Fe-Fe's World Of Craft, Creations and Kids.

This blog was started mainly for my crafting, however I also find myself writing about my family life too and in particular about my son Josh. Josh is just Josh to us and we're used to his quirky behaviour. As I don't want to have to mention Josh's autism every time I post about him, I thought I'd mention it here. Hopefully you will bear this in mind as you read and it may give you a little insight into the wonderful world of the autisic child in a very gentle way!

Thursday, 24 April 2008

Attack of the Floating Hippos!

I am so tired today and have been trying to keep busy so that I don't fall asleep. I was woken up at 3am today, my daughter had had a bad dream. I mistakenly thought that an extra nightlight and a big hug would cure the problem but 10 minutes later it turned out that the floating hippos from her dream were now in her bedroom. Luckily I had some Magic Hippo Spray in my pyjama pocket (what mum doesn't!!) and so I sprayed all the floating hippos and they all poofed away. I left the spray with her just in case she needed it... got back into bed.... "Psssst, pssssst, psssst!" "Pssst, pssssst, psssst" So I'm lying there thinking "she's got to get tired at some point and give it up and go to sleep surely?!" Oh no! So I got up again and went into her room, she's only sat up in bed spraying all the hippos which seem to have turned into an infestation of millions by this stage. Luckily Peej woke up at this point and came with re-enforcements in the form of a force field. Now why didn't I think to have one of those in my pyjamas? This turned out to be much more effective than my hippo spray although it did take longer to set up and it had to be tested too but at least we all managed to get some sleep after that. We called in the exterminator after Ellie went to school and now have a certificate to say that the house is definitely free of floating hippos. Thank goodness for that. It's just a good job we caught them early that's all I can say!

These are two of the cards I made today to keep busy. The pink and orange one is made using freebie papers again, the ribbon is from Hobbycraft, the pink flat clip is by Making Memories.

The blue and green papers aren't freebies but I can't remember who they're by. The horse and girl stamp is a Sugar Nellie and the "You're Invited" is by Stamping Up.

10 comments:

Dee said...: What an imagination that little girl has and its just as well she has inventive parents!!! Had a good laugh imagining the scene, thank goodness it didn't happen whilst I was looking after them I would never have thought of the spray never mind the force field. LOL

To say you were so tired you've done yet another splendind couple of cards. Love em, and you ...

Mum
XXX; 24 April 2008 at 20:06
Shh-Shh said...: How Funny.... I say this time and time again...
"Arent kids BRILLIANT!!!"
Sharon.x.x.x; 24 April 2008 at 20:14
pescbrico said...: Could not do anything else but smile while reading your story, what are not we willing to do for our little ones! Thanks for sharing with us! your cards are beautiful by the way and your mom really seems nice! :); 24 April 2008 at 20:33
Cazzy said...: Well what can I say! You are lucky it was only hippos! Could have been elephants!

Nice cards again!; 24 April 2008 at 21:43
Dawn said...: Hee Hee that is funny Fe - although not quite so funny at 3 in the morning..; 24 April 2008 at 22:20
Mrs. Nancy G said...: Sorry to hear about her nightmare. Yikes!
:-(; 25 April 2008 at 07:05
Unknown said...: Oh dear, you poor thing! I must have driven my parents mad with my dreams...in fact Andy is horrified by some of them now. But at least she will never go short of imagination....and the chances are neither will you ;-) Another two lovely cards, I do like those papers on the bottom one too, very pretty :-); 25 April 2008 at 11:37
I ♥ cupcakes to distraction said...: Giggle, kids and their imaginations eh :) Beautiful cards BTW :); 25 April 2008 at 15:47
Lee said...: Your invites are just soooo cute!! And what a bedtime saga!! Your little one sure has an imagination!! She's gonna be a writer!! LOL; 25 April 2008 at 20:49
ScrapMomOf2 said...: Oh Fiona! What a great story! You should scrapbook that memory, because it's fantastic!

My husband, girls, and I used to do the "Monsters" dance in their bedrooms every single night when they were little. It was hysterical! You just reminded me that I should scrapbook that memory before it's gone forever!; 25 April 2008 at 23:15

Ode to Special Mums

Ode to Special Moms(by Erma Bombeck)

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen?

Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint, Matthew.
Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint, Cecilia.
"Rudledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint, give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."

The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," says God. "Could I give a handicapped child to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But has she patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it.
"I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."

God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."

The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a 'spoken word.' She will never consider a 'step' ordinary. When her child says 'Momma' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations."I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."

"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, pen poised midair.

God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

"Welcome to Holland"

"Welcome to Holland" By Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.