tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49154825861011274622024-03-24T23:10:24.876-07:00BumbleBaby MommyA small company that hand crafts sewn items, sews new items & alters existing garments. This cottage industry is allowing one Mommy the extra income to be able to stay at home with her girls.
Staying home has always been important, but one of our three girls has been recently diagnosed with Aspergers/Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder. Now its not just a nice thing, its a MUST.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-15293865963802628112016-04-30T19:50:00.002-07:002016-04-30T19:50:46.419-07:00Growing and Changing<h2>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="" http:="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">So much growth!</href></h2>
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<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="" http:="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">My cute girl is now 9. She's a third grader....soon to be a 4th grader! Last night, she participated in the school talent show. This was a HUGE deal! Kids on the autism spectrum don't get jokes the way the rest of us do. It took a great deal of effort to find jokes she thought were funny and so did other people.</href></div>
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<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="" http:="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br /></href></div>
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<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="" http:="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">It also took quite a bit of explaining what a talent show is, what you could do, why it is not appropriate to train a cat to sit, and why eating rice with chopsticks is great but would be hard for the audience to see.</href></div>
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<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="" http:="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">Here are her jokes:</href></div>
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Knock, knock.</div>
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Who's there?</div>
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Banana.</div>
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Banana who?</div>
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Knock, knock.</div>
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Who's there?</div>
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Banana.</div>
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Banana who?</div>
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Knock, knock.</div>
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Who's there?</div>
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Banana.</div>
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Banana who?</div>
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Knock, knock.</div>
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Who's there?</div>
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Orange.</div>
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Orange who?</div>
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Orange you glad I didn't say banana?</div>
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Knock, knock.</div>
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Who's there?</div>
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Interupting cow.</div>
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Interupting ......Mooo!!!</div>
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Why is six afraid of seven?</div>
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Why?</div>
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Because seven, eight, nine.</div>
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Why do cows have bells?</div>
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Why?</div>
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Because their horns don't work.</div>
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<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="" http:="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="" http:="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" height="103" width="200" /></href>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-36292234246388758752014-01-24T20:45:00.000-08:002014-01-24T20:45:23.583-08:00Quality WorldTo be happy, your Quality World needs to match reality. If you've never heard of Quality World, research Choice Theory. It's good stuff.<br />
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I'm learning that my Quality World isn't matching my reality, so I'm out to make some changes. First change is to disable my sewing "shop" on etsy. I'm thinking I'll leave it there, just for special requests, but I'm taking out the items that I've not yet made.<br />
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I'm also ready to purge more stuff from our house. Less stuff = less to put away. I was watching some old video & was shocked to see how much tidier my house was a few years ago. Granted, the "baby" really was a baby & not a busy three year old, but this is crazy. We can't have this anymore.<br />
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The majority of Ava's meltdowns happen because her Quality World doesn't match reality. It's so easy for me to say that, but it's not so easy for her to see it herself. I think this is true of a lot of people, not just those with autism spectrum disorders. We'll be working on that at our house. And maybe I'll start blogging again. But not sewing. Not for now, anyway.<br />
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="" http:="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="" http:="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" height="103" width="200" /></href>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-52968682847619066822012-10-13T21:34:00.000-07:002012-10-13T21:35:06.080-07:00Survival Mode<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs">Some days around here, we're just in survival mode. We have so much fun, and it ends in a meltdown. I know that basic housekeeping rules say to tidy up every night - I just can't get to that point. Instead, I treasure every quiet moment I get. I use it to take care of me, so that I can have the strength to take care of the rest of the family.</href><br />
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs">So here's what I do to survive.....</href><br />
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs">I start construction projects. I don't always think them through. I often get stuck. Or bored. Or busy. They rarely are finished in a timely manner, but they do get finished eventually. Here is my kitchen "before." This is a space that once held a refrigerator. The previous owners moved the fridge and added this counter. All it did was collect clutter. So I put in a pantry! It looks better now than it does in this photo, but you get the idea. I need custom made doors & a shelf for that big open area. There's a tambour door to hide the microwave. Its all been painted so hopefully its not so noticeable that the doors don't match the rest of the cabinets. I also need two small trim pieces to fit as fillers between the new & the existing.</href><br />
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Sometimes, I do domestic things - like canning. This is apricot jelly & apricot syrup. Six batches of it! I'd like to be making pickles and canning a few more things but haven't gotten my stuff together yet.<br />
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This is what happens in every room, every day. It won't always look quite like this, but its always something. At first glance, its just a big mess. Clothes & blankets on the floor...you're not allowed to pick it up. Then you ask, WHY? And I am told something brilliant. This particular mess was Ava playing "Church Camp." Em was ready to head off to camp, so Ava was pretending to go too. Notice she packed only dresses & skirts - must be a fancy camp. The family room was clean for approximately 15 minutes that night before she found it.</div>
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I like to take on big projects that I don't have time for. If I'm busy with someone else's stuff, I forget how overwhelmed I am with my own life. This is a bouquet of flowers for a bride's maid. I recently arranged all the flowers. As in ALL the flowers. Bride, Groom, attendants, parents.....then I decided to help with the decorating the day before the wedding. Yes, Ava had a meltdown. But it was worth it. For a few hours, I was a hero. There's nothing I love more than to be appreciated and to fix things.</div>
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Every now & then, when I'm feeling really good - we have a Martha Stewart moment around here. This is a butterfly made from pancakes & maple sausage links. Sometimes its an over the top birthday cake. We recently threw together a last minute birthday party when the girls made their own soft pretzels. You really just never know what I might do!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir29Bl_vKKDo0BCABYhmenbWniX7gk__3rNuDIETEJEvy-86CaOH39un0GtWwjm6ar65G5hxVt2e6SZAg7TxVGOdR5fSYy_QVja2eeqi0DhTQNwQMy7boYbLlnpehxFKyjd3y8luBgK_hk/s1600/IMG_1077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir29Bl_vKKDo0BCABYhmenbWniX7gk__3rNuDIETEJEvy-86CaOH39un0GtWwjm6ar65G5hxVt2e6SZAg7TxVGOdR5fSYy_QVja2eeqi0DhTQNwQMy7boYbLlnpehxFKyjd3y8luBgK_hk/s320/IMG_1077.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-13504988759788417112012-08-23T21:20:00.002-07:002012-08-23T21:22:26.927-07:00Sensory Bin<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs">We had a great day at therapy yesterday. Ava spent about half her time playing in a rice and bean sensory bin. So I made one for us!</href><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRXst2Peflo42y8OvfCSwHd1gSCB5WdEUFNdWsHIGyKxtCdbk6xntRbSH6amewBaL6YmwXJCVrXKcgA5KveY_atb60FhhKayBLvZjs67cdJIFGeUuKnKhGnv86hhR0wxP32OurXNTE71MR/s1600/526202_10150974609242084_888382222_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRXst2Peflo42y8OvfCSwHd1gSCB5WdEUFNdWsHIGyKxtCdbk6xntRbSH6amewBaL6YmwXJCVrXKcgA5KveY_atb60FhhKayBLvZjs67cdJIFGeUuKnKhGnv86hhR0wxP32OurXNTE71MR/s640/526202_10150974609242084_888382222_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href><href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs">You can't see them in this photo, but the girls added small toys to play hide and seek with. This little bin has kept them busy all day!</href><br />
