Handsome's Cast Comes Off + Why a Fidget Toy Is Beneficial For Chidlren With Special Needs

Well, last week Handsome finally got his cast off! (You can read how he broke his arm here)

It was only 4 weeks but it was the longest 4 weeks in a long time.

Since he couldn't go in the water we spend July mostly home. The kids loved it but it made me crazy. I need people in my life and felt very isolated so I was so happy to get the cast removed so we could get back to civilization again.

We went to the doctor and the removed the cast. I thought this would be the hardest part for him because of the saw. He has a sensory thing and I thought the noise would make him lose it. He did unbelievably great!

Teach was unable to get there try as he might traffic was just not in his favor so I kept him in the know through texts while Handsome got his cast off and his x-ray. This was the photo I sent him. Handsome was waiting to be called into the x-ray room. Teach said he looked sad. He does look sad but mostly he was very nervous. He didn't want the nurse touching his arm after she removed the cast. He also kept saying his hand looked small and flat. I tried to reassure him that it was only because he had been looking at his hand in a cast for four weeks but he didn't believe me.

You can see he is covering his arm with his other arm. His fingers are straight. He is afraid to move them at this point. You can also see that he is holding onto his "guy" or ""toy". The "doll" is something he has been doing for many years now. He always has one "chosen one" in his hand. It doesn't change unless it breaks and then he goes to another chosen one.

This is his soother. I noticed when he started using one around the age of 5. I told everyone it was to keep his busy hands busy. I never read up on it. I never suggested it, it was something he did on his own.  He is very calculated and aware of it. It doesn't come out unless he is home or in the car. If he takes it in the car he leaves it there until he comes out of school, or the store, or wherever. At home, the guy is coveted. If it gets lost it is a problem and the whole family goes on a mission to find it.

Children as a whole but especially children with autism can benefit from the use of soothers or fidget toys. I noticed when he started using one around the age of 5. I told everyone it was to keep his busy hands busy. I never read up on it. I never suggested it, it was something he did on his own.  He is very calculated and aware of it. It doesn't come out unless he is home or in the car. If he takes it in the car he leaves it there until he comes out of school, or the store, or wherever. At home, the guy is coveted. If it gets lost it is a problem and the whole family goes on a mission to find it.

Goddess Attends A Sculpting Class And Creats A FNAF Mangle

Don't know what FNAF is? Lucky you! My daughter and her friends are obsessed with everything Five Nights At Freddy's. They eat sleep and breathe the characters, play the games and talk jump scares. Don't know what that is? Well, you are lucky there too!

Anywhoooo since Goddess loves art I signed her up for a sculpting class last month at the library. It wasn't as well attended as I originally thought it would be full of kids but it was nice and small so the kids all had attention. I felt bad for those who signed up because it was a great class.

Here is Goddess etching the face of her Mangle from FNAF. There are 4 FNAF's so the Mangle she created was from FNAF 2.

She definitely was having a great time until the moment when she decided it DID NOT look like Mangle.

Trying to fix this nose took some time because it was so large that it kept cracking.

There was a mini breakdown where she just decided she was giving up. The colors and nose weren't doing what she thought is should in her head so I had a brilliant idea to break some toothpicks and make some nasty, sharp teeth.

She started getting into it again and everyone thought it was an interesting, frightening character. 

I wish the photos came out better. My iPhone 4 is very temperamental.  I can not wait to get my new phone.

This nasty little creature came out great for a first attempt at sculpting. I think she was pretty ambitious and I am proud of her.

Our Mommy and Me Day Was Colorful, Creative and Completely Perfect

Goddess and I spend A LOT of time together. She is my best bud and I enjoy being with her. We both love drawing, painting and creating so I signed us up for a Mommy and Me paint class.

Handsome and his dad headed to the beach so Goddess and I stopped to dog walk as part of our dog sitting job and headed over early. We were excited and it was a gorgeous day yesterday.

When we got to the place they were still setting up so we hung in the car for a moment.  She was amazed that she could fit in the passenger leg area and asked if she could drive home that way. Ummmmm NO!

She is nuts!

We started seeing some cars show up so we walked in wanting to get a front row spot.

Every spot is good as you can see from all the seats but why not!? We took a selfie before everyone else showed up.

