3/2 - Bunkbed Tents!!

OK. So Brad and I took a while to do this project. Actually, I thought of the idea (tents to go around the boys' bunk beds), went on the internet and started researching (not a ton out there), told Brad about it, he came up with an idea, bought materials for it the same night, and built most of it. I had some catch-up to do. Here is Eli looking up at the partial frame that Brad built. 

After lots of researching, I decided on a plan and a type of material to use. I decided to use panels rather than a solid piece because I thought it would be too hot for Aiden for it to be a single piece and I knew he wouldn't want it that dark. I decided to completely jump in and make this as versatile as possible knowing that our boys love tents in general. I bought rip-stop nylon as the fabric because it can handle roughness, should withstand rips/tears/punctures, and can be wiped off and washed. I researched the kind of thread I would need as well as needle.

I learned that cutting rip-stop nylon is challenging because it frays so easily. I thankfully found a YouTube video that showed an alternate way to cut and finish the edges at the same time (I like saving time). I bought a saudering iron for $18 at Home Depot, found some glass to work on (the old insert for the sliding glass door for Bronco) and collected some of Brad's tools. I heated up the iron and cut the material the the sizes needed.

In the meantime, the boys were so super excited about their tents that we had to put up the frame and put something over it. We put sheets for a bit to calm them down yet still keep them pretty excited about the tents.

Just for the record - I am not a sewing expert. In fact, I would barely call myself a beginning sewer. That sounds like I have more skill than I actually do. After some research, I learn that there are different kinds of feet for sewing machines. I knew there were some special ones for zippers but that was all I knew about. Did you know there is a foot that helps keep a straight seam???? Wow. It actually looks like I can sew when I use this. It's amazing! Anyway, for strength, durability, and aesthetics, I needed to create a double hem on the perimeter. The foot to the right is the one that keeps a 1/4 in seam. :)

I needed to roll up the hem and then use plastic paper clip type things to hold it. With rip-stop nylon, you cannot use pins to hold things which makes things a bit more challenging.

Look below at the orange fabric. That looks like a legitimate hem!! Woot woot. So I did that to lots and lots of pieces of fabric.

My original plans were to make panels for each section (2 side panels and 2 end panels for the upper bunk, 2 sides and 1 end panel for the lower bunk). I wanted to there to be a little gap between the sections because I knew the boys would need ventilation and want to see some light. Below is a picture that I took from the top of the stairs of the upper bunk. You can seethe tent draping down a bit. I've also made a larger tent that covers all of the PVC and is more encapsulating but they only like to use that as a very temporary fort.

I put elastic on the corners of the tent pieces along with some velcro. Again, the idea was to make this functional beyond just the bunk bed. It's quick and easy to put up and/or take down.  I have experimented with windows to see what my boys like the best. They tend to prefer an opening rather than just a door (I think it's because they are still so young and a little scared of the dark still).

I made rectangle windows at a particular height for both of them so they can see their clock and still easily be able to see if they are allowed out of bed yet.

Each panel is roughly 35 in x 30 in. It works well for us. Some of them have no windows. I also made a huge tent (6 ft x 5ft) that has elastic at the corners but also has numerous loops along the side to help anchor it down when/where necessary. I got the idea from a product called the Fortamajig. It's a neat product (costs about $80) but is not available anywhere right now; not even from the company. That said, I looked at pictures and replicated it somewhat. I like it because you literally need just one anchor point for the tent and then that's it. I'm making pockets on the one I made so that you can just put heavy stuff in the pockets to make it stay down rather than needing stakes or anything. I haven't made a door to their big tent yet but they don't seem to care. We took the panels and connected them to around the dining room table the other night to make a fort. We took the giant tent and draped it over the living room stuff and it was super easy, it actually stayed up and didn't fall down when it was bumped (which happened with our cloth-homemade forts), and I only had one thing to fold up and put away versus lots of sheets/blankets and then clamps, pillows, and other random things to hold the ends of the blankets down. If you have any other ideas how to make this more fun, versatile, etc., please let me know.

