Dreaded Sight Words

Sight words are a constant challenge at our house. The boys don't have a curiosity or love of learning sight words. In order to alleviate the stress and anxiety for them, I try new ways to introduce new words to them. I've made flash cards on a ring and that worked for a while. I made a sticker book which was a lot of fun but it requires many small stickers. I've also tried magnets words that I bought at the learning store and a big poster with their weekly words. This week I found a new idea from a game that I tweaked for our use and the boys like it so far. Time will tell just how long this idea will hold their interest. I printed a list of their words and cut them into small pieces

Then I glued the words to colorful craft sticks, making sure any color sight words were not on the same color stick. No cheating allowed in this house! This task was actually annoying and tedious to me until I figured out the best way to apply the glue which is to the stick, not to the paper.

I put all of the sticks in a red (for Gabriel!) Solo cup and whala - a new way to learn sight words. They like pulling the words out for the surprise factor and then they get excited to tell me the word.

St Cloud Story time

I took the kids to story time regularly at the South Sioux City library when we lived in Iowa. I took Lane to a baby story time and the boys to a preschool story time. We also attended special events and family story time at that same library.
Since moving back to Florida over a year ago, I haven't found the same enthusiasm or friendliness at other story times. I know we were spoiled by the librarian there because we became friends. Maybe my expectations are high from those experiences but I want someone who does more than read a book and who makes us feel welcome when we arrive.
Lane was thrilled when I asked her if she wanted to attend story time. I finally found a story time I like in our area. It's family friendly and it was interactive. The story time was for kids ages 3-5 and focuses on barns this time. The librarian read two books, sang songs,
performed finger plays, danced with kids and showed the kids flannel board stories. Lane was engaged the entire time. We will definitely go back and I might take the boys to the school age story time to see if they like it as well

Gabriel loses tooth #5

By the fifth tooth, parents don't announce a lost tooth any longer but the excitment doesn't change for the child who loses the tooth. Gabriel lost his fifth tooth at school last week and he was thrilled that it happened at school. I remember thinking it was best to lose it at school too and I'm unsure why that was important. When I picked him up, he held a small blue treasure box containing his tooth and a certificate that stated, "Hip Hip Hooray, I Lost A Tooth Today." I adore how the little things in life make Gabriel happy. This special treatment for a lost tooth shows another way the boys new school cares about their students. Gabriel insisted that I take photos of his treasure box and missing tooth. Since it was a big moment for him, I wanted to make sure I made a post about it. I hope one day he finds this post and remembers the fun first week of school he had his second grade year. It has been a week since he lost his tooth and he still doesn't want to give it to the tooth fairy.

Depression

I've battled depression for the majority of my life. It isn't something that I talk about easily. Depression has a stigma attached to it and people tend to have their own beliefs and ideas about it. I've heard it all - get out there and exercise, you'll feel better, get a hobby, get a job, get new medication, take a vacation... do, do, do.... Yet, when I'm depressed one of the most difficult things to do is become movitated to change or do anything. It isn't a funk I'm in. It isn't just the blues and I can't do much about it. I've had enough experience to know when I'm going downhill again. Unfortunately it's about once or twice a year. Depression is a contant battle for me. It isn't about realizing the blessing I have or learning to be more grateful. It's a part of me and I have to work on it most days. One thing I hate to do is involve other people. I feel strange reaching out to friends and family members when I'm depressed. I don't know why but I don't want to become another problem in someone else's life. I've been taking anti-depressants off and on for years. A big problem with anti-depression medication is that I have a tough time losing weight on it. It's a crappy side effect and causes a cycle that doesn't help how I am feeling. I feel fat because I can't lose weight on the medication and I'm upset, so I eat food because I'm a comfort eater, so I can't lose the weight that was a problem in the first place. ~sigh~ I am grateful that I have figured out when things are getting worse for me. In my early and mid-20s, this was not the case. I would spiral out of control and would lose any interest in living. On a complete impulse, I took bottles of medication in an attempt to end my life. I signed on the internet and said "good bye" to some internet friends and I will forever be grateful that one of those friends called 9-1-1. I was taken in an ambulance to a local hospital where I experienced charcoal to cleanse my system. And cleanse it did. I am very lucky my stupid act didn't cause any harm to my heart. I spent several days in the hospital figuring out how to make myself better. I am so glad this time of my life is past. If you know me today, you might be reading this and be suprised to read any of it. It's been a journey and a challenge like many other things. I will continue the battle until the day I take my last breath. I can do this.

