Back into the Fray

So a lot, and I mean A LOT, has happened these past few months. I've been incredibly busy and preoccupied but here's a rundown of things:

1. I quit my daytime job so I can devote more time to my family, including my son who has speech dysarthria and has numerous doctors / therapy appointments

2. My dysarthric son had ear tubes in/adenoids and tonsils out. They seem to be working wonders. I know some people are on the fence about tonsillectomies, but this child no longer has sleep apnea nor snoring. It's improved the quality of the sounds he can produce as well. Win-win!

3. We went to Disneyland Paris and Legoland Deutschland. They. Were. Amazing. Love the memories that we created and maybe one of these days I'll post some information/tips/photos.

4. I realized that I'm frustrated by the lack of information out there about children with speech dysarthria (if you google it you'll find it's mostly in older patients, particularly stroke patients, who have had some sort of head trauma). I'm frustrated that we're not sure what we're in for, nor how far Lincoln can go, and that there's just NO ONE out there. Then I realized, hey, I can blog about it. I can be the start. There might some other mother out there that's just getting the dysarthric diagnosis for her child and she might want to find some answers (I have none) or atleast some camaraderie (I have plenty). So if I start rambling about my child and his speech / motor delays, you know why. :)

Well, those are the main points, I think. I do plan on becoming more active in my blog. I really enjoy reading other blogs, reading comments, etc. so I hope that I can get back into it. Like everything else in life, I think I'll just have to make time for it.

Digital Silhouettes

Recently, okay maybe not recently, a dear friend of mine sent me a care package in the mail. It was absolutely wonderful and thoughtful and amazing. It absolutely made my day week. I wanted to reciprocate the favor, but while I'm crafty at times, I know she has me beat in that department. I wanted to do something I knew she didn't already have or didn't have the time for. So I created some silhouettes of her children for her. These make lovely gifts. Here's how I did it.

Step 1: Find a photo of each subject, preferable a side view or profile view of that person. Enlarge that photo file to fit the size of your template (I'm going to frame mine in 5x7 frames so I wanted to make sure they fit and filled the 5x7 frame). You can size them in anything from photoshop (expensive program) to free programs like picasa, picnik, or GIMP.

Step 2: Once you have each subject scaled to the size you need it, you can go ahead and either remove the background to make it easier on your printer ink or leave it as-is (definitely the easier option). Print each photo on regular printer paper (you want it to be thin and easy to cut through).

Step 3: Find a bit of black poster paper or cardstock and place it underneath your photograph(s). Using a sharp knife, like an exacto blade, slowly and carefully cut through both your photo and the black paper beneath it. Voila!

Step 4: For an added personalized touch, create a 5x7 print with the child's or person's name in a fancy script along the bottom of the print. Adhere the silhouette to the 5x7 print. I used scrapbook squares to attach mine and they worked really well, plus they're acid free. Frame and you have a great and personal gift that any mother would love.

More fruit, please!

My kids seem to be going through a boycott of anything healthy lately...which is ironic since I've been eating better and setting a better example. I have a real problem getting the older one to eat veggies and fruits. It seems like the only thing he ever wants is hot dogs and mac 'n cheese.

Both boys, however, LOVE pizza. So I made fruit pizza. Yum!



What I did was take a full-size whole grain bagel and sliced it into two. I think this would have worked great with the mini bagels too, but I didn't have any in the pantry. Then I topped the bagel with a thin layer of Nutella, and topped with fruit. I used strawberries and bananas as our toppings, but I think that any fruit would be great (especially kiwi and grapes thinly sliced). The boys LOVED these. I don't think they realized that it was even fruit, which they normally shy away from. They loved eating their pizzas.

Do you have any tricks for sneaking in fruits and veggies in your kids' diets?

A weekend of SUN!

This weekend was the loveliest of the year so far in Germany. That's not really saying all that much since it's only April but believe me, it was gorgeous. The weather was lovely, the boys were well-behaved, and we spent some much-needed time outdoors.

Since my husband is a big history and (in particular) WW2 buff, we went to the westwall museum nearby. It's a museum in a converted bunker from WW2. Sounded really interesting.



Here's the sign (in German) telling us it wasn't open except on Sundays and holidays (we were there on a Saturday...).



Oh well. Atleast it was a great view from the top of the hill. We'll be back sometime in the future. Sunday we went to the small nearby zoo. The boys love to get out and walk around (FREEDOM!) and Drake in particular loves the animals.



They even have a cute little playground that's a favorite of the boys. Drake really enjoys the slides (weeee! down!) and the rope crossing.



It was a great weekend, spent with those I love so dearly. Hope yours was just as lovely.

Sunshine!

Finally we had a beautiful day here in Germany. There's been some that have been really close to being absolutely beautiful, but today was exceptionally great. The boys and I took a walk to a nearby park, where they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They both came home not tired like I had hoped they would be, but completely dirty...just like little boys should be.

Arts & Crafts

I'm a firm believer in creativity. Much of the artwork around my house is homemade, either by myself or other creative people. I installed a simple string with clips on it to display Drake's artwork and his worksheets that we've been working on. He's always really proud of whatever he creates and wants it to go straight on the wall. Most of his work I take photos of, then trash it. I save his best work or stuff that I'm unwilling to part with. Go ahead, call me a packrat (the husband does) but I prefer the term "sentimental."

Today was arts and crafts day with some paint in bowls, some construction paper, and simple but easy to use brushes consisting of q-tips. Drake had a blast, and Link was interested too for a little bit.

School is in Session

Here's some things I learned today about Drake and trying to do my own version of preschool with him:

1. Safety scissors are not all that safe. In fact, they can cut skin, specifically, Mommy's finger.
2. Cutting Mommy's finger is apparently HIL-A-RI-OUS.
3. Drake will sit not sit still for more than one book to be read in a row. Good to know.
4. No matter how much planning you put into making a schedule and a curriculum, it's not really up to you. It's up to him.
5. Glue makes an excellent hair gel.
6. ...and last but not least, he has a voracious appetite to learn things and I really need to cultivate it.

To that end, we're starting our own little version of preschool here. Complete with useless schedules, fun crafts, loads of coloring, and the alphabet. Tomorrow we're going to head to the library to pick up some books that are on our schedule this week. I know I said that schedules were useless, but they do give me a good jumping point for the day's lessons. If he happens to show more interest in craft time, or coloring, or whatever, then I'm going to be flexible.

In the meantime, I'm looking around on the web for more coloring sheets and worksheets. I didn't realize we'd go so quickly through them. Now..if only there were more hours in the day to do everything that needs to be accomplished around here and become Drake's teacher...