3/2 - Big Construction Truck Day

On Feb. 16, we took the boys to the McWane Science Center for Big Construction Truck Day. Aiden tried to stop us by vomiting for a good portion of the night before but we got up and he said he felt fine. Unfortunately, I was also up all night with him and slept with him in the guest room. I was exhausted to Brad drove to Birmingham. Lots of the streets were blocked off so Brad dropped us off and then searched for parking. It was cold out ... and windy. We didn't necessarily plan for that so we were cold. We waited in line for a long time to see the really big, giant crane. Aiden did a great job waiting. Thankfully, I packed the iPad so Eli was watching something on that. Brad parked the van, walked to us, found us, and then even went back to the van for Aiden's jacket and he still didn't miss a thing. Right after he got back with Aiden's jacket though it was our turn. We went up the steps and Aiden hopped right in the seat. 

He thought it was pretty cool. He even got to press/push all the levers and stuff.

Eli just said he was cold and didn't want to sit in the drivers seat. Well, I totally acted like a mom who just spent 40 min waiting in line so I told Eli I was at least getting a picture of him by the crane. As you can see below, I did just that! Yep. He was totally having a blast. 

The boys actually got excited after seeing the huge crane because compared to the line we waited in for that, everything else had teeny lines! We went to another 3-4 machines and then Eli clearly made it known that he was done and freezing.

I did get one cute picture of Eli by one of the diggers. I tried to get him to sit in the scoop part but he didn't want anything to do with that.

Aiden was having a blast so we let him stay out there with daddy while I took Eli inside. I had on just a light long-sleeve jacket so I was pretty freezing as well.

Eli just wanted to be wheeled inside and watch Cars on the iPad. For a kid as tough and strong as he is, he sure does not like the cold. He didn't like it in Iowa (even when dressed appropriately) and he still doesn't like it. I did managed to drop the iPad and crack the screen on the very bottom. I just ordered all the parts to replace it and will be doing it myself in the next day or two. I'll let you know how that goes.

We went inside and they both wanted to go right to the kids play area and run around. We let them do that and they both played at the sand table for a while. Aiden was actually there a long time which is awesome. A few months ago he would have asked why they have a table with sand on it and a bunch of cups and then asked why people would voluntarily put their hands in it to play. We are making progress!!! The picture below is Aiden coming down the slide. Eli changed his mind about the slide and found his way back down the steps. It's nice that they are getting comfortable with this play structure because it wore me out the first couple times bringing them here and trying to keep track of them and making sure one of them was not "lost" somewhere and crying. 

We went upstairs to the new exhibit. I did not think the boys would care much for this one. It's called Grossology and if they were a couple years older, I think they would enjoy it. There were still some fun things for them to do but we were in and out of the exhibit in an hour and with the Dora/Diego and Clifford exhibits they could stay there for a few hours.  Below is Brad holding Eli playing a game where we were racing ants.

Below is Aiden trying to see the screen and race against Eli/daddy. It was a neat interaction game.

After some lunch in our belles, we decided to go to a different floor and found they had moved the Clifford exhibit. I thought it was gone but it was actually the last day. Bonus for us!!!
Brad and I tagged team and kept watch over one of the boys since they went their separate ways. Here is Eli playing music.

Eli then found his way over to the dog bone conveyer belt and had fun moving the wheel and dropping off bones in the dog dish. He even got to play on the clifford tail slide without getting run over like the last time we were at the science center.

Eventually he found his way to the mail. Aiden was obsessed with the mail and pretty much stayed there. He was actually delivering mail to the appropriate houses and mailbox throughout area. Eli just likes picking up mail and then putting it in a box.

It was about time for us to leave. I was beyond exhausted. It has been weeks since I have not taken a nap in the morning. I did take a little snooze on the ride in but I was also awake all night with Aiden so I was barely staying awake. We told the boys we could go outside and look at the construction trucks for a little bit longer. It was still cold. In fact, it was actually colder at 2:30pm than it was at 10:30am. The only good thing was that the majority of the people were gone (the exhibit of trucks ended at 4pm). There was a ladder fire truck there which wasn't there in the morning so Aiden really wanted to go in it.  He even got to pick the hose up (which is really heavy) and act like he was squirting water. As you can see, Eli wasn't all that impressed. He stood up there to let me take his picture but he got off right away.

Aiden was so proud of himself for lifting the hose and then said he wanted Papa to see his picture. We let Aiden wonder around and look at a few more trucks but Eli was just worn out.

He refused to walk anywhere and was just in a generally rotten mood. In his defense, he did great though because he LOVES his naps and he obviously didn't get one this day. I took Eli back inside and we waited (and watched the iPad) until Aiden and daddy were done looking at machines.

