Future Rockstar!

We have a rocker in the house!

After taking more traditional piano lessons for 2.5 years, Anthony began taking keyboard and guitar lessons at a different studio early this spring. He’s had the opportunity to perform a few times, but most recently he was able to perform during downtown at Thursdays on First. The youth from Pure Rock Studios played 2 sets, and Anthony was able to perform a handful of songs!

Here are a few videos of his performances!

We are loving the music he is learning!

A Month in Photos {June 2014}

June brought the end of school, which gave us a chance to enjoy some fun in the sun (at least when it wasn’t raining). There’s so many fun things to do in the summer – it’s hard to squeeze them all in!

End of the school year trip to Valley Fair with 2nd grade friends
Trips to the pool
Celebrating Father’s Day with a game of Laser tag!
Checking out books from the bookmobile
An early Birthday party with school friends
Camping with friends
An early birthday present – a new bike!

Want to see more pictures? You can find me on Instagram here.

A Month in Photos {May 2014}

Once again I’m playing some catch up. I have missing documenting our story here, as well as all the fun projects that we continue to work on, so hopefully I will get back at it now! Here’s a snapshot of our May -

Swimming
Some great friends came to visit
Camping
Trip to the Circus
Piano Recital
Cub Scouts
Mother’s Day
Trip “Up North” to the lake

Want to see more pictures? You can find me on Instagram here.

Look Who’s 8!! {Photo Bloopers}

Anthony celebrated his 8th birthday earlier this month (how is that even possible?!?) and as always, an updated photo shoot was required! I’m just starting to edit the good ones, but thought it might be fun to share the “blooper” photos (that I will not take the time to edit)!

Anthony thought it was hilarious to make some silly faces, especially eye rolling… 

Here are the photos for your viewing pleasure!











Even with so many bloopers, there are still tons of good photos waiting for Photoshop to work some magic.

Hopefully they will be ready to share soon!

Third Grade! {First Day of School}

Here we are again… the first day of school!  With the year-round school calendar it always feels like our summer is a little short, but the breaks during the school year are totally worth it.



Anthony attends a school that follows a year-round calendar or 45/15 calendar.  I have written about that here and here.

It’s always fun to look back at all of Anthony’s first days of school. Follow the links to see more of the first day of Kindergarten, the first day of First grade, and the first day of Second grade.
Check out how he’s changed over the years!


So proud of this kiddo!

Last Day of School

School’s out for summer!

As always, I had to take the “last day of school pics”. Anthony was not as interested in photos this morning, but luckily I was able to get him to laugh at my silliness!




Check out these teeth!  Wow…. There will be an ortho consult in his future!


Here’s the comparison between the 1st day and last day of 2nd grade!  He’s grown a couple inches this year! He also really needs a new pair of shoes…


Happy summer!!

A Month in Photos {March 2014}

Somehow I barely took any photos during the entire month of March. In fact, I’m pretty sure that 

all but one of the photos in the collage this month were taken on my phone. I need to make 

more of a point to get my camera out!

Pinewood Derby
Snow, snow and more snow!
Celebrating Gotcha Day!
Volcano!! at Rainforest Café
Friends over on snow days
Adopting a new Webkinz

A Month in Photos {February 2014}

February brought more snow and more cold. This has been the winter that will not end!

School Carnival
Blue and Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts
Hubby’s Half-Marathon
Friends over to play
Lego’s!
Polar Cub Camp
Snow days
Birthday Parties for Friends

Want to see more pictures? You can find me on Instagram here.

Minecraft Sword Pinewood Derby Car {Cub Scouts}

Anthony loves to come up with unique Pinewood Derby cards. He often has really grand ideas (like a fire breathing dragon!) and this year he changed his mind a few times before deciding to build a Minecraft Sword car.

Handy hubby always lets Anthony draw a picture of his car and then does his best to cut out the design. The sword worked out pretty good!


Anthony chose the colors, and he was very specific about which colors to use. Hubby used a spray primer (that’s the gray) to give the craft paint something to stick to, and then we let Anthony just start painting.
He’s in his PJ’s, which is why he’s not wearing a shirt…


The car is upside down in the photo below. Anthony wanted to paint both sides. You can see the lines where the wheel axles (nails) will go.


Just a little bit of paint…


Ready for race day! The boys went to the post office to weigh Anthony’s car so they could determine how much weight to add to the bottom. You can just barely see the weights in the photo below.

