Wordless Wednesday: Oh Mav!

A partying Mav on Teagan's Birthday. Not sure what this face is about. Love this Dude! 

Friday 5 Mav Style

1. Mav's favorite sayings: comin soon dvd & blu ray, You fired(i get this one when he gets mad at me), I not take anymore, yes, peez, Mom, Redbox? Mom, you, me redbox. He also has a couple words that are for 18+ years but like I had to tell Teagan the other day "Hey they are words and I'm glad he has words" yes I know that is bad but seriously when you have a child with barely any words when he says it's "bullshit mom" to leave home to go 15-20minute drive to pick up sisters at school I tend to agree that indeed it is bullshit. I also have to add I have never got a note home saying Mav has used naughty words so it's all good. Dude it's life, it's too short, and there are so many other things I have to worry about. Yes, I'll take you bad mom awards.

2. Mav's clothing choices: Athletic pants-the kind with elastic or PJ pants, T-shirts, Nike shoes(we found the perfect ones in the womens section and he loves them. it's really hard to find shoes that fit correctly because his feet still aren't perfect even after reconstructive surgery.), hoodies, shorts.

3. Mav's movies: Cars, Thomas & Friends, Winnie the Pooh ( I found the Merry Pooh Year on EBAY woohoo), Bear in the Big Blue House, and anything new at the REDBOX. He knows that Redbox releases new DVD's on Tuesdays so that is all I hear about on Tuesday after he's off the bus. 

4. Mav's favorite peeps: Momma allow I have been on and of his shit list since I cut my long hair years ago, GMA oh this woman is Mav's favorite by far! Gpa he thinks he's pretty awesome, Baby(Avery), Teagan they've always been tight because of their close age but they also go in spurts where they can't stand each other, Daddy he's been all over Mr.K lately.  He also likes some high school boys that he goes up to at recess(in our town elementary-high school are on 1 campus. seriously small town.the girls go a town over but will be changing in the fall).

5. Mav's Favorite things to do: watch movies, jump on the trampoline, sit and get into all of the cool stuff in moms scrap room, drive his sisters batty, play with trains, being outside, riding the bus, taking pictures, eating french fries and drinking coke, playing on his ipad and snuggling with the pups.

Happy Friday! ~MK

This one time... he has repetitive behavior

Let me start this post out with this: As many of you know my Mav has Autism. I've wrote about Mav here on my blog many times then I took a step back thinking maybe I shouldn't share my private life on here because what if some one...Then I thought I can't let someone that doesn't know me stop me from sharing Mav's story because the more people that know about Autism the better this world and life will be for Mav. So all this month I will share a little bit of what life is like living with Autism. 

Repetitive Behavior

This is one thing that we have dealt with since before the word Autism popped up. Mav's intense repetitive behavior was one of the first things that had me thinking there is something different about my child.

The information below was borrowed from Wikipedia. I did change the word Autistic to the individuals with Autism. I don't like to call Mav my Autistic child for me it would be like introducing your child who has cancer as hey here's my cancer child. You just wouldn't do that. I know you may be rolling your eyes but that's you not me. It might not be a big difference for you but it is for me. When talking with others I do usually correct the wording so when a friend says "so Mav is Autistic what's that like?" I will answer with "Yes, Mav has Autism and it's hard as Hell!" I am honest, I am real, and I am living this life.

Repetitive behavior

Individuals with Autism display many forms of repetitive or restricted behavior, which the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R)^[36] categorizes as follows.

• Stereotypy is repetitive movement, such as hand flapping, head rolling, or body rocking.
• Compulsive behavior is intended and appears to follow rules, such as arranging objects in stacks or lines.
• Sameness is resistance to change; for example, insisting that the furniture not be moved or refusing to be interrupted.
• Ritualistic behavior involves an unvarying pattern of daily activities, such as an unchanging menu or a dressing ritual. This is closely associated with sameness and an independent validation has suggested combining the two factors.^[36]
• Restricted behavior is limited in focus, interest, or activity, such as preoccupation with a single television program, toy, or game.
• Self-injury includes movements that injure or can injure the person, such as eye poking, skin picking, hand biting, and head banging.^[4] A 2007 study reported that self-injury at some point affected about 30% of children with ASD.^[29]

No single repetitive or self-injurious behavior seems to be specific to autism, but only autism appears to have an elevated pattern of occurrence and severity of these behaviors.^[37]

Stereotypy Mav style: he does rock, pace, and has a repetitive thing he does all the time. It's just a Mav thing and hard to describe and put into words. He did have the hand flapping for awhile but it soon moved on to other things.

