Happiness Week 11

Just in case you missed it, click here to read my update about all that's going on with Ainsley.

What Made Me Happy - Week 11

03/12 Done with Thank You's

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If you are anything like me the thing you dread most about birthdays is getting the kids to write thank you cards afterward. I admit some years despite the best intentions I haven't done it and I feel terrible. I usually like to send along a picture so this year I printed the card to keep the writing to a minimum (though Evie did address all the envelopes).

03/13 Safe Spinning

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I can't say enough about the hammock chair that I bought for Ainsley's birthday! The only bad thing is that it's so fun the kids fight over who gets to sit in it. Including Ainsley which is great because she uses it a LOT. She likes to spin in it and one day when her nurse was caring for her she spun so much that the eye bolt unscrewed from the ceiling and it fell on her. But even that didn't stop her from getting back in it the same day. I knew I had to order a piece of hardware that would allow it to spin freely. It came today and it works SO well it's worth every penny and the fact that it makes it safe is a bonus. This rotational device is made for therapy centers and you can buy one here.  Let the spinning fun begin!

03/14 Nachos & Movie Mid-Week

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We were tired and decided to have nachos for dinner with a movie. It was nice. Except that the movie, The Grave of the Fireflies, was a bit of a downer so there was a lot of whining that it was too sad to watch.  It's a story about two Japanese children during World War II. But what can I say, I think it's good for my kids to see just how lucky they are. In the US most of us are fortunate our only food dilemma is figuring out what to make for dinner not worry that we won't actually have food, and few of us have gone for an extended period of time without food. I read recently that if you live in the US, that you are automatically in the richest 6% of the world's population. Millions of children have suffered without enough food to eat or have lived through war.

03/15 Free Special Socks

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With AFO's you need comfortable knee-high socks. Because of the pressure you really don't want cable knit or anything like that with pattern or seams. They gave us a single pair when Ainsley got her AFO's last week, which were fantastic. I called the ortho department for another reason and they offered to send me more socks, free of charge, which arrived today. I am so grateful! In case you want to know, they are Smart Knit AFO socks by Knit-Rite.

 03/16 Coffee

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OMG I can't say enough about how I love coffee. I have to drink a half a cup in bed before I can move in the morning. I think I need more than average amounts of sleep but often get less than 8. Last night I was up until 2am posting a blog update. I'd been feeling a little guilty that all my posts for 2012 have been for my Happiness Photo Project. I'm actually posting more than I normally would but I know it's not the same even if Ainsley is featured many of the days. It's hard for me to have enough time for everything so sacrificing sleep isn't uncommon. By the time the afternoon came around I was dragging so Steve made a pot. The thing about the Happiness Photo Project was that I hoped it would force inspire me to do some creative photography. Not every day, but some of the days. I had no idea how hard it is to capture steam. Tip #1 you need a dark background (white on white disappears), #2 the more visible the steam the easier it is so perhaps a cold room would help because of the temperature difference. You can see the steam in the reflection of the coffee but that wasn't what I was going for but I didn't care enough to relocate my shot. After all I was running on fumes. But at least I learned something even if I didn't get that perfect mug of coffee shot.  

03/17 Winning

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I'm not too competitive of a person and so sports aren't really my thing. I have enrolled my kids in team sports for all the other good things it teaches like how to be a good team player, to be good at something you need to work at it, all you can really do in life is try your best, and how to loose gracefully. Even so losing eventually gets old. I was super happy for Adrian's team that they finally won a game, that's the way to finish off a season! 

03/18 Graduating a Level with Ainsley's Walker

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Ainsley was 2 when we ordered her first walker. Seriously. We were at the birth-to-three center. Even then she was tall. I did my research and we ordered the next size up and I'm so glad we did so I don't have to fight insurance to get approval for a new one. She had arm troughs and a sling that kept her safe. But she has graduated to the next level and can use a walker without that additional support (though it will take practice before I'll call it safe). We had all the parts to convert her Nurmi Neo and I've just been waiting for Steve to have the time. Today he made time. Yay! I wish she loved it. I think she's a little scared. Normally she'd have shoes on which helps. But really I think it's more about change. Ainsley has a touch of OCD and I don't think she likes us messing with her walker just because....it's different. I love that she's licking the snot off her upper lip (from crying). Love the shirt? I'm 1/4 (+ a bit) Irish.

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I don't know what you have planned for your week but I hope it's a good one. Me? I'm reorganizing the kids closets and toys, having my teeth Zoom whitened (for free), Evie starts ballet at a new studio, and I'm hoping to do a bunch of photo editing, ie. deleting bad photos so I can find the good ones. Since orthopedics didn't call me back I'll be following up with them and calling PT since our referral should be in. I also need to get new glasses and a haircut (we'll see about those).  To view a slideshow of the entire Happiness Photo Project click here. For more about what this is all about click here.