For a few years I have wanted to make photo books to preserve our memories, and in the past few months I have been trying to get started. Before I started, I thought that I could just copy and paste everything from my journal and this blog and maybe get a few things from Facebook, but it quickly became apparent that it wouldn't be that simple. I started reading through my journal entries from 2008 and was shocked at how long-winded I used to be. There are some really great nuggets saved in there, and I'm glad I wrote it, but I have to admit that I can't really stand to sit and read through some journal entries. And some of my journal entries are so personal that I don't really want them in a book on my shelf that my kids and maybe guests could sit and read. Then on my blog and Facebook there are some posts that could be copied straight into a photo book and others that are really just rants, links, random thoughts, or pictures of food. Photo books also cost more as you add more pages, so I don't want them to get too long. So I'm finding that sifting through all of it to figure out which stuff is fit for a photo book is a lot more work-intensive than I expected.
A lot of it comes down to figuring out what my intended purpose is for these photo books. I think I mainly want these to be something our family can pull out and enjoy looking through, but at the same time I also view them as a way to preserve our memories. With computers we can store so much information now, but it can be easy to lose everything if you don't keep your files backed up, so I feel like having photo books would be a good idea because if technology failed on me I would at least have some of it saved on paper. Maybe I could make a book of the most important things and put a CD in each one with the files of everything else from that year?
At any rate, I already have seven years of our marriage to document and I also never got around to having a wedding album printed (I did make one, but my laptop died and then I realized that the backup file was no good), so it's a little overwhelming.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Well, that was fun.
baby developments, imaginary friends, OT, and mind-reading
Ann Marie's new favorite game is shaking her head, and she thinks it's even more fun if you shake your head too. Other favorite games include pulling towels and washcloths out of the drawer in the kitchen and helping to pick up toys. She's mostly transitioned from army crawling to regular crawling, and a lot of the time she'll actually do a bear crawl up on her feet instead of crawling on hands and knees. She doesn't really walk with help yet, but if she's holding something to stand up she can bend down to get something and then stand back up. We also found out while playing in the front lobby one day that she can climb stairs.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned Heidi's imaginary friend, Danyaya Mike (or Danya for short). Danya is a good outlet when Heidi wants to be the one in charge or wants to act out social situations in a safe way. It's interesting to hear her tell about the things Danya says or does, and sometimes it's enlightening because Heidi will repeat things that she's heard Ryan and I say when she's talking to Danya. Danya also fits nicely in the palm of Heidi's hand. Sometimes Danya does naughty things and then makes it look like Heidi did it, though. :)
What I am finding with occupational therapy is that it's a lot of trial and error, and if we try something new there's always a risk that it will wreak havoc on Kevin's nervous system. About four weeks ago his therapist tried having Kevin use an Integrated Listening System during therapy. This involved him listening to music on a set of headphones while doing his normal therapy activities. Apparently the headphones vibrate on the top of the head a little bit and activate the proprioceptive sensors, so it impacts several different senses at once.
The next two weeks were rough (we also missed the next week of therapy). There were more behavior issues and Kevin was yelling and fighting more. So the next time we went to OT Jenny tried a different music track. She ended up changing the track twice during the session because she could tell it was making him more disorganized. The next week was still rough with the same problems.
So a couple of weeks ago when Jenny heard about what was going on she decided to try Therapeutic Listening instead of ILS because it's not as complex and the effects don't tend to last as long, which would mean that if it had a negative effect it would die off after a couple of days. He looked really good at the beginning, but after about 20 minutes she took the headphones off because he was getting so disorganized. The next few days were really rough. On Thursday he was very irritable and yelled a lot, and he didn't sleep well that night, which is unusual for him. Then on Friday we had the worst day that we've had in months. There was yelling, hitting, screaming, tantruming, crying, and refusing to listen. I didn't know how to get him to snap out of it. I tried putting him to bed earlier and he wouldn't go to sleep either. Then on Saturday he was still yelling and saying potty words too much, so we tried making a behavior chart. Kevin helped me make the rules and I made a chart with ten boxes by everybody's name. I told the kids that if someone broke the rules they would get a check mark by their name, and if they got ten checks they would not get a treat that night (this was Jenny's suggestion). I knew that this would be a challenge, but even I didn't anticipate that Kevin would already have his ten checks within an hour and a half. Every time he got another check it made him more stressed and he would yell/hit/say potty words even more. So that behavior chart was a bust. But we went out of the house for a while and Kevin was a lot better after that, and then on Sunday through Tuesday he was a lot better.
