eSpecially Ben

For the past three years, Ben has been on the bus with the same brother and sister. Since they get on before Ben and after he gets off, I see them twice a day and have become friendly with them. About two years ago, we had them over for a playdate. Their Dad came too. Ryan and I learned about their tough circumstances. In the short time we spent with this family, it became obvious that the Dad worked hard to make their situation work. Although I tried many times to get the kids together again, it never worked out. Over a year later, on Halloween, the Dad stopped by our house. To ask for a relatively small amount of money. I gave it to him and asked that instead of repaying us, he bring the kids over for a playdate. He agreed and they came the next week. Then six months later, the Dad stopped by to borrow a tool for a job. We gave it to him. Today he came by and left us a note explaining that he was going out of town. I guess he was letting us know he still had the tool and

Our neighborhood recently won an energy grant . While some of the money went to weatherproof homes, our neighborhood association, in keeping with our art theme, had 7 bicycle racks made for the the most frequented locations in the 'hood. Each were designed by artists and then painted at a special public event called, Pimp My Rack. Everyone was asked to help paint this dog, a bicycle rack doing to, what elese, but our local dog bar. This artist used stippling , basically using special brushes to paint dots all over the sculpture. Many kids added their mark. Our local coffeeshop, Smelly Cat, will boast this very cool cat.

 I mentioned in my original post that we found a new doctor that has adjusted Ethan’s medicine, making his quality of life drastically better. Though, he currently has entered another flare up, Ethan had 35 DAYS fever free with a significant decrease in pain!! Though I am sad that he is not feeling well again and the doctor did tell us he would still have set backs, he has NEVER seen more than 1 day in his 28 months of life without a fever and/or pain! So he is finally making strides and moving in the right direction! His frequent doctor visits and many procedures have FINALLY paid off! Ethan is like a different kid!! Once he felt better he did things physically, cognitively and communicatively he was not able to do before. One day he actually climbed into his booster seat at the table all by himself. Another day he fed himself more than 2 spoonfuls of baby food without spilling. He will only eat certain textured foods and still eats stage 1 baby food due to sensory issues and abdo

Ben has his own Convaid Stroller now, and at the suggestion of his school physical therapist we added these "big wheels" to the order. These special wheels easily attach to the stroller without having to remove the smaller wheels. Ben's private PT is trying to teach Ben how to use the wheels, but his hands seem to get caught in the spokes. I also think they may be set too far back for his arms, although I have had Logan test it out and they seem to work fine. It is possible that if Ben sat up straight in the chair, he would have a better angle for propelling himself. Ben gets the concept and can move short distances, but his preference is to be pushed. No surprise there! The wheels are great for when we have long walks over rough terrain. They are much easier to push and provide a smoother ride for Ben. And then there's always that great smile...

Wordless Wednesday are featured on sites to promote photography. Join in the fun. Or if you need your photos to be accompanied by lots of words try Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus .

Last week, a one-man camera crew followed around our family for the evening. They caught everything on camera – Ben’s therapy session with OT and Speech, a chaotic dinner of Domino’s pizza on paper plates with the big treat – lemonade, crazy wrestling with all three boys and Ryan and then a trip to the YMCA for Ben to play basketball in a pick-up game. They interviewed Ryan and me too.  From what I understand, this will be used on a website for Attainment Company , a company that publishes materials used by teachers, schools and therapists for children with special needs. The Attainment Company wants to offer these materials to families and parents at a discounted cost to be used inside the home. This video will be a way to make connections with other families in our same situation. (Ben was in their literacy video.) But it got me thinking – they have every type of reality show on right now – but what about following a family with special needs? There’s plenty of drama, comedy and si

Several weeks ago a huge storm came through our neighborhood. Unfortunately, a very large tree took down a neighbor's home. The next day when the tree company was cutting it down and turning it in to mulch, I asked to see if we could have some delivered to our house. This is what we got: Let's just say, Ryan has gotten a lot of mileage out of this one. The guy said there would be a few stumps...and I did run it by Ryan before they delivered it...and we could use some stump seats for around the fire...and you can never have too much mulch! Anyway, Logan has come to my rescue and many hours have been spent decorating the stumps as birdhouses - complete with glued down rocks, leaves and bark. He added birdseed because a house has to have food. And to top it off, Logan has witnessed birds eating from his birdhouses. As for Ryan, he just chuckles every time he walks by the pile. Need some art inspiration for your household? Check out 5 Minutes for Special Needs every Monday