7 Habits

I spent part of my day with my printer and laminator. They are two of my favorite things for organizing. There are tons of free sites available to printing labels. This is one of my dilemmas: I find one set of labels that I like better than the last set of labels. I can't help but print and laminate a new set. I found this set of labels that a teacher made for school supplies. It's $3.00 on Teachers Pay Teachers. I try to use the free labels as much as possible but these were exceptionally cute with the picture and the word. I want the reinforce reading skills with my children and I think this will help that cause. I relabeled the kids crayon and marker jars. Next up will be the scissors, glue, and more. I laminated these labels so that they wouldn't peel off with time.

I'm still working on the playroom storage system. One of the things I am working on is a bench with red bins in it. The bins need to be labeled in order to entice the kids to pull their toys out and to know what they are pulling out. It should help keep the bins organized too. Lane helped me put the labels in the bins that I was able to find and print. Just for Me Materials has a free label maker that uses pictures from their web site.

This is one of the car bins I labeled today. The boys new schools works on character building through the 7 Habits of Happy Kids. The 7 Habits are: (from here) 1. Be Proactive. I am a responsible person. I take initiative. I choose my actions, attitudes, and moods. I do not blame others for my wrong actions. I do the right thing without being asked, even when no one is looking. 2. Begin With the End in Mind I plan ahead and set goals. I do things that have meaning and make a difference. I am an important part of my classroom and contribute to my school’s mission and vision. I look for ways to be a good citizen. 3. Put First Things First I spend my time on things that are most important. This means I say no to things I know I should not do. I set priorities, make a schedule, and follow my plan. I am disciplined and organized. 4. Think Win-Win I balance courage for getting what I want with consideration for what others want. I make deposits in others’ Emotional Bank Accounts. When conflicts arise, I look for third alternatives. 5. Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood I listen to other people’s ideas and feelings. I try to see things from their viewpoints. I listen to others without interrupting. I am confident in voicing my ideas. I look people in the eyes when talking. 6. Synergize I value other people’s strengths and learn from them. I get along well with others, even people who are different than me. I work well in groups. I seek out other people’s ideas to solve problems because I know that by teaming with others we can create better solutions than anyone of us can alone. I am humble. 7. Sharpen the Saw I take care of my body by eating right, exercising and getting sleep. I spend time with family and friends. I learn in lots of ways and lots of places, not just at school. I find meaningful ways to help others. There is nothing cuter than hearing your 6 and 7 year olds say, "I need to be proactive, not reactive!" I am reinforcing these seven habits at home and so far it is doing wonders for them. They are helping more without complaining and they seem happier. Gabriel even picked out toys for his sister and brother yesterday which is something I have never seen him do on his own before. It was a big development for him. Alex helped me laminate seven little posters to hang in our learning room for the kids to see the 7 habits daily. He was excited to read the posters and tell me about the meaning of each one.

These posters were free at the Teachers Pay Teachers site. I also printed book marks and notes from the teacher for the kids to give their teachers. I don't know if the teachers will want to use them but they were free and cute so I wanted to print them. These are good habits for all of us to use every day.

