Life After the ASD Diagnosis

April is Autism Awareness Month and I want to thank my guest poster Rachel Cornelsen for sharing an intimate part of her life–life after an autism diagnosis. She shared "Journey to the Autism Diagnosis" earlier this month and I am very appreciative of her contribution and vulnerability.

Bill Nye Saves the World: Thoughts from Two Science Teachers

As I was perusing Netflix I realized there is a new series released called Bill Nye Saves the World. Being that my husband and I are both high school science teachers, we kind of had to watch it. I apologize to my past grade nine students for getting the introduction song stuck in their heads as he's a quirky guy but he does have a lot of important lessons to share in a visual manner. His newest series is directed towards adults and older students (recommended for ages 14+) and takes a more serious tone. He is opinionated and tackles issues like climate change, alternative medicine, vaccines and genetically modified organisms. 

Screen Shot of Bill Nye Saves the World

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for:

Day out with Thomas–The Friendship Tour 2017

Any Thomas the Tank Engine fans out there? I've got just the experience for you! A Day out with Thomas – the Friendship Tour 2017 is at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park in Squamish from Saturday May 20th until Monday May 22nd, 2017.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for:

The Perfect Planter

Did you know that April 22nd is Earth Day? Although we are great at gardening, composting and recycling, we haven't put much time or effort into plants in our home. Adding greenery is such a simple, affordable, and lovely way to spruce things up! Looking at Wayfair.ca I found this beautiful Maize Pitcher by Birch Lane and thought it would be perfect as a centerpiece for our new harvest table.

Simple Calming Indoor Activities for Busy Toddlers

Are you looking for activities for your kids that are incredibly simple with very little parental involvement needed? I have two toddlers that have a lot of energy and short attention spans as well as a preschooler that is able to sit calmly and enjoy a good craft. We were stuck indoors on a rainy day and needed some quiet and calm activities as one of the kids wasn't feeling well (and tends to get out of control quite easily). Another priority was independent play as sometimes the fewer interactions between kids, the better. 

Thankful Thursday

Oh boy. So, this week was better but the flu hit one of the Littles which was one of the worst things that could happen at this time. That might sound dramatic but when you utilize all your energy during the day and don't have any time at night to recoup, it's hard. Add in that you are still bonding with this child who is looking to you to make them feel better, it's not ideal. Praying it does not spread as I have no excess energy left for anything. This week I am thankful for:

Dear Foster Parent in Your First Week

Dear foster parent in your first week,

Exhale. You did it! You probably have very limited time to read this so I will keep it brief.  Over the past two years we have welcomed three young children into our home and each child was unique in their response and needs. I want to share some ideas on what to do but first I want to encourage you.

Thankful Thursday

I'm starting to write this on Monday because it will probably take me all week to get to all ten! We added two more little kids to our home last week at the start of hockey season for the boys so it's been...busy. This is what I am thankful for this week:

Our Eight Day Eastern Caribbean Cruise with Kids

For our first cruise we chose to do an eight night Eastern Caribbean cruise which we booked through a travel agent. Gary and I have never been to the Caribbean and if we were going to fly all the way to Florida, we might as well make it worth our time by doing a longer one! We chose Carnival Cruise Line due to the affordability and the family-friendly nature aboard the Carnival Sunshine. Fifteen tips for first-time cruisers can be found here.

Family in Grand Turk

Here was our itinerary:

Journey to the Autism Diagnosis

April is Autism Awareness Month and I want to thank my guest poster Rachel Cornelsen for sharing an intimate part of her life–the journey to an autism diagnosis. She will be sharing "Life After the Diagnosis" later this month and I am very appreciative of her contribution and vulnerability.

I always had this “gut feeling” that there was something different about our E (nickname), but I could never put my finger on it until shortly after his third birthday. He would wear toques all the time and would only wear cotton skin tight pajamas unless we were somehow able to convince him to get dressed. He was quite particular about his food, eating Campbell’s tomato soup for at least 2/3 of his daily meals and otherwise consuming mostly foods with smooth or soft textures  such as cream of wheat, oatmeal, smooth smoothies, alphaghetties, and scrambled eggs.