Yea, Friday!!!

Happy Friday, everyone. I know I promised an update on the little newborn whose mother I visited, but I'm not quite ready to go there yet. Rest assured, the wee one is surviving, and I will update early next week. But for Friday, I want some comedy. Here is a sign language version of the classic "Who's on First?" routine. Granted, if you don't know sign language, you may miss some of the comedy. But give it a shot. I'll bet you'll be surprised how much you can figure out...

Accessible Minds

Accessibility is about more than ramps and grab bars. It's also about attitudes.

On Saturday, the kids and I went to a local farmer's market. I was a little worried because the market was out in the country and actually on a farm. Wheelchairs and dirt down't always play well together, but I really wanted some berries and squash.

We arrived at the Manakin Farmer's Market, and sure enough, parking was in a field, and all the booths were set up under the trees in a patch of dirt. But we were there and I was determined to get some vegetables. We unloaded Ashley's and Ronnie's wheelchairs and started the push.

Ronnie was able to push himself over the dirt bumps and craters, but Chip had to handle Ashley's chair for me. I think she actually liked it - perhaps it reminded her of an amusement park ride.

We made our way around the booths, picking up squash, cucumbers, strawberries, blueberries, rasberries, some strawberry jam and some fresh English muffins. I was happy but soon got even happier.

The three organizers of the market came walking towards us, and began to apologize profusely for the lack of accessibility. They explained that the space was free, which helped keep the cost of the produce low. They said they would like to make it more accessible but didn't know how. The offered to push the wheelchairs for us. They told us that the next time we came we should park right up next to the booths so we didn't have to push so far. There comments were all made very graciously. They were concerned and they truly wanted to help.

I'll take accessibility of minds over physical accessibility any day!

Happy Friday!

I do a lot of laundry in my house. At least two loads every weekday evening, and too many loads to count on the weekends. That means I end up with a whole lot of dryer lint. And because I have always felt that I should do something other than just throw it away, I started searching the Internet. Here is what I found! Now if I just had as much time as I have dryer lint....

Favorite Things!

Ashley celebrated her birthday Saturday with some of her favorite things...

Shopping for plants for our garden...



Counting the big round lights at the store...



Eating Elmo cupcakes...



And smelling the beautiful flowers her brother, Chip, bought her...



And of course, a lot of shopping for new clothes!! All in all, a very good 17th birthday celebration!

TGIF!

This little video says it all....

Tablecloth Manners

I've spent many years teaching my children table manners, and for the most part, they get it. We've had to make some adjustments for specific disabilities, but I can say that most of the time they chew with their mouths closed, they know the difference between a fork and a knife, and they've learned what a napkin is for.

I know that for some table manners may not seem like a big thing when you've got a child with significant disbilities. But it is something that is important to me, and I believe will be important to my children in the future.

This weekend, it was time to start stepping things up. I decided that since they had done a good job with the basics, we would start working on "tablecloth manners." So I bought a washable tablecloth and off we went.

In my mind, we would start to concentrate on how to get into one's chair without pulling the tablecloth off the table, how to use real glass glasses, how to pass food from left to right, how to tell the difference between a salad fork and a dinner fork, and what to do with one's napkin at the end of the meal. From there, we would work on more formal table settings and more polished manners.

Sounds good, right?

Well hopefully we will get there one day, but for starters, I washed my new tablecloth three times in two days! It's a good thing I don't make them dress up for dinner :)

Special Exposure Wednesday

PUPPY PLAYTIME!!

First Snow!

We had the first snow of the season yesterday. I honestly thought that with this very warm winter we have had in Virginia that snow was just not going to happen. But, we got about 3.5 inches and it was beautiful. Of course, just two days from now the temperature is forecast to be 70 degrees!!

So, I'm going to pretend this is my jeep and that I am driving through all this snow:

TGIF!

Someone in this family is NOT a morning person! Happy Friday, everyone!

