Creativity is NOT for the Squeamish

Debbie Allen shared an important discovery...

"Out of limitation comes creativity."  

***

Henry Matisse acknowledged that...

"Creativity takes courage"

The past week or so, Kylie has been exercising her creative streak.  She has definitely crossed lines and she is certainly courageous in her creative expression! (as you will soon see)

The other day, Dan was REALLY wanting to watch a football game (it is rare that we have the pleasure of sitting down and watching a FULL game- The Princess does not like to be second fiddle to the TV).

So, as we prepped for and arranged our day around the football game, we noticed that Kylie disappeared upstairs to her bedroom.  We turned on the baby monitor and listened to her play sweetly.  All was well.

As the first quarter began, we heard the princess pitter patter down the stairs. 

The female child that emerged from the stairwell looked suspiciously like our Kylie but we weren't quite sure...

This is who greeted us:

  
 She had changed into a Fleece nightgown, fairy wings and a cone shaped princess hat.

She was so proud of her ensemble (that's fancy for outfit).  She felt scrumptiously beautiful and did several modeling turns to allow us to view it from every possible angle.

Then she took her throne ...

What can I say? The creative process is exhausting!!
We oohed and aahhed appropriately, praised her fashion sense and scrambled for the camera!!  I am so GLAD we captured this moment!!

This sweet fairy princess in a wild and crazy nightgown will always and forever be our baby girl.

And... I was super proud of Dan for choking back his laughter  inner frog and for playing the part of a True Prince. 

But... this was not the end of her Creative Genius!!

Kylie then decided that her daddy, Prince Charming, was looking quite plain and thought she needed to spruce him up a bit!

Much to Prince Charmings dismay,

Out came the finger nail polish...

I held my breath as I wasn't sure how my husband would react...

But I was thrilled when after a few deep sighs, he surrendered and announced that nail polish remover would make everything alright again, and let her have her way in painting his toes. 

(I adore that he is so secure in his manhood)

She was very diligent and the painting toes activity kept her busy for quite a while.  It was also a great exercise in hand/eye coordination.

I was encouraged by her intense focus and amused at my husband's willingness to be her mannequin.

but....

If you get squeamish easily, you might not want to look

at.............
    this.........
        photo.......
    

She didn't do too bad of a job. However, even with fancy Cinderella blue nail polish, hairy toes are just plain  unattractive!   (I still think it must mean something that his second toe is longer than his big toe)

Dan was so engrossed in the football game that he let her paint his finger nails too!

He was a great client and the princess nail tech was super excited that she had such a willing and compliant customer!

I think she did a pretty good job.  This was really her first time ever painting someone's nails. She tolerated the fume smell very well and was very patient in coating each nail.

At least we know she can have a career in nail fashion to fall back on. Even Barbie needs manis and pedis.

And yet, she still had not worn out her creative genius....

The next time we saw her she had changed her nightgown and looked like this....

She had dotted her face with rubber stickies from my office supply drawer...

Seriously... What is my child thinking of when she does these things???

She sure does bring joy to our home! (and keeps us on our toes)

A few other creative endeavors...

she is really into building cup towers...

We had worked for hours with her as a younger child trying to teach her to build like this with blocks but she wouldn't have it.  Blocks had to be lined up in straight rows.  BUT give her cups and she can build a tower to the sky!!  Who knew???

Dan was so impressed with her architectural skills that he attempted to teach her an alternate way to to build a cup tower.  She was mostly excited when it fell over...

I know you all are super impressed...

The creativity is just ooooooozing out of our pours around here....

"Creativity is piercing the mundane
to find the marvelous"

Bill Moyers

Home School Tools

This post is dedicated to Home School Tools!  We are gearing up to begin homeschooling here at...

"Brighten Corner Academy!" 

(I wish you could hear Kylie say that - it is so cute!!)

 
You'll hear a lot about it in the coming weeks as this is the singular thing consuming my brain these days. 

This is a brand new adventure for us but we all three are really excited about it. 

As I went to college to be a teacher, I don't find the schooling part to be too much of a challenge, but what will challenge me is adapting things to accommodate Kylie's special needs and learning style. 

