Disney Day Three!

EPCOT!

Now, I had no enthusiasm about EPCOT.  No idea of what to expect.  But I was overwhelmed as we walked through the gates and saw the landscape was done by Better Homes and Gardens event. 

It was simply gorgeous.  The colors of the flowers.  The landscaping.  Simply beautiful.

And it was Amanda's favorite day.

We did Spaceship Earth.  Amanda was not happy with the dark.  She started yelling she wanted off but I was able to calm her and she enjoyed some of the ride.

Afterwards was Finding Nemo.  That was a big success.  A little afraid of the dark so I downloaded an app for any future rides.  She enjoyed the aquarium built around Nemo.

Then off to the Circle of Life which she LOVED. 

Then we split up.  Amanda wanted to find Donald Duck and Tessa and Craig wanted to run Soarin.  Amanda and I made it Epcot Mexico to find the line for Donald and the Three Caballeros when he texted that the wait was 65 minutes.  No biggie!  Amanda and I got Donald's signature for Tessa.  Amanda got her picture taken with Donald.  And we wandered.  There were playgrounds.   Flowers beyond belief.  All you could smell were roses.  It was lovely!!!

We met back up with Tessa and Craig and went for lunch and then headed back to the pool for 40 minutes.  And went back to EPCOT for dinner.  Got there early so Tessa got Aurora's signature. 

After dinner, we walked through the Butterfly House on our way to meet up with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy.  Amanda was enthralled.  She loved meeting Minnie.

She was so animated as we left the Character Meet and Greet.  She laughed at the fountain as it turned colors and sent the water higher.  She danced on the tiles with the lights and laughed.

Who would have thought that the park that I was meh about would be the park that she lit up about and that I loved the most?

Disney Trip Day Two

Today was our first official Disney Park event.  We decided to hit Magic Kingdom.  We figured that would be Amanda's favorite park.   Boy, were we wrong......

Tessa was excited right off the bat!  As we walked through the gates, Marie was there signing autographs.  Marie from Aristocats is Tessa's favorite character.  She was so happy.  Amanda wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with the characters.

We got Amanda on two rides, It's a Small World and a Carousel.  Had the GAC pass but never had a chance to use it.  She was completely overwhelmed by the park and was insisting on heading back to the hotel and pool.  We got to the park at 10:00am and she was DONE by noon.  Tessa had gotten to ride Haunted Mansion with Craig which she declared "NOT a favorite" but that was it.

By lunch time, I was literally dragging Amanda to lunch in the park when Craig turned and suggested we separate.  I would take Amanda back to the hotel while Craig took Tessa through the park.  And off we went our separately ways.  We had known this to be a possibility but did not think it would happen so early in the day.

Took Amanda back to the hotel.  Fed her.  And back to the room where she rested and played her DS.  She was quite content.  Two hours later as I was getting ready to take her to the pool, Tessa knocked at the door.

She had had a blast.  She saw Ariel and got her signature.  She was right at the edge for the afternoon parade with a new baby Marie plush.  Chip from the Chipmunks played with her hat, holding it over her head.  One of the evil step-sisters from Cinderella threw a tantrum wanting her Marie doll.  Another character cooed over the doll.  She was so excited.

Threw them in the pool and then off to Downtown Disney for dinner.  After dinner, we went back over to Magic Kingdom for the parade.  Used the GAC to get into the handicap setting area.  Popped her headphones on and waited.  She enjoyed the parade of lights and then we all paraded after to the Castle (Tessa INSISTED) to wait for the fireworks.  Amanda insisted she did not want to leave.  So we waited.

The lights dimmed and the Castle lit up.  And then the movie show started on the Castle.  And Amanda freaked OUT. (Later she told Craig that she was upset that they were changing the Castle) She want to leave NOW.  And as we were near the Castle, the streets were full behind us.  I felt a tug as she tried to run and told Craig she was at the bolting level and made for the exit.  Got to the Entrance pretty easily.  Well, easily for a parent used to these sort of situations and called Craig on his cell to say that the exit would be difficult once the fireworks started.   But like any good daddy, he was already on his way to us.