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs">Granted, we have rice everywhere. But we also have 3 happy girls!</href><href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-960736218926436262012-08-20T14:19:00.003-07:002012-08-20T14:21:06.043-07:00Don't worry, she'll be fine.<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs">Don't worry, she'll be fine. That's what everyone told me. So here's what <i>fine</i> looks like in autism world:</href><br />
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Let's start with bedtime...that's part of getting up.<br />
6:30pm - Ava should have been doing her kitchen chore, to be able to take a bath & start the bedtime routine.<br />
7pm - the kitchen chore was started<br />
7:30 - bath time<br />
8 - meltdown over what to wear the next day. She was wanting to wear a halter dress (not just against school dress code, but against the Mom & Dad school code too)<br />
8:30 - read a story to baby sister as Ava listened in<br />
8:45 - Ava has another meltdown, insisting I read her the same story I'd just read<br />
9pm - Ava comes downstairs asking for playtime<br />
9:30 - once she laid down, she fell right to sleep<br />
Slept all night<br />
6:30am - started trying wake her up, she moans at me<br />
Continue the process every 5 minutes until she bounces out of bed at 7am screaming "Where is my dress??!! I TOLD you not to wash my dress. I don't want my dress washed." And melts in to a screaming puddle of tears.<br />
The dress fight continues until 7:40 when she finally agreed to let me iron her dress. (She insisted it was wrinkled) Just before, she must have eaten her toast...I can't remember now. The bow never got fully pressed - how do you press a bow that's been stitched down? I did my best! <br />
8:08 - Ava starts brushing her hair in a frantic rush to get out the door so she can walk.<br />
8:25 - Some how the dress & shoes are on - we're too late to walk. We take Ava's picture & she gets into the car willingly, forgetting about walking.<br />
8:32 - we walk into the classroom & everything is normal<br />
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Then it starts all over again....<br />
11:25 - I peek into the classroom, but can't see Ava.<br />
11:30 - Ava is released to go home, the teacher says she had a great time.<br />
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11:31 - We exit the school and enter the first afternoon meltdown. Ava is whining about a lost money. I keep telling her I don't see it, you can't take money to school because this is what happens.<br />
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11:40 - we're still in the lawn trying to coax Ava into the car. Big sister heads back in to use the bathroom.<br />
11:50 - I'm tired of this game & try to pick Ava up to carry her to the car. This, of course, brings on a full meltdown. Every parent is staring at us (there weren't many). Ava is forced into her seat & we used the safety cover on her buckle. She immediately starts trying to get out of her seat. Half a block later, she's out. I pull into another one of the school's lots. By the time I'm out of the car, she has BOLTED!<br />
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Imagine this on a sidewalk, without the smiles.</div>
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There is my beautiful girl, running away from me. Down a busy street. I ran faster than I've ever run before (I'm NOT a runner), praying all the way. It took about 50 feet, but I caught her & took her back to the car. I hit the child safety lock on the door & struggle to get her back into her seat. We continue home. No more than 2 blocks later, she's out again. This time, she's out for blood. She is hitting me with her fist, with all her strength, while I am driving. I just keep going. She's a danger to everyone at this point, but we live 4 blocks from school and I just want to be home.<br />
12:02 - we pull into the driveway. I go inside to get her a water bottle (she threw her's at me & screamed) and an ice pack. I go back outside to find she's locked all the car doors. Windows are down, so I reach in and unlock. She is then calmly (between sobs) tell me more about the money. I still don't get it. I still didn't see the money she'd dropped. But I apologize, and we head inside as if nothing had happened.<br />
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Its now 2pm. We've had 3 more meltdowns since then, over minor issues like a sister stealing a favorite blanket, or someone looking at her. We'll have nap time in just a few minutes, but first I needed to vent.<br />
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Don't worry about us though. Things are fine, remember?<br />
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<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-1563776503223470222012-08-20T00:23:00.001-07:002012-08-20T00:23:34.844-07:00Meltdown Schedule Explained<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs">Tomorrow (technically today as I'm writing at midnight) is Ava's first day of school! She's in for 1/2 days this week, two days off, and then full time on next Wed. I'm scared. Nervous. Excited! And I can tell she is too.</href><br />
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs">I've been tracking our schedule, and with it Ava's meltdowns. She has a lot of them. The good news is, Daddy & I have gotten better at helping prevent them. This doesn't mean she's spoiled and always gets her way. She has Autism. Sometimes she just doesn't get it. Sometimes we do change our minds & it looks like we're giving in. All the time, with every kid, you have to pick your battles. We fought a <u>BIG</u> one today.</href><br />
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs">Ava had a meltdown that lasted an hour. I'm not exaggerating. Sixty +/- minutes! Over walking the dog. You see, we were headed for a walk in the mountains. Both of the big girls wanted to hold the dog's leash. So we played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would walk the dog up the hill, and who would walk her back down the hill. Ava lost. We're working hard with her therapist on making a plan & sticking to it. This was one I wanted to change, but I held firm. Poor Daddy & Omp (our special name for Grandpa) were left behind. It was heartbreaking - pounding on the window, screaming so loud we could hear her 3 cabins away, drooling because she was so upset. I can't imagine how exhausted she was from it. A meltdown takes a lot of energy - both emotional & physical.</href><br />
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs">Here's our chart of the last week. Sunday was the meltdown. All meltdowns are in black, but you can see how short most of them are. Last year, when we first started therapy, they could easily be 2 hours long. And they were 30 minutes at a minimum! THAT is improvement. Even if our outside world doesn't see it - we do.</href><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNMSd6S5Qe5_urmsBXDYNYSrS9ijTKzE0f_nUpbMJYuaC75xxwY6cOkZFkUrKBA-y93m0W_hHwQCWUGQgKMmZbBINEKE8P753GGM6f-0Y_PvmY53h9n0U6MxpO0HUWGv_v1m0SToi_ruO/s1600/Aug+schedule.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNMSd6S5Qe5_urmsBXDYNYSrS9ijTKzE0f_nUpbMJYuaC75xxwY6cOkZFkUrKBA-y93m0W_hHwQCWUGQgKMmZbBINEKE8P753GGM6f-0Y_PvmY53h9n0U6MxpO0HUWGv_v1m0SToi_ruO/s640/Aug+schedule.jpg" width="433" /></a></div>
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Its all color coded. <span style="color: #674ea7;">Purple</span> is sleeping; <span style="color: lime;">Green</span> is active play, household chores, being outside, running around; <span style="color: #0b5394;">Blue</span> is quiet play, reading books, quiet imaginary games; <span style="color: red;">Red</span> is anything tv, computer, ipod related (not counting using the ipod for music). And of course <b>Black</b> is the meltdown.</div>
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See the two days where I can't remember what happened? They were either really good. Or really bad. I honestly couldn't remember. I now fill my chart out several times a day. We used to always see meltdowns during transitions - sometimes they occur because of a transition. Other times we need a transition to get Ava OUT of a meltdown.</div>
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Wish us luck & say a prayer. We're going to need it! It will be interesting to see how our chart changes with school starting up.</div>
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<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><span id="goog_1164434490"></span><span id="goog_1164434491"></span><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-75317495845904697292012-08-13T22:30:00.002-07:002012-08-13T22:32:03.697-07:00More Schedules<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
Tonight was day 2 of "get ready to go back to school" It was a rough one. It was a rough day. Its been a rough month. But we're hanging in there.<br />
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Here's what I made for Ava to remember what to do at bed time.<br />
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mEtTHauT80IqAIhu8gW2WhNxRr2leErbKvhpLe5rie8/edit" target="_blank">Night time Routine</a></href><br />
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Its cute - its worth clicking on the link. This is the same routine we had last year, but now its written down with pictures so she can remember. I asked if she wanted velcro cards to remove what she'd done, but she said no. So this is what we have.<br />
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Then I ordered a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DTYJ04/ref=s9_simh_gw_p121_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1VATVA34T80XAEH5MNVG&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846" target="_blank">Medicine timer</a> from Amazon. I'll be able to record 6 sayings and add a timer - starting with "you have 5 minutes before bed." Its supposed to go off every 5 minutes until you hit the alarm button. We'll see if this works!<br />
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We've been using our <a href="http://www.amazon.com/eSpecial-Needs-Seat-Buckle-Guard/dp/B0041EDZBW/ref=pd_bxgy_ba_img_y" target="_blank">seat belt cover</a> quite a bit. Its a great thing to have, but its distressing to see Ava meltdown when we're driving. She knows how to unbuckle, so I have to be extra careful to remove anything in her reach that she can use as a tool. Today, I didn't lock the belt tight enough around her & she wiggled out. Luckily, I was stopped in a quiet neighborhood at a stop sign. Unluckily, it was 102 degrees outside and we didn't want to hang out there all afternoon waiting for her to calm down.</div>
