hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

I know, I know...It's about time!! Well, here you go. A very picture heavy, explanation light catch-up post. Our handsome boy at five months old! He's a year now, can't believe it! Kit loves her matching necklace! Helping Kitty Bitty through a thunderstorm. He whizzed through Puppy Two class at only 7 months old! Story time and snuggles. Just dozing at IHOP. Snuggling on Mama's feet watching Kit jump at a bouncy house park. Winston's "You gonna give me french fries?" face. The blue strap across his nose is something many people ask about. It is called a "Gentle Lead". It is exactly like the bridle on a horse's face, but without any kind of mouth bit. The lead goes around his muzzle and be hind his ears where it clips securely, but he can still eat, drink, yawn, and bark if necessary. The leash clips on u...

"It's not the fall that kills you." We've all heard this line. (Especially us Sherlock fans!!) I completely agree. It's not the fall that kills me. It's the summer. The unyieldingly hot, suffocatingly humid, seemingly endless Deep South summers. This past one, I experienced the worst mental emotional collapse I have ever had. I lost almost all function as a person. I was on the brink of a very ugly precipice. With the last possible energy I could muster, I asked for help. And help came. Well, I went to it really. I was referred to a psychiatrist, after a couple visits and some medicine trial and error, she is helping me get back on track. Away from the precipice, and up and moving like a person again. A very slow person, but a person again nonetheless. My battles with depression over the years were even less under my control than I had ever realized. It wasn't something I could fix on my own. I didn't know the ...

Caring for an aging and ailing family member is immensely hard. It consumes so much energy, attention, and yes, money as well.  Caring for a child with special needs can and often is just as immensely hard, and is often a much longer journey. While I primarily focus on caring for an aging parent in this post, almost all of the points apply to caring for a child with special needs as well, and the accompanying printable list is just as useful for these parents as well. Support can be a difficult resource to find at times, and respite even more elusive. It has been a year now since our role as full-time caregivers to an elderly parent ended. We have still not fully recovered. We are still floating in bits and pieces in the aftermath of a storm that pulled our family in so many directions at once we felt parts tearing and then smashing into each other again. For a family who has some time to prepare for a loved one's illness, it can be incredibly hard to care for tha...

So this was an awesome Pinterest find that I was able to put together in less than 15 minutes! I happened to have all the supplies already which made it all the more awesome! Supplies: 1 Clear storage container (the lid for mine was white, so I simply turned the container upside down.) 1 string of twinkle lights (I used white, but different colors would create cool different effects) A strip of wax paper the length of the container (this makes the surface opaque, which diffuses the light more evenly) White duct tape ( any color would do, I just like the cleaner look of the white.) Use small strips of tape to secure the twinkle lights evenly arranged on the bottom of the container, or in my case to the lid, since that was going to be the bottom of our light box. Leave the length of wire with the plug loose and make sure you have arranged the lights so as to have the plug where you will have ease of access to an outlet. Secure the lid onto the cont...

I may have seemed cool, calm, and collected, but inside I was writhing with anxiety. What if ... what if ... what if ... Four years old...five...six. Still in Velcro or zip-up shoes.  Other kids are supposed to know this by now!  Other kids DO know this by now!! We are falling behind! So what if he can read and do second grade math! He can't tie his shoes! I can't even get him interested! Seven years old. Another mom expresses concern about her own son's lack of interest and asks if it's something we are going to focus on.  "I'm not too worried. When he is ready he'll let me know. He won't be twenty and still not know how to tie his shoes." I was reassuring myself as much as her. Eight years old. "Mom, can I have some tie shoes?"  YES!!  Imaginary fist pumps in the air! "Of course you can."  Like many things, he only needed me to show him a couple of times, and boom, he got ...

Mother Daughter Book Reviews is pleased to be coordinating a Blog Tour for the lower middle grade book "Axel & Theo: My Dog is The Emperor of a Faraway Galaxy" by Amberly Kristen Clowe from June 22 to 28, 2015. This one is a great choice for reluctant readers!   About the Book     Title: Axel & Theo: My Dog is the Emperor of a Faraway Galaxy | Author: Amberly Kristen Clowe | Publication Date: November 15, 2014 | Publisher: Smooth Sailing Press | Pages: 44 | Recommended Ages: 6to 10 Summary: Theodore Howard wants a white flag. The kind of white flag that will show Riverwood Elementary’s biggest bully, Theo’s given up on ever surviving the fourth grade, and achieving his dream of becoming a real-life astronaut. But, Theo’s seemingly pathetic future gets a glimmer of hope in the form of a very talkative weenie dog named Axel. Theo learns that his best friend on four legs, is actually an alien from the planet Doglin, and just when he begi...

A little over a month ago we instituted a reading reward program here at home. We've always been avid readers here. The kids were not highly motivated however to choose many books outside their preferred favorites. "What is something that you really want?" I asked Grace. She answered without hesitation. "Roller skates!" "Ok, how many books do you think you can read to get roller skates?" "Um...I don't know, twenty maybe?" "Hmm...roller skates is a pretty big prize and you are a pretty fast reader. How about, forty books." "Forty! That's a lot!" "Yes. But...every ten books I'll give you a smaller prize. And six of each set of ten can be comic or graphic novels like Big Nate." She thought those were acceptable terms. Zak, also thought so. His desired prize being a remote controlled drone. Also, his limit for comic or graphic novels is only four for every ten. Zak has already reached his goal...