Be A Good Mom

This one was made to solve a particular problem at our house. Pookie gets up and wanders during meals. Its sort of like he has pediatric restless leg syndrome or something. He pops up, runs to the window, looks out and then runs back to his chair. To remind him to stay sitting, I made this weighted lap pad.

Read the full story here.

I don’t use many clothes pins, but when you need one, you need one. Just this week I used 4 to hold up Geetle and Pookie’s slightly broken Roman Shade to let in a breeze. I saw this tutorial on making a homemade clothes pin bag. Cute. Things went well, except that I messed up and sewed the top front panel to the bottom front panel, rather than the back panel. So, I had to cut that part over, but I was now short on one fabric. The result was that I lost some of the dramatic WOW from the fabric contrast. So, just ignore the colors and look at my awesome use of bias tape.

Ah, Baby Dollard. I don’t even know what to say about him. He makes me smile.

Click here for the Story of Baby Dollard.

Ok, I did not make this one. Aunt Bean did. There is no tutorial, because she invented it. But I think she should do a tutorial. This is a cool idea. My kids are big kids 5 and when they sleep in the car they always look like rejects from a chiropractor’s commercial. I bought them neck pillows at Walmart, ones shaped like the letter “C”, but they are 5! They don’t know how to use them correctly and even if they start out fine, they slip and fall while the kids are asleep.

I present to you THE SLEEPY 7!

It has velcro to attach to the shoulder belt. The shape fits easily in the crook of their neck and the leg provides a natural cuddle spot. Perfect. We are taking ours to Cincinnati. Bean offered me one, but I said NO! I will not sleep in the car! (I probably will, but I am going to try to stay awake and keep BAGD company while he drives.)

This one looks very impressive because I started with a beautiful piece of decorator fabric that had its own embroidered design. Pretty sneaky, huh?

I used this tutorial.

Other than the fact that I had to convert the metric into inches, I did allright. Darn public school education. I just can’t think in metric.

Rag quilts were one of my first “just do it and see what happens” projects. I am no sewing expert. I should probably lead with that disclaimer. I follow the “Hail Mary” school of sewing, in which you ram your foot down on the pedal and hope for the best. But as I do these projects, I am learning more, which is part of the point, I guess.

Rag quilts are an easy place to start. To make one, I would recommend that you invest in a rotary cutter, ruler and mat. If you watch the Joann Fabric ads, you can get a coupon for 40% off any item and purchase a set that contains all 3 for about $15. You can make rag quilts out of any fabric that frays in the washer. I like flannel. Some people use homespun cotton or denim. The nice thing about these quilts is that they do not require a backing, binding or actual “quilting.”

You can find a nice tutorial here. If you want to make a different size, this website shows you how many squares of each size you would need for crib, twin, full, queen and king. Here you will also find examples of other fabrics that rag.

As far as your pattern goes, you can do a simple alternating pattern with 2 fabrics, a diagonal pattern, etc. Or go for a scrappy look. Its all good.

Here is one of my rag quilts. Its my favorite. It has no pattern. I bought 5 or 6 coordinating flannels and just laid them out. Its a crib size, but longer than wide. Its a good size for laying out for a clean place for baby to sit.

One of our Summer events this year was the weekly story time at the Public Library. This program has a puppet show, stories, movement songs, a cartoon and finger plays. Its probably meant for 2-4 year olds. We are 5 1/2 and I think we get more out of it than the 2 year olds. Pookie and Geetle love it. Geetle follows the plot of the puppet show, which has been serialized for the full session. Each week we get one more clue to the big mystery…what happened to Zak and Zelda’s dog Briarly? Pookie loves it for the entertainment value. He loves the songs, he loves the stories, he loves the cartoons.

Our goals for attending storytime was to give Pookie a chance to practice his large group skills. How to sit still, how to listen, how to participate. The room is big and chaotic, lots of noise. I usually have Giggles in the sling or stroller, Geetle at one elbow and Pookie somewhere within 6 feet of me. We all sit on the floor so the groups slowly drift into each other, toddlers and preschoolers oozing from one spot to another. The kids get up and down 3-4 times throughout the 45 minute show, to act out plays and songs. I worried about Pookie and how he would do. I have a few strategies.

1. I always bring him a “mark.” Sometimes its a blanket spread on the floor, sometimes its just Giggles’ changing pad. Something that shows him where he is supposed to be, to keep him from drifting.

2. I set clear expectations and a schedule. First we will listen to story time, then we will play in the kids area. First this, then that.

3. I require a bathroom attempt prior to showtime.

4. I bring his Quiet bracelet for silence during the cartoon.

Because the room is so crowded and chaotic and I bring 3 kids, I realized I never had the time/opportunity to do a “Hand-over-Hand” with Pookie to show him how to participate in the movement songs. Other than my basic strategy above, I did not do anything to make this a “large group behavior lesson.” Had I blown the entire thing? But, I should not have worried, he has no problem with it. Check out this video of our boy. Watch for the Rock and Roll finger.

We are going to be leaving for Cincinnati in a few days, so in order to fill my blog while I am gone, I thought I would set up a series of posts showing things I have made recently. I’ll link to the tutorials when I can. There are ALOT of great tutorials out there. Enjoy. (or if you are not in to sewing….just wait a week or so and I will be back with various Cincinnati stories, I am sure)

Compliments of The Lazy Bloggers Post Generator, a tool which helps you put up a quick and witty blog post apologizing for your lack of recent blog posts. Here is mine (although I have been doing pretty well lately):

Holy Snapping Duck Do! I just opened mine eyes, and lo! I have not updated this since Hammertime was in the charts… You would not believe how insane my life has become. Apologies to my regular readers! Even the little blue ones!.

I am absolutely consumed with responding to fanmail, driving from one end of the city to the other, just generally being an embarrassment to anyone unfortunate to cross my path, my day is passing in a blur from the first cockadoodledoo from the rooster to I run out of alcohol. I am not complaining though. life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.

I swear on the bones of my ancestors I will update you with my nefarious activities as soon as I get a chance. Sincerest apologies. Don’t hold your breath though, you’re likely to turn blue.

Michael Savage. Google him and read all about his anti-autism rants. I am not going to dignify him with a link.

All I want to point out today is one important fact that keeps coming up in these conversations. There is apparently some perception among society that autistic children qualify for some magic free government paycheck. Some sort of disability money that is so enticing that we parent are clamoring for a diagnosis, just to cash in on it.

Let me straighten this out for all those who are confused.

Autism does not entitle your child to a free government paycheck.
You do not automatically qualify for SSI, Medicare, or anything else.
The child might qualify for SSI disability or some help, depending on the family income. You can get some really good information on how to pursue those rights, if your child qualifies, here. The qualifications are the same whether your child has autism, MS, no legs, water on the brain, or epilepsy. There is no autism fast-track.

Its not a guarantee. Its rare. Its alot of work. If you do qualify for anything, you will spend it on special needs care for your child, trust me.

I really wish certain members of society would stop insulting the parents of autistic children, saying that we parade our autistic children around as cash cows. There is no cash. If there was, we would spend it on PECS systems, vitamins, tutors, adaptive bicycles, headphones, special babysitters, classes, etc.

Fact: Pookie qualifies for nothing, except 2 years of free preschool. We never even considered that he would qualify for any money. That is not how we think. We think of Pookie. But so many people in society brought it up, accusing parents of looking for this big payout, that we looked into it.

Nothing. He qualifies for nothing. So, stop accusing us of pimping him for the money.