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Jfhgzh3xL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Jfhgzh3xL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a><br />
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs">Which brings me to this...our <a href="http://blogs.utexas.edu/utes_socialwork/2010/12/" target="_blank">Calm Down Box</a>. I saw the idea on <a href="http://pinterest.com/melissac75/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> (come follow me!) and Emma helped me make it right away. Ava even got into making it, since its to be her box that's even better! We used an old pencil box and added a straw, wedding bubbles, Halloween/birthday party PlayDough, a few crayons & a tiny note pad, a small squishy stuffed animal, a whistle, gum, life savers, BandAids, and a lip balm. (The photo isn't ours, but its similar)</href><br />
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Hope these ideas help us! The Calm Down Box didn't help today, but you have to use it BEFORE the meltdown starts. We were too late. Maybe next time I can catch it before it goes too far.</div>
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Oh, one last thing. I'm going to start tracking meltdowns again. We know they happen when there's a transition, but there may be more patterns happening that I'm not noticing. Here's the file we use: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1x1FXdRk2501s1_3co1yOBgh66V0MQ-YXfVHZq2UIFEY/edit" target="_blank">Scheldule</a> I color in the boxes with a crayon/marker/colored pencil, and I keep it color coded by major activities (active play, calm play, school, sleep, electronics). I color meltdowns in with a thick black sharpie. She'll see her Neuro Dr in about a month, so this will be good info for the dr.</div>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><br /></href>
<href action="view&current=beesig2.jpg" albums="albums" http:="http:" s161.photobucket.com="s161.photobucket.com" t205="t205" target="_blank" twocougs="twocougs"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-76760781389330580912012-06-27T22:53:00.001-07:002012-06-27T22:57:03.250-07:00Organization 2012<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br /></href="http:><br />
<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">We've been working on making house changes like crazy!! I've been sewing, decluttering, organizing, creating schedules, all on top of our normal routines. Its really going to help Ava with her Aspergers & Sensory Processing (visual overload is a BAD thing!!)</href="http:><br />
<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br /></href="http:><br />
<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">Here's what I've made for the dresser - I'll have the laminated & put on with Command adhesive. Follow the link to print your own set. <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ssAlq0BqEo5La_wpgqpM5SD67ZXQuSd25rhjvOFRNNo/edit" target="_blank">Dresser Labels</a> (Sorry moms of boys, these are pretty girly!) </href="http:><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">There are labels for everything in the girls' drawers - I printed them three times so that no girl is left out!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8M1yBuZax2KXriOtKP5CbKycjrgAtYKN3BcR1RJIYuuSNo2iBguZiPsY7GQZcW1hhn7gaBlC_dwbopYLa3mDChFk7T1rkT9gwjL22eUUPj9rV8pebhlsZ2aq4VJEwQ4T_aAui-xrc5X7w/s1600/tee+shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8M1yBuZax2KXriOtKP5CbKycjrgAtYKN3BcR1RJIYuuSNo2iBguZiPsY7GQZcW1hhn7gaBlC_dwbopYLa3mDChFk7T1rkT9gwjL22eUUPj9rV8pebhlsZ2aq4VJEwQ4T_aAui-xrc5X7w/s200/tee+shirt.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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I found some pretty blank tags on line, then I Googled our favorite toys, add the photo & text and have personalized toy bin labels. Yes, back to laminating!! I love laminated things!! I've been going to the office store, but I'd love to own my own machine!! (they're really not that expensive!) Here's the link to our labels: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t7NKmiw_muXE3yeItjFZR1xsnCsGnxmlmsQAzcNDSEM/edit" target="_blank">Toy bin labels</a> And here is the <a href="http://www.bhg.com/decorating/storage/organization-basics/free-printable-storage-labels/?page=2" target="_blank">(source)</a> for the blank labels. Poke around on the site, there were rectangles, circles and several colors! I'm not done yet, but I'm thinking I'll punch a hole in each & tie with a ribbon to the toy bins.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE7eAcgVb7gdhy_Nhx4GL-CTQ8Zi2k9GLo1ma9Jq6DYRh27RylhDA9Y-L68hHiWGS5sal0ZcxqewSc6WGMK8_c3hSUT84Hnot4bH8srkRLwttqQdyr2UW08VcVml2kbxPH5DB51_hxx_oc/s1600/toy+bins+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE7eAcgVb7gdhy_Nhx4GL-CTQ8Zi2k9GLo1ma9Jq6DYRh27RylhDA9Y-L68hHiWGS5sal0ZcxqewSc6WGMK8_c3hSUT84Hnot4bH8srkRLwttqQdyr2UW08VcVml2kbxPH5DB51_hxx_oc/s320/toy+bins+copy.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>
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I've made schedule cards for Ava. Again, I printed them & then had them laminated. This time, I put velcro on the backs and attach them to a vertical velcro strip that hangs on the fridge. Here is the link to print what we use. <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tcA6504DfmY9b6W_7k4H0bAFNLRXfK2BKNtNL1a1ywk/edit" target="_blank">Schedule cards</a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">www.bumblebabymommy.blogspot.com</td></tr>
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I've also made a written schedule for me & big sis Emma to be able to read, so we can set up the velcro chart. I got the schedule here <a href="http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2012/06/our-summer-schedule.html" target="_blank">(source)</a>. But it didn't have the text! Bummer...so I added my own text. Follow this link to print our schedule <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1opXG5AbktjxAjxhunx2WiHMnyJjb3d0Tsh2RutVxDkA/edit" target="_blank">Summer schedule</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRKngwTF5CVr5kRBvX4D8xXuhdu582JG7S60KhfU1_ZQYmwVzWECJYKfiicQPLiyw_mc0wyYgHCmAn82CTr93VmZOmTLd8RLq4M18rxl9zbRv8azLkrn3Ve_yzGOQ2CmWpSwE5K2A9i_Z/s1600/schedule+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRKngwTF5CVr5kRBvX4D8xXuhdu582JG7S60KhfU1_ZQYmwVzWECJYKfiicQPLiyw_mc0wyYgHCmAn82CTr93VmZOmTLd8RLq4M18rxl9zbRv8azLkrn3Ve_yzGOQ2CmWpSwE5K2A9i_Z/s320/schedule+copy.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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Have fun getting your kids on track for summer. Even if we don't follow the schedule every day, it really is helping us!</div>
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br /></href="http:><br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href="http:>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-80623088392914685412012-05-01T22:32:00.001-07:002012-05-01T22:32:56.936-07:00Swim time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
A few weeks ago, we were able to meet our therapist in the pool! We are working on things that will help Ava be comfortable washing her hair & getting water on her face. Right now, she'll do those things but you MUST have a towel near by to wipe off any drops of water. It gets a bit exhausting.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCAgpS9AydRDuve1nd41MtkOmZkGBfIGRQm4c5ItyXgM6D6Gocd8kJ7VqEfPOMRyBwrw9hBDpbEa-MnxNoU1lKxtSYOH5GZL5LCRnjyygirG0S1O0bykdytJqpdfI7wXvZX3uLoV57MVnU/s1600/IMG_0901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCAgpS9AydRDuve1nd41MtkOmZkGBfIGRQm4c5ItyXgM6D6Gocd8kJ7VqEfPOMRyBwrw9hBDpbEa-MnxNoU1lKxtSYOH5GZL5LCRnjyygirG0S1O0bykdytJqpdfI7wXvZX3uLoV57MVnU/s1600/IMG_0901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCAgpS9AydRDuve1nd41MtkOmZkGBfIGRQm4c5ItyXgM6D6Gocd8kJ7VqEfPOMRyBwrw9hBDpbEa-MnxNoU1lKxtSYOH5GZL5LCRnjyygirG0S1O0bykdytJqpdfI7wXvZX3uLoV57MVnU/s320/IMG_0901.JPG" width="320" /></a><br /><br />The pool has 4 large "steps" that go across for different depths. And it looks like a watering hole on the farm. So cute. Basically, Ava got to play with whatever water toys she wanted for our 40 minutes.</div>
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Then, just as she was supposed to get out, she was asked to inch herself along the wall. It was all great exercise and I'm sure she can't wait to do it again. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5Wzv1BpV-aubwO_gy5151m12OMXgDXDXhAiXVkWL2ecm-ZgWqxifcU5f0UP4URm0NSXL3VbDg4X2hs7BvUNae_gVKhoV9IrMdw4oRdl5wutTtD5zuSfo8VL4R4J9LIEsoOwlAt_27jaf/s1600/IMG_0896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5Wzv1BpV-aubwO_gy5151m12OMXgDXDXhAiXVkWL2ecm-ZgWqxifcU5f0UP4URm0NSXL3VbDg4X2hs7BvUNae_gVKhoV9IrMdw4oRdl5wutTtD5zuSfo8VL4R4J9LIEsoOwlAt_27jaf/s320/IMG_0896.JPG" width="240" /></a><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9Wcb_inYPAgE0vPrkwejClurAxYHtdihPlHuYj5Vih6JGo20QZ62XA_jL6s_clytfB7jq2e3uaxSByP6jLX6PMl7u0JloeM1NYCSEFxIYzjEBh5kiTMv1LpTtqtVkbvYvEjncBhvECCX/s320/IMG_0899.JPG" width="240" /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfVVVRjp4WD0zPIYUwMRRCa-8TRWLgga5QS3BBjV62K5tsii2ohDkJEOc3VC3vzbEFFyE6QsFOU6dwOFm0IPeIYu6zml2FYspww3K9t4w0UMa4HodEyDkvbq7oUJTYrh8ppzzGHjBoEuE/s1600/IMG_0898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfVVVRjp4WD0zPIYUwMRRCa-8TRWLgga5QS3BBjV62K5tsii2ohDkJEOc3VC3vzbEFFyE6QsFOU6dwOFm0IPeIYu6zml2FYspww3K9t4w0UMa4HodEyDkvbq7oUJTYrh8ppzzGHjBoEuE/s320/IMG_0898.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0L5URjMIt8pefyVUjBkWQTlG9HRUqZYm30W3BgBXu1Kj7FVLEceuj2dMiqgWGbRFlXhzwB4s8W30kgnJKuEcWaTjI6j1XPi1C8qNnf3p8fTTbut0s0bj075iO5IVtJ3QNKMobk3J3Y7n/s1600/IMG_0900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0L5URjMIt8pefyVUjBkWQTlG9HRUqZYm30W3BgBXu1Kj7FVLEceuj2dMiqgWGbRFlXhzwB4s8W30kgnJKuEcWaTjI6j1XPi1C8qNnf3p8fTTbut0s0bj075iO5IVtJ3QNKMobk3J3Y7n/s320/IMG_0900.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Just before we had this session, I came up with the very basic idea of letting her play in the shower. For some reason I think of baths as playtime, and showers as time to get in & get out. Then I thought, why? Why not turn on the shower & let her do whatever in there? The therapist LOVED the idea. Ava LOVED the idea. I LOVE that she's getting better with water.</div>
