He even got to meet some of the Dallas Stars players!
Meeting the Dallas Stars!
The Dallas Stars stopped by Stuart's office as part of a local tour to meet with people and, of course, show off their Stanley Cup. Stuart was excited. He even had a black eye from THIS hockey practice incident so he fit right in as a hockey player.
He even got to meet some of the Dallas Stars players!
He even got to meet some of the Dallas Stars players!
Disability Awareness - Blindness
I try to teach my children about disabilities at a young age. It's important that they have at least a basic understanding of disabilities and realize that although some people have more challenges in life, may look different or act different than us, that they are still just as loved by God as we are. I also want them to appreciate with amazement how people with disabilities can overcome great obstacles and lead full normal lives.
We talked about hearing loss and sign language recently. Today we talked about blindness and braille.
I created a hands-on activity to try to help my children grasp how hard it would be for them if they couldn't see the things around them. I filled a bag with little items from around the house and without looking they had to feel around in the bag and guess what the objects were. Nicholas did pretty well but got stumped a few times.
I looked for a local organization that supports the blind to see if there was somewhere that we could visit to get more information about blindness and braille. I found lots of information online including an amazing woman in our local area who makes braille bracelets. Her business is At First Sight. Her braille alphabet bracelet is my favorite and I would love to own one. It is so beautiful and unique but it's also a great way to promote awareness about the importance of braille.
We went to the library and checked out a few books on blindness. They were good because they gave examples of challenges that a blind person might face in basic daily situations that we take for granted because we can see. It was really good for the kids to think about how hard these things would be to do if they couldn't see.
I was really excited that we stumbled upon a particular book called, The Black Book of Colors by Cottin and Faria. It did the perfect job of really hitting it home with Nicholas how different his world would be if he couldn't see for it highlights the difficultlies in understanding the concept of color when you can't see.
The pages are all in black. There are typed words and also braille words. And the book is all about color.
This page reads, "Thomas says yellow tastes like mustard, but is as soft as a baby chick's feathers."
There are raised pictures that go along with each page of text. What an amazing book!
Of course, there is a braille alphabet in the book as well. Nicholas tried to use it but realized just how difficult it can be to read braille. As with most things, it takes a lot of practice to get good at it.
Hopefully Nicholas has a better grasp for what disabilities are and how people affected by them are still people just like you and me. I pray that as he gets older and meets more people with disabilities, that he will embrace their differences and see them with all the beauty that God created in each and every one of us and our differences.
We talked about hearing loss and sign language recently. Today we talked about blindness and braille.
I created a hands-on activity to try to help my children grasp how hard it would be for them if they couldn't see the things around them. I filled a bag with little items from around the house and without looking they had to feel around in the bag and guess what the objects were. Nicholas did pretty well but got stumped a few times.
I looked for a local organization that supports the blind to see if there was somewhere that we could visit to get more information about blindness and braille. I found lots of information online including an amazing woman in our local area who makes braille bracelets. Her business is At First Sight. Her braille alphabet bracelet is my favorite and I would love to own one. It is so beautiful and unique but it's also a great way to promote awareness about the importance of braille.
We went to the library and checked out a few books on blindness. They were good because they gave examples of challenges that a blind person might face in basic daily situations that we take for granted because we can see. It was really good for the kids to think about how hard these things would be to do if they couldn't see.
I was really excited that we stumbled upon a particular book called, The Black Book of Colors by Cottin and Faria. It did the perfect job of really hitting it home with Nicholas how different his world would be if he couldn't see for it highlights the difficultlies in understanding the concept of color when you can't see.
The pages are all in black. There are typed words and also braille words. And the book is all about color.
This page reads, "Thomas says yellow tastes like mustard, but is as soft as a baby chick's feathers."
There are raised pictures that go along with each page of text. What an amazing book!
Of course, there is a braille alphabet in the book as well. Nicholas tried to use it but realized just how difficult it can be to read braille. As with most things, it takes a lot of practice to get good at it.
Hopefully Nicholas has a better grasp for what disabilities are and how people affected by them are still people just like you and me. I pray that as he gets older and meets more people with disabilities, that he will embrace their differences and see them with all the beauty that God created in each and every one of us and our differences.
