Look What I Got

Are you on Pinterest?  I am.  I love it.  

I spend a lot of my "free time" on it.  It is useful, we have been eating really well lately.  I have found fun new recipes for meals and treats and I have found some really cool gadgets.

I love a really cool gadget.  Don't you?

So this is what I found.

This is not my picture.

 It is called MagicTap.

You put it on your bottle and put batteries in it and it pumps your beverage with the slightest touch of the glass.

I thought that if I put Haley's "juice" in it she could get her own juice. 

We got it a couple of weeks ago.

I filled it with juice and tested it.  It is awesome.  It doesn't even drip.

When Haley got home from school I showed her how to do it.  I made her hold her glass up to it while it was in the refrigerator.  She wanted to put her glass under the blue lever, but I showed her that she has to have her glass on top of the blue lever.  Magically her glass filled with juice.  I told her to take it away and the flow stopped.  

Haley drinks from a double walled cup with a lid and a straw.  I have to put the lid on for her, but other than that she can get her own drink.  She knows how to get the glass down from the cupboard, she knows how to put ice in it and now she knows how to get her own juice.  Then she can get a straw and a lid and I can help her the rest of the way.  If she didn't have to put a lid on her cup she could do it all by herself, but I like the lid.  I know it won't keep her cup from spilling, but it makes me feel better.  

The truth is that she drinks her juice so fast it never would have a chance to spill.

So that was the idea.  I had no idea how long it might take for my plan to work.  She kept bringing me her cup and then I would say "You can do it."  and I would walk over to the refrigerator with her and have her open the door and hold her glass under the MagicTap.  After I put the lid on for her I would say "Good job, you did it!" and we would high five.  

Even though she knew what to do and she could do it herself she still wanted me to get her juice for her, but I was strong.  I made her do it herself every time.

Today I was sitting at the kitchen table and she walked in to the kitchen.  She never said a word to me.  She got a cup.  She got some ice.  She got her drink.  She got a straw and a lid and she brought the cup to me so that I could put the lid on for her.  

I was so proud.

It took less than two weeks for her to do that.

I told her Dad.  He said "Yeah, she did that for me last Friday." 

Shoot!

Oh, well.  At least she did it.

I am still so proud.

~ Haley's Mom

p.s. -  I was in no way remunerated for my unsolicited appraisal of this product, but if you want one for yourself check it out at buymagictap (dot) com

I am participating in 31 for 21 Blog Challenge this month. The challenge I have accepted is to blog every day in October to raise awareness for Down Syndrome. Learn more about Down Syndrome at the National Association of Down Syndrome.

Horses in the Mail

I told you earlier about how Haley started a new chart so that she could buy Daylight merchandise when her money was All Gone.  Well, it didn't last long.

One day this summer Haley came to me all excited and wanted me to follow her.  I did.  She took me to the desk where her laptop resides and she showed me the horse that was on the screen.  She does that sometimes.  She shows me Schleich horses and I say things like "That is a pretty horse." or "That is a Palomino."  or "What color is that horse, Haley?"  

We talk about the horses.

This particular day something new happened.  Instead of being satisfied with our usual banter Haley reached out and tried to grab the horse that was on the screen.  I wish I had known that she was going to do it so that I could have captured it on video. (yeah, right)  

Anyway, I know that she didn't think that she could pick up that horse off of the screen.  She was making a point.  And, when people are trying to make a point they will often repeat themselves.  

Haley did that.  

She tried to "grab" the horse again.  Then she looked at me in a way that said "I want that horse right there and I want it now."  I saw all of that on her face.  She didn't say it, of course.  What she did was walk over to the refrigerator and point at the chart and say "Money."  

See I told you she was smart.

So, picking up her hint, I said "Let's see.  The horse that you want is $5.99 and you have $15.00 on your chart.  So, yes, you have enough money that you could buy that horse."

She got that.

So I said "Are you sure that you want that horse?"

"Yeah."  she said.

"OK, then I will order it for you."