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href="http:>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-60475805840491730472012-03-27T13:46:00.000-07:002012-03-27T13:46:18.959-07:00April is Autism Awareness month<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5_u75EflVsM3xNJ40oGJNh13VstawNgmpbQ1sAlGxJAmr_quHO4EnHlpX3JutMgwhpBMl-urQipWOLvHdhdfpa04touwiAOU83TnwQ05_nH-XmLuzDzwv_b4gRX4UWKrfe0M5g2XlI_E/s1600/527910_3646794335548_1445122241_33456447_1310270212_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5_u75EflVsM3xNJ40oGJNh13VstawNgmpbQ1sAlGxJAmr_quHO4EnHlpX3JutMgwhpBMl-urQipWOLvHdhdfpa04touwiAOU83TnwQ05_nH-XmLuzDzwv_b4gRX4UWKrfe0M5g2XlI_E/s1600/527910_3646794335548_1445122241_33456447_1310270212_n.jpg" /></a></div>
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What is Light it Up Blue? <a href="http://www.lightitupblue.org/Markslist/home.do">http://www.lightitupblue.org/Markslist/home.do</a></div>
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Here is the text from their page: </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Join Autism Speaks in celebrating World Autism Awareness Day on April 2 and Light It Up Blue to help shine a light on autism. Whether it's your front porch or your local city hall, an office party or a banquet, the whole world is going blue to increase awareness about autism.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"> </span></div>
<ul id="what-is" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 15px; text-align: left;">
<li style="display: inline-block; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 460px;"><br />Light It Up Blue, in its third year, is a unique global initiative to help raise awareness about the growing public health concern that is autism. Iconic landmarks around the world will Light It Up Blue to show their support. <br style="line-height: 10px;" /><br />Join us now and help shine a light on autism.</li>
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br /></href="http:><br />
<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href="http:>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-17540377849576499252012-03-20T21:29:00.000-07:002012-03-20T21:29:39.634-07:00Play therapy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ava & I now spend 4 days a week at Children's Village. I'm so glad its here in town! What would we do if we had to drive to Seattle? Yikes!</div>
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<a href="http://childrensvillage.memfound.org/autism-yakima" target="_blank">Children's Village Blog</a></div>
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I've joined the "Holland" group - its support for moms of Special Needs children. I never thought I'd be one of these moms. <a href="http://childrensvillage.memfound.org/holland">http://childrensvillage.memfound.org/holland</a> Its still a bit hard to get used to sometimes. Ava looks so typical. You'd never know she might have Autism.</div>
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Here are a few pictures of what goes on in Occupational Therapy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctcm-enexYFILZbWgqS9eDMDzC0eqUHiW54AygjXmTzyOR7IJ_IilRLVt9nFGxW1px-jhBLOHQlI8YkAkER4svP2qD_s8NR0O934wAXzvFPYKpM5NRh-ywbTwwXlOy51T-XYqZ3WnESVF/s1600/DSCN0983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctcm-enexYFILZbWgqS9eDMDzC0eqUHiW54AygjXmTzyOR7IJ_IilRLVt9nFGxW1px-jhBLOHQlI8YkAkER4svP2qD_s8NR0O934wAXzvFPYKpM5NRh-ywbTwwXlOy51T-XYqZ3WnESVF/s320/DSCN0983.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is a great little board on a lazy susan. It just spins round & round.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZMt_Iwt8uN9xVB5p51p3OrV7SicA5JvENUFjALK_ODHBV1QV_3tj05n1shMemgs0ePw-WpxDA8A-RR9ss0PGGbPARJ_cESiTH-e-clWlp1-qj9KA-bkPIZdjHLvYOReuruwiz2UZpVAAo/s1600/DSCN0985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZMt_Iwt8uN9xVB5p51p3OrV7SicA5JvENUFjALK_ODHBV1QV_3tj05n1shMemgs0ePw-WpxDA8A-RR9ss0PGGbPARJ_cESiTH-e-clWlp1-qj9KA-bkPIZdjHLvYOReuruwiz2UZpVAAo/s320/DSCN0985.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The sensory bin was filled with scented cotton puffs.</div>
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The only bad part about OT is leaving. Transitions are hard for Ava, but this is super fun...I don't want to leave either. I can't blame her. Tomorrow, we'll practice leaving - before we even get started. Wish us luck...and PRAY! We'll need all the help we can get.</div>
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<a href="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></a><href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""></href="http:>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-34083841159147743972012-03-14T21:49:00.000-07:002012-03-20T21:50:59.901-07:00Tomorrow's girl is the same as today's<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">Tomorrow my child will be the same as she is today, and the same as she was yesterday. I don't mean that she won't grow & change. I just mean that whatever label she is given is just a label. She's the same wonderful Ava that I adore. No matter what.</href="http:><br />
<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br /></href="http:><br />
<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">Right now, I'm worried more that we won't get a label. That it will still be "not otherwise specified." I just recently learned that phrase.</href="http:><br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">We will meet with the neurodevelopmental doctor in a few hours. Its 1am, and I can't sleep. Even though I should.</href="http:><br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href="http:>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-10023728878160465352012-03-02T00:17:00.001-08:002012-03-02T00:25:27.230-08:00Sensory Processing<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">Years ago my mom told me about something called Sensory Processing. I was so intrigued. The thought of kids needing bear hugs to calm down sounded soothing to me. I knew they had special clothes without tags, and vests that were heavy - like the apron the dentist gives to to protect you from the x-rays. I never knew it would consume me to this point. </href="http:><br />
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Fast forward to 2007. Our beautiful baby girl was very vocal about being over stimulated. I thought I was just a better mom. I'd been though this before. I knew more about parenting. I'd read all the books, and put them into practice with the older daughter. Ava needed to be put down fairly often. She was happy to lay in bed awake, then fall asleep. When she was two, she'd put herself down for a nap. When she was three, we knew something was off. It just wasn't typical. When she turned four, we finally got in to get help.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrr2q3NnUS6ddgxUp0YTpJXoaDEDfqhqHZ7MSzannmdWHLUMnNiV-uaMjvQyG1abow6X7NZvG5SLuYXBUKnVyK18xckGPJEv7uXMScSXv27o6XuOJa9G1HX2kX9uvb8B4jqC4lci1TgVA/s1600/princesspea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrr2q3NnUS6ddgxUp0YTpJXoaDEDfqhqHZ7MSzannmdWHLUMnNiV-uaMjvQyG1abow6X7NZvG5SLuYXBUKnVyK18xckGPJEv7uXMScSXv27o6XuOJa9G1HX2kX9uvb8B4jqC4lci1TgVA/s200/princesspea.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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We don't have all the answers for her yet - there's still more to learn. But so far, we do know without a doubt, she has Sensory Processing Disorder. Online I see it called SPD. I haven't gotten comfortable enough to call it that yet. You see, I'm still explaining it to those friends & family around us who don't know what it is. Think of it like the "Princess & the Pea." The tiniest grain of sand in her shoe feels like a boulder. That little brush against her skin is a major scratch. That itty-bitty bump, it was a hit. It goes the opposite way too ~ she can hit you, and barely notice she's touched you. <br />
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Along this voyage of the past year, I'm also more confidant that Sensory Processing is part of my being as well. You'll never catch me without sunglasses ~ and if you do, we either turn around to go back & get them, I buy new ones, or I'll whine until you give me yours. I spent 3 extra minutes this morning getting some odd seed out of my sock. I could feel it...but I never did see it fall away. As a child, I remember spending hours swinging in circles. Or tipping my whole body so that my head was upside down as I swung.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYIz-S1qu_OZWesF65alpMrH-a-Jba-khMLgyNQog794orCHp9z9rFpdt2Io4oirka3GfQx0I4Mv6rfrqr008p2eBHG5zXiDnqnUVlF1Q2hBF9CdHRUGMqiPGaXLsJ3LfHWxeIqp5ANVi4/s1600/swing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYIz-S1qu_OZWesF65alpMrH-a-Jba-khMLgyNQog794orCHp9z9rFpdt2Io4oirka3GfQx0I4Mv6rfrqr008p2eBHG5zXiDnqnUVlF1Q2hBF9CdHRUGMqiPGaXLsJ3LfHWxeIqp5ANVi4/s320/swing.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
Which leads us to our newest house project. An indoor therapy swing. During our intake meeting with the occupational therapists, Ava was introduced to a swing that had a platform, but could go round and round like a tire swing. She swung in a circle for almost 45-minutes, with just a 15 minute break somewhere in the middle. I knew we needed one for the house. And secretly, I've always wanted a swing in my house.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOzygvTdbj8MzR79HzkYCawTZcgJk1PndnWtesS5IbqQu_ck1sDI5WSN_SHmXQ-Soa37_OC37X0dzpupAHbKtWEIc2cC9jn7Z09s4POLXTk3The4teQZWE8OLBmN5T3bcWiXfJ1IA17Fuz/s320/DSCN0853.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ava at therapy. Now that I have the hardware, I may need a swing like this one too! Its just a piece of double knit fabric.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOzygvTdbj8MzR79HzkYCawTZcgJk1PndnWtesS5IbqQu_ck1sDI5WSN_SHmXQ-Soa37_OC37X0dzpupAHbKtWEIc2cC9jn7Z09s4POLXTk3The4teQZWE8OLBmN5T3bcWiXfJ1IA17Fuz/s1600/DSCN0853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjnJA5E2k8e3Nf6VzvfYD8IC5JuwZK6NHLvXfCPn6BZq1LwXHykaX-X8PgFcVivX78jtXOhY6uMjUZrQvWl5UBiMCjamiI0J2tTNcNWp4YkTtoKH_jRyyXXjHzWCer63Jd_XEpl5gsFIg/s1600/DSCN0854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjnJA5E2k8e3Nf6VzvfYD8IC5JuwZK6NHLvXfCPn6BZq1LwXHykaX-X8PgFcVivX78jtXOhY6uMjUZrQvWl5UBiMCjamiI0J2tTNcNWp4YkTtoKH_jRyyXXjHzWCer63Jd_XEpl5gsFIg/s320/DSCN0854.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We ordered a tire swing kit from Ace Hardware for the parts. It can support 350 lbs of weight. I found some great fabric on sale - nice & sturdy, upholstery stuff to hold up to kids. I also bought 2 large pieces of batting for the cushion. The seat is 36 x 36 square plywood with rounded corners - just for a bit of safety. I stapled the batting on to the board, one piece at a time. And then finished with the upholstery fabric.<br />