We were meeting another mother and daughter team which made this even more special. Goddess and my friend's daughter have known each other since they were 3 years old attending the same preschool. They were in every class together up until this year. Unfortunately since they are both on the shyer side, they didn't spend much time together at school so we have been trying to make a conscious effort to get them together this summer.

Goddess couldn't wait to get started. She was ready!

My girlfriend snapped a quickie of us after I snapped her and her daughter. No reason not to commemorate the day. This is what I have prayed for since I had my daughter. Yes, spending time together at home is great but I want to experience things with her. Make memories and learn.

I work better standing up. I'm short! I can't even tell that I am standing in this photo that the art teacher took for us. I love that she did that. We were in the zone. We left the camera on the table and she grabbed this shot for us.

We are some serious painters

Here is our finished project. I think we did a great job if I do say so myself. She and I loved it and were amazed that our hearts met up like they were supposed to.

Everyone did amazing and it was so nice to hear everyone talking and matching their palette so that the paintings flowed together.

I loved it and can't wait to paint again! Signed Goddess up for another work shop and hopefully I can find money in the budget for myself soon.

The Longest Ride - A Movie Review

The 411 by Maria:

I watched this movie twice over the past week. It is a beautiful love story with sacrifice, challenges, differences, conflict, drama, diversity, heartbreak, and a great cast.

The two romances in this Nicholas Sparks adaptation entwine beautifully.  While our female leads love art, our male leads are on a physical path. One in the military who comes back with an injury and one is a bull rider trying to keep his family's ranch and be the best in the Country.

Our characters paths meet after a car accident. Ira is rescued by Luke (Clint Eastwood's very handsome son) and Sophia hears his request to save the box. The box is a collection of letters he wrote to his wife Ruth throughout their relationship. We learn of Ira and Ruth's storyline through the letters that Sophia reads him while he recuperates.

There are so many reasons to love this movie:

1 - Alan Alda! Need I say more? No! OK but I will anyway. Alan has a way of pulling you in. He owns you from the first moment you speak. There is still a sparkle in his eye and if you were a fan of Mash, this is still Hawkeye. You hear his voice in the moderation of his storyline and you long for a Mash marathon. 

2 - Clint Eastwood's son is ruggedly handsome and has the same smile as his dad. He is perfect as our lead cowboy and sexy male lead.

3 - Ruth played brilliantly by Spanish turned American actress Oona Chaplin (granddaughter of Charlie) She was perfect as the strong, big hearted, cultured, loving Ruth. You can see why Ira was so inspired by her. She is larger than life even when playing a school teacher who loves her students.

4 - The ending! LOVE is sacrifice and I wish we could all love with our whole hearts the way Nicholas Sparks characters do.


Greatest Quotes:

Ira:  "She had a great eye for talent, but I only had eyes for her."

"I just want you to be happy, even if that 'happy' doesn't include me anymore."

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy as a Fox Home Entertainment Insider. 

Loving My New Clean Floor Thanks To The Big Boss Spin Mop

Washing my kitchen floor has never been easier and I can actually get the kids to do if for me because they think it is fun.

What I love most:

The way I can keep the clean and dirty water separated. My floor has never felt cleaner. It is an old floor so it always looks blah but now it feels completely clean and I feel like I can literally say, you can eat off my floor.

The 360 spin on the mop. I feel like it can get every nook and cranny in my kitchen and hall.

I love that I can toss the mop in the wash if I need to clean it. So far it looks amazing and barely looks used even after 10 uses. I think it is because it really gets everything clean and keeping the water separated means once I spin it, the dirty, filthy water of the first time was gone before I applied to the floor again.

When you put the mop into the spin area (the area that looks like a drain, you spin it to nearly a damp mop. It takes way less time for me to dry my floors now.

The only con is that I wish there was a spin area on the clean water side because I feel like I need to rinse out some of the water before putting it down on the floor but don't want to waste water and cleaning product so I don't put it on the other side allowing the clean water to go into the dirty water. I usually just give a squeeze with my hand.

Cleaning the bucket is super easy and with the drain plug, I can empty the dirty water easily.

Putting the mop together was easy. It comes in three pieces and then you need to snap the mop head onto it.

I really love this product.

