Weighted Neck Wrap

  Most people think it's odd to see a child walk around with a 'neck wrap' in a grocery store, or out and about.  Especially when they ask your child, "What's that?" and he replies with, "My Melson!".   

Look at his smile!  Thank you Nana! 

  My son Vaughn was initially diagnosed with PDD-NOS (Pervasive Displacement Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified), and noncompliance, as well as what seemed like a grocery list of other axis diagnosis.  Later, that changed to Autism and Mild Mental Retardation.  HE is our little warrior.  We still work on his 'coping skills' when he's angry, but he's come a loooooong way.

   He wasn't given a diagnose till he was four 4 years old.  From the time he was 11 months old, he repeatedly banged his head on any hard surfaces till he had goose eggs, and built up scar tissue on his forehead, but never would cry.  I knew there was something wrong, but it took 4 years of telling his pediatrician that Vaughn was still non-verbal, refused to go to anyone but me, and refused to be near other kids.  When he was near other kids he would bite them till they moved away.  Two separate daycare facilities were telling me he needed to be tested and get help otherwise we would have to find a new center for him.  After the 2nd daycare, I asked them to put it in writing to take to his doctor.  It was a long four years before I got services started for him.  As a parent, you truly are you're child's only advocate.  It is so important to not give up when reaching road blocks.

  While my husband and I were learning about all the different faces of Autism, and specifically - how to help our son with with his needs, we found that pressure therapy worked best for him.  Every night he wrapped himself like a tight burrito with his blanket to sleep.  All the signs were there - but until I dove into researching I didn't know about Autism or what signs to look for.  

  Then one day, a beautiful angel {a.k.a. my mother-in-law} made him a gift when he was 9.  I wanted to buy him a weighted lap pad, vest, or blanket...but couldn't afford one as pricey as they are.  So she made him his own version.

  She told me about how much fun she had balancing the fabric while sewing a lavender/rice mix into each pocket.  I sure wish I could have gotten a picture of that!  Apparently it can get a little messy.  She also made the rice neck wrap 2 sleeves to slip it into like a pillow case.  He has Charlie Brown below, {he loves Charlie!} and the other is a tie-dye designed one.  It works great popping in the microwave for warming up, or leaving in the freezer for cooling/cleaning time.

  Our little sensory craver's face lit up when she gave it too him!  He was glowing with happiness!  He declared he was naming it Melson, and so he did.  Vaughn still gets infuriated if his little brother takes/hides his Melson.  I began to worry it may be a new forming bad habit, but so far he hasn't given anything else a human name.  It was also the first time ever that he named ANYTHING.  Not to mention an inanimate object!!!  For almost the past 2 years, he's toted 'Melson' around his neck almost all day and sleeps with him at night.  The weight from Melson truly helps sooth him.  We learned to never take a road trip (meaning more than 5 minutes) without bringing Melson along.    

  So, we deal with the curious stares, answer the same questions, and go with the flow with a smile on our faces.  If Melson {a weighted neck wrap} helps our son with self soothing so WE ALL can have a better day, I really don't care what other people think of it and so grateful to have this as part of our 'sensory tool box'.   

    

Close up of the pocket stitching.

Full length of 'Melson' 29.5" L x 8" W

Vaughn took 'Melson' with him to get his tonsils removed

  I hope this information can help someone else with sensory seekers!  Do you have any recommendations for other weighted or pressure devices that you don't need to refinance your home to buy?  If so, please share or leave a link below, Thanks!!

Environmentally Friendly Toilet Paper

  Call me nuts - but I'm not alone!  If you've never heard of cloth diapering - from this point out your are going to think I'm some kind of nut case...though this may be, I still would like to share with you another environmentally friendly concept that is by far not new.  Just forgotten perhaps.

   American's have been flushing money for decades now, but before that - what did they use for centuries?  REUSABLE TOILET PAPER.  This little bit of fabric can save you a lot of green over time, and leave you feeling cleaner with a softer wipe.  If you talk to a veteran cloth rump wiper, they will tell you how annoyed they get when going out in public and resort to the use of abrasive cheap paper.

