hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

Here is another treasure from the backfiles. This started as an act of desperation on my part, I just needed her to be occupied so I could finish something, but it quickly became one of her favorite activities. If you have a chalkboard (we made ours on a half wall with chalkboard paint), all you need is a paintbrush, sponge, or washcloth, and a cup of water. Dip the brush in the water and have at it! Kit LOVES how the water turns the board black. So often, she will be at this so long that by the time she gets across the board, the first area she painted will be dry and a fresh pallet once again. You can get creative with the things you use as paintbrushes, but she has been completely happy with our basic art brushes from Walmart. I love watching her do this.

These felt fishies were a bit tedious to make, but the end result was worth the time! I drew the outlines on the felt with a felt tipped marker. Then cut them out, and attached paper clips to each one. The fishing pole is a pencil with craft string tied around the end. I used a hot glue gun to seal the magnet and the end of the string between two pieces of felt.  The kids love going fishing, and Kit especially loves to save the other fish by catching the sharks! I am disappointed in the magnet however. I bought a set of them in the craft section of Walmart, but they are not very strong at all. Even doubling up on the paperclips to give the magnet more to attach to only helped a little. So I plan on replacing the small craft magnet with a stronger one. After several failed attempts at catching the fish, Kit loses interest, and the whole point is to help keep her engaged and busy! Otherwise, we love them! So if you make these, remember to use a b...

For the last couple of months, Kit's attire of choice is usually a fluffy "princess dress", and we have several that rotate through the laundry cycles. And a few tutu skirts that are acceptable princess garb as well. Many nights we are only able to peel them off of her by promising that she can wear them again the next day. (We have even let her sleep in them, but we figured out that they were not contributing to her sleeping well throughout the night, so we try to get her to wear well fitted pjs whenever possible. Everyone has a better night this way.) So unless there is major spillage, she will often wear the same one a couple times a week.  I'm ecstatic for this development and the fact that it has lasted as long as it has. A year ago, nothing with tulle could even come close to her skin! And while she still is sensitive to rough edges, softer tulle, especially between layers of satin or cotton is no longer an issue for her! In fact, where she used to sim...

So last weekend while all of my kids were out of the house, I rearranged and reorganized the kids room, part of our room, and the living room. So school work itself was pretty light this week since I was still doing a number of touch ups on things. In an effort to maximize storage and access to frequently used items, minimize clutter, and keep Kit from demolishing all of the big kids treasured possessions, we made some changes to the bedrooms.  Before After After swapping the girls' dressers, we then had room for lockers. Yup, I found lockers on sale at Home Depot online, and it was a very helpful solution to fix several problems.  1.) They gave me a place to put Kit's school supplies, without it being open shelving, which is irresistible to Kit. Out of sight, almost out of mind, is a very important rule with her.  2.) It gave me a place to put away, but still have within the big kids reach items that Kit is not allowed...