However, I am excited for the challenge and will keep you all posted as we pursue this new season in our lives.

We have chosen to make a small investment in our home school endeavor by purchasing a few items that will grow with us on our homeschool adventures.

This is what we are starting out with.   (I'll share our curriculum choices in another post)

Weather Bear
I use this one (as seen on Measured in Moments) 
and this one  (from The View From the Pew)
(This pic is pretty close)

 The directions say to use Velcro, but we use Sticky Tac instead. 

6-legged ball chair
We ordered this one

This ball is GREAT if you have a "fidgiter" - Kylie is really active and doesn't sit still for long. This ball chair gives her some sensory and vestibular input so that she can focus for a longer period of time.

I know... It looks like some cosmic cow ball, but it really helps stabilize the ball so Kylie doesn't roll off.

Virco Adjustable Table/Desk
We use this one

I was shocked when this arrived.  It is so well built. I couldn't believe how heavy it is (and it only cost $5.95 to ship). 

Kylie won't be able to tip it by leaning on the edge of it (that is a good thing and I am super impressed with this table). 

We can also do art activities on the table surface without having to worry about scratches or dents or surface abrasions.

We also chose a table with Adjustable legs so the table will grow with her through the years.

Scotch Thermal Laminator
We use this one

Laminating Pouches
I use these
Sam's Club also sells lamination pouches in boxes of 200 for around $20 (at the time of this posting)

Paper Trimmer/Cutter:
We use this one

Storage: File Boxes
We use these (they run about $9 at Walmart)

Work Boxes
We use these
(The above link is at Amazon which offers free shipping on orders over $25, However, JoAnn Fabrics offers the same drawer unit and sometimes they have coupons for 40-50% off items that are not on sale).  The better deal depends on the starting price.

Flags
American Flag  (note: at the time that I posted this, if you click on this link, the photo is not of an American flag, but you will receive an American flag if you order it with this link.)

Christian Flag

Flag Holder

That's all for now...

I hope you enjoyed seeing what we are using as we prep for our homeschool season!

I'd love to hear what products you enjoy as well (always looking for new ideas or great deals!)

Kylie enjoying a "chewy tube" (we use these.  They are very calming for her) and doing the "homework" that she assigned herself- She can't wait for school!

Reward for a Ballerina

As I mentioned in a previous post, Sunday was Kylie's first day of ballet for the fall season.  As a reward for doing such a good job listening and following directions in class, we took our ballerina to the poshest of eateries...

If properly distracted by the I-pad, she WILL eat on occasion.

You got it... Kid heaven - McDonalds!!

It took a few minutes for her to transition from ballet to meal time, but we stuck with her, changed her clothes and were able to settle down and enjoy a not-so-balanced meal together (oh how I love you Autism!)

Despite McDonalds being kid heaven, it has actually become a hard place for Kylie to go since they added their coffee station.  All of the grinding and blending hurts Kylie's ears so it is a miracle that we made it through this lunch without wearing ear muffs.

However, after lunch we headed straight for.....

Can you just see the sheer joy on her face??

The PLAYGROUND at a local favorite park!!

She enjoyed Sliding...

Climbing...

Heights....

Which she wasn't too keen on...

A break for a little snuggle with Dad.... He's the bomb on the weekends and we girls have to fight for him!! (but it makes him feel good so it's ok...)

She enjoyed the rocking horses...

And Mommy is having fun playing with the Photo Editing Software...

She enjoyed the swings...

Ok, so I got a leeeeeetle carried away with the swing photos, but you don't know the MIRACLE that it is that she is actually LOOKING AT the camera AND smiling all at the same time!!!!  This is a serious celebration moment here!!  (and... Daddy was being super goofy behind me to get her to giggle... love that man and how secure he is in his manhood!)

She also enjoyed the Telescope...

And then it was time for the outing to end... What a glorious day it was!!

and, I just have to say.... my man is a thousand times hotter to me because he is such a GREAT Daddy to our precious girl!! (even though it means I have to fight with a super cute baby chick for time with him)

I know you mamas with daughters know how that is!  =0)

Treasuring these days while I can!!  I'll have him all to myself again someday!