The umbrella of autism

I sit here paralyzed today. Maybe that is too extreme and melodramatic but I lack energy. I either sit here watching cartoons with Lane or I get up and eat. I realized it's because I've been filling out Aspergers questionaires for Alexander. I can't explain why this is draining the energy from me. It's only three pamphlets to fill out. I've done this many times - first for Gabriel when he was diagnosed with PDD-NOS and then when Alex was evaluated by the school this past spring. (what a nightmare) It shouldn't be a big deal, emotionally or physically. I certainly shouldn't feel the need to fill myself with junk food either.I've even explained Alex's behavior to strangers by stating he is on the spectrum. It isn't true. I haven't gotten a label and I don't know if we will get one. As I counted the number of 1's I circled rather than 0's on the Aspbergers Syndrome Diagnostic Scale, I realized that this might be our reality. Sometimes I try to convince myself that Alex is immature or simply a challenge but deep down I know there is something that is inhibiting him from putting his best foot forward. I think this gnawing feeling is that as we get closer to a diagnosis, I can no longer look the other way and put a different reason on his behavior other than Aspbergers (or whatever other label we get). I get the same gut wrenching, nervous twitching feeling that I had when Gabriel was diagnosed when I think about it. We will know more by the end of September. Whether Alex has auditory processing disorder, ASD, ADD, we will deal with it and we will find ways to help him. It's not the worst news but for some reason it will take me time to digest it. I will have to absorb that the "most healthy premature newborn," as the hospital staff called him, isn't so healthy after all. If he is on the spectrum, it will take me a while to comprehend that I have two children with autism.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

After I got over the shock of hearing that we were having a girl, I dreamt about what it would be like to raise a girl. I will admit that it took me quite a while to get to the dreamy stage. At that point, I had 2 and 4 year old boys, a boy fish, a boy cat, and two boy dogs. There was a lot of testotrone in our home and I was not expecting to hear "you're having a girl." Besides, teenage girls frighten me. I dreamt about baby dolls, pink dresses, and tea parties. I dreamt about painting paper and little fingernails. Then I thought that she might not be a girly girl because she has two older brothers. Maybe she would only like cars and trains like her brothers? There's absolutely nothing wrong with that but then my image of a girl was changed in just a few minutes. Maybe she would be a girl who liked football? Or Nascar? Could girly girls like all of these things? Probably. It didn't matter because I have a girly girl and she proclaimed it this morning. As we were playing with her Cinderella doll and she was dressed in a Belle hand-me-down costume over her dress, she brought me pink nail polish to make her fingers and toes pretty. It was then that I remembered my dreams of what having a little girl would be like and that dream was a reality. These sweet moments of parenting blow me away. Lane has greenish blue eyes, shoulder length blonde curly hair, and a personality that is sweeter than anyone I have ever met. I am in awe of her. In awe that I was given this great responisibility of raising her to become a productive, critical thinking adult one day. She spoke to her baby doll and told her, "I love you more than you will ever know. Sweet dreams beautiful." Those are my words and I get choked up when I realize she is comprehending and sharing those words. Maybe one day she will have her own children and share the same thing with those children, my grandchildren? Maybe she will have a daughter and paint her fingernails and tell her that she is smart, funny, athletic, and pretty? And maybe my granddaughter will look at her with a big 3 year old smile and say, "I'm just pretty." just like my daughter does. I didn't think I was ready to be a mom of a girl but I am so very grateful I am.

Lane's bike

We bought the worlds smallest bike at a garage sale for Lane. For months she has tried to use the peddles but her legs are too short. She really is a shortie pie.
While I was straightening the garage, Lane insisted on trying out her bike again. She put on her helmet and pushed her bike to the deck. A few minutes later she yelled for me to watch her.
Lane could reach the peddles on her bike! She was beyond excited! Lane can only ride backwards but we were happy for this little feat.
(the boys have little interest in their bikes. I don't know when they will ever learn to ride a bike without training wheels)

IEP amendment goes right!

Andrew and I went to the new school to amend the IEP written in May. Although my conversations have gone well with the school staff and I have been shocked by their responses (in a good way), I was still nervous. None of our meetings went well last year so I was on edge.