Then I sat down in front of her laptop and I clicked the button to put it in the cart.  Immediately after I did that I realized that it was probably a bad idea.  I thought that if I showed her how to buy a horse online I might have trouble down the road.  So I changed gears and said "Just a minute, I am going to buy your horse on my computer."  I left the room and went to fire up my laptop.  I found the site that she was shopping on and I found the horse and then I put it in the cart.

Then Haley came and got me again.

She showed me another horse that she wanted on the the same site.  I said "OK, you can get two horses, but that is all you have money for."  

She said "Two.  Horses." 

I said "Yes, just two horses."

She pointed to another horse.

I said "You need to pick which horse you want."

She looked for a bit and then pointed at one of the horses.  I said "OK, that is the horse you want?"

"Yeah."

So I went back to my computer and I found the other horse and put it in the cart.  I entered all of the shipping and payment information and then I asked her to come and look at the cart.  

"These are the horses that you want, right?"

"Yeah."

"OK, I am ordering them now and you will get them in the mail in a few days."

"Yeah."

So everyday she was very interested in the mail.  We were very lucky, they came quickly.  She was so excited when her horses arrived in the mail.  We opened the package and gave them both names.  They were her favorite horses for a couple of weeks.  She took them everywhere.  They even got to go to Yoga with her. 

Instead of starting a new chart Haley wanted me to write words on the Magic Whiteboard.  We wrote words like Grandma and Grandpa and tractor ride and marshmallows.  A week or so went by and then one day I asked her to help me take out the recycling.  She got up and came in to the kitchen and pointed at the white board on the refrigerator door and said "Money?"  

I said "Yes, I will give you money if you take out the recycling."

"Horses."

"Yes, if you earn enough money you can buy more horses."

"Yeah."

I think I have created a monster.

~ Haley's Mom

I am participating in 31 for 21 Blog Challenge this month. The challenge I have accepted is to blog every day in October to raise awareness for Down Syndrome. Learn more about Down Syndrome at the National Association of Down Syndrome.

The Magic Touch

Our cat Shadow, Haley's Little Brother, is an old curmudgeon.

He has been with us since Haley was a baby.  We think he is 75 years old in kitty years.  He acts every bit of it.

Every morning he scratches at the door of the laundry room.  He lives in there because he sprays, yes he is fixed, but he still sprays.  Haley lets him out at every opportunity, so we keep the door locked.  

Every morning I unlock the door and am greeted by one of two scenarios.  

He either wants to go outside, immediately, or he turns back around and kind of does his feed me because I am so cute dance.  

We feed him twice a day.  First thing in the morning and last thing at night.  He can eat everything we have given him and then ask for more.  So that is all he gets.

Whether he wants to go out or get fed I usually pick him up and hold him and pet him.  He puts up with it.  Then Haley will come over and nuzzle up to him and give him a kiss on the head.  Then he purrs.  Without fail.  

She has the Magic Touch.

He will purr for me sometimes.  Usually if he feels like he was being ignored or neglected, then I know he wants attention.  He will kind of hug me back and purr.  

He purrs for Haley every time.

She is really gentle with animals.   She has never been one of those kids that pulls tails or pokes eyes.  She has always been very caring and careful.  Animals seem to know that about her.  They know that she is different and they treat her differently.

Shadow and Haley have a very interesting relationship.  Haley loves Shadow to death.  She loves to find him wherever he is and pet him.  She likes to give him kisses on the top of the head.  She likes to have him sit on her lap.  She will pet him in order to keep him sitting with her.

She also does something that we have not figured out.

Shadow will be sleeping soundly on the couch.  We usually make a nice little nest for him with one of our soft blankets.  Haley will come out of nowhere and pull the blanket out from under him.  We have told her numerous times not to do it.  She gets a good talking to every time, but she still does it.  

I really don't understand what she is thinking.

Nevertheless when I am holding him and Haley walks up to him and gives him a kiss on the head, he purrs.

Go figure.

~ Haley's Mom

I am participating in 31 for 21 Blog Challenge this month. The challenge I have accepted is to blog every day in October to raise awareness for Down Syndrome. Learn more about Down Syndrome at the National Association of Down Syndrome.