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

He’s still running! {half-marathon}

A couple years ago handy hubby started running. Initially it was for exercise and to drop a few pounds, but as it turns out, he actually seems to enjoy running!  His last big race was Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth last June, but he has continued to run and has maintained his ability to run pretty solid distances. Since he is able to head out each week on approx 10 mile runs, it didn’t seem to take much training for him to run another half-marathon. I know, I know, easy for me to say – I typically sleep in while he runs! In any case, I’m super proud of him for his dedication to running and continuing to push himself to stay in such great shape!

It was a SUPER cold day (maybe a high of 8 degrees?) so there was no way I was going to take Anthony, find a place to park, walk to the finish line and stand around waiting with him. Sorry, hubby, we didn't see the race finale, but we did our best to support you! Before the race I had checked out the route and figured out a few good locations to be waiting to cheer him on. The first stop was in a park, about 1.5 miles into the race. We were able to cheer for him and we didn’t even have to get out of the car! Perfect!

He’s the guy in the neon yellow jacket with the black pants with a white stripe – near the center of the picture below.




We were cheering as loud as the two of us could – he obviously heard us!


Hubby knew we were planning to be at two locations, so we surprised him with a 3rd location in-between when he was expecting us. I believe this location was 3-4 miles into the race. Anthony thought the swing would be a good spot to wait, but then he decided the swing was too cold. It was FREEZING cold!!


Here he comes!


There were a few other people watching the race by us and everyone clapped and cheered for every runner. Of course that got Anthony cheering too! 






High fives for dad!


Anthony really wanted to join him, but hubby was running too fast at this point!


There he goes!


This was taken at our last stop – Anthony was able to run along with him for a little bit!








Definitely a blurry pic, but I had to include it to show hubby’s eye-lashes and the ear-cycle hanging by his left ear - BRRR!!!


Almost to the finish line - about 1.5 miles to go!


At this point, the next big race he’s registered for is the Tough Mudder this summer. Until then, he is continuing to run during this freezing cold winter we have been experiencing. Run hubby run!

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.

Another (unwanted) Anniversary {Adoption}

Here we go again. Today, March 1st, marks 4 years that we have been waiting to adopt #2.

Four years.

Four.

There is no way to make that sound like a short amount of time. We also can’t say that the waiting has been easy. We have a 7-year-old who is dying to become a big brother and all we can do is tell him how much we want to make that happen too.

Earlier this month we finished up our annual round of paperwork and made the trip to the adoption agency to update our home study. Hours of time spent on paperwork and meeting with the adoption agency and checks written to maintain our status of ready and waiting. At the meeting to update our home study, we found out there is only ONE family who has been waiting longer than us. One. We asked for feedback (again) and they couldn’t give us any ideas about why we haven’t been chosen yet, it’s just a matter of a birthmother deciding we are the right family.

At this point, we are all set to wait another year.

Think Positive - 7 years ago today we received our first phone call about Anthony! School was canceled because of snow, and I just happened to be home when his birth-grandma called and started the process.

We are so thankful for that phone call and the craziness our family has endured in the 7 years since we brought him home. We will be celebrating Gotcha Day later this month!

Please know that we appreciate the love, support and prayers we receive from everyone. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you hear about a potential situation.

When we have updates, we will share them.

Until then, we wait.



More about our family waiting to adopt here.

A Month in Photos {January 2014}

At the beginning of January we escaped to the Florida Keys for a few days and then boarded a cruise ship in Miami and headed to the Bahamas. We were hoping for a week of beautiful weather, but that proved to be extremely hard to find. We had some warm days (70’s), but lots of rain and rough seas on the ship. We even had to skip one of the islands because the weather was so poor. Boo! If you look at the ground in the picture above with the cruise ship, you’ll notice that it’s all wet thanks to the rain we had on our day in Key West, Florida. It was RAINING when I took the photo in the bottom center (of hubby and Anthony) – we were the only ones really out walking around in Nassau, Bahamas. We had to though, because Anthony’s godparents were just on a cruise and in Nassau the week before us, and they had created a scavenger hunt for Anthony! They had written a note on a playing card and hidden it, and then they put together directions (with pictures) to use to find the card. It was tricky with the rain, but we found it! During our few days in Key Largo, we decided to visit an alligator farm in the Everglades (on our ONLY sunny day!). We had a blast! The crazy ear protection was to protect our ears from the loud engine on the airboat during our tour looking for alligators through the swamp. The water level was pretty low and we actually ended up getting stuck and needing another airboat to come out and rescue us. It was an adventure that we will always remember! I’m not sure if our day in the Everglades was the highlight of our trip because we had so much fun, or if it’s because it was the only day when the sun was shining!

The month of January was full of….

Florida Keys
Pokemon Cards
COLD days (4 days of school canceled due to the cold)
Piano Lessons
Karate
Nassau, Bahamas
Polar Cub Camp

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

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