We were escorted into a small room with the compliance specialist, the ESE teacher, the assitant principal, and the teacher. "Okay, 4 against 2, I can handle this," I reminded myself. I had my huge red binder with all of Gabriel IEP information, medical information, and more. I made a list of parental concerns. I even had a cute folder with Gabriel's work from this summer. It turns out, I didn't need any of it. They amended his IEP to include time in a sensory room and to have social skills taught in the classroom. The meeting was light and casual. At the end of the meeting, they asked if I had any questions or concerns. I glanced at my list of concerns and didn't feel the need to bring any of them up. Woah! This is new - after combative IEP meetings last year, I could not think of one thing that I wanted to discuss. I asked if Gabriel would need to wear a belt to which they responded, "a belt is a nonissue here." Huh? After 40 minutes of arguing at his last school, a belt is a nonissue?! AWESOME! They could not believe that Gabriel was forced to wear a belt last year and we were told that it's a necessary life skill. I'm still shellshocked - we are working with people who love their jobs and understand special needs. We did not hear once that "Gabriel should be in the autism room." In fact, his teacher told us that she welcome Gabriel and her specialty is reading. She likes to see the transformation in boys in the second grade year and looks forward to helping Gabriel reach his potential this year. We were given a tour of the school that included the boys classrooms and the Smile Lab, the sensory room. I asked how they were able to get the Smile Lab at the school because none of the other public schools I've been to have one. They were suprised and said that all of the schools were given training and the necessary equipment to have a Smile Lab. I'm not surprised after what I've experienced this past year. For a system that believes that inclusion, rather than segregation, is the best way for special needs kids, the majority of the stories are quite the contrary. I experienced it and I know many other people who have as well. I think these wonderful teachers and staff would be even more surprised if I told them everything I heard and experienced last year.

Week 10 Summer Eduation: Dora and Jake Printables

It's our last week of summer break or summer education as we've called it this summer. Lane saw the Dora printable pack on 1+1+1=1 site when I was looking at it. She wanted it printed to work on. I had no problem encouraging learning in our home. However, the activities were either too easy or too challenging for her. She colored a bunch of different Doras and we read Dora printable books that we made together. I also printed a Jake and the Neverland Pirates pack. All three of the kids were interested in working on the Jack pack. I only printed a portion of it because some of it didn't seem to be what we needed to work on right now. That's the great part about someone else doing the work of creating something - I can pick and choose what we want to do. The boys worked on writing, fractions, reading and more. They had no idea they were working on skills for school. It is perfect for two boys who are resistant to educational things! Alex stil completes things on his time frame. Gabriel finished twice as many activities in the same amount of time. Another advantage is I will have more material to take to their new teachers too. Lane sorted Jake and Hook characters as well as a Jake number line. Her cutting skills are incredible already!

Letters to Teachers

The school year begins next week. It's time - the kids have had a fun summer with educational activities mixed in to their daily routine. They are bickering more than usual but there are still moments of the day filled with their sweet laughter and giggles. I don't care for the work and daily grind of the school year but it will be nice to have more routine back in our lives. I write letters to the teachers each year to give to them at the Open House. I want the teachers to know who is walking in their door on the first day. Even Lane has a letter to deliver to her teacher at Open House tonight. Her letter is the least complicated this year because she has the same Montessori preschool teacher and she is the youngest with the least special needs. A far bigger challenge is presenting itself with the boys and how I should introduce them to their future teachers. I want to start the school year conveying how important and appreciated all of the teachers are to us. They work hard and they deserve my respect and support. The following is the letter I am handing to Lane's teacher tonight:

