Happiness Week 27

We had sun this week and it was glorious! We even had sun for the 4th of July which is a rarity around here. Oddly though we had lightning last night and it struck our neighbors tree and a huge branch came down in our yard. They seem to be out of town, so I'm not sure how we are going to deal with the situation, it's still attached to their tree. The neighborhood treasurer is going to e-mail the owner. I just hope it doesn't drag on all week or longer. Unfortunately it fell on a very nice ornamental tree which may have snapped in half (I can't tell because the branch that fell covers it up completely.) Ironically, I'd just been looking at that tree thinking how pretty it was. At least I enjoyed it during it's last days.

My plan for this week was to hit some items on my "bucket list" and enjoy the yard with my kids. This will be a true test of the "happiness mentality" to see if I can still do that with a big tree in the middle of the grass. It's like the proverbial elephant in the room....Hard to ignore.

Daily Happiness Photos - Week 27

07/02 Smelly Game

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When you have a special child like Ainsley EVERYTHING is a potential source for "therapy". Having a trach messes with your sense of smell because normally you smell as you breathe in through your nose. I think smelling with a trach must be like smelling with a bad cold. In addition, a child who is non-verbal doesn't learn things as quickly because they can't ask you the unending stream of questions about every.single.thing.they.seeorsmell.ortasteor.touch. or hear. So playing this game called "Follow Your Nose" is a great way to talk about and be exposed to lots of smells. Actually Evie & Adrian love it too. But really this was a "therapy" purchase a few years back and we hadn't played it in awhile. It was on my bucket list of things I wanted to get to this summer and today we did it. Even though I was tired and didn't feel like it. And ya know, it was fun!

07/03 The Perfect Rug

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I love it when things happen naturally with little effort. It seems that when you are looking for something in particular you will never find it. But if you just wait, sometimes the right thing just appears out of seemingly nowhere, like this rug I found at Home Depot while I was looking for something else. I love that Ainsley has a softer place to play on the patio for her kneesies.

07/04 Legal Fireworks

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It's so much fun to be able to let off fireworks legally. My favorite are the sparklers.

07/05 A Charger for Evie

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My life strategy is to try to solve the problems that bug me. Like Evie using my computer to charge her IPodTouch every two freakin' seconds. If you can believe it Apple doesn't include one with purchase, only a USB cable! I had Evie spend some gift cards she'd been holding onto to buy this very cool docking station that I found on Amazon. Now she can charge her IPod without disturbing me at the computer. She's happy because it works as speakers and does really cool light shows in sync with the music. I'm happy to have eliminated a frequent source of irritation.

07/06 Wicker Chair

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The main idea in interior design is to surround yourself with items you love. I found this wicker chair at an antique store many years ago but it was damaged by being left outside. Last week I cleaned it and today I glued the seat back together.  Now it looks perfectly "Shabby Chic" with it's greenish paint that is peeling off in places to reveal the black paint underneath. Steve was hating this chair, but now I think he'll let me keep it and that makes me happy.

 07/07 Croquet

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We spent the evening playing croquet with my oldest friends. It was wonderful!

07/08 Summer Swimming

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The kids LOVE swimming even if it is in this little pool. They have SO much fun it really is the highlight of their summer. Ainsley is now big enough and strong enough that with her cap on the trach and some precautions she can go in the pool. It is so wonderful to see her so happy. And I get a little bit of freedom not having to be in there myself. Of course I still have to be right there. She is tall enough to be able to walk in it and with a life jacket and a floaty ring she can even bounce around. It is going to be SO good for her legs! We have secret goals we are working toward and I think this is going to help.

  

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To view a slideshow of the entire Happiness Photo Project click here. Confused about what this is or why I'm doing it? Click here for an explanation of what it's all about.