I have a vivid memory of driving to the hospital to have additional blood tests done on my tiny baby, Henry, and thinking to myself, I wish I could reset and start over. I was thinking of how I used to reset my Super Mario Brothers gameboy game and start all over from the beginning if things… Continue reading Henry’s Dup15q Diagnosis: 3 Things I Wish I Could Have Told Myself
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! We got our cards mailed out to C & H’s grandparents yesterday. Hope they arrive in time!! This year I was being really stingy about spending money on Valentines toys or craft supplies. So I bought two bags of conversation hearts for $1 each, and I set out… Continue reading 6 Ways to Play with Conversation Hearts
I had to really give myself a pep-talk before doing this activity with my kids because I was having a sensory aversion moment imagining the mess that could ensue from this brilliant, crazy idea! As I was brainstorming tactile sensory play, trying to think of new ways I could get the boys exploring different textures,… Continue reading Textured Finger Paint
For a while I went on strike from bringing Henry with me to the grocery store. Grocery shopping is hard for Henry. He’s a sensory seeker and a voracious eater. So basically he wants to shake and bite all the crinkly food packages and eat everything in sight. He would grab food packages from the cart,… Continue reading Meltdown in the Milk Aisle
I loooove Valentine’s Day! I pink-puffy-heart Valentine’s Day! And I love the excuse to put together pink and red and sparkly crafts and activities for Calvin and Henry! With V-day two weeks away, James pulled out our box of Valentine odds and ends leftover from our activities last year, and I went through pics of those activities to… Continue reading Toddler Play for Valentine’s Day
It turns out I actually have a worse potty mouth now that I am a parent than I did pre-kids. Go figure. I was folding and putting away laundry a couple of weeks ago and Henry was napping and Calvin was hovering, buzzing around me like a little bee chattering silly things and jumping on… Continue reading Calvin’s First Curse Word
Our snowy white wonderland weekend was wonderful and special. Until it wasn’t. For me, at least. On Friday, Calvin woke up so excited to see that his snow day dreams had come true and there was white all around! I remember lying in bed early in the morning and hearing him yell out, “MAMAAA!! IT… Continue reading Mama Needs a Time Out
The forecast around here shows a “Wintry Mix” headed our way starting tonight! Snow, sleet, and freezing drizzle into the weekend. If we were talking about blended iced coffee drinks, all those words might sound appealing… but around here people kind of panic and batten down the hatches at the first mention of impending ice.… Continue reading Snow Day Tot Play
We’re doing touch/tactile activities as part of a 5 senses theme, and I wanted to come up with an activity that would really get Calvin relying on his sense of touch. I set out to do this activity where I put the pieces to a puzzle into a sensory bin and have him dig them… Continue reading Blind Puzzle Hunt: Blindfold + Sensory Bin + Puzzle
The deal with what I call “sensory play” is that it’s intended to be particularly stimulating to the senses in some way. Sensory play has been found to help with kids’ brain development, motor skills, spatial intelligence, and even picky eating. Here’s a PBS article about sensory play and here’s an article about sensory processing and… Continue reading “Sensory Play” with Henry
Surprisingly Special 