Lane Elizabeth Mai We discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being. Maria Montessori Thank you for being a part of Lane’s first formal educational year. We greatly appreciate the time and effort you put into each day to educate our child. We know it isn’t an easy job and want you to know that we are here to support you in any way possible. Lane turned three on June 25th. She asked us daily when she is going back to school to see her teachers and friends. She has a true love of learning and exploration. Her interest in numbers and letters has developed over the summer. It has been fun to watch her create many works of art this summer. Lane also enjoys dancing, reading books, playing outside, and playing with babies. We moved from Celebration to Harmony in mid-July. I believe continuing her Montessori experience in Celebration will help with her transition to a new home and neighborhood because she will have the continued familiarity of her friends and teachers. It will also help her with the transition of her brothers going back to school all day. Lane has no medical issues or limitations. She will have surgery scheduled this year to correct a visual muscular problem. I will let you know when that is scheduled. Lane has a strong desire to please the adults in her life. Though she has a few strong opinions (she likes the color purple a lot), she can be redirected easily. If you have any questions about Lane, please don’t hesitate to ask. I can be reached at _ or _ . We look forward to discussing any way we can help Lane with her formal education. Sincerely,

Lane fell

In early May, Lane fell head first into the hard section of the couch. Immediately after hitting her head, she quit breathing, turned bluish-purple and twitched. It was a horrific site but one I saw about a year prior.
Our pediatrician was about to close and
told me to keep an eye on her. After she her color returned, she acted like her two year old self and I wasn't concerned.
I woke up several times and checked on her and she seemed okay. Until morning came...
Lane vomited throughout the day and slept most of the day away. She gave up regular napping almost a year ago so this lethargy was unlike her.
We ended up at the emergency department that evening when she didn't get better. The doctor was glad I brought her in and ordered a CAT scan. I was fearful that there was a brain injury of some sort. I know it's rare to have a brain injury from this type of fall, but given the vomiting and other issues, I wasn't sure.
Lane was very brave and the lethargy
helped. She held my hand during the CAT scan and remained still. The diagnosis was a concussion with a virus. Whew
The surprise came when I opened the hospital bill. We are lucky and only have to pay $200 for the visit. The short visit cost $3759.80 - $2040 for the CAT scan alone. I don't know families without insurance would afford an ER visit like this one. I wonder if I will ever be less surprised by hospital bills. So far, each one seems to throw me a curve ball.

Harmony Community School - here we come!