Some call it family cloth, reusable wipes, reusable toilet paper...but no matter what you call it - it's such a cleaner and softer alternative.  I chose flannel for ours.  Yes, ours.  My sons' are hooked as well.  My middle son that the specialists' claimed would not make it to see his 1st birthday - is totally hooked.  He was diagnosed failure to thrive, and has severe Encopresis.  He is now 11.

  For less then $10, I was able to buy 3 yards of flannel.  (You can also use cotton, for hypo allergenic...they wash fine and you can sun dry them to remove any stains too).  With what I got, I made 55 TP sheets in the size of 4"x8".  I cut them down to this size with the idea that they would fit nicely in a thin baby wipe container to take with us on the go. {So we won't have to resort to unfriendly dry paper}.

Small pile in basket above the Toilet

  I also wash these by themselves rather then with our regular laundry.  After each use, I've a bin in each bathroom that has some vinegar water and there is NO SMELL.  Shocker rite!?!

  Sometimes they're used for #1, #2 or just for drying.  If you're not cracking up yet and still reading, here is a picture of the portable bidet I bought for cheap on Amazon.  And yes, it's used just like that!  As hygienic as we Americans are about washing hands and using harsh chemical hand sanitizers...you would think there would be more attention to detail when it comes to our valuable rumps., after all - it's our chair we take everywhere lol.  

  The first thing {I hope to purchase} when we buy a house is a bidet!  Or, at least modify our toilet with a bidet add-on kit.

Yep, it's used just like that!

  My first reaction was "Ewwww!  I could NEVER do that!"...but after trying it with an open mind, it's rather refreshing!  I think the thought was so appalling to me, I couldn't let it go.  Why did I get squeamish when thinking about my hygiene but wouldn't think twice about cloth diapering a baby?  For a #2, flush...and swish out your reusable TP and drop it in the bucket.  AND, if you have a healthy diet - #2 isn't greasy or messy to begin with.  I've taken so many measures to try to 'save our planet' and teach my children the same respect I have for it.  I started adding up all the money our family spends out monthly and yearly.  After talking to a few of my out of country pen-pals, this is normal.  You can find lots of sellers online making 'family cloth' rite now and check out their sold sections!  Aside from saving money, we're lessening our carbon footprint.  Except for my husband...he still refuses to try it.  So if you come to visit, don't worry - you have options ;)

*Also note, you don't have to run to the fabric store to buy new material.  You can up-cycle old flannel shirts, or flannel bed sheets.  From a fitted and flat sheet you can yield A LOT of TP.  *insert giggles, but have fun saving green - from your wallet to our planet!  Every small step helps.

  So what do you think?  Are you already a 'Cloth Wiper', would you consider it, or totally grossed out by the thought?  I can't wait to hear all your responses and check back for our giveaway for those interested in getting started with a sample pack!

Learning to tell time {sundial style}!

What time is it really!?!

Grow Old Along With Me, The Best Is Yet To Be ~ Love it!

  Have you ever thought about teaching your children to tell time...with the sun?  I'm medieval like that, so I am!  Because, you just never know when your cell phone battery will die while you're outside playing bad-mitten.  But, if you're really lucky like my kids, you have a mom that got a used sundial for $10 bucks at an estate sale to put in the flowerbed and BAM - Your day is saved!  (Unless it's cloudy, haha!).

 But first I had to refresh our noggins this morning bringing our new treasure home from the sale.  We reviewed that the sun's rotation causes the sun to appear to move from east to west.  So we pointed the style towards the north.  Our sundial has 2 basic parts.  A pointer called a style {or gnomom}, which casts a shadow.  And a numbered dial on which the shadow falls to show the hour.  So telling them when it's time to come in from playing outside, just got a whole lot more fun, {and educational}!

Here is a great little tutorial I found on YouTube from our 'motherland' Penn State explaining the use of the sundial.  "What Time Is It?"  

  If you're looking for literature about Sundials: Their Theory and Construction by Albert E. Waugh.

*This post contains my affiliate link.  I hope you enjoyed this Treat by Tanya!  Do you have experience or fun stories with telling time by the sun? 

"God's Special Surprise Deluxe Set"

   ~ July - August Art Special ~ 

This Special is a Great One!  From July through August, 2014 the most popular ART & LESSON set is on Sale while setting up your art lessons!

Have the life of Moses Come Alive in Your Family Today!