Here are the weights on the bottom. They also drilled a hole through the end of the sword handle and slid some round weights in there too.


More to come about race day!

Here are Anthony’s previous Pinewood Derby cars: last year’s Batmobile and from the year before

It’s not “just” ADHD

When I started this blog it was a place for me to share what’s going on in our lives. Fun family activities, changes we are making to personalize our home, etc. As of late, I have been pretty quiet. For several reasons, really. Partially because our lives have been pretty busy, despite our attempts to simplify. We really haven’t been working on home improvement projects, or taking off on lots of family adventures. We have mostly just been spending as much quiet time at home as a family as we can and focusing on Anthony.

I have been debating whether or not to write about this for a long time, since I really don’t feel like it’s totally my story to tell. However, after what we have learned this past year, I decided I should definitely use my blog as a platform to share with, and educate, our family and friends.

Around this time last year, Anthony was diagnosed with ADHD. Now, if I’m totally honest, I really didn’t see it coming. Which I have to admit is pretty embarrassing, considering I have worked in the field of special education for 12+ years, and have had a variety of experiences working with children with ADHD.

Pre-diagnosis, Anthony had been demonstrating some pretty challenging behaviors, and with my experience in special education, we were able to try lots of different strategies to support his behavior at home. For the most part, the attempts were unsuccessful. School was experiencing challenges too, but had not suggested the idea of ADHD to us. We began working regularly with a Child Psychologist and one day she said, “Have you thought about attention?” and my immediate response was no, definitely no concerns about attention. He can focus on all kinds of things - Like reading! The boy can read like no other. Then a few weeks later, when meeting with another specialist, she said, “What about attention?” Again, my thought was no, absolutely not. It couldn’t be, right?

Well, immediately after that appointment, I took Anthony to a nearby pizza place for lunch. We sat near the window and during that meal, something just clicked. I realized that Anthony couldn’t sit in his chair to eat his pizza. He was on his knees, half laying on the table, climbing in the window sill, standing on the floor, etc. He was all over the place! This particular pizza place also has a few TV’s up in the corners near the ceiling, and when Anthony pointed at a big picture hanging on the wall, in the middle of all of the activity of falling off his chair, and asked, “What’s wrong with that TV?”, I just knew. It was attention. Once it clicked, I could see it in every single routine at home. Getting ready to go somewhere, mealtimes, getting ready for bed, etc. It was so incredibly obvious - I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it before.

My initial response to the diagnosis was “Whew!” at least we know what’s going on so now we know what to do. Unfortunately, it really hasn’t been quite that simple. We have experienced lots of highs and lows over the last year, but I'll save all that for another day.

As an educator, I (unfortunately) had the perspective of “It’s just ADHD”. I knew what ADHD looked like in a classroom. I knew that with appropriate accommodations and support, children with ADHD can be extremely successful in school. I have worked with many students with significant inattention, or hyperactivity, and sometimes both. What I didn’t understand, was really how ADHD could impact a child (and family!) at home. It’s truly life altering. I really didn't understand how the behavior component was so intertwined.

As an educator, I also knew that strategies found to be effective for behavior are often short-lived. What works beautifully today, may not work tomorrow. You always have to be a step ahead of the game. This has definitely been true for Anthony. He has been keeping the school staff and us at home on our toes.

I found this graphic a few months ago, and while it doesn’t perfectly describe Anthony, it does give a pretty easy to read snapshot of what ADHD looks like. You’ll notice the graphic suggests 2 types of ADHD, however there is a 3rd type – combined inattention and hyperactivity which is a blend of both sides of the graphic. Anthony has been diagnosed with ADHD - combined type. Anyone who knows him, could look down and pick out character traits from both sides of this graphic that apply perfectly to him. I especially love the strengths!

via Brain Balance Greater Philly

If I have learned anything in the last year, it’s definitely that ADHD is not “just” ADHD. It is so much more.

Pinewood Derby Car Display

Last fall we had all 8 of the 2nd grade Cub Scouts from Anthony’s troop over to our house for a “build night”.  The purpose of the night was to learn how to use a variety of tools, but of course in a fun way.  After practicing with the tools, each of the boys got to make (mostly assemble) their own display stand for their Pinewood Derby cars.  They loved it!

This part of our garage is where handy hubby does all of his handiwork magic.  He has built so many great things in this shop!  This is probably as clean as it’s been in a long time (scary, huh?).  Yikes! 

