Why I said farewell to Facebook

Recently, I've been really looking at my Facebook usage. It didn't take me long to realize that I checked the stupid thing way too much! When I woke up in the mornings, usually the first thing I did was go check Facebook. I scrolled and scrolled, catching up all the way to the last thing I saw before I went to bed. I bet I checked Facebook ten times a day! 

Why though? 

Why is it so important that I catch every detail that my "friends" decide to share? 

I love when I run into a friend, that isn't on Facebook, and we agree to have a lunch together to catch up. At the end of the meal I feel truly caught up! I don't feel as though I've missed out because I didn't see what she had for dinner each night, or when she went to the movies, or who she was hanging out with on the weekends. She tells me what she wants me to know. She tells me the things that are important. 

Have you ever talked to someone that went through every single detail? You really just want to scream, "GET TO THE POINT ALREADY!" 

That's generally my attitude towards Facebook now. I don't need to know every single detail. I feel like if something important happens, my friends should be able to shoot me a call or text and fill me in. I guess I'll find out.

Now, I want to make it clear, I am just as guilty as the next person about rambling on Facebook. I've definitely posted all the major stereotypical "annoying Facebook posts" such as food, inside jokes, pet pictures, etc. It really was hard to admit, and even harder to admit that that was an issue! Quitting Facebook is even comparable to when I stopped drinking soda! I find myself craving it! With soda, I would walk to the refrigerator and open it up expecting to see a Coca-Cola. With Facebook, I go to my social media folder on my phone and expect to see Facebook there. It truly is an addiction for me! I say is because I'm still in the early stages of my farewell. I still aimlessly go to my phone expecting to scroll through. I'm hoping it won't take long before I've broken that habit.

One last thing I do want to add, sort of as a disclaimer, Facebook can be good. It's not all bad. Some people use Facebook to keep in touch with family. Some people use Facebook as a means to communicate with clients. Those are all completely okay things. I'm not necessarily bashing Facebook or users, I just know that I became too engrossed and needed to do something about it. The way I plan to keep in touch with my friends and family is through this blog to share photos, mailing photos, and picking up the stinkin' phone and calling them every once in awhile! 

It's easy to like a Facebook post to show support of what someone is going through. 

However, remember that it would mean a lot more to pick up the phone and call. Sometimes they may just need to hear your voice. 

The following photos are just for laughs. I found them all on google images. I have not edited the photos in any way and in no way claim that they are mine. Enjoy! 

DIY Dalmation and Firefighter Halloween Costumes with Wagon Fire Truck!

Each year since Ian was born, I have been making the boys' costumes for Halloween. They're never anything amazing, necessarily, but hand made just looks a thousand times cuter, in my opinion! Last year they were wreck-it-ralph and fix it felix jr. See these posts here: Wreck-It-Ralph & Fix If Felix Jr. This year, they decided on a firefighter and dalmatian. I started making these mid September once they decided. I'm not quite done yet so watch for more photos closer to Halloween!

 For the suit, he's just wearing a 24 month onesie and a pair of girl's 3T leggings. I colored the black dots with sharpie and fabric paint. Neither seemed to work better than the other so it's your choice. Coloring the dots is more tedious that I originally thought it would be. Looking back, paint may have been easier. For the feet I used felt. I traced his foot and cut a hole in it to go over his shoes. They move when he walks so I think before events I'll put a strip of tape underneath to hold it steady. His collar is also felt. I did it pretty loose so it wouldn't bother him and used sticky velcro so I could easily take it on and off. His ears, I used one of my headbands. They have headbands at walmart for 89 cents. I used white foam and felt. I cut the shape I wanted and hot glued them first together and then on to the band. The foam gives it a thicker, bolder appearance.

 How cute is that little tail?! The tail is just a single sheet of felt cut in half. I sewed the end, stuffed it with poly filling and sewed it shut. I then sewed on a strip of elastic so he could keep it on his waist. The elastic could be easily hand sewed and the felt would have responded just fine to hot glue, if you don't have a sewing machine.

I'll definitely post more pictures as this comes together. His pants are from JC Penny. They're just regular track suit black pants. The "slicky" kind. They had a white stripe down the leg but I covered each side first in yellow duct tape, then a silver strip down the center. I did the same along the bottom. I also tacked in some "suspenders". I just used a wide black elastic. I wish I could have found red but this works just fine. His jacket and boots he already had. Before Halloween I plan to duct tape black over the boots so they appear solid color. His air tank still needs straps to be worn as a backpack. I haven't quite figured out how I'll do it yet so check back! As you can tell, the tank is just a soda bottle spray painted silver with the same tape around it. The mask and tubing we already had as my youngest son, Ian, and I both have asthma. I just added the cool tape to it to give it a color pop.

The last thing, I transformed our family wagon into a fire truck! This was FUN! Check this thing out! My favorite part is that the lights work! Also, I'm planning some lettering on the wagon with some logos. Keep an eye out for updated pictures on Halloween!

Soccer Season 2014

 Christian's first year of soccer!

