Spring, You Made It!

Is anyone else absolutely, positively, ecstatic that Spring is upon us?!

Spencer, the dogs and I took our first walk of the year today. 58 degrees but a bit windy. It was wonderful!

None of my flowers are blooming outdoors yet. I picked up the Hyacinth for Easter though. It's gorgeous.

Happy Easter everyone!

Mini Egg Nests ~ Kid's Snack

Hello friends! Sorry I haven't blogged in so long. It it Spencer's Spring Break this week and I have been enjoying the extra time we have together. 


I made these for Spencer's class before the break. I am such a sucker for cuteness. Plus these are fun and easy to make. While not the healthiest of snacks, they aren't packed with tons of sugar either. The kids can help too!


Ingredients:
1 10 oz. package of marshmallows (I used strawberry flavored)
1/4 cup of butter
8-9 cups of Crispix cereal
1 package of mini eggs (I used Whopper eggs)


Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add marshmallows, stirring as you add them. Stir constantly until marshmallows are melted and creamy. Remove from heat. Add cereal and immediately stir to coat completely.


Line standard size muffin tin with cupcake liners. Scoop marshmallow mixture into each cup and mold cereal to the sides, leaving an indentation in the middle. Place 3 mini eggs in the middle of each cup (while the centers are still warm). As the mixture cools, the eggs will stick to them to stay in place.


Store in tightly sealed container at room temperature.

Edible Koi Ponds ~ Fun Snack for Kids

Good morning! Spencer's special needs class had a Chinese New Year's lunch at school this year. For the life of me, I couldn't come up with an idea on what to send and I had to send something. His teachers always do such fun things to interact the kids and anytime I can be a part of that, I am. Being that they are special needs kids of all ages, I wanted something visually fun for them, plus somewhat healthy. I can be so cheesy at times and this is one of those times. I mean come on, rice cakes, Chinese New Year? 


Spencer's teacher said the class loved them and there were no leftovers. Yay!


Super easy and the kids can make their own too.


Ingredients:
4 rice cakes (your choice of flavor)
1/4 cup whipped cream cheese (I used strawberry flavored)
blue food coloring
Goldfish


Put whipped cream cheese into a small bowl and add the blue food coloring a little at a time until you get the desired color for your water. Mix well after each addition before adding more.


Spread 1 TBLS. of cream cheese on each rice cake.


Top with goldfish. 


I think these are so cute!

Photo Friday ~ Unwind

Nothing makes me happier than when I see Spencer enjoying life. When he can take time to slow down and be content. His brain is often so busy; he is so easily overwhelmed. Days like this where I see him taking in his surroundings, or just enjoying the beauty God gave us, are days dear to my heart. 

I linked up with Photo Friday Challenge ~ Unwind

Thursday Photo Challenge ~ Pink

Another beauty from my best friend's garden. Moss rose. 


I linked up with Spun with Tears for their Thursday Challenge ~ Pink.


The stomach flu has hit our house, hard. At least for poor Spencer. Can I just say how much that really sucks?

Photo Challenge ~ Love

My sweet Spencer wearing his Valentine headband he made in school. The two upside down hearts in the middle, yep, that's my boy!


I linked up with Spun With Tears, Thursday Photo Challenge: Love.

Photoblog Challenge ~ Human Portrait

Spencer and I attempted to get out of the house last weekend and we made a trip to the park. I loaded up the camera, tripod and kid and off we went. I had great visions of some stark winter photos due to an overcast but bright sky and a smiley boy. 


The wind had other plans for us and we lasted a mere 10 minutes. Yeah, we're lightweights! We did some shopping, bought some snacks and went back home. At least we tried. When I asked Spencer if he was cold, this is the expression he gave me. If my adorable boy had this awful, pained look, I can only imagine how I must have looked. Ha!

Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation. Kin Hubbard (1868 - 1930) 

I linked up with Photoblog Challenges. 

Macro Monday ~ Sweet William Flower

Another weekend has come and gone. We had a busy weekend to say the least. 


First the best news ever! Spencer had his 6 month cancer check-up and he is CLEAR again!!! Thank God. He has those angels watching over him...to make it even better, his oncologist no longer thinks 6 month tests are needed and he has graduated to yearly tests. This is one happy momma! Spencer was brave and the best boy through it all. He really is one in a million as far as sons go!


We also celebrated my friend Carolyn's daughter ,A's, 8th birthday on Saturday.