So when I told Jenny about the week she decided to go all the way back to the very first Therapeutic Listening song track, which is less complex, and see how that works. She said he's really complex and his nervous system is a lot more sensitive than she ever expected. Even after doing therapy with him for seven months she still doesn't feel like she's figured him out. The effects of the music on him are interesting, because on the one hand they seem to really help him with coming up with new ideas and planning them out, which is something he struggles with, but on the other hand it seems like it's really difficult for his nervous system to process that much auditory input, so it affects his behavior afterwards. Like I said, it's a lot of trial and error. The next week after the less complex song track went a lot better! So we tried the same track again this week and we'll see if this helps him.
At occupational therapy one of the things we are working on is getting Kevin to communicate better. A lot of times he doesn't communicate what he's planning to do or tell others what he's thinking, and this leads to a lot of conflicts with Heidi when they are playing. So this week while they were playing, Miss Jenny said, "Kevin, do you think your sister Heidi can read minds? Well, she can't read minds, so your homework this week is to tell Heidi your plan so she knows what you're thinking." Well, at the end when he was putting his shoes on, she asked him if he remembered what his homework was. Kevin responded: "Work on Heidi reading my mind."
I'm not sure if I've mentioned Heidi's imaginary friend, Danyaya Mike (or Danya for short). Danya is a good outlet when Heidi wants to be the one in charge or wants to act out social situations in a safe way. It's interesting to hear her tell about the things Danya says or does, and sometimes it's enlightening because Heidi will repeat things that she's heard Ryan and I say when she's talking to Danya. Danya also fits nicely in the palm of Heidi's hand. Sometimes Danya does naughty things and then makes it look like Heidi did it, though. :)
What I am finding with occupational therapy is that it's a lot of trial and error, and if we try something new there's always a risk that it will wreak havoc on Kevin's nervous system. About four weeks ago his therapist tried having Kevin use an Integrated Listening System during therapy. This involved him listening to music on a set of headphones while doing his normal therapy activities. Apparently the headphones vibrate on the top of the head a little bit and activate the proprioceptive sensors, so it impacts several different senses at once.
The next two weeks were rough (we also missed the next week of therapy). There were more behavior issues and Kevin was yelling and fighting more. So the next time we went to OT Jenny tried a different music track. She ended up changing the track twice during the session because she could tell it was making him more disorganized. The next week was still rough with the same problems.
So a couple of weeks ago when Jenny heard about what was going on she decided to try Therapeutic Listening instead of ILS because it's not as complex and the effects don't tend to last as long, which would mean that if it had a negative effect it would die off after a couple of days. He looked really good at the beginning, but after about 20 minutes she took the headphones off because he was getting so disorganized. The next few days were really rough. On Thursday he was very irritable and yelled a lot, and he didn't sleep well that night, which is unusual for him. Then on Friday we had the worst day that we've had in months. There was yelling, hitting, screaming, tantruming, crying, and refusing to listen. I didn't know how to get him to snap out of it. I tried putting him to bed earlier and he wouldn't go to sleep either. Then on Saturday he was still yelling and saying potty words too much, so we tried making a behavior chart. Kevin helped me make the rules and I made a chart with ten boxes by everybody's name. I told the kids that if someone broke the rules they would get a check mark by their name, and if they got ten checks they would not get a treat that night (this was Jenny's suggestion). I knew that this would be a challenge, but even I didn't anticipate that Kevin would already have his ten checks within an hour and a half. Every time he got another check it made him more stressed and he would yell/hit/say potty words even more. So that behavior chart was a bust. But we went out of the house for a while and Kevin was a lot better after that, and then on Sunday through Tuesday he was a lot better.
