“Well, I thought he was fully dressed until I saw his legs.”
“Isn’t he cold like that?”
“Does he ever wear pants?”
I’ve seen all of the comments. I’ve listened to everything that’s been said. And you know what? No, I’m not making my son, who has clothing sensitivity as a result of autism and sensory processing disorder, wear pants when he’s at home. I’ve got a few reasons.
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When you have a sensory-seeking child, bedtime can be rough. Some of the things that help a sensory-seeker sleep seem so counter-intuitive as a parent! It has taken me so long to find some things that have set Zack, my son who has a sensory processing disorder, up for success in sleeping. From sensory tricks to GoodNites products, it’s taken trial and error to figure out what worked, and today, I want to share what’s worked for us to help you get your sensory-seeker to bed!
I was sitting at McDonalds, glancing up at Ketchup playing, and working on my laptop, when suddenly, all eyes turned to the top of the playset as a sudden shriek rang out. This was a small, young child’s wail, and you couldn’t block out the pain and fear in her cry. Her mother ran over in a panic. She had no clue that her little baby got up to the top, and wasn’t fully sure how she’d gotten there. In that moment, every other parent– and their children– sprang into action to get the young girl down.
I looked at her, sitting there on the park bench. Her kids were well behaved, using their kind words, and she was engaged, oohing and ahhing over every stick or leaf they brought her. With her foot, she rocked her baby stroller back and forth. She had what looked like a homemade protein shake with her, and was wearing workout clothes, clearly having walked here, but looked completely put together with a full face of makeup.
Then I thought about how I must have looked… the yoga pants I had on yesterday, a bottle of juice from the fridge, messy bun, no makeup, checking my phone once in awhile as my son ran from slide to swing and back again. I was engaged for the first 5 or 6 really awesome leafs he brought me, and after that, resorted to nodding and saying “Oh, that’s nice, Ketchup! I love it…”
Sometimes, bathtime is awesome. Sometimes, it’s a fight… depending on the type of child you have, you may be looking for tons of new bathtime ideas to keep their love of bathtime fresh, or you may be seeking out ways just to get them in the tub. While a new study just said that most kids only need to bathe a couple of times a week before they hit puberty, bathtime can be a source of plenty of fun (and some relaxation before bed). Here are 5 fun bath ideas for kids!
I was checking my emails. The phone had just buzzed, and I switched from Instagram over to my Gmail to check an email from a work contact. It seemed innocent enough. And then I heard my son say “Mom. Look. Please look.” What started as a momentary distraction to post a cute photo of him turned into a much longer journey through posting the photo, crafting a perfect caption, adding hashtags, liking friends’ recent photos, and then switching over to read emails. It wasn’t intentional– I wasn’t trying to give up attention to focus on my phone. But I had unintentionally stopped watching my son’s craft project because I had stopped to post “just one photo” and gotten lost in my phone again.
We were waiting in line to meet Santa. It was a great day, but the crowd simply got to be too much for my little guy. The excitement of the morning, the need to wake up early for the special breakfast, and the sugar of pancake syrup were all combining for a perfect storm of shyness and jitters. “Mommy, please take me.” So, despite a few funny glances, I lifted my 4 year old onto my hip and held him close.
The holidays have always played a really important part in my life, and I really want to try my hardest to keep that magic alive for my son as well. That’s why, during the holiday season, I want to share a few thoughts on it with him.
My sweet boy,
Christmas is almost here. We’ve been counting down the days since Halloween, it seems, and I’m just thrilled to be celebrating the Christmas season with you. This season brings so much joy, and seeing your eyes light up with every twinkle of the Christmas tree just makes my world so much brighter.
I just want you to know that I will always try my hardest to make this season as magical as possible for you. I remember the magic of Christmas; though as you get older, sometimes the magic fades a little, part of the beauty of having a sweet son like you is that we can experience that magic all over again– together.
I know that so many people think that I’ve been this mean mom to ban toys at Christmas time, but I think you have seen the benefit of this in all of the unique gifts you get. Didn’t we have so much fun last year going to the science museum with our annual pass? Or doing our projects from the KiwiCrate boxes?
But to be honest, the best gift of all isn’t what we find under the tree, is it? The magic is in those activities we get to do together leading up to Christmas… our train ride with Santa, and our special activities together… doing things like baking Christmas cookies and decorating the tree and the house with our favorite things… and even just snuggling up and reading your favorite Christmas books. I know we’ve been reading a lot of that Duck and Goose Christmas tale– and I love hearing you read it to me, as well.
While I certainly hope we get some snow this winter so you can finally make the snow angel you’ve been dreaming of, I know even if we don’t, your spirits will be bright.
You see, the magic of this season isn’t everything about this season. We’ve already discussed the reason for the season and told the tale of how the Candy Cane relates to Jesus. You know the tales of our Savior’s birth, and why we celebrate this special holiday. The magic lies in our Savior, but it also lies in the time we spend together.
I just want you to know that the best Christmas gift of all, the one I look forward to the most, is the time I get to spend with you.
I love you, my best guy ever.
_____________________________________________________
I wrote the letter above as part of an intentional habit to write more letters to my son. I’d love it if this inspired you to write a letter to your child this season, too. You can check out my previous posts on writing letters to your child– parts one, two, and three can be found at the links there.
I swear, every day, it seems like I only have one speed– go, go, go. Between soccer practice and school stuff and my own work, it seems like many days, I don’t even get two seconds to breathe. While everyone who knows me would argue that I love a hectic pace, which is true (I can’t seem to sit still for long when it comes to getting things done), it doesn’t leave a lot of room for “me time.” That’s why most of my life requires an on-the-go attitude… and all of the “stuff” that goes with it. Because sometimes when you’re on the go, life doesn’t go according to plan, and sometimes that means mom becomes a little bit of a momster, here are my 5 absolute must-haves for being an on-the-go mom, so you can stay a little more sane.
It started as an innocent text. And then, before I knew it, I was doing the one thing I hated the most: judging a fellow parent. I hate when people make judgments about my parenting style, so why was I doing it?