Back on the bus we went.  Was not a huge day for Amanda.  She did not enjoy Magic Kingdom as we thought she would.  Wanted nothing to do with the characters.  But she went back afterwards to try again.

Tessa had a wonderful day.   And that was worth everything to see the happiness on her face.

We made it to Disney!

After two years of discussion and trepidation, we booked our trip to Disney in December.  It is the first trip to Disney for the whole family and our first official family vacation ever!!!

We had to be at the airport two hours early and for a flight that leaves at 8:25, that is EARLY.   It is made easier that the girls are normally early risers, but 5:00 am was a bit much even for them.....

We flew JetBlue direct to Disney and were in row 6.  JetBlue books last to front which is nice because we were not waiting inside the plane the whole time.

Take off went great.  Amanda did fabulous.  She watched Backyardians and Diego on the tv on the back of the seat in front of her.  She did not want to hear them with headphones.  She had her blankie on the plane and I was glad that I did not pack it.

She did fabulous with the landing.

Waiting to find the bus to Disney was a little much for a little girl who at this point had refused to drink anything.  Got on the bus and she sat with Craig for the ride.  LOTS of thumb-sucking.

Got to the hotel and our room was ready!  On-line check-in is the way to GO!!!  Rained on us during the walk to the hotel room but no biggie.  Our bags would take longer to get to us.  So we went and had lunch.  Managed to find a cheese pizza and pink milk.  Amanda would only drink less than half the milk.

Took the ride to Downtown Disney and took in the sights!  Tessa and I had fun in the LEGO store but did not see anything we could not get at home.  But at this point, Amanda was COOKED.  She was tired.  THIRSTY.  And hot.

Had to wait 20 minutes for the bus and the entire time, she fussed, sucked her thumb and went between Craig and I to hold her.  Got back to the hotel and forced her to drink a bit more juice.  Finally got about 4oz in her. 

Then we took her to the pool where we discovered that all the work Craig and I had down at the beach and water park had still held.  She walked down the steps up to her neck in the water and had a blast.  Walked a little too far in and Tessa had to haul her back.  But she was still determined to head back.

Had dinner.  Instead of bread, we were given cornbread and Amanda tried a bite but made a face.  But a few minutes later asked for some and then she ate two pieces of cornbread, then half her pizza and fries.  Still not happy about her small liquid intake and will have to force liquids tomorrow at Magic Kingdom.  I am not willing to try our Mickey Mouse's EMTs if she dehydrates.

8:00pm came early and my little creatures of habit put on their PJS and got into bed.  No fireworks or late nights for these little girls.

Amanda is still tossing because we have the light on but Tessa is OUT!

Tomorrow we shall play by ear.  Not sure Amanda can handle the overload and physical stress of a full park day.  There is no way she can make it until close.   I just hope we make it past lunch.  But going into this, I knew our experience with Disney was not going to be the typical family experience.   Nothing in a family with a child with a disability is typical.  All I can hope to do is provide enough of an experience that she feels safe and excited in with hampering Tessa's.  It will not be perfect.  We will not even see half a park.  We will be lucky if we see an eighth.  But if she is happy, then it works for us. 

Couch to 5K

I have never been an overly active person.  My job alone is very sedentary.  I however was always thin and never worried about weight.  And then in March, I hit 40.  My metabolism hit a brick wall and was pronounced DOA.  I am eating less and gaining weight.

I started walking but walking on your lunch break at work is not as much of a calorie burner.  You really do not want to head back to your desk all sweaty and yucky.  Especially in my office where the AC can blow all morning and never again for the rest of the afternoon.

So yesterday I decided that I was going to start the Couch to 5K program.  Not because I have ANY overwhelming urge to run a 5K race but for my own health.  My parents are a disaster of health concerns that I wish to try to ward off like the Black Death.

I downloaded the program.  Grabbed an online partner in one of my assistant Girl Scout leaders and set off.

Got up this morning at 6am and did Day 1!!!  WOOOT!

Only 8 more weeks and 2 days more to go!

