Special Exposure / Wordless Weds: Hatastic

James' Dad bought him this hat at a thrift store, saying he thought James might be a hat guy.

I think Dad is on to something!


For more images from the heart and to share some of yours,
visit Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs.






               and ... Wordless Wednesday

Magic Marker Monday: O'Keeffe Interpretation

I received a beautiful painting from James for Mothers' Day. I love all the work he is doing now.

I know the class was shown examples of Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings as an inspiration for their own paintings (which, BTW, I think is a brilliant creative exercise).

Here is my new masterpiece:

After some thought, I think he might have been looking at one of her apple blossom paintings:

Apple Blossoms, 1930
Georgia O'Keeffe

What do you think?

For more great masterpieces or to share some of your own, visit
5 Minutes for Special Needs for more Magic Marker Monday.

                              

My Funny Valentines

Oh my stars - I remember when. I love coming across old photos like these. This used to be how I shopped each week:

She used to tweak his toes gently, all through the store.
He often fell asleep while shopping.

Breakfast became amusing ...

Tea time has never been the same.

Mothers' Day: Priceless

I am typing this from the backyard, listening to the birds twitter and call, smelling the approach of summer and retreat of this morning's fog, savouring my coffee (French roast from Trader Joe's and Peets' Anniversary Blend). I've just picked the first cherries off our tree and popped them in my mouth; they are delicious. Sometimes moments happen and some you just need to make yourself.

I am not a food bowl!!

The cat woke me shortly before 7, prowling for food and a playmate. I was so tired, I poured his kibbles on the nearest flat surface, a MagnaDoodle. My reprieve was short-lived. I heard James stirring, which was my signal to use the bathroom before he announced his waking state to the house and started a loud search for me.

I had been promised breakfast in bed. Unfortunately, my kitchen crew was still sleeping in and catching up on some much-needed rest (curse you, allergies!). I was hungry, so James and I hopped in the car and drove through the low-lying fog to Trader Joe's, where the flowers are gorgeous, the blueberry muffins plentiful, and prices are extraordinarily reasonable. First, though, I had to shut the cat in the garage, as he can't be trusted to not raid the garbage can.

We returned triumphant to a still-sleeping house. James graciously shared his muffins with me and I made coffee. Mmmmmm, liquid ambrosia!

I called my mom to wish her a happy Mothers' Day. We did our usual cell-phone shuffle and my cheek hung up on her once, but we connected. She is such an awesome mom. Every year I appreciate her more, and feel the least I can do is hand her some "Ah-HA!" moments of maternal payback when I talk about how my kids are doing. Kidding! Sometimes.

Meanwhile, coffee in one hand, cell phone in another, I am being presented with a DVD disc (dripping with hand cleaner) by James, who is urging me to clean it, because "it's dirty, Mommy." I finish my call and coffee prep, turn and find he has already inserted the dripping object into the DVD player and started to howl because "it's not woooorkinggggg!"

I whisk out the DVD, wipe it, and shut down the player and TV before telling James to NEVER put something wet into a machine. I explained we needed to let the DVD player dry out now and he had to find something else to do. He picked up the MagnaDoodle and dumped the kibble off it, while telling the cat he was bad, using his angry Dinosaur Voice.

Hello, chickens, so nice of you to return home. Like that roost, eh?

I took several deep breaths and directed James in the cleanup of said kibble. We then got to a more peaceful state by taking turns at playing Angry Birds Star Wars and "getting the piggies."

The Girl Child awoke somewhere around 9:15, disappointed that breakfast was behind me. She presented me with a slightly whacky plant and container from school, a Mothers' Day greeting sign taped to her back, a pink poodle & child diorama (complete with the note that "every mom [instead of 'dog'] has its day"), heart magnet, and a coupon for a free makeover (courtesy of Girl Child -- her manicures are divine).

She also presented me with a delightful concoction of her own design: apple cinnamon toast. It was so good with my coffee! Our daughter has a strong sense of whimsy -- she cut and arranged the apple slices into a smiley face on the toast. When I bit into it, we got the giggles, because now it resembled zombie toast.

My day is looking up.

On Safari

On Thursday, James and his class journeyed on a field trip to a wonderful local institution: Safari West. He had a great trip and conked out super early that evening at home, after completing a short homework write-up of the day.

I was bummed to miss this trip, but fortunately, the kids and I had already visited a few months back during one of their Open House days. Below are some pictures from that trip. James saw all these animals with his class as well.

Giraffes are Up Close and Personal. If they are on or too close to the road,
the tram stops until they decide to move, which makes for some great photo ops.

Oh all right ... be off, puny humans!

Rhinos. We learned that they are wide(-mouthed) rhinos, misnamed "white" rhinos.
Very cool to see trotting right in front of you.

African cows. Their huge horns keep them cool during hot spells.

Flamingo Island. Purty.

Meerkatz; yes, we all broke into song.

Whistling ducks. No lie.

James did well with both these tours. It was more of a challenge to keep him close to us and away from wandering birds on the Aviary foot tour portion of the expedition. His aide reports he did fine, although being out in the sun so much did wear him out more quickly than usual.

Safari West had a new addition to their family - an ostrich! I think the aide and I were more excited about this, because of the presentation James had made for his class.

I asked James what his favourite part of the trip was, and he replied "Giraffes!" That made me smile -- I liked them a lot too. They were gentle, yet seemed to have such quirky personalities (that I never suspected during previous zoo visits). I mean, look:

I don't ever remember seeing them stick out their tongues.
This giraffe did nuthin' but!

Giraffe tongues are purple (to me they looked black or blue) so they won't get sunburned.

Safari West is not what I think of when I think of the Wine Country, but I definitely fell in love with it, and want to visit again soon. You definitely feel transported, which makes for a very nice break from the mundane and routine.

Special Exposure / Wordless Weds: Rooting for Our Team

It's May. Time for kids to throw baseballs, swing bats, and run the bases. Thanks to the Wonder League of Healdsburg, our special kids can feel like All Stars.

James tried a few pitches, then stuck with the T-Ball; he's a lefty batter.

Thanks to the Healdsburg HS Girls' Softball Team for being this week's Buddies!

"Great game, everyone!"

For more images from the heart and to share some of yours,
visit Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs.






               and ... Wordless Wednesday

Tackle It Tuesday: Math Managed

This is more a tackle and score for James than for me. A few months back math was his nemesis, bringing more behavioural issues than answers. Touch Math was being offered up, as well as a number line that ran vertically.

Well, long story short. I don't think touch math is The Answer for James. There are too many touch and steps. I questioned the vertical orientation of the number line, which was literally a 90° change from the left-to-right horizontal lines he'd been using for the past 2+ years.

In stepped a new aide with a strong visual and graphic design background (also a deep understanding of dyslexia). She made special math flash cards for him. Now, voila! James did a sheet of 35 addition questions all by himself!

His new aide also discovered a great motivator: a white board ($1 at the Dollar Store). While James knows his addition facts to at least 20, the board motivates him to keep working on his sheet until he's finished all the problems.

Awesome. Unless you've had to watch your child struggle for years, it's hard to grasp how something so simple can seem like a mountain, and conquering it can move you to tears.

How about you? What did you accomplish? Are you looking for inspiration?
Click the image below to