Last night my best friend and her family had us over for the best stir fry I have ever had in my life. Venison stir fry. John and I ate so much we could barely move. When done right, venison is one of my favorite foods. 


The photos above are also from my best friend's flower garden. Sweet Williams. I find them to be very photogenic little flowers.


Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!


I linked up with Lisa's Chaos.

Happy Halloween

 We love Halloween at our house. We usually decorate the whole house with spooky fun decorations and I make themed food as often as I can get away with it. 


I don't dwell on what some people belief's of what Halloween in the philosophical sense may mean and it's impact on religion. For me it is about the fun, the dressing up and the spookiness behind it. The way communities come together to help our children have a fun filled, safe night to dress up as their favorite characters and eat as much candy as they want! I don't let all the other nonsense affect me or take the fun out of it.  While I do respect people who don't participate in Halloween, I don't understand their stance in holding on to long ago dissipated, mostly forgotten evils.  


I do belief in the creepy, scary and whole ghoulishness behind it though. When I am searching for ideas for a costume I have to laugh at all the nasty tacky costumes out there for woman. I can't imagine dressing up as a Hooter's server or a vampire in a tight mini with sparkles. That's not Halloween, that's vanity and lack of imagination. Face paint is a favorite of mine and my sister and I have come up with some really fantastic "faces" over the years. One year we dressed as witches, think The Wizard of Oz, to hand out candy and no one recognized us! That's Halloween to me.

Spencer's pumpkin this year. Didn't he do great? I love it!

Spencer brought this home from school. Haven't heard this one before. Kind of gross!

Here are a couple of Spencer's past costumes. A ninja and a pirate. I haven't gotten him a costume the last few years as he doesn't understand it at all and it is stressful for him. I can't see forcing him to do something that I want even if he is as cute as can be! This is one of the few times that I wish his special needs allowed him more comprehension. I honestly don't want to change him but I would love to have him willingly participate and have fun with it. It would be so wonderful to have him excited to pick out a costume and want to go trick or treating. Oh well, guess I'll have to dress the pug up instead. He'll do anything for a hotdog!

Do you celebrate Halloween? If so, share some of your traditions or stories with me. I would love to hear them.


Happy Halloween from our house to yours!

Wordless Wednesday ~ I Sure Do Love This Boy

My Spencer. So innocent yet at the age of 9. His smiles and laughter make my world a much brighter place with them in it. He has taught me so much. Made me a better person; continues to help me see the things in life through his eyes I would certainly have missed had he not shown me.

He also likes to run around naked, steal my pens and randomly call people on my phone. Notorious stealer of toothbrushes too.

His hugs make any bad day instantly better. Yep, being his mommy is the greatest feeling in the world.

By the way, John is our photographer today. I added some Lightroom 3 actions but he did the hard part. Didn't he do a great job?!


I linked up with Wordless Wednesday.

I Am In Love with A Rebel

with a Canon Rebel, that is. John completely rocked my world yesterday by bringing me home my first DSLR. It is an early birthday gift. One that caused me to cry a little (ok, a lot) and then smile like a fool. I still am smiling like a fool actually! He is so absolutely wonderful and after I hugged him a zillion times, I ran out the door to take my new baby for a test run. I was shaking with excitement and still managed some of my best shots yet. This camera is amazing...

I got my guys to come outside with me for a few minutes to play in the leaves. While my background isn't the best (street, mailboxes, cars) the shots themselves are my dream come true. Finally a camera that can capture my always energetic Spencer. With such vibrant color and texture. Yay!

I did very little to these photos other than the obvious ones I used Photoshop actions for. I changed my F-stop speed and raised my ISO and clicked. I truly LOVE this Rebel!

I can't even find the words to thank John for helping me realize my dream. Isn't he the best ever?

Ironically, my blogging friend, Melissa (at The Mommyhood Chronicles) mentioned the other day to me that her husband was getting her a new camera and how excited she was. I thought to myself, "Wow, lucky her!". Lucky me too!

Thankful

Thursday Challenge Theme ~ Thankful

I am so thankful for my little man and my big man. That they have each other. That Spencer has someone to hold his hand and kiss his boo boos. That John has someone to show him the world from a child's view. I am thankful that they both are mine...

I used the Photoshop Action, Magic Sunset. Then used a soft brush to add some blue back into the sky.

I also linked up with Spun with Tears.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Pondering

Wordless Wednesday - First Day of School

I linked up with The Paper Mama.