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We know this will crash into the walls and the sisters! It will hold all three girls at once. Or just one. They can swing round in circles, go back & forth, or swing side to side. If you sit on it, it sways just a bit and is very soothing. I'm still learning all the fancy words and what play works with what sensory system. But its my understanding that this is hitting both the proprioceptive and vestibular systems. The board bounces just a bit, and of course - it swings! This will help to organize thoughts, calm & soothe the rider.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCnQW-PxIYvELDpKo55xeAc1I1GoBLYJiIuhMVDFso_eolZiGIyBc7IQbDelKxXkn76KWugmPniCnG1GbIoI2qlgr-hq7mSICVBf6W_-Z4_RrA3yohJkLIOlt0m6l3-lz-c_5LlZ3w3bn/s1600/DSCN0857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCnQW-PxIYvELDpKo55xeAc1I1GoBLYJiIuhMVDFso_eolZiGIyBc7IQbDelKxXkn76KWugmPniCnG1GbIoI2qlgr-hq7mSICVBf6W_-Z4_RrA3yohJkLIOlt0m6l3-lz-c_5LlZ3w3bn/s320/DSCN0857.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4tDqnKb0UbOD2L0fwDKJuBMIJtycyXoDVRqMPEFMO3sAotZLcHbQfEPN6WDbm2fCLhRUaOGt2v21bf3_i9NtTuPObRsMTmEJ1RRG8BxfxJK1539dyXA_3LPZySsrFRwzq_cb9GyP7S1g/s1600/DSCN0860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4tDqnKb0UbOD2L0fwDKJuBMIJtycyXoDVRqMPEFMO3sAotZLcHbQfEPN6WDbm2fCLhRUaOGt2v21bf3_i9NtTuPObRsMTmEJ1RRG8BxfxJK1539dyXA_3LPZySsrFRwzq_cb9GyP7S1g/s320/DSCN0860.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCnQW-PxIYvELDpKo55xeAc1I1GoBLYJiIuhMVDFso_eolZiGIyBc7IQbDelKxXkn76KWugmPniCnG1GbIoI2qlgr-hq7mSICVBf6W_-Z4_RrA3yohJkLIOlt0m6l3-lz-c_5LlZ3w3bn/s1600/DSCN0857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><br />
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I have just a bit more work to finish this completely. You can see a small bit of fabric that wasn't stapled in properly. But for now, its good enough. And we have four very happy girls at our house...even if one of them is 36 yrs old!<br />
<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href="http:>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-28702168452952142842012-01-22T23:38:00.000-08:002012-01-22T23:38:54.779-08:00Greening up the House<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br /></href="http:><br />
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Ever since Sensaria closed, I've been shopping with a new company. Turns out I can get more than just the non-toxic Citrus Cleaner that I loved...I can supply my whole house with green products!<br />
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I love not looking like the gal in this photo. I can breathe when I clean the house!<br />
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Part of the green movement in our house is buying in bulk & keeping a better pantry. Down in the basement, I've decided that part of my laundry room will be a pantry. I've found that the 2.5 or 5 gallon paint buckets at our Ace Hardware store are food-safe. I have large ones for rice, flour, and sugar; as well as smaller ones for powdered milk and oatmeal.</div>
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I have several cardboard boxes that I'd cut apart and made into can storage holders.</div>
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I also have a shelving rack to hold things I've canned or purchased on sale. (Just ignore all the beer...hubby likes to brew his own & thinks that shelf is HIS! He's quite mistaken!)</div>
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Upstairs in the kitchen, smaller containers are neatly labeled. I love that label maker! And even though this jar of beans is on my top shelf - where I really can't see - all the dried beans & lentils are in glass canning jars. I've done the same with my rice & the protein drink mix.<br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br /></href="http:><br />
<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href="http:>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-30487445932362053492011-07-22T23:38:00.000-07:002011-07-22T23:48:03.778-07:00Breastfeeding<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHPBQO9nmBesyfpM-oPHLYgeo7e2btpLLqYaSEUSdVIjh8281D00Kpx31c_zs9Rca7LLwl-iKH-E9pZxBJUEnu3YHALD2nzrlI_oJ-AhnOIrNI2EvjIzZh9_keyAwb3kmILFx2Zzch-Me/s1600/bficon-web.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHPBQO9nmBesyfpM-oPHLYgeo7e2btpLLqYaSEUSdVIjh8281D00Kpx31c_zs9Rca7LLwl-iKH-E9pZxBJUEnu3YHALD2nzrlI_oJ-AhnOIrNI2EvjIzZh9_keyAwb3kmILFx2Zzch-Me/s1600/bficon-web.gif" /></a><href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">I found a great link of resources, poems, articles, etc on breastfeeding tonight. </href="http:><a href="http://www.drmomma.org/2009/08/books-for-breastfeeding-mother.html">http://www.drmomma.org/2009/08/books-for-breastfeeding-mother.html</a><br />
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Share this! Someone out there needs to find this info.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijbQgkgADOu_EmRN7loboRuABn_4JDP76DMpUoyBRIhk_50Ci0v5E_7rjcZeD5IeKoXAEXOGBYtfKezn-UWZg1KvG1M17Xjl-LfKvSJ4NrVJ9TTB_oDKKfNVkiyiPEzJdZAhr72dXjo_Fd/s1600/july+18+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijbQgkgADOu_EmRN7loboRuABn_4JDP76DMpUoyBRIhk_50Ci0v5E_7rjcZeD5IeKoXAEXOGBYtfKezn-UWZg1KvG1M17Xjl-LfKvSJ4NrVJ9TTB_oDKKfNVkiyiPEzJdZAhr72dXjo_Fd/s320/july+18+024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href="http:>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-8817134802595176032011-07-15T16:52:00.000-07:002011-07-15T16:52:22.956-07:00Painter's cloth slip cover<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">I've been working on this forever. Its finally done...my most difficult project yet. A pair of chair slipcovers that are make out of painter's drop cloth fabric. Not the canvas, the fabric kind.</href="http:><br />
<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br />
</href="http:><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">Before: The poor family who owned this chair had a kitten who scratched it all up. :( </href="http:><br />
<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""> </href="http:><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_hJ_gjov1JAmS8eZfDPtatIu31jZnUXXDA_jGmzfaEWRbN26RtuGYTCZ-rhzX8QVLUKUVsUy7-AC8Wy-2HbIhh5kMsKfu12MBd8Hq4kQs0I9gF95AZU1Yz1DrE4ROdUJA68WYN4O0KmmF/s1600/bbm+chair+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_hJ_gjov1JAmS8eZfDPtatIu31jZnUXXDA_jGmzfaEWRbN26RtuGYTCZ-rhzX8QVLUKUVsUy7-AC8Wy-2HbIhh5kMsKfu12MBd8Hq4kQs0I9gF95AZU1Yz1DrE4ROdUJA68WYN4O0KmmF/s320/bbm+chair+001.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>During: My secret...I sew the covers inside out! I fit it this way & pin, then sew where I pinned. I also use my fabric marking pencil a lot.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8d4YMk7yVHYLtDd3uv96aP6jGopstfTa1VJBqpjpHHMPzL7GEILKOsxa1o2FkEhWEhbsexth6BCXfqemaMr5ho6nESvsl3sGgfyw5YTRSYqNxL3CUimNIO_-b7U7wuggjT88Yho8fKVx7/s1600/bbm+chair+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8d4YMk7yVHYLtDd3uv96aP6jGopstfTa1VJBqpjpHHMPzL7GEILKOsxa1o2FkEhWEhbsexth6BCXfqemaMr5ho6nESvsl3sGgfyw5YTRSYqNxL3CUimNIO_-b7U7wuggjT88Yho8fKVx7/s320/bbm+chair+002.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbcRfc1TkvZqyeHjC_hUWetAJY5yUC4gwjRuSmff7HeTN8vbgXWCp_lmiJP8dWUNtFcQq-ptSsacZCZOOYHXwOC-uXkknHJ4mxwCl-TNPabudW8otQCFcp8sFzrhL6O8eGMGDOrY2rBjC/s1600/bbm+chair+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbcRfc1TkvZqyeHjC_hUWetAJY5yUC4gwjRuSmff7HeTN8vbgXWCp_lmiJP8dWUNtFcQq-ptSsacZCZOOYHXwOC-uXkknHJ4mxwCl-TNPabudW8otQCFcp8sFzrhL6O8eGMGDOrY2rBjC/s320/bbm+chair+003.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
<br />
After:<br />
Pleat details<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJ34logZznyeqJlD5ePUFkWvJxAk-gim70ArgrPJ5K0T9rnbMxaeLVhNYUf8K6V41BaTaeh5fmnFdfQz_N3wzkspAWxLdXfwdtz3klgh813aoGlcMEIOpare50laQ5H79vlau0JPn-ZCc/s1600/bbm+chair+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJ34logZznyeqJlD5ePUFkWvJxAk-gim70ArgrPJ5K0T9rnbMxaeLVhNYUf8K6V41BaTaeh5fmnFdfQz_N3wzkspAWxLdXfwdtz3klgh813aoGlcMEIOpare50laQ5H79vlau0JPn-ZCc/s320/bbm+chair+004.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxpbHAWYPXsEMnE43HmXxP8H-Sl8Bc-oq-YPfzeI_JhIY1cx9J9ccgTQGwDSZKYtUq9bTDrsXiNFQkipfwNX773Lih9onhG7C8bzwhkvKFWwVVkGhkSmQrZNcx49jraL2nW31KYRtcOvs/s1600/bbm+chair+009+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxpbHAWYPXsEMnE43HmXxP8H-Sl8Bc-oq-YPfzeI_JhIY1cx9J9ccgTQGwDSZKYtUq9bTDrsXiNFQkipfwNX773Lih9onhG7C8bzwhkvKFWwVVkGhkSmQrZNcx49jraL2nW31KYRtcOvs/s320/bbm+chair+009+copy.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">And the label.</href="http:><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33ZN77oAlBd-w9As_X0HE9ZsSD1MSMuAwJhwVoJgSBiWZbgA9xqX0U4W9M7FEQyZ_-KPKZ7sRaC_JBDCUq2AXxk496yVw18hWhk4KBMy4EYZeOFLTP4adyKJF606AhDxU823OvoHKa6NA/s1600/bbm+chair+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33ZN77oAlBd-w9As_X0HE9ZsSD1MSMuAwJhwVoJgSBiWZbgA9xqX0U4W9M7FEQyZ_-KPKZ7sRaC_JBDCUq2AXxk496yVw18hWhk4KBMy4EYZeOFLTP4adyKJF606AhDxU823OvoHKa6NA/s320/bbm+chair+015.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href="http:>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-19656823984291877692011-07-15T01:12:00.000-07:002011-07-15T01:12:18.483-07:00Camping x Family Reunion = Fun<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">We spent last weekend camping. Okay, some people camped. I spent my nights in a cozy cabin sleeping on the worst mattresses ever. I decked out the cabin with some super cute buntings that the girls helped me make. And then we didn't even eat there!!</href="http:><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_zTNrMc6GtJYMFvZLptcNLFLBrHvxt7AqKtz5zLHLuYrcL_2yBkbU3GiTd5pjQcMreE4-3WpHsRdpovlPTVgrz23whR_ALPs2st608CqLazRTXp1XHyg6Gef9lOo3d8OkpmbTyoETypqE/s1600/July+10+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_zTNrMc6GtJYMFvZLptcNLFLBrHvxt7AqKtz5zLHLuYrcL_2yBkbU3GiTd5pjQcMreE4-3WpHsRdpovlPTVgrz23whR_ALPs2st608CqLazRTXp1XHyg6Gef9lOo3d8OkpmbTyoETypqE/s200/July+10+020.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZx6bw5GOP1NCqBiEKPVsKauN6s5P_XpqknIJZ5PpPFaOJm-aslS0V_DRUKIC6Fst5QtPyCPycL2zqJE_dGCDwHW7fOeMbu6zblGLUOdy7XZf5SHpya4P6WNUYTPs1XR7kBG8_dSev3le/s1600/July+10+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZx6bw5GOP1NCqBiEKPVsKauN6s5P_XpqknIJZ5PpPFaOJm-aslS0V_DRUKIC6Fst5QtPyCPycL2zqJE_dGCDwHW7fOeMbu6zblGLUOdy7XZf5SHpya4P6WNUYTPs1XR7kBG8_dSev3le/s200/July+10+019.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">But our food was fabulous...check this out!</href="http:><br />
