Sometimes we get great ideas from the internet. There have been a lot of duds but this one is a winner!
We made a “water blob” out of a heavy plastic drop cloth and a hot iron. It was hours of entertainment for the boys are their buddy Landon.
It basically was like putting a 6x9ft waterbed mattress in the yard, covering it with a sprinkler, and letting them go crazy!
After dinner they had to come back out and play more (in their underwear)
We are still focusing on finishing old projects. I have accomplished several long term tasks recently.
When I was pregnant with the boys, I ordered some custom hand died yarn from an old friend’s shop. She made a batch in the colorway named “Evil Alliance” from the sci-fi series Firefly. I intended to knit little onesies, hats, and booties to be the boys’ “coming home from the hospital” outfits.
Things didn’t quite go as planned. I did get a good portion of the outfits done, but not in time. The yarn went in a drawer for years. I recently ripped out all the old work and made them each a knit monkey instead. They have something to keep now, and I got to knit with the beautiful yarn.
I also have spent hours over the years working on the boys’ Beads of Courage. Trevor earned a number of beads from his NICU stay, but Brendan accumulated thousands. The program gives colored beads where each color signifies a different procedure or event. For example, yellow beads are for a night in the hospital. Pink beads means a day on the ventilator. Light green is for an xray, red is for blood transfusion, black is for IV pokes and shots. Orange is for PIC lines. Rainbow for therapies.
There is a special handmade glass bead given for courage or extraordinary events. Brendan has a lot of those.
It took four 16×20 shadow boxes to contain them all. I sewed them all on the backing.
It is good to start getting caught up!
What an amazing blog this is!!!!
What a great idea and super fun the water mattress is! The video is priceless, but then I always love the videos set to music, you always find the perfect music to set it to.
The monkeys are great and a wonderful way for the boys to have a keepsake. I’m sure they’ll appreciate them more than a preemie outfit! They turned out amazing…like everything that you create out of just about anything! 🙂
The beads of courage!! I remember the day you stretched them out, down the hallway and around and around! The shadow boxes are beautiful and the perfect way to keep them safe and yet have them on display. That was a lot of work, but so worth the finished product. Very nice!!
Love and big hugs,
Gramma xo
All of the white beads that make a month and year are all months that I was there with you, right? If so, thank you so much for including me! I am so grateful that I could be part of your lives through some of the rough times. I want the boys to always know how very much I love them, from the moment I knew they were on the way, now and forever.
The first two boxes on the left side are the first year of his life. The beads are in order, and the white dates are actually just the months. The right two boxes are Trevor’s beads and all the rest of the beads he earned in the next four years, more sorted by color than in any order. You have your own bead to mark all 13 trips, 14 if you count the upcoming one! I will take a close up when it is light again.
Oops! I think it’s because I was there at some time every month during that first year!
The beads of courage shadow boxes are gorgeous and amazing.
Good morning from the East Coast!! Your creativity is mind boggling to me!! Tiffanie, you have an amazing and admirable gift!! Your family is sooo lucky to have you in their lives!!! I would have loved to play on the water blob!! The monkeys are priceless!! The shadow boxes are amazing!! Your boys will never have any doubts of their parents’ love! The gift of love…the most precious!! Hugs, love and prayers!! 🙂