Compulsive behavior Mav Style: he always arranges his items he totes around by color if for some reason they mix all hell breaks loose and we quickly get it fixed. He lines everything up always has. At 18 months he would sit in front of the recliner with his cars of trains lining them up over and over again. Even now he still lines everything up. He stacks his blocks the same way. 

Sameness Mav Style: Sweet Jesus this child loves his things the SAME WAY!! He notices EVERYTHING! seriously the bus driver no longer needed a bus with the wheelchair door so she asked for a bus with all seats thinking nobody would care well guess what Mav cared. He stopped short of the step knowing the number was wrong so he had a throw down, got on the bus noticed there was no place for wheelchairs so he was a lil pissed, he noticed that his name tag was at the right seat but not in the same spot. THe bus driver said it was crazy everything he noticed and had a fit about. Here at home he notices things but doesn't have as big of a fit he usually goes in silent i'll take it at my own pace then let you know its ok later mode. Like when we added the boxer twins to the fam he took no interest and wouldn't even acknowledge them for a week. He notices when my hair gets cut and has been pissed off ever since I got it cut short like 5 years ago. He loves long hair and I went short not cool!

Ritualistic behavior Mav Style: we have a routine we follow everyday during the school year and if it changes slightly he is upset. He knows how many minutes he has in the show, what will be put on him first when I dress him, how long he has to watch toons & eat his poptart before the bus is suppose to be here. During the summer he gives me a break and the routine varies a little bit but it takes awhile to get it ok'd with him so for a few days-weeks you can guarantee that there will be throw down the world is ending attitude from the dude. His eating habits could fall under this too because he mostly eats things that are white in color and mostly bread like products( waffles, sandwiches, fries, pizza rolls, cookies, apples, pop tarts, chicken nuggets etc) absolutely NO NOODLES! He rarely eats meat or  veggies unless you count pizza sauce, ketchup and french fries. He's not big into fruit either only watermelon and apples. He can eat the same things days on end. He does switch it up every few months just because I make him switch it up. 

Restricted behavior Mav Style: I call this Mav cycles because he usually has 3-4 things that he is restricted to every 3-4 months then he changes. Let me try to explain right now the Mav Cycle is carrying around a bag with thomas the train & friends(you bettter believe that he knows their names, color, size,  how many fit in the bag and if one is missing), he is on a Winnie the Pooh movie binge(If anyone knows where I can find Winnie the Pooh A Very Merry Pooh Year DVD please help a sister out this is making me crazy), he has a ball he carries around the yard, and he likes play station.  His next cycle will more than likely be carrying around a bag of wooden spools or stamps, Thomas movies, Jumping all day with a few minutes in the sand box, playing on his iPad.  It's crazy how after a few cycles we begin over with the first one again like everything is all new. Sometimes I love to see a cycle come back other times I want to pull my hair out. 

Self-injury Mav Style: I'm gonna be real honest with this one it scares the shit out of me when it happens and thank goodness it doesn't happen often. This is something I think about too as the years go by and he grows how this might change. He is a big dude already and I know he will be bigger than me some day.How will I stop the behavior what will I be able to do so he doesn't hurt himself? 

When he was littler he would throw himself to the ground or hit his head on stuff but he doesn't do that now. He will throw himself occasionally but it's over something major. He will pinch, hit, scratch and bite himself but this isn't a daily or even a weekly thing. When he had to have reconstructive foot surgery in 2011 it was so hard to watch him put himself in pain because he didn't know how to deal with the pain of his feet. I hate to see him in pain and will do anything in my power so that he doesn't injure himself even if that means I get the teeth or fist. He does get aggressive but I guess if you were stuck in a box and couldn't express in words what you wanted, needed, or were thinking you'd get pissed and aggressive too I know I would. Sometimes I think that aggression isn't him it comes from something else because after the fact he will get upset and tell you sorry. He doesn't like to hurt you or himself.

