Hugs

My sister-in-law wrote, "Never under estimate the power of a hug. This simple gesture is not really simple at all. Its complexity in action and response makes it one of the strongest forces in the world, making it heal almost anything!"

A hug is how we found out about deep pressure, which helps relieve sensory meltdowns when my boys were young.  It was one of those days when I was hanging onto sanity by a thread.  Ryan couldn't talk at that time.  He wanted something and was going into a ballistic tantrum.  I couldn't figure out what he wanted.

At the same time, Nick was hungry and needed to be fed.  Both kids chimed out, "MAMA!"

I gave Nick a quick snack, so I could focus on Ryan.

I was in tears, trying to figure out what Ryan wanted.  I couldn't solve the mystery.  I ended up just hugging him really tight. At first, Ryan resisted.  He didn't like to be touched, let alone hugged.  There were dents in the wall from Ryan leaning backwards to get away from people who wanted to hug him.

Within a few moments, we both calmed down.  Then he hugged me.  He was about four years old.  I received my first hug from Ryan.

Later I mentioned this to Ryan's adaptive PE teacher.  She said they have weighted vests to help keep the kiddos calm.  The physical therapist also said that deep pressure helps.  She showed me how to apply it, and it worked every time.

Valentines Day Dinner: Eat Your Heart Out!

So the boys are gluten free.  Unless I grind the grain at home, but that's another story.  We decided to make pizza out of homemade sourdough.

The shaping of the heart took some time since the dough wanted to stick to fingers.  Twas a good sensory test.  Tacky, sticky foods on  the boys' fingers used to be a trigger for meltdowns and tantrums.  I like to ensure the boys have not lost the progress made regarding their tactile issues, so they "get" to make meals like this occasionally.

Dough in oven at 350 F for 20 minutes.  Out pops pizza ready for sauce.

Yes, sauce is homemade too with homegrown basil and organic garlic. Now it really looks like a heart!

Of course, sausage and cheese are a must to complete pizza.  Nick liked cooking the sausage best.  He just had to "taste" the sausage to make sure it was well cooked.

It took about an hour to make and cook, and about 5 minutes to eat!

Happy Valentines Day!