So when I told Jenny about the week she decided to go all the way back to the very first Therapeutic Listening song track, which is less complex, and see how that works. She said he's really complex and his nervous system is a lot more sensitive than she ever expected. Even after doing therapy with him for seven months she still doesn't feel like she's figured him out. The effects of the music on him are interesting, because on the one hand they seem to really help him with coming up with new ideas and planning them out, which is something he struggles with, but on the other hand it seems like it's really difficult for his nervous system to process that much auditory input, so it affects his behavior afterwards. Like I said, it's a lot of trial and error. The next week after the less complex song track went a lot better! So we tried the same track again this week and we'll see if this helps him.
At occupational therapy one of the things we are working on is getting Kevin to communicate better. A lot of times he doesn't communicate what he's planning to do or tell others what he's thinking, and this leads to a lot of conflicts with Heidi when they are playing. So this week while they were playing, Miss Jenny said, "Kevin, do you think your sister Heidi can read minds? Well, she can't read minds, so your homework this week is to tell Heidi your plan so she knows what you're thinking." Well, at the end when he was putting his shoes on, she asked him if he remembered what his homework was. Kevin responded: "Work on Heidi reading my mind."
Sick Days
It seems like whenever things look like they might normalize somebody throws a monkey wrench into my plans. This past week and a half were supposed to be quieter with some time to just get things done and breathe. But instead I lost my voice. Then the day before Mother's Day I started coughing, and it got worse over the next several days, which made it hard to get much done. There was an irritated spot in my throat that got bothered every time I breathed in or out, which triggered my coughing reflex, so a lot of the time I had to just sit and concentrate on breathing. So, no getting things done, and not so much breathing.
It was even worse on Wednesday, and since cough drops weren't offering enough relief I thought maybe I'd try one of those natural remedies that supposedly work miracles. I made a mixture of hot water, honey, and lemon juice and took a few spoonfuls of that. I was not impressed. After I tried the honey mixture the next couple of hours were the worst yet. My throat felt even more irritated and I could barely talk because that made me cough. So I finally called my home teacher in tears and asked him to come give me a blessing. He came with our neighbor, who was finishing up packing up his family's moving truck (I think they actually left right after the blessing). The blessing said that my strength would be restored and I would be able to fulfill my normal responsibilities that day. I kind of choked out a thank you as they left. After that I went back to cough drops and it got a little better, but I still wasn't able to do much.
By the end of the day I was feeling a little better but still couldn't breathe very well. When Ryan got home I told him about my symptoms and he asked if I had considered going to a doctor. I had considered it, but I didn't really want to go in just to have them say, "Yep, you have a cough. Rest and drink lots of fluids and try cough drops." But Ryan pointed out that this seemed like more than just a little cough and said it sounded more like bronchitis. I looked up the symptoms online and realized that this should probably be classified as bronchitis. One of the symptoms was shortness of breath, but I guess it never occurred to me that not being able to breathe because my throat was irritated counted as shortness of breath. I decided that if it wasn't better the next day I would call my doctor. I took a shower, which helped a lot, and set up the humidifier in our room. It gradually started getting better over the next few days. I'm still coughing, but I'm definitely on the mend.
I remember on Wednesday evening reflecting on my home teacher's blessing and wondering why it took so long for my cough to get better. I still couldn't really do much even after the blessing, so I wondered if the blessing was fulfilled when he said I would be able to fulfill my normal responsibilities. But as I thought about it I realized that I had been able to get a couple of important things done in the morning before my cough got really bad, and even though I didn't really do any chores I was still able to keep an eye on the kids and pick Kevin up from the bus, so I did manage to do the basics. And just receiving the blessing gave me a feeling of peace that I would be okay.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Mother's Day Interviews
Ryan interviewed the kids on Mother's Day, and I think this was the first time we successfully got answers from the kids!