13 months ago we moved from Sioux City, Iowa to Celebration, Florida. Celebration is a gorgeous little Disney town near Disney. We LOVE it. We could walk to the restaurants and events with the kids. We were able to meet other people in our area with children. It is a lovely place and add a wine bar within walking distance from our townhouse and it was perfect for us. However, the school was far from perfect for us. The school told us from the beginning that they could not accommodate Gabriel's special needs. The school wanted to send him to a school 40 minutes away to an ASD classroom. We visited the classroom and while it is a fit for some ASD students, it was not a fit for Gabriel. He went from 80% secluded special education to 80% general education in K. Why would we backtrack and put him back where the teachers were dealing serious behavior management? Last year in September I wanted to keep Gabriel at his school and walk him to his classroom. That is all I wanted. I didn't even care if his other things were included on his IEP. I wasn't allowed to walk him to his room. In fact, a teacher stepped out of her room one day and screamed at me stating that I was not allowed in the school. Gabriel would have to walk with the other students. I will admit that I lost my patienct and told her that the school was out of compliance with Gabriel's IEP and if she wanted to be apart of the problem, I would happily include her name in my complaint. She finally moved out of my way and allowed me to procced. Geeze, I just wanted to get my child to his classroom safely without him wandering which he has done in the past at his other school. Did this teacher want to risk losing him? Strict rules were all this teacher wanted to worry about rather than the safety of my child. Fast forward to when we hired an advocate. I didn't even know advocates existed and certainly never thought I would need one. Surely, schools, teachers, staff, people in the business of educating children were interested in helping me educate my child? This was not the case with our sweet Gabriel. With the help of our advocate, we were able to keep him at the school and set up a system to get him safely (albeit one time) to his classroom. He had a coteacher, OT and speech services. Once we had a solid IEP written, I felt comfortable with the situation. Though that comfort level quickly changed. On a couple incidents, Gabriel's teacher stomped, yes, literally stomped, down the sidewalk to hand me my son. It was one of the most unprofessional things I have ever seen. I swear I saw steam coming out of her ears. My anxiety was high every day. Gabriel was supposed to be escorted to the gate every day for safety reasons but this did not happen. Instead, he would wander to the gate at the end of the day. Usually 10-15 minutes after dismissal. All of the other parents were already gone. One time a parent began panicking because their child wasn't at the gate at their usual time. I wanted to hug her - Yes, I feel your panick EVERY DAY. Little did I realize that just because an IEP is written, doesn't mean they will follow through. At the end of the school year, a therapist apologized for dropping the ball on Gabriel's sensory diet. While I appreciated the apology, she had a full school year to implement something. I supplied the teacher with things that helped Gabriel. Nothing was used. In fact, the teacher demanded that Gabriel wear a belt. Since it is a requirement of the county school uniform, I complied. I purchase several different types of belts. Gabriel worked on the best with his OT and showed that he could perform the task of doing a belt. What the teacher and OT did not understand is that many ASD children have "leaky gut" which is forceful diarrhea. He could not unbuckle his belt fast enough to make it to the toilet and he had an accident. Even after this incident, the teacher insisted that he wear a belt! Later, I asked that "no belt necessary" would be written on his IEP. I was told that they didn't want to take away this important life skill. Seriously? But having a poop accident in the classroom is age approproiate? Does this really need to be a fight for everything? A friend asked, "now that you are a trained advocate, why don't you stay and fix Celebration's attitude?" I really thought I could. I wanted to but what I've learned is that I can work with parents on their children's needs in the school. What I can't do is change the attitude of entire team who doesn't want the best for my child. I'm too emotionally involved in my own child's education and experience. I don't want to sacrifice my child's education for that of the possibility of changing a system. To be honest, I was sick of being anxious and I was sick of being yelled at by professional adults. So with that experience, we decided to tour private schools. I was hopeful that an ASD school would be our answer. It was a wonderful school but it wasn't the school for Gabriel. We toured NINE private schools. All of them were good or even great but they didn't seem to fit Gabriel's needs. We decided to try another public school.

We packed up our family and moved to a larger yet less expensive home in Harmony. As the summer progressed, my anxiety has grown. This is a big question mark - we've heard Harmony has a great school and it's A rated but we heard the same thing about Celebration. Maybe we would at least have a better start given that we have an IEP from the same county. I've had a conversation with the assistant principal and the compliance specialist at our new school. Neither one has told me that they can not accommodate my child. Both of them have told me that they want Gabriel to succeed. They want to meet with me prior to school starting. They want to work with me and they have an open door policy. The compliance specialist also told me that they have a sensory program in place. WOW! I shed many tears after this past year of school. I am now hopeful. No system is perfect but maybe this will be our answer.

Our Lizard House

The first thing we hung up at our new home was the bird house my dad made for us a couple years ago. We love it but haven't found a decent place for it until now. Our Sioux City house had large trees but I wanted the bird house closer to our house so I could see it. Andrew suggested I get the binoculars out. Then our Celebration townhouse didn't have a good place unless we had picked a spot inside the house. We hung it on our back deck and it is so beautiful. No birds have taken residence in it (yet) but a lizard has and it entertains Gabriel and me. He sits on top of the bird house and checks things out around him. I hope he is a quick lizard should a bird decide to live in the bird house at some point. It would be a real bummer to watch him become bird food after watching him for a couple weeks. A little plug - my dad makes and sells these bird houses. I recommend them to anyone, even if you aren't a bird lover. They are great for decorative pieces or gifts. How neat would it be to tell someone that you had a gift handmade for them? If you aren't in Florida, you might not get to have a lizard live in your bird house but you would get something with impressive craftsmenship.

Don't you just love when...