My Friend Teddy - New Interactive Stuffed Toy With It's Very Own App

My Friend Teddy is a huggable, cuddly classic teddy bear, that doubles as a plush companion and a development tool for preschoolers.

The 411: 

We received My Friend Teddy last month for review. My kids love stuffed animals. They have always been their absolute favorite toy but one that actually knows you and talks to you was one thing they never had. 

Teddy requires 3 AA batteries and while you can play with Teddy off line I think the best way to play with Teddy is through the use of an app you can get through Google Play or the Apple App Store. Teddy uses Blue Tooth to connect to your smartphone or pad.

Once you download the app, your next step is to complete the easy questionnaire which will provide Teddy with some things about your child. It is total personalization which I think is the best thing about him.   I can just imagine a child opening Teddy for the first time, turning him on and hearing their name, best friend, favorite color, etc come out of Teddy's mouth. So I would definitely recommend personalizing it before giving to your child. What a great gift!!!

Teddy comes with activities through the app that make him unlike other toys. He can read to your child, sing with them, play games with them and more. 

As your child gets older, you can adjust the learning levels so the games they play are geared to them.

We think this is such a cute idea and know he will definitely be on some Christmas lists this year. 
 

Check out our video about My Friend Teddy below

Fry Food With Little Or No Oil? The #Aerofryer Does It Work?

I was very excited to try the AeroFryer. The product comes well packaged with easy instructions and a recipe booklet.

Putting it together is easy and my first batch of food was not as I had expected but still cooked easily.

Pros:
It does cook with little or no oil
The product is really easy to clean
Cooking time is quick
You can easily see your food cooking through the glass top
You can bake on the hottest days of the year without heating your house with an oven
Great additional cooking space if you are cooking a large meal and require more oven space
Great for baking frozen food like chicken nuggets
Shuts off when the top is removed and turns on when the handle is pushed down
Clean up is really easy. The heating element is in the lid so the whole oven part can be completely cleaned

Cons
It can't hold much food as the basket isn't very big
Isn't really a fryer as much as an oven

The fryer comes with a spray bottle for oil an extender ring, a basket and rack so you can put the basket either higher or lower to the halogen lights that do the cooking.

 

My first attempt was chicken cutlets. They did cook but didn't taste anything like if I had fried them. They were more dry as if I had baked them. My second attempt was frozen chicken nuggets for the kids which came out pretty awesome. Crunchy and perfect. My third attempt was some tater tots and heated up chicken from the Chinese restaurant which came out better then if I had put it in the microwave where it gets soft. It was as if I just got it from the restaurant. Crunchy outside and perfect in.

Going Back To School Will Be Fun With These New Pencils From BIC

It's coming and it's coming quick. Back to School ads are in full effect and I am not happy about it. I don't know about you but I love when my kids are home. If I could home school I would but there are circumstances that make it impossible like the fact that I HAVE to work. Preparing for them to return to school is something I usually wait on until the end of Summer but mostly because we find it such a bummer.

I think most of us think of the first day of school as a fresh start. We get all the back to school supplies listed on the school websites and pray for the best but whose to say that those #2 pencils need to be those boring yellow ones everyone else has? How about a little surprise in those pencil cases this year.

This year thanks to BIC my daughter already can't wait to return. She can't wait to bring these new pencils to school. While these #2 Pencils look like colored pencils they are not! They are JUST #2 pencils with Xtra-Fun colors.

They are already sharpened and have an eraser like every other #2 pencil.

We love the fact that they look like colored pencils with their colorful painted wood parts. What kid or adult wouldn't want to use these?!

She has them in her pencil case already and is READY

Make writing, drawing and even test taking fun with these colorful pencils from BIC.

Walking Down Memory Lane - My Week In Pictures August 19, 2008 – August 24, 2008 #memories

August 19, 2008 – Here is my hair straightened by my friend Sheress and colored by the husband. I really like the way it came out. It looks young and hip.

August 20, 2008 – My two hugging on the floor in front of the TV. They were watching Max and Ruby and he told me that she was a baby and he was taking care of her. I love when they are like this. It makes it all worth it.

August 21, 2008 – At the park nice and early before the sun was too hot. My girlfriend Sheress and the kids met us there and the kids played tag with Sheress. They were all so cute running all over the park while I maintained a head count. I love how happy they are to see her daughter in this picture.