We got back to the van, I passed out afternoon snack and put on the requested DVD. About 10 minutes into our trip, I look back and see Eli completely passed out. He was so tired. Overall, they had lots of fun at the Science Museum for Big Construction Trucks day.

Below is a picture that I took at Cubbies. Aiden really enjoys Cubbies. It's been challenging being the director and with my health situation, I usually don't have the energy I would like to put towards it but I have great help. Aiden is riding on the back of Jessica, one of the helpers in the class. She is pretty young but does such a great job with the kids and helping us. Aiden loves her!!!

I was so exhausted this week and I could barely stay awake for Aiden's therapy session. In fact, Mrs. Rusty gave me a free pass this day. She is so awesome. She actually let me in dark room across the hall from her office, gave me a few jackets, turned on the heat, and let me sleep for 40 minutes!! It was most awesome and needed. She knows how much I like to document Aiden's progress and what he does so she even took a picture for me (see below). They were wearing masks and feeling their way around an obstacle course that Aiden built.

I try and let Aiden miss/skip nap time 2 days a week at daycare. He really .... hates it. He is allowed to play with his wipe off books, his pet stretchy lizard, or a fidget toy but in his mind - he isn't allowed to play with any of it. He is such a rule follower which I can appreciate it but it pains me to see him so miserable. He is bored out of his mind for 2 hr and 15 min, laying on a cot with his shoes on, not allowed to really even move around or turn over. The teachers tell them to "be still, no playing, no talking, etc." and he really embraces that even though he has permission to look at his book or hold his fidget toy. He is so scared of getting in trouble and also not getting a ticket (a reward system used in his class for good behavior) because he is not sleeping that he will endure a 2+hr time period of lights out, non movement. Amazing. While it sounds quite horrible to me, I will say that he does nap a few days a week so he is not laying there everyday like this but it still breaks my heart. So, I picked Aiden up around 12:30pm one day and then gave him a few options of things to do. He chose the library so we went there and picked out books. He played with this Melissa and Doug puzzle and then we talked for a long time about a poster in the library that has all the Presidents on it.

We picked out some fun books, read a few books, and then headed back to daycare at 2:00pm so I could get some work done in the afternoon. I'm staying up with my CSM classes so far but learned a hard lesson with an assignment that had too many parts to grade. OK. The next post will be about tents!!

2/28 - Roller skating, monster trucks & therapy

I need to start doing better on the blog. It's just that I've been so tired and I always seem to have so much to do. Let's do a quick rehash of the last couple weeks. Aiden went to his very first roller skating party. His friend, John Britton (JB), just turned 5 and Aiden went to celebrate with him. Here he is playing games with JB's older sister. She was so sweet with Aiden.

It was pizza time and of course Aiden will not eat Pizza. He had a granola bar I had in my purse. He also got to try Sprite for the first time. He knew it was a kind of soda so he wanted so bad to like it but his face screamed "This is sour but I will love it because big kids like soda." It was too funny.

I was not sure if Aiden would even try roller skating. He said he wanted to try so we just got some of the skates that go over your shoes. The picture below is the first time he stood up. I was taking a gamble because I literally helped him stand up, told him not to move, and then stepped back for a minute to take a picture.

He did much better than I ever thought he would. He said he really liked it and "wanted to get some skates for home." The only thing he doesn't realize is there are no smooth surfaces near home and it will only be that smooth in the roller rink. This poor child will not even ride his bike on the road because it is "too bumpy." He would let go of my hand and do short sections by himself. I was really thankful that it was a small enough place that they let me go out in my shoes on the rink and hold Aiden's hand.

Here is a quick picture with the birthday boy! John Britton tried the next step up from Aiden's skates. Aiden asked why his were a different color and when I explained it to Aiden, he said he would rather be safe in the orange skates. The kid cracks me up. He said he didn't want to "go too fast" in black beginner skates.  

After Aiden decided he had enough skating, he played a few more games. Did I mention they have tickets with all these games? Needless to say, he counted up all his tickets and was only off by one!! That's pretty shocking. He told me had 86 tickets and he ended up having 87. Not too shabby for a 4 yr old.

We have found a game that Eli really enjoys. It's a story-telling game. He's got such a fun imagination that he enjoys coming up with stories and taking turns with us sometimes.