This Amazing kit includes

• DVD w/285 minutes of content
• black light
• florescent pencils 
• florescent chalkuary 

Regular price is $29.99.

During the month of July and August you can purchase God's Special Surprise for $25.00 + FREE SHIPPING in the USA.

Coupon Code to use: STL

Happy Learning with Art!

*This post does contains my affiliate link, thank you for considering purchasing through my post!

Yoga {for children with special needs}

  Having multiple special children with special needs on different spectrum levels, I love finding treasures like these.  This is a DVD I borrowed from our local library, cause I'm frugal like that!  It tailors to the wiggle and giggles kids naturally have.  As they go through the exercise program, they get multiple opportunists to just jump up and down, wiggle back and forth, and be silly.  Of all the years applying yoga programs to our morning routine - this one has made my list top 10!  Despite the title saying it's tailored to kids with Special Needs, it's really just tailored to kids.  And kids know what they like to do - laugh and be silly! {especially boys!}.

  I hope you can find it at your local library, if not here is a link to purchase it on Amazon by clicking on the pretty Wellness picture lol.  This post does contain my Amazon Affiliate link, so thank you for considering purchasing through my blog. {or anything else you want to buy on Amazon for that matter!}.

  

Kingston and Vaughn working it, and able to keep up!

They already have better balance than me ;)

  Do you do a specific exercise plan with your little ones, or do you switch it up like I do?  I'm interested to hear what you do for physical fitness programs :)  {mine seems to be stuck in robot cleaning mode till I fall over} lol

Mad Science!

Kingston is feeling the electrons!

  The Bentonville library in NW Arkansas hosts an event each year for the children to get an opportunity to get excited about science!  As you can see from my picture above, my shy little 7 year old that never wants attention on himself, was actually on his knees waving his hand back and forth for the chance to volunteer.  My eyes did get a little misty seeing how proud he was to be selected and watch his hair rise with such a LARGE group of strangers.  How can you go wrong when you mix science and fun!?!

 

Vaughn got picked to join the boys vs. girl team!

The Race is on for both teams!

Vaughn is a true sport - he started praying for his tornado win!

 I will be adding my own little video clip after gathering all the pictures.  I took over 200!  The kids loved the vortex cannon, learning about sublimation, Doppler and how to equalize the air pressure to get objects to move through containers they otherwise would not have!

The crowd went wild over the flowing toilet paper!  

My crew with Mr. Mad Science

  Here is the link to head over to Mad Science to get more information.  They are nationwide and host camps, after school programs, and events such at this.  You can also look for your local chapter Facebook page too!  My little blooming engineers LOVE everything science.  This was such a fun event for them :)  Thank you Nasa and Mad Science for these special events to bring the fun back into science!

 Here is a YouTube Link for their Special Events...but check out the other videos that are great (and safe) for your little ones to watch and do at home.  Mad Science Special Events

Easy Patriotic Craft

  You can make this to keep for yourself, or gift to a friend.  I know I LOVE when my friends give me patriotic gifts *hint-hint* lol.

  

  In our home, we are VERY proud to be American.  We support our service men and our forefathers that have lived and died for our freedoms.  My middle autistic son collects American Eagles, and possesses a strong patriotic bone that 'he gets it honest' from me.  The first half of my life was spent living in The City of Brotherly Love - Old Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  I cherished the times with my mother and Aunt Donna visiting the Betsy Ross House, Liberty Bell, endless museums and being proud of my heritage was instilled in me at a very young age, {with appreciation for real cheese steaks and hoagies too!}.  My living room/kitchen has always been patriotic themed with splashes of Longaberger baskets...so when I saw many variations of this little number on Pinterest, of course I fell in love!  This craft is perfect to fill with goodies for your local vets, or military families too!  

  I used a pickle jar that I washed and scrubbed the adhesive off of.  Then delicately removed the staples from the flags that held onto the dowel rods.  I gently Mod Podged the flags to the jars and wa-la!  I've a new center piece for my dining room table.  Yesterday I used it as a votive holder, but with its size..I could use it as a vase, catch all, etc...

  The large wine bottle I was initially going to paint, then adhere one of the flags too ~ then second guessed myself into saving that one for another crafty day including chalkboard paint.  

      

Finished as a votive holder :)