August 22, 2008 – I took the kids to the zoo. They loved it but probably not as much as I did. I have’t really been able to take them to many places that aren’t free. They have never been to a museum, park, concert, or ball game like a lot of my friends kids but I don’t think my kids are hurting from it. They enjoying what they do get to do and a friend of mine told me yesterday that my kids always look happy and like they are having the time of their life which is really all that matters to me.



August 23, 2008 – I took my daughter to a Pretty Princess class yesterday. It was just the two of us and we loved it. We have yet to do something fun like this together that didn’t include grocery shopping. I have taken my son out alone 3 different times. 1 time was to a children’s museum and the other 2 times a classmates birthday party. It was definitely her turn. She loved it and can’t wait to go back. It was a dream come true for me and if any of my friends read this you know exactly what I am talking about.



August 24, 2008 – I did take pictures of my kids at the park with their father today however I chose the picture below instead because it was not a self portrait. See no extended arm.  Hi, it’s me Maria compliments of a 5 year old photographer, my son.

Great Glow Sticks For Summer Fun #glowsticks

My kids and I feel like you can never have enough Glow Sticks. We use them all the time. Carnivals at night, drive-ins and park fun in the evening. We also put them up when we do sleepovers around the room so the kids and their friends have fun, colorful night lights.

This pack of 100 super bright glow in the dark sticks also come with 100 connectors so you can make bracelets or anklets if you want.

They also come in a handy dandy carrier that comes them from breaking before you can use them. 

We love that their are multiple colors, green, yellow, orange, blue and pink.

They DO last a long time. The description says 8 hours but it is much longer than that.

Our Dreamworks Home Movie Night Sleepover #HomeInsiders

What's a sleepover without a movie and we had a great movie on deck plus some goodies from the Fox Home Entertainment Team!

Starring: Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin, Jennifer Lopez
Directed By: Tim Johnson

Home was about an alien named Oh and Tucci or Tip as her friends call her and Pig, Tucci's pet cat.  Oh who got his name from his friends (NOT!) and the other Boovs are on the run from the Gorg who destroys planets.

It was an adorable movie that Me, Goddess, Handsome and our sleepover friend loved! The animation is great. The characters are adorable and lovable and while I didn't love the soundtrack it is definitely something kids will appreciate.

All decked out in Oh!

Stress toy Oh

My two and Goddess' friend (see her tiny feet past Goddess face? She said she doesn't do pics Grrrr) had a tent under the pool table where the watched the movie for a second time. 

   

Colgate's Newest Toothpaste Is Amazing

OK...let me tell you guys something. My Goddess has always had a tooth staining problem in fact, we joke  and say her pirate name is "Black Tooth". She even says it in a pirate like voice, "My name is Black Tooth." Ever since she was a tiny girl her staining was prominent. Brushing doesn't help and the dentist every 6 months comments. We have tried going to bottled water thinking perhaps it was the iron in our well water but keeping bottled water always at the ready isn't as easy as one would think. 

Recently we all started using Colgate Total Daily Repair Toothpaste which contains a multi-active formula that helps repair early teeth and gum damage. 

We LOVE it. 

Let's start at the beginning. 

We received the most amazing packaging ever. It was like opening a treasure chest of tooth cleaning for "Black Tooth."  

When we opened it, it was as though a light shone down from the Heavens amid the with singing voices of Angels.

The new brush was perfect. We had already purchased four of these very brushes just a month earlier. Goddess was thrilled to get a new brush. I don't know what she does to hers but no one needs a new brush like this child!   She must bite it or something because a month after we get hers, bristles are always coming out of it. Ours all like new and hers pathetic. So there was no doubt who would be getting this new one.

Well, let's just say I don't have to beg the kids to brush every night. I don't know if it is because of the toothpaste, the fact they see a difference or they love using the mirror in this Colgate box. What I do know is they brush. Goddess loves looking at her teeth. There is still a tiny bit of stain on the one snaggletooth which my dentist will eventually love me for when he has to put braces on these but all in all we ALL love this new Colgate Total Daily Repair.

A BIG THUMBS UP from all of us but especially Goddess!