Quote for the day

"Stockpile Beautiful Memories"

That was what was written on the bookmark that I bought for a friend. In a way it is a funny saying but in another way it is a good reminder. It reminds me to enjoy the beautiful memories. I am realizing how many beautiful memories I do forget and so I need to work to remember them. I used to be very good at journaling but that was before I was married. I think it is time to pull out the journal and again write in it. I will tell you that reading those is fun. There are also parts that I think I was crazy and parts that I don't want anyone to read because they might think I really am crazy.

What beautiful memories have I created this week? A memory of bundling to stay warm as the temperatures dropped to what I think is record lows. Memories of Miss K asking for "school". Memories of laughing with a friend as we created our diaper cake. I have the memory of realizing that even though I have one child and am in the middle of adoption paperwork, infertility still hurts. I am going to work on stockpiling beautiful memories.

Diaper Cake

My friend had the idea of making a diaper cake for a baby shower. She said she had done it before about 8 years ago but that is more experience than I have in making one.

The diapers here have a bit more printing so it was not totally white. My friend had the job of getting the diapers and things to put on the cake while I went to buy the ribbon. Ribbon for the cake, ribbon for me, ribbon for me but this is about my ribbon but the cake.

We started rolling and putting the diapers in the rubber band and were feeling pretty good about how things looked. It was nice and tight on the bottom layer. Then all of a sudden the rubber band broke and diapers went flying all over the table. We got smart and used three rubber bands this time so if one broke we had two as backup.

It was simple and looked nice. We didn't make it too difficult because one of us was going to have to carry it on the bus and the train and a taxi.

The top was rolled socks that look like roses.

I looked at them online and just about fell over with the prices that they are charging -- $75 to $159. Ours didn't cost that much -- I just gave her $120 but that was not US$.

We decided this is our signature gift. We have diapers left over for the next shower and I think we will have plenty of opportunities to practice this as this seems to be the year of babies in mom's group.

Cognitive Evaluation

We had a heart check-up and then a PT evaluation last week. The PT wanted to do a cognitive evaluation as well. We were able to fit that into our schedule.

Her developmental age is 2 years 3 months. She is weak on logic, concepts, memory and thinking is weak.

1. Teach "same" and "different". Compare objects - Is it the same? Which one is different?

2. Match correct color and shape at the same time, not just one. Give her a lot of choices to choose from. Blue triangles, red circles, etc.

3. Let her match a lot of different shapes in a row; don't just do one and then quit.

4. Arrange something with blocks; let her copy the exact same construct with her blocks. This will teach spatial reasoning.

5. Memorize different combinations of numbers, for memory practice. Don't just say one number at a time. Like telephone numbers: "57134", say it.

6. Put several objects in front of her. Remove one and hide it. Aske her, "which one did I take away?" This will help her memory. Needs practice to pay attention to what is happening.

7. Show her a flashcard with one object. Then show her a flash card with a lot of objects, including the one she just saw. Ask her to find it.

8. Show her two objects that have logical relationship (i.e. hate and head, show and shock, etc.) Ask her to match them.

9. Draw lines between matching pictures.

10. Draw lines to trace a pathway through a a maze on paper. Help the dog to find the bone, etc.

11. Show different size drawings. Which is big? Which is small? Which is long? Which is short?

12. Don't always make the right answer the last one you ask. "Are you a girl or a boy? "

13. Give her several objects. Say, "give me one." or "give me two."

14. Teach concept in front of, behind, in back of, etc.

15. Don't just teach body parts, teach function. What do you hear with? What do you eat with?

K has some 4 year old skills, but still lacks 3 year old skills.

Wow! That is encourage and gives me a long list of things to work on. Any ideas on ways to teach these things.

We worked on same and different today. The work sheets out of a workbook where not getting. I pulled out the Memory cards and tried to work with those. We also tried to play a simple Memory with 4 cards -- "where is the ice cream?".

Please give me any and every idea that you might have.

Ready, set, sew

Miss K loves to sit at the sewing machine. I think it is the buttons that she enjoys. Maybe someday she will learn to sew. I remember learning to sew straight lines with notebook paper. My first skirt was a wrap-around skirt. Do you think they will come back in style by the time she is ready to learn to sew?

Paper and photos

two of my favourite things. I had fun this year using some of my photos and creating some notecards for gifts. These were special for my mom and grandmother. The flowers were all from my parent's yard.

I also just sat down with my computer and picked som Asia pictures and gave those to a friend here.

Another Bag

Here is another bag that I made for a friend's daughter's birthday. I enjoy making this pattern which is a good thing because I am going to make a bunch of them for a bazaar on campus.