Project Lifesaver ~ Keeping Our Loved Ones Safer

It has been awhile since I have blogged about Spencer's Project Lifesaver bracelet. Recently I have had a few inquiries about it and thought it would be a good idea to talk about it again in a little more depth.


Just over three years ago, John and I made the decision to take our son's safety a step further. My original post can be found here. Spencer has no concern for his own safety. He knows no boundaries inside or outside. He would walk into a busy four lane highway with no regard for anything but whatever it was across the lanes that interested him. He would go out into below zero weather without socks or shoes if he thought I might be outside and wouldn't then think to come back in if he was cold. He would wander, not being able to tell someone his name if asked or know to call for help. This TERRIFIES me and John and I have adjusted our lives to make the chances of this happening the least possible. However, Spencer is not always with one of us. As much as we think we have covered every base to help protect him, we are shown often that our Spencer does things his way.


Project Lifesaver International helps provide rapid response to save lives and reduce potential for serious injury for adults and children who wander due to Alzheimer’s, autism, Down syndrome, dementia and other related cognitive conditions.  Project Lifesaver provides equipment, training, certification and support to law enforcement, public safety organizations and community groups throughout the country and nation.  Project Lifesaver has over 1,200 participating agencies across the U.S., Canada, and Australia, and has performed 2,426 searches in the last 11 years with no serious injuries or fatalities ever reported. -taken from their official website.

Here is the bracelet Spencer wears 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. While it a bit bulky, it is lightweight and doesn't hinder Spencer's activities at all. It is waterproof and can be worn on the wrist or ankle. In rare cases, also in a pocket of the person using it.




How it works: The transmitter works off of radio frequency waves. It is always on but only activated if someone were to call the police force saying Spencer was missing. So it is not a GPS unit and does not track your loved ones whereabouts on a continuous basis. 

This is a tester we use to make sure the battery in the bracelet is working. An officer changes the battery once a month whether it is needed or not. 


There is a small fee to start the program and then another small monthly fee to maintain the bracelet. A very small price to pay for an immediate response by law enforcement and the fire department if I were to call in that Spencer had gone missing.


My son's safety is and always will come first. It is worth the odd look or two we get when out in public. I appreciate when people ask instead of speculate or look at me like I am a bad mother or my son is contagious. My favorite one so far is "Hey, is your kid on house arrest?". Ha! In a way, yes. 


You can't lose your sense of humor in this life; sometimes it's all we've got!


Project Lifesaver's official website: Project Lifesaver International


I am happy to answer any questions you might have about the bracelet. My email is soverysheri@gmail.com or leave it in the comment area. Remember this is not only for children, but adults too. 

Sweet Shot Tuesday

My Sweet Boy

Straight out of the camera. No editing.

Simple editing. Contrast, color and sharpening.

Filters: Warming and Film Grain

What type of photo editing do you "play" around with? Would love to hear your favorite textures, add-ons and filters. If you have a favorite photo using any of the above, please leave a link in the comment so I can take a look. That would be great! 

As always, thanks so much for stopping by!

Making Memories - Spencer's Way

I think I have the most adorable boy in the world. I hope all parents feel the same way about their children. I could take pictures of Spencer all day, every day. Spencer however has different ideas on the matter. Having a special needs child has challenged me, in a good way. I had to learn to be creative and relax my high standards on getting the "perfect" photo. I do admit a small tinge of envy here and there when my friends share photos of their kids and they have actual cooperated! It's a small tinge and it fades quickly.

You see, when I ask Spencer to stay where he is or I get out my camera because he is being his adorable self, I immediately get attitude, this attitude.

Isn't he cute all disgruntled like that?

He doesn't understand what a camera means, only that whenever I have it out, it requires something of him possibly. He is not sure what that is, so his reaction is one he has for anything he doesn't understand, slight panic. This post is not so any of you reading feel badly for either of us. It's to help, possibly, to open up your minds a bit to the reality of who your/our children are. That while taking pictures of a special needs child might require more imagination and patience, it is well worth it and in my case SO MUCH FUN. Life should be fun for our children! Don't give up and leave your camera on the shelf. Capture your child's precious memories, have fun doing it and let them be who they are. Special needs or not. 

Here are Spencer's perfect poses. Perfect for him, perfect for us. 

My nephew, Colin used to make this face too!

This is what Spencer says he thinks about "perfect" pictures. Ha! Love this boy.

Wordless Wednesday - A Few of My Favorite Things