MS Mom

Thinking aloud. I've read two articles recently talking about setting realistic expectations for moms. The basic idea is that blogs and pinterest and other online sources set up unrealistic ideals for moms and especially stay at home moms. I found this kind of saddening to hear. Don't get me wrong I idealize others more than I should but I'm usually about to ground myself and I know that no one is perfect no matter how they portray themselves to others. My experience has actually been that those who put the most effort into looking like they have their shit together tend to be the most messed up - not always but sometimes. I have gain so much insight, support and inspiration from Facebook, pinterest and blogs that I'm saddens to realize that I've been lucky and selective about what I read. I've finally been using some of the ideas I've seen on pinterest and other blogs and I've found a lot of freedom in having so many great activity ideas to choose from ...

Ya ya I know obviously play is fun but when you've been unable to really play with your kid for a month and a half the value of play increases dramatically. I took so much pleasure in watch Aidan come into the living room and as soon as he saw the sand box he ran over and began playing immediately! Of course he had to get as many trucks as he could working in the box because everything is about trucks to my 2 year old lol. He built a road in the sand using done tile samples I snagged yesterday (I think I will put more of them on my shopping list for next time). We had a canceled play date which required a quick activity so we agreed on doing our first collage project together!! I think I had more fun than Aidan! It was amazing to see how much he has developed since our last art project. It's great to get a chance to talk about and interact with lines, shapes, colours and textures! Again so easy and so fun. All you need to do is save scraps of fabric, paper, bottle caps, film, ...

Now that I'm starting to feel better I'm getting back into living and loving the way I enjoy best. Parenting and bring creative. My dear friend who blogs at www.babyfromscratchblogspot.ca and I went out on an awesome adventure (kid free I might add)! Such a treat. She introduced me to Urban Source here in Vancouver. They carry recycled materials that are perfect for kid related projects and explorations. My haul cost a mere $30 and that included some bigger items. I'm super happy with my finds and can't wait to unveil more of them to Aidan. Here is what we created this afternoon. I would like to include a little note explaining that this kind of activity is amazing when I'm feeling less than 100%. I don't need to be overly involved and set up and clean up are relatively easy and Aidan does much of it himself now. The floor isn't always the most comfortable play space for me so one adaptation is to find a table (we love the coffee table as it allows me to...

Wonderful news! Finally. First  I saw a massage therapist on Tuesday and again today and it really helped reduce my muscle spasms and pain! It never fails to help but it also amazes me every time it happens. I'm hoping this will last the weekend as it will surely get expensive fast if I have to go every 2 days lol Secondly I saw a chiropractor and I'm amazed by how much better I'm doing! he only did some very gentle manipulations as he said he prefers to take it slowly with neuro patients but it still had a huge impact! My face relaxed slightly (It looked better right away but I checked just now and it's almost back to were it was the other day. I'm hoping this is just because I'm tired. And my gait was immediately better! I can walk and I even have more sensation in my legs! I would highly recommend looking into this for anyone with MS as it as a dramatic impact and I was actually fairly reserved about how effective I thought it might be. I went in hoping it ...

So neat to slow down a bit. My MS has made me slow down many times before but this time I've had to be creative to make sure AD isn't more effected. Today he initiated some coloring on his white board. It's so neat to see how much he has learned since we bought it a year ago. Today his art was monochromatic and he was practicing drawing life objects. He would point to his toy box and say this then trace the exterior of the whit board to form straight lines. He intentionally drew a circle and to be sure a little while later I asked him where it was and he identified it immediately. Then he wanted to trace his hands and feet. The way his I interest and understanding develops is so amazing to behold. All of this happened in under 10min but the slow place I'm in right now allowed me to deeply connect with AD for every moment of that experience. It is so much easier to see him for who he is once I've let go of my own preconceived ideas and my own emotions. Playing to...

So Aidan is really getting the hang of his balance bike now! So amazing to watch what a few months of physical development can do.

Ack! Ever have one of those moments where your fingers respond faster than your brain? That was me tonight I deleted a whole bunch of amazing pics of Aidan and 2 videos as well! Sigh I was so looking forward to blogging about them. I can still describe the but it's not the same without the pics and video :( Today we made our own playdough- best recipe to date. I think this will be my go-to recipe until I find a new one to try. Ingredients: 1Cup Flour 1 Cup Water 1/4 Cups Salt 2 tsp Cream of tartar 1Tbsp Vegetable oil 1 package of Kool aid or food colouring- we added sparkles last time and that was a fun addition!  Mix everything together in a big pot (I recommend a wooden spoon as it seemed to work much better than the plastic one). Once it is smooth (or close to it) put burner on medium and stir. Keep stirring until your dough forms a nice ball. This part seems to very for me every time but if I under cook it and it's still sticky I just add flour when I knead the d...

Amazing day playing out if the house. We set off with a couple of dollars and no expectations. The result? Lots a fun. We made new friends, tired ourselves out and had a snack. A lovely end to a Saturday.

Today we painted a truck. This is a lovey wooden truck we bought for Christmas from the Waldorf Craft fair. It was hand made by a fellow who uses the money he makes to make more toys to give to children in need. How amazing is that? This truck was completely unfinished. I gave to the truck to Aidan at Christmas with the promise that we would do some work on it and even included some beeswax wood polish I had left over from the wooden items I prepared for him. Anyways, today I decided I was up for painting. I would like to note that the last few times we've painted it was a major undertaking. We haven't painted in a few months- what a difference!!! I love this age! Not that he always listens to me when we are working on something, but I now can anticipate some of the problems we might have before they happen (like to many colours on the go at one time) and can work to prevent chaos from ensuing. I also have learned to not play music while we craft (thought it ...

Okay so yesterday would have been my little brother's 28th birthday. He died a little over 3 years ago in a car accident. He was a really sweet man who had overcome a lot of adversity. I miss him and think of him often. I wonder about how to explain about him with Aidan. Today I cried for him and worried Aidan would be concerned but he just kept playing with me- just a little more gently than before- it felt like a very compassionate response to my grief. Anyways yesterday I hung out with my mom- without Aidan this is a fairly rare occurrence. And we got cracking on a project that I bought materials for 2 years ago- gulp. Anyways still love it and can't wait to get it finished and onto my couch!!!!    So we got to work sewing. Well I mostly talked while my mom sewed but she was okay with it lol. It felt so nice to have a creative outlet on a day where I really wasn't feeling too hot. I finally got my sewing machine parts in the mail so I hope to t...

Okay so a low content post,mainly because high content is alluding me at present.  Today we played with the light-box I made from a Rubbermaid storage bin and 3 strands of Christmas lights. Previously we've played with polished glass and cross sections of agate. They usually get thrown around by a truck which I find frusterating and leads to clean up and an explantion of why I'm not a fan. Anyways... This time we added marbles to the mix with huge success! The extra dimension of movement captivated Aidan's attention like nothing else had. We played with it for at least an hour and he wanted to play with it again tonight.