<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">We roasted Krispy Kreme donuts over the fire.</href="http:><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6xVTaslGCHfPtfDKouuLMatyQpGGbJjEWA1nDYvV2WQw-0c53FnkslagOh_cf6yZLtaAPBZfA-yglpujcRHJWzmzNf5ziBB8OOa5Gkz-I8jLs7UdLaUFZyXBCcKvYiwqRyDezMOH45oyY/s1600/July+10+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6xVTaslGCHfPtfDKouuLMatyQpGGbJjEWA1nDYvV2WQw-0c53FnkslagOh_cf6yZLtaAPBZfA-yglpujcRHJWzmzNf5ziBB8OOa5Gkz-I8jLs7UdLaUFZyXBCcKvYiwqRyDezMOH45oyY/s200/July+10+015.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><br />
But the real food came out for Saturday's dinner. BBQ Smoked pulled pork sandwiches. We roasted the pork for 10 hours. It took 2 days to roast 50 lbs of pork.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ebcek89LCmDjr-h12nND9F02W_Nvry-uDK-tXGk2d9VYIUdYq_EHer_tMtCEZxQOfzqIDB9YjE8ZvMBMXBqgQZ4BKj1bbs700-yADxPdBX2k-UCld4bMkBNidxzMAhyphenhyphenmR2RRVngcYkr8/s1600/July+10+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ebcek89LCmDjr-h12nND9F02W_Nvry-uDK-tXGk2d9VYIUdYq_EHer_tMtCEZxQOfzqIDB9YjE8ZvMBMXBqgQZ4BKj1bbs700-yADxPdBX2k-UCld4bMkBNidxzMAhyphenhyphenmR2RRVngcYkr8/s200/July+10+034.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzGlMWizBe4uX0VbD7V-UT64UAYL8eB_pb2h5ckhfJRXws_SDIfwK1ImCwG2XgpU-mkccsD-KVZWjo0mhcx_mWBgfNSlXrQz5p9h3Tq-518do5JOFF0A2KZ_ovx1VYGecDE85cbGkf3AdY/s1600/July+10+032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzGlMWizBe4uX0VbD7V-UT64UAYL8eB_pb2h5ckhfJRXws_SDIfwK1ImCwG2XgpU-mkccsD-KVZWjo0mhcx_mWBgfNSlXrQz5p9h3Tq-518do5JOFF0A2KZ_ovx1VYGecDE85cbGkf3AdY/s200/July+10+032.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
We made 2 types of coleslaw for the pork. One was a vinegar based North Carolina sauce. And we make baked beans from scratch. They only smoked 45 minutes.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXuq4ju8QdXWhL6hfrFNOenBGXsCLQFNsPk4GcghzpugKTBJnRra3l5KCqJEFPyDucCX_Q7rIa_ibJB6eMuPs1TfggTN3E7i5540yCkxqXqewRAw9Na3ZXqDSPNopPoMrQgwPFVcS5mAU/s1600/July+10+035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXuq4ju8QdXWhL6hfrFNOenBGXsCLQFNsPk4GcghzpugKTBJnRra3l5KCqJEFPyDucCX_Q7rIa_ibJB6eMuPs1TfggTN3E7i5540yCkxqXqewRAw9Na3ZXqDSPNopPoMrQgwPFVcS5mAU/s320/July+10+035.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div> I made some cute little toothpick flags to match the buntings (that no one saw!). I stuck them into some deviled eggs. They looked like dis-proportioned sail boats. The next pic is herbed butter, molded into stars. And of course, each got a toothpick flag!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdI2_uECpJINbE3OE1dA3GoQMQGEYpvfuOGMNC9d95piwx-o7hhqC5-1urD2VOFPdz5OPUfWNcnFWpWrRM78hNnFWqDDjXkSiRnc2yb6noHxiuGWO3687NNNZZgK1M0Ind0b0O1ZCLgdXj/s1600/July+10+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdI2_uECpJINbE3OE1dA3GoQMQGEYpvfuOGMNC9d95piwx-o7hhqC5-1urD2VOFPdz5OPUfWNcnFWpWrRM78hNnFWqDDjXkSiRnc2yb6noHxiuGWO3687NNNZZgK1M0Ind0b0O1ZCLgdXj/s320/July+10+033.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUmR9Zre0dUW3Ly_bjUbuNz3KwPkdFbNRFbCohj1ry-k-hr2c1jsKOuKw3gygT_8Y48LrxjrfY61mrf59tSW4ufzAnmGosgI9AMw7KSb9_uA_WRCUYn5URGND6Gdrg64mwfWYg5jnn1f2Y/s1600/July+10+036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUmR9Zre0dUW3Ly_bjUbuNz3KwPkdFbNRFbCohj1ry-k-hr2c1jsKOuKw3gygT_8Y48LrxjrfY61mrf59tSW4ufzAnmGosgI9AMw7KSb9_uA_WRCUYn5URGND6Gdrg64mwfWYg5jnn1f2Y/s320/July+10+036.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Drinks are always fun with us....We made 3 types of beer & 3 types of soda for the occasion. Coconut Porter, Summer Ale, & Dead Guy beers. Sour Cherry Soda, Creme Soda, & Root Beer. And can you see 5 bottles of wine? I guess 3 were contributed by me. What can I say? I know some great vintners.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq04bjRtKBx_8VQfAoaWbZFlBHdvf_8Zcfh9p_sNkWPThnfFCSfBtTmea_bd0zAa6knUCGK33NkdAtNle_O03dEoHcagw5Ro0vtFZnwGHnyZCwnHiIRO3C7AW7VphhtkpY4R19NwI0H43S/s1600/July+10+038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq04bjRtKBx_8VQfAoaWbZFlBHdvf_8Zcfh9p_sNkWPThnfFCSfBtTmea_bd0zAa6knUCGK33NkdAtNle_O03dEoHcagw5Ro0vtFZnwGHnyZCwnHiIRO3C7AW7VphhtkpY4R19NwI0H43S/s320/July+10+038.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Making beer comes in handy when you need to boil 20 ears of corn. That's a 5 gallon brew-pot. You can't see the scale because in the background is our antique cast iron cooking griddle. It measures at least 24x40"!! I've never even seen these. Its made to fit on top of our antique wood burning cookstove.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJvuoT5rXQ5Dv8up4QGs7VV7b7bNFk7pKvlCTHDKCO6K8wy1pwMCPUUoeYXFqb8OBwHxEIXxwwrBr2s3nudverqWRK5l77Ij2S1pSRXpLKWbstBtwhiI1zL0meXcEIHXjyTKTzdSg9CeX/s1600/July+10+040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJvuoT5rXQ5Dv8up4QGs7VV7b7bNFk7pKvlCTHDKCO6K8wy1pwMCPUUoeYXFqb8OBwHxEIXxwwrBr2s3nudverqWRK5l77Ij2S1pSRXpLKWbstBtwhiI1zL0meXcEIHXjyTKTzdSg9CeX/s320/July+10+040.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Dessert was dutch oven cobbler - peach or sour pie cherry. I hand pitted the cherries...what a labor of love. It was a lot of work!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The kids got into things making ice cream in our ice cream balls. They roll them around, and next thing you know - Hot Chocolate, Strawberry, & Raspberry ice cream are ready! We made the vanilla in the big electric ice cream maker.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCc26BNAk2P26xm2ghVAYrt0NmbxiSb2tPJT6K6tcbcBtNUgKQBrv89oBMvPFmloXUKvgEN_I47Xn0aLaDpGbQeahbIYAj94pIKj5HmBl24OpzmuWxyJ2rDugFwuGAav6dqrjCVkndbZ6n/s1600/July+10+053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCc26BNAk2P26xm2ghVAYrt0NmbxiSb2tPJT6K6tcbcBtNUgKQBrv89oBMvPFmloXUKvgEN_I47Xn0aLaDpGbQeahbIYAj94pIKj5HmBl24OpzmuWxyJ2rDugFwuGAav6dqrjCVkndbZ6n/s200/July+10+053.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpzXhPRcVfKh8aSphRYor3ytnpLbgwsnfEFaoSzpGXqRz0GINZuob47mMofhVbLvyfF1OGzEcB5IsbfVTdNnPhnekojI2bk8x3QXH-G_BmbOlrdJXGrCm2FdjO4ZGAT_nA5f3Uhk9ybAW/s1600/July+10+052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpzXhPRcVfKh8aSphRYor3ytnpLbgwsnfEFaoSzpGXqRz0GINZuob47mMofhVbLvyfF1OGzEcB5IsbfVTdNnPhnekojI2bk8x3QXH-G_BmbOlrdJXGrCm2FdjO4ZGAT_nA5f3Uhk9ybAW/s200/July+10+052.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYhewdjN7Uqn_uEvL6Gou0c8riIW2eNUJFaYxqL6an4HrPEPqVyMr200hmpo9I8UlsFNfa3tlMI61-tvtzZOc6co2LFoCOS4Q7u_5K36Pl0wrU4X6FBqVKJv598kxcK8mg5YEaHfvk0K27/s1600/July+10+051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYhewdjN7Uqn_uEvL6Gou0c8riIW2eNUJFaYxqL6an4HrPEPqVyMr200hmpo9I8UlsFNfa3tlMI61-tvtzZOc6co2LFoCOS4Q7u_5K36Pl0wrU4X6FBqVKJv598kxcK8mg5YEaHfvk0K27/s200/July+10+051.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
Happy camping!<br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href="http:>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-41767259139648075902011-07-13T23:41:00.000-07:002011-07-14T00:25:49.895-07:00Photoshop fun<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">I get all kinds of odd offers for magazines. I subscribe to a few free ones that I love, but really don't make much sense in my life as a stay at home mom. Yesterday I got a free digital one on Photoshop. I run a really old version of Photoshop. I mean REALLY old. What I'm learning is the new one does what mine does, but I think mine is not as user friendly.</href="http:><br />
<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">So I'm sitting here tonight, reading this magazine on my desktop. I don't own a Kindle, an iPad or even a laptop. (sigh) But since I was on this computer I was able to try out a few of the tutorials that are in the magazine.</href="http:><br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">I just learned how to make my photos black & white. And even better, b&w with just a hint of a color! Check this out...</href="http:><br />
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original color hint of pink true b&w<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaK0vwzim8Az7yoUq1LOgJFSIpur_wdEPjoXPf4sK4Cu5FKsj4un3Q3FXhRlHVRG1NQafOLTgTKBcEUbL7yP-yriVLSYGk6r5fH3SEXsGP4EIUP2vasDLGzZnBFJdKbW16uWpR4OypqMj/s1600/July+1+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaK0vwzim8Az7yoUq1LOgJFSIpur_wdEPjoXPf4sK4Cu5FKsj4un3Q3FXhRlHVRG1NQafOLTgTKBcEUbL7yP-yriVLSYGk6r5fH3SEXsGP4EIUP2vasDLGzZnBFJdKbW16uWpR4OypqMj/s200/July+1+017.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPX3V7umbbrH99QCG7oGLfonKFD4gGlm8X52KKKVs1LQH8v0EVjOLsYQVJLWXE-JSykcvv3jDQ8owKy_us6Ra92DGBxvyNZq9kD-CMS1IaFGHBOLpblQrNuqwzfe43YbtfRKGEBu8pjIVH/s1600/July+1+017+duotone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPX3V7umbbrH99QCG7oGLfonKFD4gGlm8X52KKKVs1LQH8v0EVjOLsYQVJLWXE-JSykcvv3jDQ8owKy_us6Ra92DGBxvyNZq9kD-CMS1IaFGHBOLpblQrNuqwzfe43YbtfRKGEBu8pjIVH/s200/July+1+017+duotone.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvhCIoI6QzydhcX5NflZWWivnDsWoPSv_TeFgokALef_zlB-zxiiOMZfCmOf6Lp4BDs7W1D_4Id1YLslePqPhz4fYczo7WM_4YF4P6_Qr9rua3cwfyGdDuGQU3Pz0l7IWDpe0A0sNjjlL/s1600/July+1+017+duotone+530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvhCIoI6QzydhcX5NflZWWivnDsWoPSv_TeFgokALef_zlB-zxiiOMZfCmOf6Lp4BDs7W1D_4Id1YLslePqPhz4fYczo7WM_4YF4P6_Qr9rua3cwfyGdDuGQU3Pz0l7IWDpe0A0sNjjlL/s200/July+1+017+duotone+530.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgmmaCU-QMoWDyr0V1yWO5vsSaQAZeZxjCTde-YTyL5aerVFbLGXehTs2XopIkLGVxZoF4YKTLP32JH2uiDXrTzv9bfIxc_K7Y_-pmPz9wgVcFkWiwri3m0y2m2N-cmyMBpIxnVfZPu5Z/s1600/July+1+018+b%2526w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgmmaCU-QMoWDyr0V1yWO5vsSaQAZeZxjCTde-YTyL5aerVFbLGXehTs2XopIkLGVxZoF4YKTLP32JH2uiDXrTzv9bfIxc_K7Y_-pmPz9wgVcFkWiwri3m0y2m2N-cmyMBpIxnVfZPu5Z/s200/July+1+018+b%2526w.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCv4rsb-xAX1C0lIK6qUt3uZn-VCFVuJucqebrignIVH-Z0l2VH97i5wDCaBohc9uwu4OfGJGthJxgAiTx5lHyUWeAQFLgDegSHGMoP_PRzmG3iH7cpz-wh8CzQUDGWklMPIKBv3f1eT_/s1600/July+1+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCv4rsb-xAX1C0lIK6qUt3uZn-VCFVuJucqebrignIVH-Z0l2VH97i5wDCaBohc9uwu4OfGJGthJxgAiTx5lHyUWeAQFLgDegSHGMoP_PRzmG3iH7cpz-wh8CzQUDGWklMPIKBv3f1eT_/s200/July+1+018.JPG" width="200" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXrUqAyk-BlCqkAvzmyNOaXwAv_1UPlzGL1ZiOBZFiggWZgN2LJ5_9rkZ_Tgi9Gcga3pxFvG8OG0f9uePwvoF2080jKifeVk2M782b0UsX23LDbQ54pvEF3H-IltkEZYSYIA6EeAGWH5d/s1600/July+1+018+503+duotone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXrUqAyk-BlCqkAvzmyNOaXwAv_1UPlzGL1ZiOBZFiggWZgN2LJ5_9rkZ_Tgi9Gcga3pxFvG8OG0f9uePwvoF2080jKifeVk2M782b0UsX23LDbQ54pvEF3H-IltkEZYSYIA6EeAGWH5d/s200/July+1+018+503+duotone.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCv4rsb-xAX1C0lIK6qUt3uZn-VCFVuJucqebrignIVH-Z0l2VH97i5wDCaBohc9uwu4OfGJGthJxgAiTx5lHyUWeAQFLgDegSHGMoP_PRzmG3iH7cpz-wh8CzQUDGWklMPIKBv3f1eT_/s1600/July+1+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Maybe now that I can do this, I can work on getting my pics to show up where I want them to on the blog! Here's the link to the magazine, if it lets you open it. I'm not sure.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zinio.com/my-library.jsp?_requestid=1313355">http://www.zinio.com/my-library.jsp?_requestid=1313355</a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div> Now, back to sewing. I am ALMOST done with the last of the slip covers. Soooo close. But my kids won't let me work. Grrrrr. And I had someone ask me today about private sewing lessons - I'd love to do them for you! $20 per one hour lesson, or $15 per lesson if you sign up for 4 lessons or more. Let me know!<br />