How old is Mom?
K: 27
H: 7
How tall is Mom?
K: 27
H: [reaches up as tall as she can]
What makes Mom happy?
K: When we help her.
H: I'm not telling you!! . . . (Later) Smiling!
What is Mom really good at?
K: Making dinner.
H: Writing notes for Grandma and Grandpa.
What is Mom's favorite food?
K: Soup.
H: Chocolate.
What do you and Mom do together?
K: Play games.
H: Make dinner.
What is something Mom always says to you?
K: Clean up your room. Clean up the living room.
H: Go to the playground!
Mom likes to relax by . . .
K: Say her prayers.
H: Buy some food.
The best thing she cooks is . . .
K: Pizza, cinnamon rolls
H: Cooked carrots, spaghetti and noodles and sauce, and that's all. Spaghetti sauce too.
When my mom shops she likes to get . . .
K: Stuff on sale.
H: Noodles. She likes to go to Target and buy some clothes for me and Kevin and you.
My mom's favorite household chore is . . .
K: Sweeping and cleaning and vacuuming.
H: Read scriptures.
If mom could go on a trip she would go to . . .
K: To Utah.
H: To the park.
I also did some Mother's Day interviews when I hosted joy school the week before Mother's Day, and here are the answers Heidi gave for that:
What does your mom do to relax?
Go out in the hall.
Where does your mom like to shop?
Costco
How old is your mom?
20
What do you love most about your mom?
Watching movies. I like buying carrots with my mom.
If you could buy your mom anything, what would it be?
A water bottle.
What does your mom do while you're at school?
Read books.
How old is Mom?
K: 27
H: 7
How tall is Mom?
K: 27
H: [reaches up as tall as she can]
What makes Mom happy?
K: When we help her.
H: I'm not telling you!! . . . (Later) Smiling!
What is Mom really good at?
K: Making dinner.
H: Writing notes for Grandma and Grandpa.
What is Mom's favorite food?
K: Soup.
H: Chocolate.
What do you and Mom do together?
K: Play games.
H: Make dinner.
What is something Mom always says to you?
K: Clean up your room. Clean up the living room.
H: Go to the playground!
Mom likes to relax by . . .
K: Say her prayers.
H: Buy some food.
The best thing she cooks is . . .
K: Pizza, cinnamon rolls
H: Cooked carrots, spaghetti and noodles and sauce, and that's all. Spaghetti sauce too.
When my mom shops she likes to get . . .
K: Stuff on sale.
H: Noodles. She likes to go to Target and buy some clothes for me and Kevin and you.
My mom's favorite household chore is . . .
K: Sweeping and cleaning and vacuuming.
H: Read scriptures.
If mom could go on a trip she would go to . . .
K: To Utah.
H: To the park.
I also did some Mother's Day interviews when I hosted joy school the week before Mother's Day, and here are the answers Heidi gave for that:
What does your mom do to relax?
Go out in the hall.
Where does your mom like to shop?
Costco
How old is your mom?
20
What do you love most about your mom?
Watching movies. I like buying carrots with my mom.
If you could buy your mom anything, what would it be?
A water bottle.
What does your mom do while you're at school?
Read books.
Friday, May 1, 2015
April photos
 |
| Because the top of your head is a good place to store a piece of bread until you're ready to eat it. |
 |
| It looks like Ann Marie's eyes are going to stay blue! |
more March photos
Don't worry, we've cut Kevin's hair since taking those pictures. It took about an hour because his hair is so thick.
I made matching bows for Heidi and Ann Marie. I don't know why I bothered since neither of them will leave a headband on their head for more than three minutes, but they were still very cute.
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