Walking for Autism Awareness

My family and I are participating in the Georgia chapter Walk Now for Autism Speaks this May. We are so lucky to have the resources we have but more research means even better resources for our little boy and for the countless other little boys and girls who struggle in the same way. The icon below will take you to Alexander's individual donation page. Please take a moment to consider donating in support of his walk. Any amount you can offer will be appreciated! 

Boredom Busters (Probably will only work for me)

5 things I'm allowed to do when I "don't have anything better to do."

-Practice drawing with 5 Pencil Method Classes

-Study Tagalog with my Rosetta Stone software (my brother, Brian, is on a mission in the Phillipines and I want to be fluent by the time he gets home.)

-Write to Brian and/or compile care packages to send him

-Work on my Etsy store (I'll post more about this as it materializes.)

-Read the book club book for the month

These are things that I always enjoy doing but are also working toward minor goals. It's meant to be a line of defense between me and some of my old bad habits that might keep me from finding time for my "Duhs."

"Duhs"

I've made a lot of lists in the past few weeks. Making lists helps me cut down on stress because if I have something important to do, but don't write it down, it plays in may head repeated until I do. Worse than having Rebecca Black's "Friday" stuck in your head. To help me hone in on what's most important, I've been making even more extensive lists than usual so I have less things floating around my brain and distracting me. Shopping Lists, Wish Lists, To-Do Lists, To-Don't Lists, etc. All kind of like Dumbledore's Pensieve. Once I get something out of my brain, it's easier to decipher and deal with.

One of my lists ended up with the title "Duhs" at the top of it. This was a list of things that I should be doing regularly (if not every day). The list includes but is not limited to:
Mommy/Son therapy time
Mommy/Son snuggle/giggle time
Mommy cooking practice
Exercise
Weekday Cleaning Schedule

The list doesn't actually contain that many lofty goals if I were to really focus on what's most important and not let bad habits and laziness run my life. Some of the items I'm already good at and some I'm not. Some of them are really vital and others could be skipped, but I'm learning that I'd rather not suffer the consequences that come from letting them go completely.

FlyBaby

Lately I've been working on refocusing my energies on my family and our house. I still need to be able to take time and recharge my own batteries and cultivate some "non-essential" talents. But I'm trying to go about daily life more on purpose than I used to. Basically I was miserable for about two months after we got Alexander's diagnosis. Then I realized that a lot of my old habits just aren't sustainable amidst these new challenges (ex. sitting on facebook for extended periods of time does not give me a boost of energy or help me feel motivated to "get back to the day." It sucks me in and I'm lucky if I resurface before the boys have added 25 more things to my cleaning list.) I simply have to grow or I'm going to be crushed by the onslaught of "stuff I have to do" and suffocated by my own feelings and reactions. This does not mean that all of the sudden, two weeks ago, I became a perfect, glorified being. Everybody else, even Kevin, may not have noticed that big a difference in me from February to March. But I've noticed a difference. I'm not "happier than I've ever been" but I'm definitely happier than I was a month ago.

I signed up at FlyLady.net and diligently implemented the first two baby steps (Shine Your Sink and Dress to Shoes). Since then I haven't even visited the site again but I also haven't needed to. I have NOT kept my sink shiny-clean the way she says to but I have embraced the Getting Dressed to Shoes concept. It really is just like she says, I think twice before laying down for a snooze on the couch if I have my lace up shoes on. And I don't have any excuse for not going outside to play with the kids, or running to the store, or walking the trash can to the curb. Once again, people may not notice a difference when they come to my house in the level of its cleanliness, but I feel like there's a difference. I've gotten several Spring Cleaning/Organization projects done and I really feel like I owe it to my shoes. The dishes and laundry still pile up a bit but I feel slightly more empowered to handle it. And let me just tell you, spiders don't give me quite the same panic attack when I'm wearing my sneaks.

There's also a different mindset that comes with getting fully dressed as if I was really going to work (teeth brushed, makeup and deodorant on, the whole nine yards). I get in a groove, I put on my Hilary Weeks or Josh Groban Pandora station. I'm better at plowing through the chores and minutia and just getting it over with instead of letting it take up the whole day. This obviously leaves more time for other more pleasant endeavors. I've played outside with my kids more in the past couple of weeks than I ever have before. The early arrival of Spring, I'm sure, has also contributed to this development, but I'm just more motivated in myself than I've been in a while.

I guess you could say I look at all of this as evolution. My to-do lists have changed, my goals have changed, even my prayers have changed. They kind of just had to. And I'm grateful for the grace I know I've been given. I couldn't have gotten even to this point on my own.

"I ain't as good as I'm gonna get, but I'm better than I used to be."