Christian is absolutely loving soccer! At the first practice, his coach thought for sure that he had played before. He's definitely a natural! It's odd, really, that at home he trips over his own feet multiple times a day, but on the field he's extremely graceful! I'll keep updating this post with new pictures, so check back regularly! 

How's Christian doing?

We get asked a lot about our Christian Daniel. People often aren't sure how to ask. I want to clear that up. The worst thing you can ask is, "What's wrong with him?" There's nothing wrong with our son. Better ways to ask include, "What's unique about Christian." "What are Christian's diagnoses?" or my all time favorite, which I thought was obvious, "How's Christian doing?" Please. Take the word wrong out of your vocabulary when it comes to talking about any sort of disorder. 

Now that we have that out of the way, I'll update you on what Christian has been up to! The last blog post about his therapies can be seen here. A lot has changed since then. Christian is now in Kindergarten at Dyersburg Primary School. He also attended Pre-K there last year. He did extremely well in his academics. His current teacher says that he's in the top 5 of the class. She says that he and 4 other students have to be pulled aside to work on reading whereas the other 15 in the class still are studying their alphabet. It isn't a secret, though, that Christian does have areas that he struggles with. He currently goes to Occupational Therapy (OT) every Friday for 30 minutes. Now, he will be also having a 30 minute session at school for OT. We haven't decided yet if it will replace the other therapy or just work with it. I'll try to update more regularly. 

Christan has a feeding disorder, sensory integration syndrome (SIS)/ Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), as well as Developmental Coordination Disorder. I'll include links on all of these at the end of the post if you would like to learn more.

Feeding disorder, Sensory processing, and Sensory integration

One of the biggest misconceptions I've discovered along this path is that these aren't "real" problems. That this can somehow be changed with a different parenting approach. Wrong. That is a myth. It's important to understand that children with feeding disorders will starve themselves to the point of actual malnourishment before they would ever eat a food that doesn't meet their needs. And it definitely is just that, a need. Christian started feeding therapy when he was 3 but looking back, he had this issue since he started solid foods as a baby. In therapy, he learns to accept different textures. Eating affects all the senses. When you eat an apple, for example, you see the varying colors, you hear the crisp crunch, you smell the sweet smell, you taste maybe sour or sweet juice, and you feel the somewhat gritty texture on your tongue. All 5 senses are used in eating. For a child with SIS/SPD this is a sensory overload. They can not process all those senses at once. It causes a panicked feeling. That is why food has to be introduced to each sense slowly before it can be accepted. When Christian started therapy when he was 3 he could only eat dry and crunch (chips, granola, cereal, crackers). Now he can eat just about every fruit, french fries, yogurt, broccoli, and grilled chicken. We are ecstatic with his progress!

Sensory processing, Sensory integration, Developmental coordination

I've touch a bit on how senses overload a child with a sensory issue, but I want to go a bit more in depth with Christian specifically. It's important to know that all children are unique. Some things work for one child and be a disaster for the next child. We are grateful that his therapists understand his individual needs. Christian, other than feeding, has issues with sound and sight overload. When we get in an overcrowded place, there is so much to see and it's so loud! His little brain can't process this properly. It sends him into panic mode. He starts to shake and withdraw, sometimes. Other times, it causes him to act out. Basically, he knows that he's having a hard time and since he is just a child, he doesn't know how to process those feelings. He may shout or run at times that are inappropriate. This is just a way for him to try to make sense of what's going on around him. As far as his DCD, he has weak and stiff muscles throughout his arms and legs. This also includes hands, feet, ankles and wrists. They're worried that the weakness may become more stiff over time. He recently had an evaluation done that stated his motor skills were that of a 3 year old. He is 5 years 3 months old. His educational skills, however, were that of a 6 year old. His hands also have tremors. This is mostly because of the muscle weakness. He can not properly grip a pencil so because of this, his writing needs a bit of extra help. This is where therapy comes in. We are excited to watch him, and his skills, grow. 

I'm glad I got this opportunity to update everyone. I hope I remember to continue to update on his progress but we all know how busy moms can be! 

Christian is so smart. Sometimes he just needs a bit of help. Check out how his month has been going so far!

SPD/SIS-  http://spdfoundation.net/about-sensory-processing-disorder.html
DCD- http://dcd.canchild.ca/en/dcdfaqs/resources/dcdrevised.pdf

Sing for SUDC

Recently I was challenged by Amy Brown of Zen Parenting to take part in the Sing for SUDC challenge. I was informed that I could choose any song but must record it and post it as well as donate $10 to http://www.sudc.org/. I accepted this challenge!
First thing is first, let's talk about what SUDC is. SUDC stands for Sudden Unexplained Death in Children. I borrowed this image which explains more about it.

Now, I did do my part in donating. I donated $10. They accepted paypal so the donation process was quick and easy! 

 

They sent me this neat little response after I donated. 

Without further ado (which IS a word, I googled it!)...

My video.

And I challenge Teresa O. Wallis, Jeremy Lawson, and Leslie Covington. 

Good luck! You can donate $10 and sing any song you like OR you can donate $100.