Having a ball.....

This week was a little challenging for Miss A'. After a few weeks of school, she finally had her first "sensory" meltdown. Without going into much detail, she became very agitated and began a series of bad habits that had disappeared a while back. It seemed like she was spiraling out of control, would not make eye contact and was in "Anna-land" most of the day. We were very concerned about her. We figured it had something to do with her new routine, but couldn't pinpoint the exact cause. I spent the greater part of Monday in tears on the phone with her occupational therapist (whom we love) describing her behavior and hoping she'd give me some pointers on what to do.

Her therapist explained some new techniques that we could use with her to get her to focus again. I'm always a little skeptical because some of them sound a little "funky" to me, but they always seem to do the trick. She suggested giving her a "total sensory experience" (ie. deep pressure massage, tension and traction therapy...basically think of playing row, row, row your boat while rocking back in forth holding hands, aroma therapy....dipping cotton balls in all sorts of different things to smell, smelling lotions, perfumes, etc., running water over her hands, letting her play in flour, rice, noodles, dirt, sugar, pudding, or any other "fun" texture(ahem...if you hadn't picked it up from previous posts, I'm a bit of a neat freak. I did do it, albeit with a plastic sheet, towels, and baby wipes nearby)and submerging her in some sort of medium. I figured out quickly that the first set of suggestions were "easy", but the submerging.....not so much.

On Friday, Miss M. and Mr. J, Jr. didn't have school. J', Sr. had some problems with one of the trucks on the farm, and he had a few hours to kill in town waiting for it to be repaired. We decided to do something fun w/the crew and headed off to a local playland full of all kinds of sensory activities (even though that isn't what they call them). J', jr., Miss M., and D' hurried off to go down the slides, chase each other thru the mazes, crawl thru all the tubing, etc., and Miss A' found her "full body submerging medium"......a ball pit. She LOVED it!!!

When we returned home, we discussed making one for her. I remembered seeing ball pit balls at Target, and we already had a playpen at home. With the ok from my wonderful hubs, Miss M', J', jr., D', and I headed off to town. We were able to procure the last two bags of balls....yippee!! She has thoroughly enjoyed herself in her own personal ball pit, as have the other three. She is now back to her normal, cute and naughty self with just a few lingering effects remaining.

Where's Miss A?

Um....a little old for the ballpit, but she HAD to try it!

D' buried in a sea of balls.

J-man trying it out.

Sew much fun......

I'm a sucker for throw pillows. I love looking at them in stores, but I refuse to purchase them because they are ridiculously expensive (for what you get!!). My first job was at a fabric store, so I know what fabric costs, and I just can't justify purchasing something that is so highly inflated. What can I say.....my husbands "dutchiness" is wearing off on me. :)

Anyhoo, I decided it was high time to give my throw pillows a "makeover" because they were getting TIRED. My kids use them all the time. The boys use them to beat (ahem, I mean swat) at each other. Miss M' and Mr. J', Sr. use them to lay in front of the fireplace. Niecey-poo uses them as a lap desk when using her laptop. A' finds great joy in chucking them onto the floor to drive mommy batty (she takes the word "throw" literally), and I prefer to use them for their intended use....decor, of course.

The family of fabric that I love finally went on sale, so guess who high-tailed it to the store? Imagine how giddy I was when I saw all of these glorious coordinating fabrics with a big ole 50% off sign atop of them?? Seriously, I let out a loud "yippee" and "woohoo" right there in the home dec aisle of JoAnn's (I feel sorry for my kids sometimes b/c I am sure that I embarrass them to no end w/such outbursts).

A few dollars later, two bags of fiberfill, a couple of yards of trim and voile.......happy ME!!! All of the old pillows have been lovingly inserted into the new pillow forms that I made, and for giggles I added a touch more fiberfill to make them perk up even more. Now that is recycling folks.

Sew (pun intended), here they are......

My old, tired pillows.....flat as pancakes.

I'm ALMOST embarrassed to put this picture up, but I wanted to show how stained and ugly this one was before. No worries.....just a chocolate milk stain from Darling D'.

Finished pillows. And, the best part is that they are reversible. :)

Front

Front

Reverse

Reverse

My four new favorites.

Semper Fidelis

Ah, a welcome site. All of the gear to go HOME!!
Dan's first real meal in over 3 months!

While in basic training, Dan turned 21. He celebrated his graduation by enjoying a beer with his brother and dad.

Proud parents. Mom and dad w/their Marine.

Our travel group....Bri, Kris, Mom, Dad, and Ben

Some alone time. B' and Dan sharing a quiet moment in the park.

The parade deck at Recruit Depot San Diego.

Brothers in arms.....Daniel (USMC) and Benny (US Army). Way to go boys!!

Delta Company Platoon 1067

Too cute!

This past weekend, I was able to attend my brother-in-law's graduation from Marine boot camp in San Diego. What an amazing experience! Three hundred and sixty eight recruits graduated and are now serving our country in the US Marine Corp. Please never forget the sacrifices that these young men are making to protect our country, as well as the countless others have served (or will serve) in our armed forces.

Can you say.....moooooooo

Miss M' is starting to say a few words, which we are really excited about. She is REALLY fond of cows (how fitting), and in this video she is asking for a cow that I am holding (calls cows "moo"). I could stare at her cute little face all day long (ok....I'm completely biased!).

Miss M' and the bee.....

Miss M' participated in her school spelling bee a few weeks ago. She did a great job representing her grade. We are so proud of her! Way to go Miss M!!! xoxo

Miss A' is off to school....

Story time

A' kissing her baby

Circle time (and her FAVORITE teacher, Shawn). Seriously, she adores Shawn and follows her everywhere.

Anna testing out the playground equipment

Puzzle time!

Miss A' started developmental preschool a few weeks ago, and these pictures are from her first day. She is still adjusting to her new schedule (not always easy for her to adapt to new environments), but each day is getting a bit better than the former. She LOVES her teachers, and she seems to like her fellow classmates. It was a little hard for me to leave her because I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to my kids, but I think it will really benefit her socially and cognitively. She already seems to be way more inquisitive about her environment, and she can't seem to stay out of things (even more so than before!).

Soap box derby...

J' showing Daddy his car

D' enjoying his hot dog lunch

A few weeks ago, Mr. J., Sr. took the two boys to Mr. J., Jr.'s first soap box derby. Mr. J., Jr. took his car very seriously! He was very concerned about paint color, design, etc., and although his car wasn't exactly "aerodynamic," I was told that they had a great time. They are already discussing modifications for next year in hopes of making their car sail down the track a bit quicker.

A rare moment.....

Yes, folks. That's right....all four of our kids are playing TOGETHER. It rarely happens, so we thought it would be fitting to capture it on camera. And, in case you are wondering....yes, those are Christmas stockings on the mantel. I was a little slow about putting things away this year. . . jk...hehe. The picture was taken a few months ago. :)