Pencil Sketch - Part II

I did go back and try to work out some of the kinks in my sketch from the other day. I think this is the best I can do without obsessing about it and ripping the page up with my eraser. 

I really need to keep up my practicing and get better at this!

Drawing Talent

I was "tooling around" Pinterest yesterday and found a pin for free online drawing lessons. One link led to another and I found myself at fivepencilmethod.com. I signed up for the free email tutorials and started watching a few of the videos. So far I really like the format and I think I could definitely get something out of this. I think the teacher used to be a drafter and I like how thorough and systematic he is (like, he starts with the proper way to remove a sheet of paper from your tablet). I like having things broken down into finite steps, I'm all OCD like that.

Drawing is one of those things at which I "used to" have some talent. I say this about drawing (and painting, singing, playing the piano...) because when I was about 10 I was considered talented at these things but then I eventually stopped practicing and my talent stayed where it was.

Anyway, after getting a little inspiration from Mr. Darrel Tank (he is SO from Idaho) I pulled out my old sketch pad and a picture of Jacob as a little baby (he's a toddler now) and put pencil to paper for the first time in years.

Results

Both of the sketches are from the same picture. The one in the middle-left of the page was my first try, but I wasn't satisfied at all so I drew the one below it. 

Definitely not a spitting image but I was happy to see that my second try really was better. Looking at it on the computer like this is actually helping me see where some of the problems are (I'm so going to have to go back and fix his left eye now). And of course, this was just sketch paper and a #2 pencil. I've told myself that if I'm good and practice with what I have, I can save my pennies and justify spending money on nice pencils and other supplies. We'll see how that goes. 

I guess I should probably go practice the piano while the little man from the picture is napping... Either that or fold laundry. Why is it that laundry is always more pressing? I know, I'll put on Pandora and clean while I also practice my singing. :-) That should do it.

My "Done List"

I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest lately. (I know I'm not the only one!) That site has got to be one of the most addictive things ever! At least for an OCD *nut* like me. I finally decided that I needed to make some "rules" for myself to channel my pinning obsession. My main rule includes the use of my "To-Do List" board. It's a board where I repin things I've pinned onto my other boards that I would like to actually do or make in the immediate future. This gives me easy access to my immediate goals so when I'm in a productive mood, I can cut right to the chase instead of getting lost in an endless sea of pins. The "rule" I've been trying to live by is that I'm not allowed to pin anything new unless I've done something off my "To-Do" board in the last week. In other words, if I go a whole week without actually USING the resources I'm pinning, I'm not allowed to waste time adding more. 

This is an exclusively self-imposed rule. I really can't say if I've been officially sticking to the week time frame or not, but having this goal in the back of my head has helped at least some. The only real documentation I have so far of the things I've done is moving them from the To-Do board to my Tried It and Loved It or Experiences Worth Having boards. So I wanted to post more about it on here and motivate myself to keep going. So here are the things I've done since I started this goal-oriented approach to pinning. :-)

Recipes Cooked (with Kevin's help):

    

Long-term Project Begun:

Ingredients Purchased:

     

Family Activities Done:

(Link to pictures on family blog)

If any one happens to read this and is inspired to make a similar board (or just set more goals), I do have a piece of advice: start small. It's GOOD to put recipes on your "To-do" list that won't require major shopping trips; ones that use stuff you have on hand already. Pin things you're already planning on doing anyway, like I did with the Corn Dawgs family activity. This is NOT "cheating". This is just a way to find motivation by having linked resources handy and to aid in making your inner awesomeness an outer reality. The awesomeness is something you already have, the list is just a way to remind yourself. As my old buddy C.S. Lewis always says, "Do not mistake it for the thing itself: and if it does not help you, drop it."

I can do that!

If you haven't seen this site, you should check it out. It's inspired me to look at things I like with a slightly different eye. Not, I could make that at home, but I will make that at home.

Org Junkie Inspiration

I want to add this article to my inspiration collection. It has a nice twist on the "don't look down" idea. Instead "Don't look up!"

Teddy Bear Heaven?

Over our front door is this ledge -

We've lived here for almost 4 years and I've been planning on making some sort of decorative display for this ledge since the day we decided to buy the house. I refer to it as "Teddy Bear Heaven" because when I was growing up my best-friend's mom had a similar ledge that she decorated with elaborate teddy bear display scenes (that she changed with the seasons and holidays) and that's what we all called it. 

As of tomorrow I will have the last necessary piece for my newly re-planned display. And yesterday my wonderfully obliging hubby ran to Home Depot to grab one of these babies on sale before they were all gone.