Sock Knitting

I have ADD. I know this. I have even been medicated in the past. One arena that my ADD shines through is with my crafting projects. I am currently working on one sweater, a matching pair of the socks and a crochet afghan.
So, moving on to the pair of socks, I finished the first one yesterday. First ever sock finished. I love it! I have already started its mate. I want more sock yarn. I want to knit MORE socks. Socks, socks, socks. I love socks. I love novelty socks but they are hard to find. So I am trying to knit more own cool looking socks.

I even modeled my sock yesterday for my family and got rave reviews. The only downside to modeling my newborn sock to my daughter was that she immediately asked for me to make her a pair!

Now, she is getting a sweater knitted with my KAL through the Ravelry Group for Trappings and Trinkets. I do need to order two hanks of the yarn for her sweater and I know I will have enough left over to surprise her with a pair of socks.

But the thought of knitting a pair of socks where the child may outgrow before I can finish knitting is a bit daunting, I must say…..

My First KAL

My First KAL(Knit-A-Long)

I am going to participate in my first ever KAL starting May 1! I am very excited. I already printed out the pattern. I just need to order the yarn but I am being good and waiting until I finish the sweater that I am currently working on at the moment.

I am working on the Zoe Cardi again that I had started last spring but put aside for the summer. I restarted it in March when Craig got me a set of Knit Pick Interchangeable Needles. I went with a Knit Pick DK weight in Peapod which is a gorgeous springy green color. This yarn is showing the lace work so much nicer than the more slippery bamboo/silk yarn. That bamboo/silk yarn shall be reworked into a shawl. 

I am making Trappings and Trinkets Tiny Dancer Jr for Tessa. I made the Tiny Dancer for myself and LOVE the sweater. Tessa has picked a berry color from Knit Picks called Dolly. Hopefully I will be able to avoid making the mistakes on her sweater that I made on mine. I had issues with the wrap and turns of the short rows leaving holes where the rest of the sleeves were attached.

Doctor Who TARDIS Hat

Wow! Been awhile since my last blog post!!!! I  posted in August on my Wordpress blog.  Still trying to decide which I like more.....

Been knitting up a storm. Knitted a ballet sweater for both girls and a sweater for Craig. The raglan sweater that I made for Craig was the biggest project that I ever attemped and I was so proud of myself! It looks great on him.


My new adventure is going to be Fair Isle or two-stranded knitting. I am knitting a Doctor Who inspired motif! I found the motifs on Ravelry here http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/doctor-who-fair-isle. I am using a basic hat pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/basic-knit-hat-2

Craig and I have caught up on all the seasons of Big Bang Theory and I decided to watch Doctor Who with the current Doctor from the first to current episodes. Anyone who knows me remembers that I was deeply traumatized by David Tennent's departure from Doctor Who and flat out refused to except poor Matt Smith's Doctor. And now that I have come to realize that Matt Smith is here to stay, I am giving him a chance to win me over.

I started yesterday with a celestial blue and white motif. Decided to make the background TARDIS blue and the designs white. Got about 4 inches into the project last night and decided that a white TARDIS was absolutely not hitting it off with me.

So a frogging I went and cast on a heather grey background. Hopefully that interests me more. Pictures to follow.

Teeny Tears

About a month ago, I was poking through to see if anyone really does pay attention to this blog.  I found a blog that had a link to one of my blog posts about making eye mask for babies in the NICU.  Poking around her site, I found this site: http://teenytears.blogspot.com/ .

"Teeny Tears is a service organization that provides tiny flannel bereavement diapers to hospitals and bereavement support organizations at no charge for families that have suffered the loss of a preemie or micropreemie child through stillbirth or NICU loss. "  The goal is that there is one diaper for the baby and another as a keepsake for the family.

Oh....my.....goodness.....I was blown away.  And of course, had to add this to my list of things to do as I have been looking for some way to honor my son who would be 10 this September 1st if that terrible birth defect, Congential Diaphragmatic Hernia, had not take him from me.  But what a better way to honor his memory than to donate to the hospital where he was born.  I decided to set myself a personal goal of 100 diapers ready to donate by September 1.

To make it easier on myself, rather than use a paper pattern, I took quilters plastic template and cut out the patterns on that.