...you get everyone ready to leave the house before 8 am during summer break, in order to make it to the preschool's orientation on time, and the car doesn't start? What a stressful way to begin a day. Immediately I have to change gears and figure out a plan B. Thankfully Andrew was still home so it was easy to move everyone to the other vehicle and drop Andrew off prior to our trek to the school.
After the cost of a move and various other expenses, I was anxious about a repair bill. I was positive it was a starter problem and that can't possibly be an inexpensive fix
When we returned home, I remembered we have a towing service through our auto dealer. I called and the tow was free! Whew!
Lane and I watched the tow truck take the van away. She was very interested
in the entire process.
It didn't take long to get a call from the dealership. I had a minor recall that would be fixed for free and the main problem was a bad battery. Good news!
It's incredible how much a day can change due to one battery. I hope we don't have to deal with car repairs for awhile.

Frozen sea creatures

The kids needed some direction while playing. They have begun to rely on tv or computer games. If I won't allow either, they run like crazy in the house.
I opened a pack of plastic sea creatures from the dollar store and put them in a bowl of water. I placed the bowl in the freezer and realized it was the perfect day to show the kids my surprise. I pulled out the water table and the kids tools. The toys in the ice were dumped into the water, creating giggles from three excited children.
The kids discovered turtles, starfish,
and other colorful plastic sea creatures. They chipped away at the ice with hammers and ate the ice with glee. It was a fun activity for a hot and humid day.
Alex thought that Lane ate too much ice and became angry with the situation. It was an easy problem to solve - I dumped the ice from the ice maker Into the water table and explained that getting upset about frozen water isn't necessary. All was well and it cost $1!

I Love Organizing

I love to organize things. I mean, I really love to organize and find new and better ways to store things. It's a fun challenge for me with the exception of feeling scattered and unorganized in the process. When we move, I need to figure out new ways to organize our items. This can take a while because the furniture doesn't quite fit from one home to the next. Or things break and then I need to figure out what will work for us. We have a larger home after this last move but less storage space. I am going to have to get creative. I've been searching Pinterest and the internet for different ways to store toys, reading material, creative materials and more. I went to the dollar store and bought see through containers for the art supplies. Everything was in zip locs in a large container but it was impossible to see what we had and that didn't assist the creative side of my children. I've had the containers for a week and I've seen a huge transformation in their interest for creating with our art supplies. I also picked up some bins for plastic items in our pantry. I like giving the kids access to their plastic cups. This makes them responsible for picking out their own cup without arguing about which one I pick out for them. I printed labels for the containers, laminated, and either taped or tied the labels. I'm sure there is a better way to label including using my label maker but I really like these labels! In the meantime, we are working away on the play room. I will blog about it when we see some progress.

Surfers for Autism Ponce Inlet

We attended our first Surfers for Autism event. The event was held at Ponce Inlet which is down the street from where Andrew and I lived when we first moved to Florida. We really like this location and it holds so many memories for us.

This is their mission statement from their site: The Surfers For Autism mission is to unlock the potential of people with developmental delays, support advocacy for autism issues and scientific research. Our focus is to eliminate stigma through public awareness and education and to unite communities through volunteerism. I wasn't sure if we would be able to attend when I signed the boys up but given that it's a popular event that fills up quickly, I signed up. Thankfully we moved the week before the event and it was the perfect excuse to avoid organizing our new home. The organization asks that the particpants have an IEP to qualify as a participant. Gabriel clearly qualifies. I emailed the coordinator about Alex, explaining our situation and the battle we had with the school. I told her that I didn't want to take a place of another child who has an IEP and understood if he didn't qualify as a participant. She welcomed him with open arms. I am grateful since we still don't have a diagnosis or explanation for his behavior. We had to get early on a Saturday in order to make it to the beach on time. We are now two hours from Ponce Inlet. I had no idea we are so far away now! Unfortunately, we completely forgot to pack toys for the kids! A friend attended and shared her beach toys with the kids - whew! I now have a printed list for the beach to see if it helps us remember everything for a day at the beach. Gabriel was not happy that we drove the van on the beach and had to walk to the event. He threw a fit for a while. The nice part about being with other families with kid with autism, is NO ONE turns to look at your screaming 7 year old. It is the best thing about these events. Gabriel could work through his meltdown and I had no embarrassment about the situation. At one point, I walked to the bathroom with Gabriel. It was quite a challenge, even with the help of a volunteer. She talked to Gabriel about turtles and bugs as we walked. He continued to throw himself on the ground. I learned how to spot turtle tracks in the sand! But I was worried the entire day was a bust if his poor attitude didn't change. The event was fantastic. First, we signed in and 200 participants were divided into four groups. The registration process was painless and well organized. Each group of kids spent just over half an hour in the water with volunteers who taught them how to surf. While we waited in line for the boys turns, Gabriel wrote math equations in the sand. It was his idea and the first time he's ever done something like that - wow!! Gabriel was excited to join his surfer in the water. He did well until he fell in the water and then he wasn't thrilled to surf any more. The volunteer picked Gabriel up after a brief break and took him back out to the water. It was perfect for Gabriel and he managed to complete 6 runs on the board!