If It's Fun For The Baby Doll Then...
...it must be fun for Rachel!
I'm not sure how Rachel gets into this doll stroller but every now and then I find her sitting in it.
It's funny because she will kick and scream if I try to confine her to her own stroller but somehow her baby doll's stroller is a fascination for her.
I'm not sure how Rachel gets into this doll stroller but every now and then I find her sitting in it.
It's funny because she will kick and scream if I try to confine her to her own stroller but somehow her baby doll's stroller is a fascination for her.
Meet the Stars...and the ER Staff
NOTE: There are some images here that may make you squeamish if you don't like the sight of blood and needles.
The Dallas Stars hockey team usually hold private practice sessions. However, every now and then they announce when and where they are practicing and invite the public to watch. Of course, Nicholas and Stuart just HAD to go check it out. Nicholas got a fun foam goalie helmet.
And he got to sit on top of the Frito-Lay Fan Zam.
The Fan Zam doesn't actually clean the ice like a Zamboni. It's just for riding fans around on the ice and for hauling around people who like to throw t-shirts and stuff into the crowd.
The guys had fun watching the Stars and they even met Brad Richards, #91 and got his autograph on a Stars game program!
After the Stars practice time was over, Stuart and Nicholas decided to take to the ice for their public skate session. They each worked on practicing skills they had learned in their classes. Stuart was practicing skating backwards and as he turned his head back to look behind him he must have put too much weight forward because the next thing he knew he was lying on the ice. The rim of his glasses cut into his eyebrow. It was surprisingly deep and he ended up having to ride in an ambulance to the ER for stitches and CT scan to check for a concussion.
I was home with Rachel when this happened. The manager from the Dr. Pepper Stars Center used Stuart's cell phone to call me to let me know what had happened. It's never a good feeling when you see on caller ID that your husband is calling but when you answer it isn't him on the phone. That was a scary feeling.
Stuart and some other skaters were able to talk to Nicholas some to keep him calm. He gets worried over medical issues so I'm sure seeing his Daddy bleeding as bad as he was got him shook up a little. But the ambulance guys were great with him too and even gave him this cute teddy bear in doctor scrubs. Nicholas thought the ambulance ride was really cool.
Rachel and I had rushed to the hospital and got there just after the ambulance guys had wheeled Stuart in to the ER. I knew it was the right ambulance because I saw one of the guys holding Stuart's bag. He was so helpful to load the guys' gear into the van for me while I went in to check on Stuart.
Stuart has a four inch cut through this eyebrow.
He got some injections of lidocaine to help numb the area for the stitches. However, even after lots of injections, he was still feeling pain in several areas. The doctor had to give him more injections but they were as painful as the needle for the stitches. It was really hard watching this because Stuart was in pain for much of the time.
He ended up with eight stitches and some really strong pain medicine. Poor guy!
Stuart commented to me that at least we won't have to worry about Nicholas whining about not wanting to wear a helmet in hockey class now.
The Dallas Stars hockey team usually hold private practice sessions. However, every now and then they announce when and where they are practicing and invite the public to watch. Of course, Nicholas and Stuart just HAD to go check it out. Nicholas got a fun foam goalie helmet.
And he got to sit on top of the Frito-Lay Fan Zam.
The Fan Zam doesn't actually clean the ice like a Zamboni. It's just for riding fans around on the ice and for hauling around people who like to throw t-shirts and stuff into the crowd.
The guys had fun watching the Stars and they even met Brad Richards, #91 and got his autograph on a Stars game program!
After the Stars practice time was over, Stuart and Nicholas decided to take to the ice for their public skate session. They each worked on practicing skills they had learned in their classes. Stuart was practicing skating backwards and as he turned his head back to look behind him he must have put too much weight forward because the next thing he knew he was lying on the ice. The rim of his glasses cut into his eyebrow. It was surprisingly deep and he ended up having to ride in an ambulance to the ER for stitches and CT scan to check for a concussion.
I was home with Rachel when this happened. The manager from the Dr. Pepper Stars Center used Stuart's cell phone to call me to let me know what had happened. It's never a good feeling when you see on caller ID that your husband is calling but when you answer it isn't him on the phone. That was a scary feeling.