Then all I have to do is trace the template with a fabric pen and then cut them out.  I have averaged 6 micropreemie diapers and 6 preemie diapers per yard of fabric.

As of today, I have 46 cut out.

Only 54 more away from my goal

Then will come the sewing.  I figure to do it in shifts.  Get them all cut out.  Sew a stack at a time.
 

I am still waiting to see if Women and Infants needs these.   Project Sweet Peas partners with them for other supplies and was starting this but that is part of Project Gabriel.  And I already donate to CHERUBS HOPE Totebag project so adding to Project Sweet Peas may be too much.

I do not know the hospital's needs or requirements.  I hope to hear from Project Sweet Peas soon or I will reach back to Teeny Tears to have them make contact with the hospital.  I would love to able to help them meet a need. 

Quilt squares rescued and given new life.....

Previously I posted about finding two partially completed quilt projects.

One was a toddler quilt that I rescued and completed.  I was able to quilt and bind it with the extra pieces of batting left over from the teacher quilts.

Here it is finished:

Well, the other quilt project was a twin quilt pattern made from The Yellow Brick Road pattern.  It was a cat fat quarter pattern made originally to match one on Amanda's bed.  But it was put away while we sold the old house and forgotten about for almost three years.

Here is what I found sealed in the basement:

Squares ready to be assembled

So I assembled all the squares.  All 65 squares were ready to be sewn together as a quilt top.  But I had the teacher quilts.

By the time the teacher quilts were completed, I was feeling the need for another peasant skirt, not another quilt......I love long, full skirts and they are hard to find as long as I like them.

Made this well-loved skirt last year

So I bought fat quarters to make myself a patchwork peasant skirt.....and started cutting....and cutting....takes a lot of 6 inch squares to cover this hinny. :D  And then it dawned on me!!!!  I had squares already assembled!  Waiting to find new life!!!!

So I plotted.  Did some math.....not my strong point....doubted myself....reworked the math....and then started sewing, and sewing, and sewing.  Again, takes a lot of material.....

I did not want to deal with trying to create a waistband with all those 1/4'' seams from the quilt, so I added a band of material at the top which became my border of the quilt.

Then gathered all the rows........

Hemming, again with all those 1/4'' seams from the quilt squares....what to do....what to do?  Quilt binding!!!  After all, this is a quilt-based skirt.

And after all is said and done, this is what I ended up with:

I am in love.  I do wish I had used one more quilt square in the first tier and increased from there for the next three.  The first tier is not as loose as I would like but it still looks pretty!

Teacher gifts done just in the nick of time!

Today is the last day of school.  As of 2pm today, I will have a second and a third grader.  They requested quilts for their teachers which put me in a tail spin with it being the first week of June.  But as of 11PM last night, I finished hand-tying the last of the three quilts!!!  YAY for me.  Not so much for my fingers and shoulders......

Drum roll please.........

Here is Amanda's one-to-one aide's quilt.  Mrs Elizabeth HAD to have the birds.  I had been hesitate to use it as it was sooooo bright.  But Amanda knew better and it looks lovely.

Amanda's teacher was easier in some ways.  She liked the colors.  The only problem I ran into was that she wanted to "help" which involved taking a rotary blade to the quilt top once it was pierced together.  I had to sew the two holes left by that.  I love the blues and greens in this quilt so much I want one for myself....

Then we come to Tessa's teacher, Mrs G.  Tessa wanted coffee cup fabric but finding fat quarters in that theme was impossible.  I came across one that will be released in August too late for this but I have my name on the wait list for me!!!

I found this fabric set.  I like the orange, browns and blues together....reminds me a bit of coffee.  I may need one of these for myself.

So I managed to pull it off and the girls took them to school today.  I hope that their teachers understand how much they mean to my girls......

My new sewing area!

Before we moved in 2009, my sewing area was the dinner table and my storage was the front hallway.  Obviously not condusive to long-term projects such as quilts and clothing.  I would have to unpack everything and either pack it back up again when done or push it to the edge of the table and hope for the best.....When the house was put on the market, I was in the middle of a twin quilt for Tessa.  Unable to leave everything out while people were looking at the house and while we were packing to move, I put all the materials into a large plastic ziplock bag.