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</href="http:>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-87217034969764014002011-07-12T21:25:00.000-07:002011-07-12T21:25:38.999-07:00Sewing fun!<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">Wow...talk about a quick turn-around! I was delivered a bride's maid dress today at noon. I had it finished by 4pm. That's rare around here. And impressive as it involved ripping out a few seams & a lining! The mom of the bride's maid was very pleased I was able to get it done so quickly. I'm pleased that it doesn't look altered. I should have taken a pic of it! Its not this dress, but it was very similar. </href="http:><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgaqgsuOge955XXhFerC_JSvLBoYWW6t48g7hyDiGvVAfXz5IVg8wFQjjkiI6iDCvDaSIvCvi4hTx2uDi0MwiSE-53v_yzVnXEF_i_V2zT30lXb136gKsK2Yi40iySSf134poK3coqbCp/s1600/I_164446_1_242033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgaqgsuOge955XXhFerC_JSvLBoYWW6t48g7hyDiGvVAfXz5IVg8wFQjjkiI6iDCvDaSIvCvi4hTx2uDi0MwiSE-53v_yzVnXEF_i_V2zT30lXb136gKsK2Yi40iySSf134poK3coqbCp/s1600/I_164446_1_242033.jpg" /></a></div><href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">Cost: $40</href="http:><br />
<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">Had the dress been unlined, the price would have been lower. Or if it had not been a specialty fabric. This was mainly hand sewn.</href="http:><br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs="">The mom of the bride's maid was joking that she can't sew on a button. But I can. And I know there are people who really can't sew a button. Not to mention they don't have the button, thread, needle or time. I was also talking to my contact lens professional - he was telling me about a pocket with a hole that he hand stitched. I was telling him whatever works, as long as the hole is closed....but it didn't work! Next time he'll call me! Yakima, WA area 509.577.8241 But don't call me if you're selling something - I'm on the Do Not Call list.</href="http:><br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href="http:>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-77417992972204103032011-07-11T00:54:00.000-07:002011-07-11T00:54:15.443-07:00Just had to share this adorable pic of my baby!!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivswLa9qpqcEy2UUihVW2EczBW0hYq9k00J2I-TyqLXo4chYMopwwhq6clTnnWpjmXqoj7ovGoqFON9tD79MsdFFDe3pwwEwbL9GpeYxzAJfz7TcFZX1rB4tBylhmV-OoAve1xYi2umoRi/s1600/263804_225597857472076_140956555936207_763485_1531692_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="465" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivswLa9qpqcEy2UUihVW2EczBW0hYq9k00J2I-TyqLXo4chYMopwwhq6clTnnWpjmXqoj7ovGoqFON9tD79MsdFFDe3pwwEwbL9GpeYxzAJfz7TcFZX1rB4tBylhmV-OoAve1xYi2umoRi/s640/263804_225597857472076_140956555936207_763485_1531692_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibZPxuFcQW2Fge7TALVHB1RiplTpYk9EBiuiSeZp_bpPEP0L5_ltSzL3KabBbm3FLgaF1JK5y-SBuLz5ennxb5Ngd-WRcYwKXa2iFvOjPr9P6dd447V0ZFZNBpYzD-YF2safg71B1gMtEt/s1600/265139_226329040732291_140956555936207_765570_5479727_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibZPxuFcQW2Fge7TALVHB1RiplTpYk9EBiuiSeZp_bpPEP0L5_ltSzL3KabBbm3FLgaF1JK5y-SBuLz5ennxb5Ngd-WRcYwKXa2iFvOjPr9P6dd447V0ZFZNBpYzD-YF2safg71B1gMtEt/s640/265139_226329040732291_140956555936207_765570_5479727_n.jpg" width="424" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3uN7D4d6Sk7F4AedSechNPfi2hDlWIurz3OSb2DPjDyxj0QnyNNJiNBg5uuNCRx68a6gWTvbv_uMRPjePA6P0d3yPcxwkqO7BpX90LOzZ2HUe324_BM7KZx5GoL1CDf7tfrln1vXn4VxX/s1600/270268_225835874114941_140956555936207_764224_2142894_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3uN7D4d6Sk7F4AedSechNPfi2hDlWIurz3OSb2DPjDyxj0QnyNNJiNBg5uuNCRx68a6gWTvbv_uMRPjePA6P0d3yPcxwkqO7BpX90LOzZ2HUe324_BM7KZx5GoL1CDf7tfrln1vXn4VxX/s640/270268_225835874114941_140956555936207_764224_2142894_n.jpg" width="454" /></a></div><br />
If you're in the Yakima Valley...I have the photographer for you! Run & schedule a session with Kelly at 7 Safaris. <a href="http://www.7safaris.com/">http://www.7safaris.com/</a> She's just fabulous!<br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><br />
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<href="http: ?action="view&current=beesig2.jpg"" albums="" s161.photobucket.com="" t205="" target="_blank" twocougs=""><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="102" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" width="200" /></href="http:>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0Yakima, WA, USA46.5926188 -120.5363431000000146.5558388 -120.62403210000001 46.6293988 -120.44865410000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-39795940386743379142011-07-11T00:00:00.000-07:002011-07-11T00:10:49.689-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKaNF-e2n_Wz3lkxLI0kP3IUcF9XAyk-mxCZM4Lprb1IZpQ-aHpzgoh0lJPWDKe-fyTvez6SEMxbAyeLndX36wWcc_lTzq0OGl1bYhjjR7sfwLzWNr-ic_dFbxjnIgAktnt5OXn7CVCZ9/s1600/bbm+logo2+copy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKaNF-e2n_Wz3lkxLI0kP3IUcF9XAyk-mxCZM4Lprb1IZpQ-aHpzgoh0lJPWDKe-fyTvez6SEMxbAyeLndX36wWcc_lTzq0OGl1bYhjjR7sfwLzWNr-ic_dFbxjnIgAktnt5OXn7CVCZ9/s400/bbm+logo2+copy.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627987663187698002" /></a><br />Working on rebranding myself...and making sure I'm getting as much free advertising as I can. Word of mouth is the best way to go. That, and the internet. I've pulled down my personal website, and canceled my phone. Hope this doesn't crush the small amount of work I was getting...I need to keep the money coming in so I can afford to stay home with our girls. Raising kids is an expensive adventure. And I'm frugal! Yikes. But it just doesn't work for me to pay for daycare.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.thumbtack.com/Seamstress-Yakima-WA/service/216909">Seamstress</a><br /><br /><a href="http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/?action=view&current=beesig2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-19687984847840820202011-02-02T15:17:00.000-08:002011-02-02T15:42:46.982-08:00Dinner MenuSo I can't do a whole lot around the house right now. Baby is here...its a girl! Miss Abby is showing signs of a favored third baby - she's never put down. She's now 8 weeks old and refuses to sleep alone. So I sit at my computer. A lot. I'm either nursing her or she's sleeping!<br /><br />Today I created this fabulous chart of our favorite dinners! Hopefully this will help me figure out what's for dinner!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHVra1ViLuR3Jc0MMI7LrFhVO2lS1_XmixzaQqWkAIPL2b7wxFHtXxi9UqKN9hUk0_Kcblyq91CiTLP00XUgQvK7XqmEvrrXhV0OCGk5Te1ypr5Wp4djzkxTzd03AUaMsCzkbWvBLJl8A/s1600/Dinner+menus+copy.jpg"><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA6E1VssRcF-4gxYEJix5r5SwpBZj6mTOszQEpB6RB7Hk9iLnUclaKRyAF0r3_I4u4M7XcKqEuuvqMOsVGxIKFJVRdPPkoRUZlt7Ct0koTGIJj2oFZ0MF5rBXiyfNcovs92ClTHid20Yn1/s1600/Dinner+menus+copy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 671px; height: 517px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA6E1VssRcF-4gxYEJix5r5SwpBZj6mTOszQEpB6RB7Hk9iLnUclaKRyAF0r3_I4u4M7XcKqEuuvqMOsVGxIKFJVRdPPkoRUZlt7Ct0koTGIJj2oFZ0MF5rBXiyfNcovs92ClTHid20Yn1/s400/Dinner+menus+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569241226907116834" border="0" /></a><a><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6iUm19GSEHGOJadJCrpF3f6DuZYMkgR1up-RgHE_GpBn300V98gFSqcoIHiRT_jBuVIYbDmMO7WHEuOdrEAi85H5CwFbpo_84-jCvP1qT3njJJNzaGAzElEq1ddLh5PYJksms-E24sxBi/s1600/Dinner+menus+copy.jpg"><br /></a><a>There are categories across the top with the main ingredient - Ground beef, Tomato, Beans, Noodles, etc. Then I filled in dinners where I thought they fit best. Most overlap, but this was my best guess on what the "main" thing was. Hubby was complaining there were too many tomato & noodle dinners in a row! Ooops. I'm sure I'll need to adjust it a bit, but we'll see how this works out. Now to print & put in my House binder!<br /><br /></a><a href="http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/?action=view&current=beesig2.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="width: 200px; height: 104px;" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-1489749791401575512010-08-17T01:25:00.000-07:002011-02-02T19:54:49.236-08:00Pears!I'm working on this fabulous project. I can't share all the details in case my friend is reading this. But....a bunch of us have joined together to make a quilt. I've never claimed to be a quilter, but at least I'm fairly crafty & can sew. All I have to do is make a square.<br /><br />Ever have a day when you're ready to work on a project but you don't have the right stuff, but you forge ahead anyway. That was me. I really needed some fusible interfacing. But it was midnight and I didn't want to wait until tomorrow when I could get to the fabric store. So I taped my fabrics together & sewed. Yes, tape. I know some of you are gasping in horror. Remember I never claimed to be a quilter! It worked though.<br /><br />Here's my square. Its not finished yet, but I'll let you look.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGk86yvpMVz4g_lEXr72aDmG2zMt-ecic9cCpY7_ONuF6qjEIfY-e3aIUzHgFjDU0LzVMn3ZSSQsIrI4TjZPgmWcLePV0YxgG064n9aEMcjuYz20IjQ7jkMeG_0HKgaOh4Ar7BrQVzrXv/s1600/BBM+002.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGk86yvpMVz4g_lEXr72aDmG2zMt-ecic9cCpY7_ONuF6qjEIfY-e3aIUzHgFjDU0LzVMn3ZSSQsIrI4TjZPgmWcLePV0YxgG064n9aEMcjuYz20IjQ7jkMeG_0HKgaOh4Ar7BrQVzrXv/s400/BBM+002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506293324778076354" border="0" /></a><br />I'd like to sign it with my name & bumble bee. I just need to figure out how....so I'm off to Google it.