Scenes From A Weekend- Breaking the Mold

Sometimes you need to move out of your comfort zone. For H that means breaking the mold and love of home parties for the kids. For me and The Fifth Element it means going to a place like Chuck E. Cheese where we have to interact with lots of people, deal with various types of spaces, colors, loud sounds and music and a whole mash-up of multiple whirling activities all at once for hours on end. Heaven for The Comedian getting her birthday party wish, but harder to navigate for The Fifth Element and I and our SPD issues. Feeling perfectly at home even with a large jersey-wearing mouse. … [Read more...]

The Sensory Child Gets Organized Review

Disclosure: TMC was not paid for this post. Products received are for review purposes only. Opinions are TMC's only. One of the first things we learned as parents when The Fifth Element was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) was the importance of planning ahead and staying organized. We were lucky enough to receive services through our county's infant and toddler program which included speech and occupational therapy a few times a month. These sessions did not just help our daughter, they helped us as parents and as a family understand that the sensory child has a harder time than other kids navigating the world. It feels chaotic to them and they either seek or avoid stimulation to deal with their daily lives. … [Read more...]

Yogurt Pops Make for Easy Summer Fun

I will be the first one to tell you that I am so not crafty.  Glitter, beads, yarn and all those little things that make cute creations make me break out into hives. You think I'm kidding. I may like to bake up a batch of cookies or cupcakes and I've been known to make an octopus or ladybug cake but creating recipes and showcasing them on the blog or making holiday-themed crafts. It is so not my thing.  That stuff just stresses me out, man. BUT … [Read more...]

Good Enough to Be Enough

In the past I have struggled hard to find a balance between work and life.  I continuously felt that if I wasn't working my wheels were spinning out of control.  My control over my work load and how much work I was doing defined me.  At least I thought that  it did and I even thought that I wanted it too.  Yes, I took joy in the time I was home for only 3 days in one month while six months pregnant with my third child.  Maybe it was that I used to hate my work and it was often just a j-o-b.  The last few years weren't like that and it was all new and exciting and I just wanted more.  Like a sponge I wanted to soak up as much as I could.  Then 2012 happened and it was like a giant hand just knocked me on my ass. Or as I like to think of it, God just bitched slapped me and handed me my … [Read more...]

Diagnosis: Over Stimulated Parent

It was the email titled, "Pizza, Pizza!" that just shoved me right over the edge.  The day already felt long.  The weekend had felt that way too.  In fact, every day lately has been a bit of a slog with me feeling ever closer to that "edge" that parents all talk about. As I sat in preschool car line waiting for The Comedian to come out of school I checked my email and found the 'pizza' one from her teacher.  An impromptu field trip, "what fun!"  My brain seized.  All at once I felt angry, defeated and yes, I will admit to a little bit whiney. It's just. I just. I can't. I felt frozen as I searched my swirling, over-crowded brain for what that day might contain on the schedule.  Did we have Occupational therapy or speech that day?  Was it the one day all week that I had a … [Read more...]