7 Quick Takes Friday

1.

The Little Guy and his older brother cracked themselves up doing this. stuffing the Little Guy's shirt with couch pillows and watching him fall over both pretending he had a big belly. Boys, how little it takes to entertain. 

2.

Here's the other part of it. Older brother invented a game called "catapult" where he pushes Little Guy off with his feet into the couch. 

Everyone gets in on it. Something inside tells me it might be a little risky, but this is good for his sensory issues! :)

3.

Can we say, stinkin' cute?

If we can't, here's another...

and another...

Those are upside down, in case you were wondering. Kind of futuristic looking though, don't ya think?

4.

Meanwhile Barbie gets a spa treatment. 

5.

And Spot's getting potty trained...

6.

As I said, it takes so little....

7.

But then some boys grow up to be absolutely amazing men. LOVE our new Papa!

So there you have it folks, the most lame, most random, disconnected quicktakes, ever. Hope you enjoyed. Check out some others at Conversion Diary.

Homeschooling with Sensory Processing Disorder

I have had the privilege of being able to watch some talented OTs work with my 6 yr. old son, and have learned alot from them about how to help him adjust to his surroundings and maximize his potential during school seatwork time. I wanted to share what we do with him (I say we, b/c when you homeschool, everyone's involved) on a daily basis. I would not do all of the following in one day, I took these pictures over a period of several school days.

There are different types of SPD, and you can learn more about it in the blog I wrote here. Between the 2 OTs my son has worked with they both discovered he required a great deal of heavy work and stimulation to be "grounded" in order to sit down and focus on a task, especially one that requires coordination and dexterity. Here are some of the things we do.

Tug-of-war with a towel

Climbing up and down the stairs on all fours

Pushing furniture from one side of the room to the other

Swinging

Swinging with an added sibling for weight. :) Don't worry, this part only lasted a moment.

"Wheel barrow" walking

Oh how I love this shot. "sandwiching". Can't you tell how much he is enjoying it? (on the bottom) And don't you love how I am the only one posing for the picture?

 The after "sandwiching" shot

Another sandwiching shot, without me (phew!) He's in the red shirt

As for seatwork, there are 2 things I wanted to share. 

When my son's current OT started working with him this year, we could not figure out a good grip for him to get a proper grasp on the pencil when writing. Because of his challenges, he was very shaky, unable to control his lines. Then she recommended this grip. In my layman terms, she said it might be better because the pencil was lined up with his middle finger, which allowed a direct connection to his neuro-receptors. I think I explained it roughly the way she did : /. All I know is, it worked like a charm!

Here's one activity to improve dexterity with fingers, easy to put together. Just a box and some clothespins. I numbered them and asked him to put them on and take them off one at a time in order.

You might ask, why go to all this trouble? What good will it do? Does it really make a difference?

Last year, this time, he was barely able to make shapes. Maybe a deformed circle. Not much more than that. And then the other day, he drew his first stickman in his math book.

 Is that not the cutest stickman you have ever SEEN?! I think he is wearing boxing gloves. Not a big deal for an ordinary six yr. old. But for him, a momentous occassion. 

  

7 Quick Takes Friday

Guess what we did today?

1.

A little of this....

2.

and this....

3.

and this....

4.

and this...

5.

a lot of this...

6.

But not alot of this...

7.

or this...

For more quick takes visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary.

7 Quick Takes Friday

1.

I come out this morning and get lots of "Hey Mom!"s. Little Guy is filling up a cup of water and says, "Hey mom, I'm just getting a cup of water. That's what this house is for. Water. Food. Protection." #101conversationswiththeLittleGuy

2.

The one joke repeated by my kids today that made me laugh a little? (from Garfield) "Arlene: Garfield, do you love me more than food? Garfield: Do chickens have lips? Arlene: No. Garfield: Bingo."But PLEASE don't tell my children. Otherwise I will hear this scenario repeated over and over again until I want to vomit, Garfield. Thanks.

3.

This is the Queen's doll family out for a drive. I am thinking they are at full capacity. Might be some safety hazards there. Just sayin'. 

4.

You wanna know what defeat feels like? When you have just finished doing all the boys laundry and you go upstairs and see this. 

5.

Wanna know what makes me feel better? These pretty pencils I found at Michael's. I would tell you I got them for the girls but I would be lying. If I could I would decorate a whole room around these. Would you think me crazy if I told you I bought some clothespins to match? Who buys pretty clothespins?!!!  Apparently I do. 

6.
Wanna know what really makes me feel better?
Walking in my room and seeing this face again.

7.

