The twins are now 3mths old :) That is Emma on the left and Lacy on the right.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Simple Moments
There are so many simple moments through out our childrens lives that we as parents never really pay attention to. When raising a special needs child those moments no longer exist, there are no more simple moments every moment is compicated and unexpected. The things that are old hat to most children become anxiety filled tests of perserverence for the special needs child. Everything from flushing the toilet to going out in public causes tears and major drama.
My oldest daughter has PDD-NOS a type of autism...do you know how many years it took me to be able to say that statement without crying? How many sleepless nights I spent trying to figure out how to solve her latest anxiety inducing incident? It honestly took me 6mths of constant work to get her to simply step into a public bathroom stall alone let alone go potty and flush the toilet on her own that took several more months and several relapses all while her peers had long ago mastered the skill.
Today though we had a rare moment, a moment where she was able to experience what normal childhood should be. Today my daughter ran off ahead of me with her friend, shared a chocolate bar and giggled as they ran in the grass. For most of you this would be a moment of annoyance that they had run off, or that they were going to ruin their dinner but for me it was a huge milestone.
My child who has been glued to my side in a panic while in public actually ran off without me with only a few fearful looks thrown over her shoulder every now and then to make sure I was still following. My child who can not eat 90% of foods because the texture makes her vomit shared food with her friend. My child who couldn't stand the texture of grass for the longest time was running in the grass.
Now it may have been a simple moment for most other children but to us it was a very rare moment in time where she was able to glimpse a normal childhood. I as a mother can only hope that this is the beginning of some independence and self reliance while at the same time struggling with the thought that my child who has needed me more than most may actually be growing up. *sniff*
My oldest daughter has PDD-NOS a type of autism...do you know how many years it took me to be able to say that statement without crying? How many sleepless nights I spent trying to figure out how to solve her latest anxiety inducing incident? It honestly took me 6mths of constant work to get her to simply step into a public bathroom stall alone let alone go potty and flush the toilet on her own that took several more months and several relapses all while her peers had long ago mastered the skill.
Today though we had a rare moment, a moment where she was able to experience what normal childhood should be. Today my daughter ran off ahead of me with her friend, shared a chocolate bar and giggled as they ran in the grass. For most of you this would be a moment of annoyance that they had run off, or that they were going to ruin their dinner but for me it was a huge milestone.
My child who has been glued to my side in a panic while in public actually ran off without me with only a few fearful looks thrown over her shoulder every now and then to make sure I was still following. My child who can not eat 90% of foods because the texture makes her vomit shared food with her friend. My child who couldn't stand the texture of grass for the longest time was running in the grass.
Now it may have been a simple moment for most other children but to us it was a very rare moment in time where she was able to glimpse a normal childhood. I as a mother can only hope that this is the beginning of some independence and self reliance while at the same time struggling with the thought that my child who has needed me more than most may actually be growing up. *sniff*
Sunday, April 11, 2010
SwagBucks
As many of you know I am always on the lookout for things to do from home that earn me a little money. I have tried all the survey, product review, and other gimmicky things out there and none of them work. They all take forever and at the most all you receive for your time is $0.50 now really my time is worth MUCH more than $0.50! So when I read about swagbucks on another blog I was sceptical to say the least but it was a blog I trust so I decided to give it a try. It was simple to use I just downloaded the toolbar and used it for my searches instead of google...that is it no surveys no e-mails to read just do your regular searches and every so often you win swag bucks :) Now once you get so many swagbucks saved up you can go to their store and buy things with them. So far since using the toolbar I have gotten $20 worth of amazon.com gift certificates! Now no it isn't a lot but it is $20 I didn't have before and it was $20 that I didn't have to do anything for :) You all should definitely check it out if you have not already :)
Saturday, April 10, 2010
New Quilt Project
I am happy to say that I am almost finished piecing Hailey's quilt :) I picked out the Fabric with her taste in mind and it has almost been my downfall since she is constantly trying to steal my squares because she thinks they are so pretty. Here she is proudly showing it off....
I just got the batting today so I should be able to start quilting it this week :)
I just got the batting today so I should be able to start quilting it this week :)
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Cloth Wipes
Amazingly enough when you are diapering two babies you need twice as many wipes...shocking I know :) I didn't realize this fact until I started running out of wipes constantly though! I blame it on lack of sleep, lol.
Thinking that it would just be easiest to buy some cloth wipes I started looking at prices and was shocked at how much they are! They charged $1.25 per wipe, for 12 wipes that would have been $15 and that was without shipping charges. I decided to make my own wipes using some 100% cotton hand towels I was able to find on base for $1.99 each. I bought two towels and was able to make 12 wipes for $0.33 per wipe. All it took was breaking out my sewing machine and doing a simple zig-zag stitch around the edge to prevent unraveling. From start to finish it took me about an hour but then I kept getting up to start/restart the diapers in the wash so it probably actually took me half that time.
Now some of you may be wondering where the wipes I have came from to begin with. Years ago when I started cloth diapering Sara Beth I knew nothing about cloth wipes and decided to buy one of those cloth wipes starter kits....yeah huge waste of money! I bought it thinking I needed the cloth wipes solution to put in the wipes box...um...I don't think I used it more than twice. I actually found the still full bottle in a closet the other day when I was looking for something else. For us plain old water works just fine and is much more cost efficient especially when you go through two boxes of cloth wipes a day.
While we are talking about cloth diaper accessories I thought I would also let you all know about my favorite cloth diaper safe diaper rash cream. Northern Essence has a wonderful all natural diaper rash cream. I actually am still using the same cream I bought for Sara Beth on the twins. This stuff lasts forever, smells great, and works wonders on little butts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