In the new house, all my sewing stuff was put into the basement.  I would rummage through looking for whatever I needed.  I had a folding table for my sewing machine.  I did make the girls nightgowns that year but it was a very hap-hazard area.  More and more yarn got stuffed down there.  Spools of thread fell out and rolled all over the basement floor.  Pins and hooks fell to the floor and were swept into piles.  It was not pretty......

This February, my husband built an area in the basement to use as a playroom for the girls.  He built walls and we just finished with carpet.  So now came the part for each of us to clean our areas. 

Massive amounts of yarn, material and thread were thrown out.  Between the dust of the basement and the construction of the playroom, the fibers of the yarn were dirty.  Some half-finished projects were tossed.  Some kept.

I switched tables for the piggies and moved a plastic shelving unit.  Picked up a 9-cube unit with 4 fabric bins.  Craig moved one of the lights and added another to the area as well as putting up a small sheet of peg board.

I moved tupperware containers of completed projects for sale and rescued yarn under the tables, securely closed.  Fabrics and small skeins of yarn to the 9-cube unit.

My new peg board for ribbon, scissors and rulers

My only issue is with my room-mates.....

PIGGIES

Baby piggy

I share my space with the piggies and the litter box on the other side near the washer and dryer.  Craig thinks that it is only fair as he spent 10 years in the other house with the litter boxes in a tiny room.
So now, I just to move my sewing machine downstairs from the dining room where it resides with the current projects that I am working on.....

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

The downside of being able to sew, crochet, knit or quilt is that your children want you to create gifts for their teachers.  I cannot just pop off to Dunkin Donuts and get them gift certificates.  No,  I have to work my hands and back to the bone.  But I guess since these folks spend more time with my daughters than I get to, they deserve it!

So my daughters decide that I have to make their teachers a quilt.  Oh DEAR!!!!!  I compromised with them by saying I would make a baby-sized quilt as a wall hanging.  Cause the last day of school is June 18th!!!  Luckily, they agreed.

I emailed the teachers to play off each other asking what they liked.  Did they like cats, dogs, coffee, beaches, gardening.....anything that I could use as a theme or color pattern for the quilts.  I got answers back and scoured the Internet looking for fat quarters that matched the themes.

Both teachers like coffee.  Go figure.  It is Rhode Island and we have a Dunkin Donuts on every corner.  We created coffee syrup flavoring.  We eat coffee ice cream.  But finding coffee fat quarters was driving me batty.  There is an AWESOME fabric collection coming out in August.  But that does me jack-diddly right now.

So last night, we jumped over to Joann's to see what fat quarter bundles they had.  Not much.  Sigh. 

But Amanda grabbed a bundle of fat quarters and INSISTED that Mrs Elizabeth, her one-to-one aide, NEEDED this fabric.  It was bright.  It was metallic birds in jewel colors.  I needed 6 and it only had 5, so Amanda picked a random yellow to go with it.  I wheedled.  I showed other suggestions.  One other pretty one she said would be for Mrs Murphy, but Mrs Elizabeth NEEDED this.  So it came home with us.

Amanda has Autism.  She gets fixated on certain things.  One of the things she is insistent on is STYLE.  She has a very defined sense of style for a 6 yr old. Mrs Elizabeth has helped make the last half of Amanda's school year so successful.  We were so worried that she would not be able to make the year in an integrated setting and Mrs Elizabeth certainly helped make it happen.  Without the support and effort of Mrs Murphy and Mrs Elizabeth,  Amanda would have had a much worse year.  And we want to show our gratitude.

I posted on Facebook asking for opinions:

What do you do when the fabric and colors that your daughter picked for her teacher's gift are hideous? Amanda picked this for her Aide. The fabric bundle is birds and I needed one more so she picked this yellow. It is a wall quilt. Do you get it? Or tell her it was not right?

People basically said to go with what Amanda wanted.  So I sat down and started cutting, sewing, ironing and cutting again last night.  And by 11pm, I had all 20 squares assembled.  Took a picture, posted the update to Facebook and took my tired and achy self to bed.