Werner 22ft Multiposition Ladder

I know the online ad says free shipping but once you read the fine print you will see that it's just free shipping eligible if your total comes to more than $250 of eligible stuff. So Kevin drove the 0.81 miles to our lovely neighborhood Home Depot and was back in about 10 minutes with our fabulous new ladder.

4 years of waiting are finally over! Stayed tuned later this week for the before and after reveal!

Quote of the Day

"Because we are being constantly exposed to the world's definition of greatness, it is understandable that we might make comparisons between what we are and what others are-or seem to be-and also between what we have and what others have. Although it is true that making comparisons can be beneficial and may motivate us to accomplish much good and to improve our lives, we often allow unfair and improper comparisons to destroy our happiness when they cause us to feel unfulfilled or inadequate or unsuccessful. Sometimes, because of these feelings, we are led into error and dwell on our failures while ignoring aspects of our lives that may contain elements of true greatness.

"In 1905, President Joseph F. Smith made this most profound statement about true greatness:

" 'Those things which we call extraordinary, remarkable, or unusual may make history, but they do not make real life.

" 'After all, to do well those things which God ordained to be the common lot of all mankind, is the truest greatness. To be a successful father or a successful mother is greater than to be a successful general or a successful statesman.' (Juvenile Instructor, 15 Dec. 1905, p. 752.)"
--Howard W. Hunter, "What Is True Greatness?" Ensign, Sept. 1987, 70

Alphabet Treasure Hunt

This is a little activity my mom came up with for me when I was two. She made two copies of each letter of the alphabet. Then she would post one set all around on the walls at my eye level. She would give me one of the second set of letters and tell me to go find the one that matched. My mom was pregnant with her third baby in three years at the time (and insanely morning sick) and this game gave her the ability to rest while I would go on a hunt and bring the letter back to her. Over the years there were other variations, and of course there were times when she could look with us instead of handing us the letter from the couch but this is the general idea. There is actually an article that she wrote all about it in the November edition of knowonder! magazine*. Her article is called "The Amazing Alphabet Adventure" and it's on page 112. You should definitely give it a read. My mom is a mother of 6, she did daycare in our house for years and know she's a elementary school teacher for kids with special needs. She is a veritable fount of knowledge when it comes to creative/educational activities for kids.

Moving on to "little Amy's" present day story. I don't think I've mentioned it on this blog before but my son Alexander is going to be three in July and he's never said a single word. He babbles in his own little boy language but never a word in English (or Spanish. The doctor asked me that once when I said he doesn't speak English, "What language does he speak?" Totally didn't get what I was talking about. So I told her he speaks Curious George.) I know there's plenty of kids out there who didn't talk right away but we can't help but wish he could say things like "Mommy" and "Daddy" and "Yes, mother I am now ready to be potty trained."

Anyway, the reason I share this here is because I've noticed lately that I've been putting off teaching Alexander a lot of different things because he can't talk yet. I've been waiting and so focused on that one thing, I've been slacking in other areas. I've realized now that just because he's delayed in that one aspect, doesn't mean he can't learn things like matching and recognizing his letters, which is all this game requires. So I decided to give my mom's idea a try.

I used velcro for the wall posting, in case you're interested; loop half on the wall (semi permanent but that's how serious I am about this) and the hook part on the back of one set of letters. 

Good letter cards can be used for any number of learning games so I wanted to share some printables. **Free Free Free!** Get all three sets and then you can mix and match as your child becomes more familiar with the upper case block letters.

Upper case print/block letters. Full jpeg alphabet in zip file. 

All Arial font except "I" is Lucida Fax (to distinguish between lower case file "l" and upper case file "I".)

Click for 4shared download

Lower case print/block letters. Full jpeg alphabet in zip file.

All Arial font except letter "a" (to simplify as possible writing guide) 

Click for 4shared download

 Both upper case and lower case cursive letters. Full jpeg alphabet in zip file.

All Learning Curve font with "guidelines" added.

Click for 4shared download

If you read my post from last Thursday you'll remember that I printed my cards out on regular printer paper and then laminated them. Of course you can use whatever paper/card stock you want and they don't have to be laminated to serve their purpose. I just wanted mine to last a really long time.

Here's Alexander trying to get the matching A to stick to the wall, too. Sorry son, no sticky on that one.

I effectively posed this picture, because I called him to me and handed him the A and pointed to the A on the wall. So, no he didn't magically learn "A" overnight. I figure we can practice and have a lot of fun! Here's to better teaching and communication! 

I love you, little boy!

*Story has been moved to a new webpage on knowonder! Click here to see it.

