Randomness & an RIP

I remember being an Art Major in 1986, looking at a Macintosh and wondering "how do I use this?" I was certain I would never use a computer. I didn't want to. Flash forward 10 years and I am looking at a colourful, inviting desktop and wondering "where's the C:/ drive?" Laughing like crazy when someone shows me how to make the Big Electric Cat belch.

Skip ahead six more years and I'm posting an update to our website as I headed out the door to deliver our first child, and timing contractions two years after that for my second on the internet, at some stopwatch site I'd Googled.

I've been working mostly on Macs since 1996 and they have widened my horizons. When his grandmother first got an iMac, James found PhotoBooth and all the special features,taking pictures  almost immediately. He was 5. I use iTunes for music, watching movie trailers with my husband as a mini date night, and can easily create custom CD mixes for my daughter, who needs her special songs to lull her to sleep. Hello Skype for all our long-distance relatives!

We've seen every Pixar movie made, and love them all.

What would our world have been like, without Steve Jobs?

Rest in Peace, Steve. You have lived a real life and changed the world. And made many of us proud to "Think Different," even before some of us heard about Special Needs for our children.

Apple's home page on October 5, 2011

Special Exposure / Wordless Weds: Real Truthiness

The real reason why we were almost late to school the other morning:

Bard and Purple Zebra - Partners in Chasing Fun

I blame Bard!


I am very proud to be part of a special Homecoming edition of Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs. Check out their very special video and some great posts. Share one of your own!

Also happy to be part of Wordless Wednesday            

A Book Fair Farewell

Last week after homework and dinner, the kids put on their jammies and I took them ... to James' School Book Fair!

    

Yes, James' school has a pajama party in their library to drum up support for the book fair. It's a great social time that first Big Sister, then James enjoyed; this is our fourth and (sadly) last year of attending. Cookies and milk are handed out to the kids, and a storyteller arrives to read from books and sing songs with the kids in an adjoining room. Teachers post wish lists and greet their students and families. Parents get to nod hello, catch up, and start some of that pesky holiday shopping (well, if you're me you do).

On a sad note, both of Big Sister's former teachers were not there this year, due to extreme budget cuts. But there were still friendly faces and some happy times out after dark! We bought a book for James' first grade classroom and then one book for James. He's been talking about it all week.

Ready?

Morning Roundup

How appropriate! Copeland's Rodeo Hoedown was playing on the radio as I chased the kids around to get ready for school this morning.

Yee-haw from the folks at Burnt Ranch!  I turned it up really loud too ...

Hoedown from Rodeo from Eleanor Stewart on Vimeo.

Animation courtesy of Eleanor Stewart and Vimeo.

Magic Marker Monday: Photo Fillers

Disclaimer: Backstory precedes the creative project!
This summer we took a road trip up to Washington, two states away, to visit GrandMarie in her new home. Both kids were very good in the car. over 5 years of twice-yearly driving pilgrimages down I-5 400 miles pays off! No movies were played on the way up. The scenery was gorgeous.

There were many volcanoes to Big Sister's delight, and copious train tracks and trains, to excite and interest James. To say nothing of the bald eagles and waterfalls. Somewhere around Day 2 of driving, James informed us that he wanted to be a conductor when he grew up. My husband and I had one of those stunned silences where you savour the unexpected moment of happiness -- James, talking about what he wants to be when he grows up. Sounds simple, but for him it's not.

So we had an awesome trip and vacation. The weather was pleasant, GrandMarie so much fun to visit, and her new home so fun to explore. I took approximately 1000 pictures (thank you, digital!) and intended to send her a mini photo album as a thank you for a wonderful time. Then life smacked me upside the head for a bit on the way back down and ... well, two  months later the mini photo album is ready to leave the house.

After picking and grouping the photos, I gave it a final run-through and discovered that I'd left 2 blank pages somewhere near the middle. So I asked the kids to do some drawings and sign their names for their grandmother. They dragged until Big Sister suggested they do it as a KJS (her name for playing school at home) project. Then they couldn't have enough fun.

Their drawings are simple, but together with the photos they create a nice record of this past summer. The combination gives an understated scrapbook feel to the album that makes it a more complete record of this moment in time. The kids loved looking at the photobook and talking about the trip. It made them feel more a part of the thank you to have their drawings included in the album.

The materials are simple -- a $2 mini album from Target, photos, paper, scissors, crayons, stickers, and imagination. How do you make fun, fast albums?

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

       

PhotoBooth Fun

James adores playing with PhotoBooth on his Nana's iMac. Seriously. He can literally play with it for an hour or more. He found all the features we couldn't find and loves the playback for the videos. Don't even get him started on the rollercoaster one.

So this weekend we cuddled for a bit in the ginormous purple armchair and played with PhotoBooth on Mommy's MacBook Pro. Good times. It was just that kind of weekend.

Swing Time

I took a peek at Marvelous Mommy's post for today and loved her subject. Such a classic pastime!

I was also reminded of how James has swung back and forth (pun intended) between thinking swings are fun and fearing them as instruments of torture. As a baby, he too loved the bucket swings in playgrounds and our backyard:

After age 18 months-2 years, he started to cry and panic if I loaded him into a swing, so I stopped. At the physical therapists and sensory play groups, he'd scream in panic if we tried to get him on a carpeted swinging beam, 6 inches off the ground. Eventually he'd allow it, but only if I was right behind him. Folks scratched their heads, because a lot of kids on the spectrum actually like swinging. Not James.

Then sometime over the past year or so, he went back to loving the swings. Sometimes on his stomach, sometimes the "right" way -- he'll spend many happy minutes swinging about in swooping arcs.

So here's to another week of participating in the SOOC action at Marvelous Mommy's blog. Come on over to see more or join in!