Our Pursuit of Happiness

I've decided to dust off the old bones, so to speak and start posting again. In it's previous incarnation toast bones was dedicated to just sharing updates & pictures of the kids with friends & family. But these days that's pretty much what facebook is for so why duplicate the effort!?

So I've done a bit of deconstructing & rebuilding and the new toast bones, while still focusing primarily on the kids, will be more about the stories of our lives. Specifically how our life is impacted and I believe, improved by raising a child with Sensory Processing Disorder.

I'm going to do some backtracking and post as much as I can about how our lives have changed over the last 5 years and the process that we've gone thru to get to where we are now.

And of course I'll be posting about our daily grind and our transformations and progress as we continue on this journey.

We made a recent decision for me to give up my part time job as a postpartum doula and parent educator to spend more time at home and to commit more fully to providing Ashton with a well rounded "sensory diet." I plan to take a holistic approach including things such as morning meditations and nutritional changes such as adding DHA supplements & perhaps eliminating gluten. And of course providing sensory integration activities throughout the day.

For the most part I'm going to be keeping this blog for me. So I can go back and review what we've done and better evaluate what's working and what's not and have a journal of how things have progressed.

But I also hope that perhaps some friends and family and maybe even some other folks out there might enjoy reading up on the kids and checking in with how we're doing.

Moreover so this is a way for me to go public, to make a visible commitment to bettering our lives. Not just by providing Ashton with what he needs to thrive but also by exploring what we need as a family to flourish.

“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.”

Spring 2009

Happy Summer!!

We had a fun & eventful Spring...we celebrated both kiddos birthdays, put our house on the market, had Sierra's first hair cut and Ashton's first dentist appointment.

Ashton completed his first year of preschool and had a wonderful year. His teacher Ms. Kim said to me, "he always has a song in his heart!" and that's so true, he's our happy little guy!

Sierra is talking more and more everyday...she is picking up on so much it's just amazing. She rather suddenly made the transfer from her crib when we found her climbing out of it during a nap. She's doing terrific in her "big girl bed"! It's crazy how fast she's growing up. She's ready to start potty training but I'm not sure if I'm ready to tackle it just yet!

We have a busy summer ahead of us as we prepare to sell our house and move to Castle Rock but we've kicked it off with an awesome start already and we know we will have many more happy memories to share soon!

That beautiful season the Summer! Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Hoping the birds and the buds are right!

It's been a mild winter here to say the least, we rushed out to get the kids snow gear after our first few big snows in December and it's hardly snowed but a few flakes since then! Ashton is anxious to try out the new sled that has been sitting dry & dusty in the garage but at least we're getting in some wagon rides!! Other than the impending worry about drouts and the inevitable watering restrictions this summer I'm not too disappointed. I'll take sun over snow any day!!

The Monkey & Bug-a-boo are doing great. We're very proud to say that Ashton is now officially potty-trained! WOO HOO! Sierra might not be far behind, she thinks that her brother is just about the best thing since...well, sliced toast...and wants to do everything that he does.

Hopefully we'll be able to share some pics soon of the kids out enjoying the first signs of spring!! Until then, warmest blessings!!

Happy Fall!!

The maple tree out front is a beautiful shade of golden yellow, the days are mild...the nights are chilly & there is a rotting jack-o-lantern on our front porch. It must mean that autumn is here!

Ashton enjoyed being a dragon at his preschool Halloween party then a spooky skeleton for trick-or-treating with his cousins. Sierra was a lil chic complete w/ orange feet and fluffy yellow feathers. I know, I know, it sounds odd...I mean aren't all little girls supposed to be fairies or princesses for Halloween? Trust me, I was all set on it until daddy pointed out the little chicken costume & it was just too cute to pass up. She still has that "I'm a new walker" waddle which was perfect! The kids had a blast & Jamie and I are relieved to have made it through the holiday without any peanut related incidents...Halloween is an all new kind of scary now!

We're already planning the Thanksgiving menu and looking forward to Christmas season...this time of year goes by so fast! Didn't we just take down the Christmas tree? Hard to believe that it will be time to put it back up in only a few weeks!

Until then...wishing everyone a wonderful fall!!!

It's been a good summer!

The kids have had a fun summer...from pirate adventures in the backyard to underwater creatures at the aquarium. Check out the Summer 2008 slide show below to see all the pictures! (Special thanks to Auntie Mel for being our summer event photographer! lol)

As a sign that summer is drawing to a close, Ashton started preschool a few weeks ago. He attends twice a week for a few hours and seems to be enjoying it. He still has a bit of separation anxiety and he gets easily overwhelmed but he says that he likes school and he's always excited to go.

On the subject of going...we've stalled out in potty training. It was going well for awhile and then Ashton regressed and at this point pretty much refuses to use the potty. Sigh. He's holding out... it's definitely a control thing so we're trying not to push. All bets are that Sierra is potty trained before Ashton though!

The little girl is walking all over the place and starting to talk. She's a smart a little cookie and she REALLY likes to test her limits! She's gonna be our trouble maker for sure! She's loving the warm weather and it's impossible to keep her out of the water. She's a little water sprite; if the garden hose or sprinkler is on, she's there (and soaked)! We'll have to get in as many more days outside as we can before fall. Ashton however is already excited for Halloween!