Anthony had a chance to do a little exploring of everything on the work bench that hubby set up for the boys.  There are little work stations for the boys to work on around the table.  And safety glasses for all – safety first!  To the right of the safety glasses there is a board (clamped to the table) with screws in it.  The boys all had to use a screwdriver to practice screwing the screws in/out.  Just around the corner to the right is where the boys used a file to knock down the hard edges on their blocks of wood. On the other side of the table another board was clamped down to the table.  The boys were able to use a handsaw to cut off the ends of the board and hammer nails in and pull them out.  They each had a chance to try using the clamps too.


Okay, so for the photo below, please ignore the pile of junk in the background.  You know, the bucket of birdseed, the bucket/mop, bags of bags (I recycle them to Goodwill), the cut pieces of wood (future project, I’ll get to it eventually!), and everything else that I’m not mentioning… Ugh.  Our garage is always a disaster because we are always in the middle of projects!

If you look closely at the boys here, you will see one using a handsaw, another using a socket wrench, and another hammering a nail. 


The boys all had a chance to practice using the handsaw before making one of the cuts for their project (hubby had all of the other cuts made and ready for the boys to assemble their projects).


The line-up below! Obviously faces have been blocked for confidentiality purposes but here there are two excited boys waiting their turn to use the handsaw and another using the hammer (it’s blurry) at the other end. 


Let the assembly begin!  Anthony loved being able to work on this project at his own house with his friends there.


Several of the dad’s stayed to watch the boys work.  Even though I was freezing, I couldn’t get myself to go inside because I was worried about the excitement of the boys and the tools they had access to!  Eek.  Seriously, though, they all did GREAT.  No band-aids necessary!


This Cub Scout decided to label his stand to show where each car will go.  Anthony did the same thing with his too!


Here is the stand with Anthony’s Pinewood Derby car from last year.  The “cage” on his car is open because he wanted to get his Lego Batman guy back out to play with him.


Here’s the whole group with their Pinewood Derby car stands.  Of course I didn’t get a photo with Anthony smiling, but he was thrilled with his project, even though this photo doesn’t show it.


This is the PERFECT project for any Cub Scout troop looking for a way to teach the boys some how to use some tools.  It’s a pretty simple project and then you can send them all home with a project they will be excited to have in their rooms!

Update: I have received a few questions about the measurements for each of the pieces required to build this, so here goes! All of the wood we used was scrap wood from projects at our house and you'll notice by my description that I am clearly not the woodworker of the family! The bases are made from scrap IKEA butcher block, which worked perfectly because they are heavy and keep the stand from being tippy once the cars are loaded on it. Hubby had the bases cut and ready to go for the kids. The dimension of the base is 5 x 10 inches. The 4 little blocks for the cars to sit on were also cut and ready to go.  They are 1-5/8 x 5 x 3/4 inches. This size should work perfectly for cars made from the standard Pinewood Derby car blocks when nothing is added to the sides of the car. It's almost a bit snug, which is perfect (they don't easily fall off!). The initial design included a small spacer to set the blocks out a bit from the post, but that doesn't seem to be necessary with most cars. The long post is the one piece that hubby cut long, so that after each Scout had a chance to practice with the handsaw, they could make a cut on their project (the cut line was marked for them). The finished long post measures 19 x 1-1/2 x 3/4 inches. This stands allows space for up to 5 cars (with one sitting on the base). Hubby had measured and pre-drilled the holes on the back so the Scouts just needed to line up the little blocks with the post and hammer two nails into each. Then they screwed in two screws to attach the base to the post. The Scouts were at our house for 1.5 hours, which was perfect. They had a lesson on safety and the names of the tools, an opportunity to practice all of the skills, and then they used their new skills to build their Pinewood Derby Display Stands. I would love to hear if you build these with your Cub Scouts!


Linking to: Sugar Bee Crafts

A Month in Photos {November 2013}

I’m a little behind… Better late than never, right?!?

November came and went without much recognition.
Here’s a snapshot of what we were up to in November!

Thanksgiving in Iowa with cousins
Cub Scout Building night at our house (blog post coming soon!)
Barbershop with Dad – faux-hawk anyone?
School musical
School field Trip
Basketball

School Talent Show!

Each year there is a Talent Show at Anthony’s school. Children in 2nd-5th grades are invited to try out.  This year 17 acts made the talent show, and Anthony was one of them!  He played his piano recital piece from June, and he did a great job!

Here’s a link to his performance!