WOW!  Bright!!!

 I showed little Ms Priss my hard work this morning and she wanted to bring it to school.  Sorry kiddo, mommy still has to sew all the squares together, sew the rows, add borders and backing and hand tie this bad boy!

So after the girls got on the bus, I sewed the squares into rows and sewed the rows together.

In all its glory

Put on your sunglasses!

So the little diva was correct.  It does look good together.  I just hope Mrs Elizabeth realizes that Amanda loved her so much that she had to have this fabric for her.

Would your child's teacher or aide have appreciated this?  Would you?

Rescued quilting project

QUILTING: The art of cutting pretty fabric into pieces to sew together and cut up again before being sewn back together......

Yesterday I posted about finding a partially completed quilt top.  All the squares had been sewn together and even one row of squares had been sewn before the project got stored away.

I have been trying to figure out how long this project had been in storage and realized that the fabric came from The Fabric Place which has been out of business in Warwick for almost 4 years.

Last night, I sewed each row of squares together and ironed them.  Then sewed the rows together and added the border.

TADA!!!!!!!




With the borders added



Close up of the pattern

This sweet quilt top is off to the wash tonight along with the pretty paw print backing to ensure that there are no musty smells from being stored for so long in plastic.


Pretty paw print backing

 I really forgot how much I loved quilting.   That may be why there are multiple projects started.  I made a tiered peasant skirt last year from unused fabric pieces.  I know there is one of half finished quilting project.  And I believe enough fabric to make two Christmas kids quilts.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a rainy day.  Perhaps more set up for my sewing area and a deeper foray into my fabric stashes are called for!!!!

Love of quilting

I have not done any quilting for some time now.  Since before I moved into this house in November of 2009.  I had put away a fat quarter quilt that I had started cutting up when we decided to put the old house up in August 2009.  I had to pack up all my projects to have the house ready to view and never really set up a new area in this home.  I had sewed some things but really the area was a disaster.

We are cleaning out the basement and organizing our areas now that the playroom has been completed.  I am finally organizing my sewing area that I share with the 5 guinea pigs  :D  I got a 9-cube shelving unit with fabric drawers.  Craig put up a peg board on the wall and I am setting up a second folding table to create a T-shaped sewing desk.

I have a co-worker whose little man turns 1 in August and has invited us all to share with her excitement on his big day.  So what does a crafter do?  Starts planning ANOTHER project!  WOOT WOOT!!!

I start scouring for fabric.  Immediately come across the center piece fabric and enlist my co-workers for opinions on coordinating fabric choices.  Order it and got it over the weekend.

Last night I started cutting the three fabrics.  Cut out the squares for the main fabric. Pieced the coordinating fabrics that I had cut into 16- 2 1/2 stripes and cut out the 31-6 1/2'' rectangles and the 40- 2 1/2'' rectangles.   Then it was bedtime!  Well, after I check out how it will all look together.  Then it was REALLY bedtime.

This morning I sewed the 40 pieces together into the alternating squares and sewed two rows together.  Very pleased. 

I had forgotten how much I loved doing this.  The sewing....the cutting....the ironing....the final piece assembling itself.

So while cleaning the basement over Memorial Day Weekend, I came across two quilting projects that had been bagged up and put away.  One project has been put on hold of over 4 years!  So I took it to work today to see if I can salvage the project and was astounded to see how close I actually was to completion!

All the squares had been pieced together!  I even had one row sewn together.  The fabric had been in a closed bag,  I even have the border and backing that I had purchased for it.  Just needs to be sewn all together and then I will throw it in the wash before adding the batting and hand-tying the quilt.  Just to get any musty smells out and to iron over 4 years of wrinkles. 

BORDER



BACKING-actually sad that I do not have more of this instead of the border

  Might as well finish it up and put it up online at my Etsy store.  Then perhaps complete the fat quarter quilt that is half started.  Waste not....want not.....

Tandem Bike Riding Continued......

So, Memorial Day weekend was another couple of successful bike rides!!!

Saturday, we rode around the neighborhood before lunch.  It was so warm.  Amanda had a blast.  She did lots of pedaling with Daddy.