<br /><br /><br />Here's the finished square!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFuR9i3WlKIIg0XumTLP0qQ54KsfIghpQzgAcd0AuO8RJix2rO4nJXIRBK93aTlVlCE2VXXvZODOVbDuxzyX61U7Ut2DxgamomSCHEEJtKhVgEywEf4p4BylD65KkTZzxzOjoK6AqgNR6_/s1600/pear+quilt+square.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFuR9i3WlKIIg0XumTLP0qQ54KsfIghpQzgAcd0AuO8RJix2rO4nJXIRBK93aTlVlCE2VXXvZODOVbDuxzyX61U7Ut2DxgamomSCHEEJtKhVgEywEf4p4BylD65KkTZzxzOjoK6AqgNR6_/s400/pear+quilt+square.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569299382368232322" border="0" /></a>I used a brown fabric pen to trace my bee & name. I'd printed a piece of paper & slid it under the fabric. It was thin enough I could see it just fine.<br /><br />Update - Here's the finished quilt - another gal put it together...this is way beyond my skills! A group of us made squares to give to a friend who'd had a baby that died at birth. I know she'll treasure it forever!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA133Xbh8AFPt4n3htgi0kF88kCcRZ9ru5duBnsTmEfw0uKly_twE0ivno_h330WNQKeKAZJqJMUKgRdu3SfahRvmRrppZfKUol4WwKLaN8YL84jeHlBQgiFgh8NwPFkAGUNRPmNaoA_Hu/s1600/Quilt4-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA133Xbh8AFPt4n3htgi0kF88kCcRZ9ru5duBnsTmEfw0uKly_twE0ivno_h330WNQKeKAZJqJMUKgRdu3SfahRvmRrppZfKUol4WwKLaN8YL84jeHlBQgiFgh8NwPFkAGUNRPmNaoA_Hu/s400/Quilt4-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569303759684350498" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGl5k8W6O1lSYC5PZMJTKDWZyQ3jaYTSm0qxEhZk2cVjQvKSJc-qEgYhuBmjEpAmeYQCCMk76ZyHBZ0Lgtq7FvrPLC9xnrQPpNhxux7gEjA8RNt7_ngqAEjNwXN26fHaWSzUihQCXzOsLQ/s1600/Quilt1-1-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGl5k8W6O1lSYC5PZMJTKDWZyQ3jaYTSm0qxEhZk2cVjQvKSJc-qEgYhuBmjEpAmeYQCCMk76ZyHBZ0Lgtq7FvrPLC9xnrQPpNhxux7gEjA8RNt7_ngqAEjNwXN26fHaWSzUihQCXzOsLQ/s400/Quilt1-1-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569304408904652482" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_MqGv7gk1HY1dwiQKCJFiymtHt96siQwb1_jl8d2oZCbAP3-lQF5zgalI9qMkORQF1i2-UcrZIyFBiJ0Jw5AJvx11tqWLvYl-1sZPvWEzROO-rpuKdxIMfrnD2AqHXMvghmAeGdG0hbj/s1600/Quilt2-1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_MqGv7gk1HY1dwiQKCJFiymtHt96siQwb1_jl8d2oZCbAP3-lQF5zgalI9qMkORQF1i2-UcrZIyFBiJ0Jw5AJvx11tqWLvYl-1sZPvWEzROO-rpuKdxIMfrnD2AqHXMvghmAeGdG0hbj/s400/Quilt2-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569304712140611410" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFv8thpLLPCy2guexubegQJc9Ow4wBVc0ZzJ991yZGCer8eKo5Y0PkqnlzwfxSshUmvTZ7DIfJIxOvbojPNmmWTGiGG_s0GYmY8asYfRPs3s4teWJet2Y4dMhqQbIauULCK4vX4rVUyJ7c/s1600/Quilt3-1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 287px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFv8thpLLPCy2guexubegQJc9Ow4wBVc0ZzJ991yZGCer8eKo5Y0PkqnlzwfxSshUmvTZ7DIfJIxOvbojPNmmWTGiGG_s0GYmY8asYfRPs3s4teWJet2Y4dMhqQbIauULCK4vX4rVUyJ7c/s400/Quilt3-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569304911646221074" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/?action=view&current=beesig2.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="width: 294px; height: 152px;" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-58883106996504900742010-07-30T00:06:00.000-07:002010-07-30T00:43:59.696-07:00Sad two weeks and 3 death stories<a>Sad things happen. I know this. But three in one week is just too much for me right now. I lost a second-cousin to a terrible, tragic accident. A man had driven a car into a shopping mall where she was working. She was in her early 20's and in school. She lives out of state (my dad's family is mainly in CO still) so I didn't know her well. I remember her very clearly as a little girl of about 7 years old or so. Her funeral was last weekend.<br /><br /></a><a>Then I found out my great-aunt was dying (she's on the other side of my dad's family). She'd lived a fabulous life and was very active & alert right up until the last 24 hours in her 98 year life. Yes, she was 98! Aunt Bonnie was my great-grandma's little sister. I remember Aunt Bonnie coming to visit at my grandma's house...she'd play the piano over & over for me. Then she'd sit patiently as I played (terribly, I might add). Aunt Bonnie used to do hair...she gave me the prettiest braids a 7 year old has ever seen for my aunt & uncle's wedding. It took forever - I thought she'd never fi</a><a>nish...but she braided a teal ribbon down the back of my hair. I'd show you all a photo but they're at my parents' house. Her funeral is also in CO and is this weekend. Thankfully, my dad is there visiting & he'll be able to go. And I was there just about two years ago to see Aunt Bonnie.<br /><br />Here's Aunt Bonnie (in the center) with my Aunt Mildred and Uncle Bill.<br /><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQkZxFTIUbf0qLfPlw6fOgy-2GQqktc5aH05kp2TSVl5a0jRiPZt6O51nlqD5v851IpKc02tHN8cdSRUzE8l7gkuVxlImnmrQateUSDhFWH6pFBjnUkxDwAmCTDnsnhWRzKnTQo6oYKtz/s1600/colorado+009.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQkZxFTIUbf0qLfPlw6fOgy-2GQqktc5aH05kp2TSVl5a0jRiPZt6O51nlqD5v851IpKc02tHN8cdSRUzE8l7gkuVxlImnmrQateUSDhFWH6pFBjnUkxDwAmCTDnsnhWRzKnTQo6oYKtz/s400/colorado+009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499594602876363842" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The latest was the death of my friend's infant. The baby, Ellie, died during childbirth. The cord was wrapped tightly around her neck and there was meconium in her lungs. It was the kind of thing that couldn't have been prevented. My heart breaks for my friend, her husband & their little 3.5 year old. He couldn't understand why his sis wouldn't open her eyes to see his toy he'd brought for her. Or why she was living with Jesus, and not with him. Keep her in your prayers especially, she has a past history of anxiety & PPD like I do. I can't imagine how hard this would be for anyone without the postpartum depression history.<br /><br />My cousin is a midwife, and found me a great website that I thought I'd share. <a href="http://www.glowinthewoods.com/">http://www.glowinthewoods.com/</a> If you know anyone who's lost an infant share this site & read it yourself. This is one of those things no one talks about but maybe they should.<br /><br />Pray for these families, pray for my dad's cousin & the loss of their daughter, pray for my dad's cousin & the loss of her mother, pray for my friend & the loss of her baby.<br /><br />A funeral is so much easier when its a celebration of a long happy life that was lived compared to a child taken away from their parents. Please pray for me too...this is so heart breaking. I'm doing what I can to make sure this doesn't trigger an anxiety attack.<br /><a href="http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/?action=view&current=beesig2.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="width: 203px; height: 105px;" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4915482586101127462.post-74590802225519534252010-07-20T10:02:00.000-07:002010-07-20T20:40:54.067-07:00Skirts, jeans & aprons!<a>What have you been up to this summer? We have a new baby on the way at our house...and I'm exhausted! I've fallen behind on blogging & on sewing...But I have such good plans!<br /></a><a>For instance...I wear the same skirt nearly every day. Its just so comfortable. I love wearing it more than shorts. I'd like to make a similar one out of a nylon material...like the stuff hiking pants are made of. Columbia always has great looking ones, but I kn</a><a>ow I can do it for less than the $40 they try to charge me in a store!<br /><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJDhk5HO6-jFtcpZX_G7Ye9cgFx0_sl7Ru4qKFHjrc4C1tqtJvndMaDd0Womz4l34LW6f38j_lXOqfGmb0ya_Wrj7G6xeCB7QfPzIu66Back-yAdnKb1kGy1PkWwc3VJbqaHZoeV5JqLa/s1600/skirt+030a.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 336px; height: 353px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJDhk5HO6-jFtcpZX_G7Ye9cgFx0_sl7Ru4qKFHjrc4C1tqtJvndMaDd0Womz4l34LW6f38j_lXOqfGmb0ya_Wrj7G6xeCB7QfPzIu66Back-yAdnKb1kGy1PkWwc3VJbqaHZoeV5JqLa/s400/skirt+030a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496037984247929714" border="0" /></a><br />I should be able to do it no problem...its whether or not I really want to that is the question!<br /><br />With the last baby (who's now 3 1/2) I made maternity jeans...they're fabulous! I took a pair of regular jeans & cut off the waist, added elastic & there you go!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWC3cPzVf1LZI-Alx6IdEv2a_XxXrVhbUc8SApCYCM3qUJWp5MEVgnnk2w3vOlRM3H7CCRDT4QQCc-MCqasrZumF_-9hDG7c7CYl2bARp975g8mbmsywaLQKkwhyxhX5dCi3CWjsrlUrWu/s1600/Melissa+Birthday+007a.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 395px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWC3cPzVf1LZI-Alx6IdEv2a_XxXrVhbUc8SApCYCM3qUJWp5MEVgnnk2w3vOlRM3H7CCRDT4QQCc-MCqasrZumF_-9hDG7c7CYl2bARp975g8mbmsywaLQKkwhyxhX5dCi3CWjsrlUrWu/s400/Melissa+Birthday+007a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496039475941325954" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is the only photo I can find right now...that bit of paisley is the fabric I covered the elastic in. Its part of the jeans! However...here's the tutorial I based mine off of! Mine are not a full coverage, but the idea is the same. <a href="http://patchworkprincess.blogspot.com/2006/02/how-to-tuesday-maternity-jeans.html">http://patchworkprincess.blogspot.com/2006/02/how-to-tuesday-maternity-jeans.html</a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5YEgySlC_JNszl6rI0r9IL8lC8MGqcvcyVo9zoq36ERWNM0ALM0SMFRMXmJ_gihDVPBlkSQdBU6yWPdbd22MkzMc9yvvGys42ooKTyBu385O24xPmcj4UzHOv_qsKDBfDiIrMkDTS63c/s1600/BBM+001.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5YEgySlC_JNszl6rI0r9IL8lC8MGqcvcyVo9zoq36ERWNM0ALM0SMFRMXmJ_gihDVPBlkSQdBU6yWPdbd22MkzMc9yvvGys42ooKTyBu385O24xPmcj4UzHOv_qsKDBfDiIrMkDTS63c/s400/BBM+001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496041175787180242" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And here's the latest apron I finished! Be sure to come find me on Facebook...I update there much more often than I do the blog! <a href="http://www.facebook.com/melissa.christianson?v=wall&story_fbid=136168433084010&ref=notif&notif_t=feed_comment#%21/pages/Yakima-WA/BumbleBaby-Mommy/63033826153">BumbleBaby Mommy</a><br /><a><br /></a><a href="http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/?action=view&current=beesig2.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="width: 234px; height: 121px;" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205/twocougs/beesig2.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653195088523484262noreply@blogger.com0