Anthony was really nervous, but he still did a great job!  We are so proud! 

Today is Anthony’s last day of school until January 13th - LOVE the 45/15 schedule and all the time we will have together over the next couple weeks!

The Return of Elf on the Shelf!

It’s that time of year again!  Last year was the first year we had an elf.  I wrote a letter (thank you Pinterest for the ideas!) and Santa sent him the elf as a package.  You can read about his first arrival here.  Anthony didn’t know he wasn’t supposed to touch the elf until he read the letter…

 

As we began planning for his return, I put together a quick review of some of the mischief that our elf, Clyde, got himself into last year.  It’s going to be tricky coming up with a bunch of new ideas, especially since we are not a fan of elf messes….

We decided it would be fun for Santa to mail the elf each year, so once again a package arrived for Anthony from the North Pole this year! 

Clyde couldn’t wait to get out of the box to find Anthony!!  He was bursting with excitement!  (Sorry, I couldn’t help that one!)


We were out of town for Thanksgiving and when we returned home Anthony found Clyde's box by the Christmas tree in his room as he was getting ready for bed.  He was THRILLED that Clyde had come back to him!  His response was amazing. Worth every single minute we will spend on Elf on the Shelf over the next month. 

Quick note about the tree – it’s decorated completely by Anthony, with ornaments mostly from his birth-grandma and godparents.  He has picked up a few ornaments here and there, and LOVES having his very own tree in his room!

Here’s a few quick iPhone pics of the big discovery.

Carefully trying to open the box without touching Clyde.  We assured him that it was okay if he accidentally touched him!

Anthony was so excited!!  Here he’s giving him a kiss (kissed his fingers and pretending to touch Clyde’s mouth) – Too cute!!

Reading Santa’s letter.  Yes, those are Lego’s in the background.  Just a few…(!!!)

Blurry pic, but you can just see the love he’s giving Clyde as he tucks him in on a bed of tissue paper (that we slid him from the box down onto, without touching him!).

One last photo with the elf!

Clyde, our elf on the shelf has returned, and Anthony couldn’t be happier!!  He talked and talked (and talked and talked and talked) to Clyde that night.  He told him about books, and money (what it looks like, how to use it, etc), his parents, his room, his cats, etc.  He truly BELIEVES and wants Clyde to know everything.  In fact, the next morning when he found Clyde hanging by an ornament in a different Christmas tree (yes, I have a problem!) he was convinced that Clyde had put the ornaments on the tree (we hadn’t decorated that tree yet).  I even caught him getting dressed in front of the tree, telling Clyde all about his clothes, including the purpose of the opening in the front of his boxers!! HILARIOUS!

Two years ago, when Anthony was in kindergarten, he came home and said the big kids on the bus said there was no such thing as Santa Claus. I was so sad! How dare those big kids ruin Anthony's fun. We worked through it, and he kinda believed, but he just wasn't sure. The seed of doubt was planted. We began using the phrase, "You have to BELIEVE to RECEIVE" whenever he asked us if Santa was real. This year, all it took was watching The Polar Express a week ago and bringing back the elf.  Anthony is truly a believer and we are sure going to enjoy it while it lasts!!

Here’s the letter from Santa explaining Clyde’s return-

December 1^st, 2013
Dear Anthony…you are still one of my favorites!
You are so very special! I know that you are filled with love for your parents, all of your family and your friends. I know that you love Jesus too and so do I! That makes us especially special!
Once again I have sent you something special for this Christmas season. Do you remember my dear friend, Clyde? He is an elf from my workshop and he wanted to help you get ready for Christmas again this year.
Do you remember that Clyde tends to be a little naughty? I know that when you continue to make good choices, you will help Clyde learn to make good choices too!
One important thing to remember about Clyde…elves are not exactly the same as humans. He will stay still during the day and because he is magical, you shouldn’t touch him, for fear his magic will leave him. You can talk to him and tell him stories about you and your family – he will hear you and love you. While Clyde is quiet during the day, he loves to play at night after everyone else is sleeping. That’s when he gets in trouble, so you’ll have to watch him carefully!
When I told him that he was going to come and stay with you again, he was so excited! He really loves hanging out with boys – he likes to play rough, and will love to hear about all of the fun things you do.
Have fun, and I’ll be back to pick him up on Christmas Eve when I come to drop off some extra special surprises for you!
I love you very much!
SANTA
 
Do you have an Elf on the Shelf?  What is your favorite elf “trick” to play?