Lined up

I enjoy organizing, but I hate cleaning. Anyone else know what I mean? Organizing is fun because it’s creating a pattern, almost like art. You can line things up by size or color or frequency of use. You can create cute little boxes or baskets to put odds and ends in so they’re not just an eye sore. Fun times. Cleaning, on the other hand, is not like art. It’s like work. Pain in the butt work. Dishes, laundry, toys: piles and piles of stuff that multiply and never end. I’ve found that I can happily clean while I organize but I can’t organize while I clean. This is because the cleaning will never get done. Meaning, if my goal is to organize, a good deal of cleaning will obviously happen in the process. But if my goal is to get everything clean, stopping to look something over and decide whether or not to keep it and where it should go and then moving other things around to better locations to accommodate my new system: doesn’t work.

Just ask my mom.

I used to drive her nuts when I was supposed to be cleaning my room and I would spend a solid 5 minutes starting at each individual item I had picked up, reminiscing about where and when I got it, etc., before moving it all of 6 inches to the left. She also used to hate taking me shopping for clothes. I always had a definite picture in my head of what I wanted to get and we never could find a store that could read my mind.

But I digress.

My awesome SIL spent the past few days organizing most of the closets in her house. She posted pictures of the before and after this morning and suddenly I remembered how much I like organizing. So after half a morning in our master bedroom closet, here is a before and after of my own.

Before

      

My heck-a-cute kids

After

A couple weeks ago I did some work on my side (the garbage bag in the first picture has a bunch of my clothes in it to donate.) So today I did Kevin’s side, which included sorting through all the baby clothes I’d thrown in there as the boys grew out of them. See how pretty?

All color sequenced  

Told you I love a good pattern. Of course, most of these shirts had been in that pile on the floor for a while. But wrinkled is the new ironed right?

I don’t think you can see very well in these pictures but I have only white hangers for my side and only blue hangers for Kevin’s side. I did that last year and I think it really helps make things look nicer when there aren’t 15 different types and colors of hangers floating around the closet. Only problem is, if I ever need to jimmy the lock on my car; no wire coat hangers to be found. Ah, well, c’est la vie.

You've got (real) mail.

I love ordering stuff online! It's so nice to have true one-stop shopping. And I must admit, I can be a bit of an "Amazon Super Saver Shipping" junky. You know, when you only have one thing to buy but you buy 3 other things too just to get your total up to $25? :-) Good times.

Anyway, just kind of rambling because I'm in a good mood today. My expressions vinyl order came over the weekend and I'm excited to get my "I get to come home to you." quote put up. I actually probably won't do it today because there are a couple of people I want to show how it works so I'll have to wait til they can come over. But getting stuff in the mail is just so fun.

What's your favorite thing to get in the mail?

Read the Scriptures!

Thanks to my sister-in-law Katie for sharing this awesome scripture study help on her blog! The site www.readthescriptures.com offers preplanned or personalized scripture reading schedules. You pick one or many and they will email you your selection(s). I love this idea because I'm currently working in Primary (with the little kids) at church and since that means I don't get to go to Sunday School myself, I chose to have the preset weekly lesson scriptures sent to me so I can keep up with the grownup class. I've been wanting to get back in the habit of daily reading and this seems like the perfect thing to give me a little push. The site also has a bunch of other extra features like highlighting and stuff I haven't tried yet but it looks like they thought of everything. It also lets you form teams to be kind of a study group for discussions and stuff. Oh, and did I mention this service is totally free? Yay for free! So now I'm going to post this and go read my first day's selection. Let the spiritual nourishment begin!

Picture Hanging

I mentioned at the end of my "Project" post a couple days ago that I was going to finish the boys' walls off by hanging a bunch of pictures. Up to this point I've made Kevin hang all the pictures in the house because for some reason I didn't think I could do it right but today I sucked it up and tried. I didn't use any tools for leveling or measuring but I wanted a kind of off-center look anyway so I just eye-balled it. And I'm pretty happy with the results.

And then I was on a roll so I hung the "Family" frame in this picture.

The Brown's sign was already there but this way people who've been to our house can imagine where the new frame is. 

(Family frame from top to bottom: Kevin and me and our boys; all of Kevin's family at his sister's wedding (minus Jacob);  all of my family at my parents' house last March (Becca and I were pregnant with Gideon and Jacob) 

Not really sure how much longer this productive groove is going to last. I've even been keeping up with my diet and exercising and doing the dishes and laundry. All pretty big deals for me so that feels good. I ordered some card stock so I can play with my Silhouette a little more. I think having this crafty stuff to play with is helping me stay in a creative/homemaker-y mood. The package came today and if the boys take a nap I'll probably try to make some more pretty stuff this afternoon.

Quote of the Day

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.
- C. S. Lewis

Quote of the Day

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quote of the Day

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be.
Now put foundations under them.
- Henry David Thoreau

Quote of the Day

Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.
- William B. Sprague