I had a moment today. Sometimes, when you homeschool, you doubt yourself. alot. "Is this what we are supposed to be doing?" you ask yourself sometimes. I looked out the window while the kids were playing. All five of them were playing a game together. It was such a beautiful day, and a beautiful picture. The five of them, absolutely having a blast together, being at home together, playing outside. They were at the moment cheering Angel Boy on as he threw the ball. And I had a flash forward, if there is such a word, that when they all grow up, they will still be really close, and they will be there for each other, through the joys and trials in their lives. They will remind each other of the things they learned together, the important things. And I felt completely satisfied and full of joy at what I saw. 

For more Quicktakes click here!

The Quotable Little Guy

(Really if all I blogged about is what the Litte Guy said, I would have all the content I need.)

My mom visits today. We haven't seen her in a while as we were both out of town overlapping. The Little Guy squeezes the heck out of her and as he walks out of the kitchen declares, "I just love Grandmommy, she's got great hair!"

We were driving back from my parents' house tonight and passed quite a scene on the side of the road.  "Wow," I said in amazement,"nine police cars, with flashing lights behind one truck and about 15 containers of something they unloaded from it." Little guy shouts, "well who cares! I have a boo boo and it hurts!"

About 5 minutes later he thoughtfully says, "you know, if it were just one police car chasing us, I'd say easy peasy, but 9? I'd have to call on God or somepin!"

He squeezes me hard today and says, "I just love your heart to pieces Mom." And "on your birthday, I promise I'll be obedient mom. And you can do whatever you want."

"Mom," he says thoughtfully, "I think I am going to save that 5 dollars Grandmommy gave me. I don't want to spend it all like all those normal kids out there, cuz that would be RIDICULOUS!"

One of the Little Guy's chores is to clean up the hearth room. Every day he fights me on it, but eventually gives in. The other day after he had fought me on it for a while, he came up and started patting me and said, "Mom, I am going to put my trust in you, to help me clean up the hearth room."

Enjoy your kids! :)

Belated Valentine's Party! er...Weekend!

We have been out of town for 2 weeks seeing a special doctor for me in Charleston, and were driving home all day on Valentine's day. This disturbed my children greatly as every holiday around here is CRUCIAL to existence. The only comfort I could give them is that we as a family would celebrate the following day. Moms can do that. Change holidays to fit their schedule? Look it up, it's in the mom book.

Princess is ALWAYS prepared with color co-ordinated outfits on holidays. This day was no different.

As I had been a bit consumed with traveling a la family of 7 and doctor stuff, I was not prepared. I woke up the next morning and decided to try a recipe I had seen on Pinterest, but adjusted it a little with flours I could eat. 

  I had my oldest take this picture not because of my stylish hair-do (what do you expect for the morning after a 10 hr. car drive?) but because it was too perfect to share, that BOTH my bowl and shirt are red for the ocassion (the dustbuster in the background is just a bonus). It's not very often that things work out this way, so revel in it. 

Thankfully my mother, who saves me over and over, had been by to check on the house and left us these in the cabinet.

Yea!! Cutsie Valentine's plates waiting to be used! 

I do have all these cutsie (Am I using that word a little too much for your taste? Sorry) heart shaped cookie cutters but needed something fun, quick, and easy. So I put one on top of layered pancakes and sprinkled some stevia in it. 

 This being the result...

You like the sunbeams shining on it? (cue angel voices....)

I am not sure they liked it though...

It was hard for some to wait for mom to finish, so, once again Grandmommy saves the day, by leaving Valentine's presents for them in my bedroom.

Sorry, no before picture, this is after they descended upon them.

Admit it, you are totally jealous of the glamorous flashlight I got from Grandmommy. It takes so little to make this girl happy. 

In the evening we closed with the usual family rosary, exchange of cards, and surprise presents from their dad, which they hated, of course. 

All I know is, there's alot of love in this family.

Ok, sike! You were hoping this was the closing, but, I usually do a Valentine's night dessert, and I am kind of hard headed. Because I didn't have time on our scheduled Valentine's day, I did one tonight! (at this point my husband is looking at me cross-eyed as we have just begun the season of Lent in our Faith, of which the theme is supposed to be sacrifice and penance.) 

So, once again, I pulled up a recipe I found on Pinterest. Same blogger. I love this girl. This was so incredibly easy, and though I was unable to taste because of allergies, I was told by my oldest son it tasted like a Wendy's frosty.

 Nobody liked it, as you can see...

Truth be known, our family is on a very restrictive diet (gluten, yeast, dairy, sugar, preservative- free) so it is not quite as indulgent as it may appear. Now that I am done defending myself, I will REALLY close with a quote from my husband, as he seems to be the only one around here in his right mind. 

We were sitting in the doctor's office on Valentine's day and he said, "It is unfortunate that Valentine's is AFTER Lent begins." but after some thought he continued, "afterall, Love is all about sacrifice, so I guess it is rather appropriate." 

Best. Quote. For Valentine's Day. Ever. Nuff said. I promise from here on out, it is all hairshirts and bloody knees for us. Happy Lent!!

Check out some other great Catholic bloggers this month here!