Wheelz

This has got to be one of the coolest kids I have ever seen! Funny thing, I could easily superimpose Ronnie's face over this kid's face because I can see Ronnie begin driven in exactly the same way. I'm just hoping Ronnie doesn't visit my blog today because I am not ready for a heart attack!

Hard Work

Cooper BEFORE puppy training class....



Cooper AFTER puppy training class...!!!!

TGIF!

Special Exposure Wednesday

Corey, my handsome soldier boy - also a little bit scary with that big gun!!

Reality Check

Well, my precious two week vacation has drawn to a close. The kid's backpacks are ready, and the lunches have been packed. Our lives are back to the school and work routine tomorrow, and I have to admit that I am sad about that.

We had a wonderful holiday break. We visited museums - did some shopping - had family join us for Christmas celebrations - and played with our newest family member, Cooper.

We checked off four doctor appointments, and we ate way too much food that wasn't healthy. I cleaned the house after all the decorations were moved back to the attic, and Chip and I even got a few projects done around the house.

My only complaint about the holiday break was that it was way too warm. I want cold weather, even snow and ice, for Christmas, but this year we had 65 degrees and ceiling fans running on Christmas morning.

All in all, it was a wonderful time! I hope that you and your families also enjoyed yourselves, and that Santa brought you what you asked for!

Now, I'll start turning on my alarm clock again and braving the morning rush hour! How many days until my next day off....????

Holiday Outings

Ashley loves the carwash. Don't tell me I don't know how to show my children a good time!



TODAY'S CLUE: Two of you have guessed correctly! All will be revealed with pictures tomorrow!

Orange? Blue? Hot Pink?

Are there really other people in the world besides Ashley who would want an orange Christmas tree????



TODAY'S CLUE: One last clue and then all will be revealed on Saturday!

I think I've bought way too many toys!

On To The Moon!

Tuesday we visited our local science museum. We have a family membership primarily because it gets up free admission to our museum but also to hundreds of others across the country. We used it a lot last summer around our state. It really is the best $100 I have ever spent!

Here is my astronaut in training, Miss Ashley! Look closely and you can see her head in the helmet...



TODAY'S CLUE: I had no idea how much daycare cost until I visited one today for a tour!

(The guesses that have come in are good, but not quite correct yet...keep trying!)

Channeling Jack Kerouac

Recently Ashley has been in a 'black' mood - wanting to wear black all the time. I have no idea why, but at bedtime last night, she was looking like a beatnik, interpretive dancer stuck on Sesame Street!



TODAY'S CLUE - We'll start with a small room but it will be easy to expand over time.

(If you have no idea what this clue thing is about, check Monday's post.)

She LET Them Win

We went bowling on Saturday. It was a cold, rainy morning and we needed to find an indoor activity. Since Chip had bought two Groupon coupons for bowling, our decision was made!

Ta Da....Ashley got a strike on the very first ball she rolled!!



The boys were mortified and tried very hard to catch her.





But being the sweet sister that she is, she LET them win!!

Easy Being Green

This weekend, the kids and I decided to try our hand at making a rain barrel. Our local science museum was having both the rain barrel workshop and a Go Green Garden Festival. Since we are museum members, the only cost involved was $25 for the rain barrel and all the pieces for making it. After checking the prices online for a ready-made rain barrel, we got a real bargain, and the kids learned something in the process!

Here are some photos. Chip, of course, did most of the making of the rain barrel, but Ronnie and Ashley were at the ready in case he needed any help! And of course, at the end, they both provided quality control checking!









The Go Green Garden Festival was packed with lots of good information, and unfortunately green stamps for everyone's hands. Ashley did NOT like the stamps, and did her best to get it off. I guess she took Go Green seriously...





The booth at the festival that intriqued me the most was a Living Roof demonstration. I really, really, really want one....



We could use the water from our new rain barrel to keep it alive!!