Monday, we went to the Blackstone River Bike Path.  We rode 5 miles.  2.5 each way.  Amanda was nervous at first because she did not recognize the area.  But soon as we pedaled over the river and along the waterway, I could hear "WHEEEEE" and "Daddy, go FASTER!!!!!"

She was so happy.  It was great.  This was what we wanted to do as a family.  Amanda's autism and sensory delays threatened to not allow us to do this.  But the WeeRide Pro-Pilot allowed us to be able to do this.

So if you have a child with Autism or any other disability that interfers with them being able to ride a bike with you, please consider this.  It has added to our family.  Amanda is enjoying bike riding.  Looks forward to getting on the bike.  And wants to go faster!!!!!

I have already ordered the secondary hitch for my bike to make for easy changes and a new seat post that I can attach it to easily without crushing the suspension.  Hopefully, she will adjust  to me on the front!!!

WeeRide Pro-Pilot update

I sent an email Monday and got a response today to call the company directly with an 800-number. 

Ordered an additional hitch for my bike for 20.00 and then 4.95 for shipping.  It is being shipped today or tomorrow.

I will just need to take the basket attachment off my bike and replace the seat pin.  The seat may need to be raised a little too.


My Schwinn Discover Hybrid


Of course, biking with Pro-Pilot and Amanda on the end will greatly increase the workout and the soreness for the next few days :D

This way, she can ride behind Craig part of the time and with an easy switch of a linch pin, we can put her behind my bike.  Then both of us can ride with Tessa ahead.

Cannot wait for the hitch to arrive!!!!!!!  Now to get myself a basket for the front for juices and water for the family.  Yay us!!!!

On a bicycle now built for two....

Saturday morning, Amanda's tandem bike attachment arrived!!!  She was very excited and ran out to see the Fedex man.

That afternoon, Daddy put the bike together.

Watching Daddy read the instructions

And they were off for a brief test ride.  She was very nervous.

She did not pedal at all.  Just hung on for dear life!  But they went around the block.

Not so keen on the hill and turn.

But it was a successful test. 

And Sunday, late morning, we arrived at Rocky Point Walking Path.



Getting set to go.....

 And then they were off.  She yelled at him all the way down to stop.  He would stop and allow her to settle and then start off again....This repeated a few times until he just kept going.

She hung on tightly, very nervous until they went around one corner and I heard "WHEEEEEEEEE" from an excited little girl.

Tessa and I followed until we caught up with them.  Rode until the end and turned around.

Her bike gathered lots of attention from walkers and fellow bike riders.

Stopping to show off the bike

Starting back again

On the ride back, I rode behind them and coaxed Amanda to start pedaling.  She needed to be reminded to switch legs.  First she was just moving her legs forward and back.  So I rode behind yelling "LEFT! RIGHT! LEFT! RIGHT!!" until she remembered what to do.  Then I just told her what a great job she was doing.

Craig offered to stop and let her play at the beach and she did not want to stop.  So we raced up the hill to the start.

All in all, it was a great first bike ride as a family.  She knew she was safe.  Hills are still not her favorite.  We have to get another hitch attachment for my bike and remove the basket holder so it can fit.  But for now, she is comfortable behind Daddy.  Amanda will be able to learn to deal with the sensory input of riding a bike and learn to control her balance.

So, for your littles, who for whatever reason, cannot ride unassisted, this is a great alternative.  You know they will be safe and able to keep up with the family. 

Bike riding with Autism

Tessa learned to ride her bike without training wheels last fall.  She has been wanting to go bike riding with both Craig and I for ages.  Now that the warm weather has come and both Mommy and Daddy have new bikes, the poor girl is so excited to go.

Amanda, on the other hand, cannot ride a bike unassisted.  Even with training wheels.  She is distracted by the world.  The multiple sensory inputs of the wind in her face, sun in her eyes, having to pedal the bike, steer the bike all while trying to pay attention to where she is going and the world around her.

We toyed with a few ideas.  One was a tricycle but finding a tricycle in her size is difficult without spending a great deal of money.  The adaptive tricycles are extremely cost-prohibitive.