Alex was far more anxious about getting on a surf board. Even though this is Alex's pattern when he tries new things, I was a little surprised by his reaction. He loves the beach and his boogie board. I didn't think he would even make it out to the water. However, he not only made it out on the board, he did a GREAT job too.

Lane loves the beach as well and had a blast playing the sand and surf. She is a real beach "baby". She had no interest in surfing so it worked out well.

The event has information booths and includes lunch. All of it is free for families! I walked around with Alex because he wanted a ball a company was handing out to children. We stopped at a booth and Alex charmed the guy there and Alex was given a shark tooth. Alex placed it in his pocket for safe keeping. It was a HOT day and after getting up early, we were done before the second round of surfing events started. It was well worth the two hour drive and we look forward to another Surfers with Autism event in the future.

Babysitter Notes Printable 2012

There are many free printable babysitter notes available. I've had a list on the refrigerator since the boys were little. I don't want to forget anything important by filling information out each time a babysitter comes to the house. We don't have many babysitters but I never know when an emergency might arise and someone unfamiliar with the children will have to step in to help, especially since our relatives live out of state. I don't laminate the babysitter information. I put it in a pouch and hang it on the refrigerator for easy access. I add post-it notes if anything important but different happens with the kids. For instance, the last evening we went out, I wrote notes on which drinks the kids would want to for bed time. It makes life much easier for someone watching our children. Also, given the kids special diets and special needs, I think it necessary to let anyone know what is going on with each of them. Not only is it necessary, it's fair. If I want a good babysitter to come back, I better make it easier with some information. I printed this http://thecarolinaclipper.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Babysitter-Notes-PDF.pdf and filled it out. Why recreate something that I can already use? A great suggestion is to add an illustration of CPR. This is a fantastic idea not only for a babysitter but for us as well. If something happens, it will be nice to have the imformation readily available. http://depts.washington.edu/learncpr/quickcpr.html There is also an infant version available.

Pipe Cleaners and Number Magnets

We went to the dollar store yesterday. I found a great idea to put the kids craft items in seperate clear containers so they can see what we have available to spark their creativity. The continers are available at the Dollar Tree so off we went to grab a deal. We also got glitter, pipe cleaners, bins for our pantry, magnetic numbers, measuring cups, tissue paper, and much more. The Dollar Tree is such a good deal for great items my kids play with at our house. They even have toys and snacks that my kids enjoy. At their ages, they don't care where something new comes from or what the price tag is and they don't care about many expensive things yet. I take full advantage of that by shopping for bargains.I pulled out the pipe cleaners, some beads, a spoon, a cookie sheet, and the magnetic numbers. Gabriel strung beads on pipe cleaners and worked on his fine motor skills. Lane transferred the beads with a spoon. Alex made up math equations with the numbers. He even worked on doubles equations, using the pipe cleaners to count out the answer. Surprisingly, they kept themselves busy for a couple hours. The total cost was $3!