Therapy is going well for Aiden. He is getting so much stronger now and the focus has shifted from fine motor control/strength to more gross motor control and sensory stuff. Here he is below pinning crabs onto his shirt. The pinning is great fine motor control but the fact that he didn't mind pinning those to his shirt was quite amazing to me. He normally doesn't like stuff pulling/tugging on him so I was quite surprised when he loaded his shirt up with crabs.

He had to find the crabs before he could pin them on and he had to do that by digging through some beans (sensory).

Of course Mrs. Rusty turns everything into a fun game and adventure so Aiden doesn't realize he's doing all the these things that make him work and be uncomfortable (which is awesome). Here he is looking out a periscope. He thought that was pretty cool.

Once he had collected all the crabs he needed and then the rocks he needed to build a campfire, it was time to start a fire by rubbing the fire sticks together (they were rhythm sticks with lots of grooves in them; sensory again). He had fun doing that. As always, he had a fun adventure with Mrs. Rusty being a pirate for the morning.

And then there is Eli. Poor Eli. He's been a tad emotional lately. Here he is in the van after a complete breakdown before I failed to exit his door at daycare first. Both of the boys were holding open a door and due to logistics of the building and what doors you can enter/exit through, I needed to go out Aiden's door so I could come back in Eli's door and then go out Eli's door again. Well, Eli wanted me to go out his door first. Wow. You would have thought I had tortured the kid. He screamed the whole block home. I tried to rationalize with him (for some odd reason, that didn't work) and also promised he I would go out his door first the next day but that didn't do anything. He refused to get out of the van when we got home. I would unclip his seatbelt and he would buckle back up and scream that he wanted to go back to daycare. This went on for a while. Brad came out and we tried switching places/roles for a bit. Needless to say, Brad finally kinda convinced Eli to come in after about 30 minutes of screaming outside (and eventually getting him out of the van and locking him out so that he would have to come inside). He is a persistent little booger. A few weeks ago he did something similar about getting a piggy back ride to bed. He pitched a huge fit and had a breakdown before bed about not getting a piggy back ride. We explained he chose that option (we are heavily focusing on giving the boys options and making them realize they are in control of the outcome because they know what it is going to be) and maybe next time he should chose a different option. Needless to say, he put up a great fight and cried himself to bed that night. Well, he also woke up at 3:00am crying so I run into his room. I ask him what is wrong and he says, "I want a piggy back ride." Are you kidding me?????  Nope, he was not kidding.

While Eli has his rough moments, he also has his great moments. He LOVES bath. We had a great time together the other night playing. I played with him for about 30-40 min in the bath and it was great for both of us. He does fine playing by himself so I just let him do that often forgetting that playing with me could actually be fun. Um. I have no fun pictures to post of Aiden. He is still crying/screaming through a good portion of his bath time. Sometimes his bath lasts 15 min and it's all screaming and sometimes is lasts 40 min (with about 10-15 min screaming).

God blessed us with a neat opportunity to go see a monster truck a few weeks ago. We were literally on our way to dinner and there was a giant monster truck parked by a business a few blocks down from our house. The boys thought it was amazing and had never seen one this close up. They were letting them even climb up in it.

Aiden thought sitting on the tire was pretty fun. It was so huge. Eli was scared to death for me to try and lift him up on the tire. Brad lifted Aiden up so he could see inside/underneath the monster truck.

Aiden really wanted to get up in the drivers seat. Eli was way too scared but once he saw Aiden up there, he decided it would be okay ... for about 2 minutes. 

We got them down and then Eli just wanted to play with the spinner wheels on the monster truck and Aiden wanted to go eat dinner.

I picked up the boys early from daycare the other day and had their bikes in the back of the van. We went to park down the street and rode around for a while. Eli is really starting to get the hang of using the pedals!! We ran around the playground for a while putting pretend fires out and getting some exercise.

In the academic world, we have a huge breakthrough: Eli can write his name. It's pretty crazy to watch because he switches between his right and left hand. On this one he wrote the first two letters with his left hand and then switched to the right. On the paper he did after this one, he wrote his name using his right hand for the first two letters and then switching to the left. Crazy. He doesn't want to hold the pencil/crayon/chalk the "right" way yet but at least he's making some letters. 

Aiden has learned all about logos and started getting a little obsessed with Fords (those who know Brad know he LOVES Ford trucks). So, I taught Aiden Toyota (our minivan). Well, he also knows Chevy ("short for Chevrolet" he will tell you) and he follows that up with "daddy doesn't like Chevy's." It's too funny to hear him say it.