering the fact that biology was never my strong suit! I should hopefully find out tomorrow what I scored on the first psychology test, and I’m working on the first draft of my narrative essay for next Friday’s composition class. I’m enjoying all of my courses, and the instructors are great. It feels like a good fit, which is reassuring after being out of school for so long. I thought I may have lost what it takes to be a good student, but it’s all coming back…slowly but surely.

Good golly, will you look at this post?! It’s the wanderingest (I've just declared this a word.) thing I’ve ever seen. Whatever you do, don’t show it to my English teacher…she’d have my head.

Sorry For My Vanishing Act

My dear, lovely friends and family, I apologize from the bottom of my heart.  This past week has been hectic.  There's a blog post in my drafts, on which I have been working for no less than six days.  Every time I start, I get pulled away, but I promise you I will be back soon.

Love.