Stuart and some other skaters were able to talk to Nicholas some to keep him calm. He gets worried over medical issues so I'm sure seeing his Daddy bleeding as bad as he was got him shook up a little. But the ambulance guys were great with him too and even gave him this cute teddy bear in doctor scrubs. Nicholas thought the ambulance ride was really cool.
Rachel and I had rushed to the hospital and got there just after the ambulance guys had wheeled Stuart in to the ER. I knew it was the right ambulance because I saw one of the guys holding Stuart's bag. He was so helpful to load the guys' gear into the van for me while I went in to check on Stuart.
Stuart has a four inch cut through this eyebrow.
He got some injections of lidocaine to help numb the area for the stitches. However, even after lots of injections, he was still feeling pain in several areas. The doctor had to give him more injections but they were as painful as the needle for the stitches. It was really hard watching this because Stuart was in pain for much of the time.
He ended up with eight stitches and some really strong pain medicine. Poor guy!
Stuart commented to me that at least we won't have to worry about Nicholas whining about not wanting to wear a helmet in hockey class now.
Nap Time Fiascos
We recently began having trouble with Rachel trying to refuse her nap. We would go through our usual bed time routine...cuddling in the glider rocker while reading books then quietly putting her in her bed. She usually goes into her bed fine but after we leave and close her door behind us, she gets out of bed and goes exploring in her room.
She discovered that there was all kinds of things to get into if she just opened her closet door. This is where I store a lot of craft supplies. Many times I walked into her room to find the closet door open and ribbons, papers, hole punches, rubber stamps, stickers, bows, etc. spread all over her floor. I had gotten used to just cleaning everything up
Can you see the little lip rolled out? So funny! She knew she was in trouble.
Here I went in to check on her because she had cried out in the middle of her nap. The room was a mess. She had taken off her pull-up training pant and put on a bikini swimsuit bottom. But having no pull-up on she ended up wetting herself and the floor which of course had woken her up, at least enough to fuss about it!
Check out this mischeiveous little grin!
She woke up one morning and emptied the drawer that holds her pull-ups so she could use it as a step stool to reach the many exciting things that are usually out of her reach.
One of those exciting things that is usually out of her reach includes diaper cream. Poor Pony had to pay the price for that one. Apparently Pony has a rash so Rachel smeared diaper cream on her. You know that stuff doesn't wash off easily either.
We finally bought some child proof door knob covers for her closet door but that doesn't stop the messes.
I'm not really interested in locking up everything in her room at nap time. So instead we talk about the mess and she has to clean it up. It's getting better but there is still a mess from time to time.
Here I just found her sleeping in her glider rocker. No mess in sight this time.
Such sweetness, even if she is incredibly messy!
She discovered that there was all kinds of things to get into if she just opened her closet door. This is where I store a lot of craft supplies. Many times I walked into her room to find the closet door open and ribbons, papers, hole punches, rubber stamps, stickers, bows, etc. spread all over her floor. I had gotten used to just cleaning everything up
Can you see the little lip rolled out? So funny! She knew she was in trouble.
Here I went in to check on her because she had cried out in the middle of her nap. The room was a mess. She had taken off her pull-up training pant and put on a bikini swimsuit bottom. But having no pull-up on she ended up wetting herself and the floor which of course had woken her up, at least enough to fuss about it!
Check out this mischeiveous little grin!
She woke up one morning and emptied the drawer that holds her pull-ups so she could use it as a step stool to reach the many exciting things that are usually out of her reach.
One of those exciting things that is usually out of her reach includes diaper cream. Poor Pony had to pay the price for that one. Apparently Pony has a rash so Rachel smeared diaper cream on her. You know that stuff doesn't wash off easily either.
We finally bought some child proof door knob covers for her closet door but that doesn't stop the messes.
I'm not really interested in locking up everything in her room at nap time. So instead we talk about the mess and she has to clean it up. It's getting better but there is still a mess from time to time.
Here I just found her sleeping in her glider rocker. No mess in sight this time.
Such sweetness, even if she is incredibly messy!
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