I scoured Amazon.com and came across this:

Bike USA Junior Stabilizer Wheel Kit

Those wheels attach to a 20'' BMX Bike Frame.  I started doing research on the type of bike.  Went to lots of bike stores looking at bikes to see which ones could have this attached and still be a pretty princess bike for our Ms Panda.  Asked many associates on their thoughts.  Showed it to Amanda to get her opinion.  I thought it was a great option.

Last Saturday, we took turns trying Amanda on Tessa's old bike with the regular training wheels.  She was so anxious and scared.  We both were cramped and sore from holding onto the bike, hunched over.  Reminding her to pedal.  Trying to get her to steer.  Watching her as she watched her shadow on the ground.  I realized that this was going to be too much for her right now.

But we are not ready to leave her behind.  And her sister needs to bike with both parents too.  And she is too big to ride in those trailer attachments or seats.

So back to research mode.  And I found this:


Tandem Bike Attachment

 The attachment will fit both Craig's mountain bike and my hybrid.  She has the option of either pedalling or not.   She just needs to sit and hold on.  This way, she can join us biking and slowly gain her confidence and learn to deal with all the sensory inputs of bike riding.

I bought it last night and paid 9.00 to have it shipped for Saturday delivery.  Will post pictures and let you know how it worked out.

Knitting beyond my comfort continued....

Yesterday, I blogged about my attempt to knit beyond my comfort zone by knitting a lovely sweater seen here:



Zoe Sweater

It is a top-down knitting pattern with lace work and cables, both of which I have never done.  I have knitted a ballet sweater for my daughter that required seed stitching at the edge and the rest was knitted in stockinette stitch and seamed together.  I knitted it in 5 pieces, two arms, the left and right side slanted front and then the back.  It was cute.  But this is one piece with picking up stitches to complete.

The new techniques that I would be learning would be lace work, cable stitch, casting on in the middle of the work, picking up stitches and binding off in purl stitch.  WHEW!!!  Wow, that is a lot when I write it out!!!  Thank goodness for YouTube videos!!!

I posted that I was not convinced that the pattern emerging looked right, but that I was not giving in and frogging it.  That I was going to believe and follow the pattern. 

I looked and looked at my emerging work.  I looked and looked at the pattern picture.  Back and forth.  Back and forth.

LIGHTBULB MOMENT

It is upside down!!!!  Turn it around and I am in a happy place.

I continued with my stitching, confident in my pattern.

Then tonight, I realize that it cannot be that way as this is a TOP DOWN pattern.  Stress.

It has to be this way.....see the markers where I would slip the cap sleeves off....

It could be the rolling of the stockinette stitch that is throwing off my perception of the project.

Sigh................

Just when I thought I was working this right.  I have only 5 more rows until I slip the sleeve stitches onto waste yarn.  Then, perhaps, I shall see this more clearly.




"In your pattern, believe, my young padawan." Yoda, as a knitting instructor, says in my head.

"Yes, Master Yoda."

Knitting beyond your comfort zone

As I have previously mentioned, I am better at crochet than knitting.  But I know that my knitting skills are never going to improve unless I start knitting projects outside my comfort zone.  I have baby hats on DPNs under control now and felt it was time to push my boundaries.

I saw this sweater this weekend and feel in LOVE with it!!!

Zoe Cardigan

I have never done lace work or cables but I decided to give it a whirl and bought the pattern.  I LOVE instant downloads :D

Grab myself a longer size 6 circular needle and some lovely silk bamboo yarn and off I went!!!!

Here is where I was at yesterday:



Not completely convinced that the cast on stitches at the end are correct....



 Today, I am here:

Still not convinced it is correct.....

I shall keep trying to see how this plans out.  I am not giving up and frogging yet.  The lace work and the cables are coming out beautifully and I am in love with the yarn.  If I am able to pull it off, this shall be a gorgeous sweater with a nice drape.  So I shall endeavor to carry on believing in the pattern and my pattern reading skills, which luckily, are pretty good as the pattern has left out a step or two so far.

Wish me luck and check back in for my progress!