Don't forget the giveaway in the post below. Have a great day! ~MK

PS.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the BEST GMA in the WHOLE WORLD!! 71 looks fab on you!

Today is World Autism Day

Facts about Autism

Did you know ...

• Autism now affects 1 in 88 children and 1 in 54 boys
• Autism prevalence figures are growing
• Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
• Autism costs a family $60,000 a year on average
• Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases
• Boys are nearly five times more likely than girls to have autism
• There is no medical detection or cure for autism

National Institutes of Health Funds Allocation

• Total 2012 NIH budget: $30.86 billion
• Of this, only $169 million goes directly to autism research. This represents 0.55% of total NIH funding.

make a difference for Mav and others like him learn more about Autism HERE. I will be sharing our journey with Autism here on the blog all month long too. 

I'll share different things we'll be doing this month like going to Build A Bear. It's become a tradition for our family to go make one of these special bears.

Tonight and for the rest of the month our house will be lit up blue. We have the blue bulbs for our porch lights and have been doing this the last couple years. we have gotten questions from those who have seen our house and they always think its cool once we've explained the reason why we do it.

If you've read this leave a comment letting me know you did, if you've shared it with friends let me know that, if your life has been changed by Autism share it. I want to do a giveaway starting today running til Saturday April 6th. If you leave a comment you will be entered to win a personalized necklace created by me and if you're a paper crafter I'll send some of those goodies your way too.
So what are you waiting for? Leave a comment you just might be the winner.

Sketchbook Reveal

So let me start this post by saying this was an awesome kit and so easy to create with! As I was working on the March photo board I knew it would be cool because of the fun stuff we saw at CHA but then i started pulling photos of the products online and OMG i was so giddy. I emailed CD to tell her how awesome I thought everything looked together and I couldn't wait to get it ALL! Yes. ALL!! I had to have all the kits this month even add-on pattern paper which lately i haven't been going for but I had to have it this month. I know I say that the Cocoa Daisy kits are awesome and blah blah blah month after month but seriously it just seems like the kits get better and better every time. Christine has an amazing eye and talent for putting kits together!I feel so honored to get to work with the kits and this awesome company every month! It all just fits like a puzzle for me! So let me introduce you to March 2013 Sketchbook and the Add-on Kits by Cocoa Daisy.

Sketchbook

Renderings

Freehand

 

and the Stamps

 

and here is what I created

As you can see this month it was all about Mav. I'm not sure why but the photos and the products just worked together and seriously all these layouts came together in less than an hour each. I even learned how to crop my layouts that have the overhang which I was so proud of even if they aren't perfect I still learned something new woohoo!

By the way there are a few Sketchbook, Renderings, Freehand, and Stamps left so go get yours because the CD ladies have some fun things we've created for this month that haven't been shown yet and I think you'll be wanting this kit for sure!

As always thanks for stopping by!!~MK

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy

Love , Momma

Wordless Wednesday: i goin to dizzy town

Aspen Grove Sneaks

It's that time again to share a few more sneaks to tide y'all over til the full Reveal of Cocoa Daisy's October kit Aspen Grove.

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I worked with Aspen Grove, Switchback, Hidden Lakes, and Trailhead
Don't forget the full reveal is at 9pm EST tonight (September 28th), we will reveal the full October kit and it's add ons, the Design Team's gallery will be open for you to look through and we will have more fun giveaways!

Our special Halloween project kit "Bag of Bones" will be available to subscribers tonight as well!

 And don't forget the stamps. I say it every month but seriously these are AWESOME!!!

Have a great weekend!MK

5 for Friday: The Koeppen 5 Edition

Thought I would take the chance this Friday to do a 5 for Friday post about the 5 of us right now what's going on, how we're doing, etc.

Mr.K

He's always working hard. He is loving the new house and the new area we live in. Lots of projects getting done. He's a jack of all trades and boy does that come in handy! He's happy to have his Mustang out driving it this summer( I think he thinks it keeps him in his young stud state of mind :) ) he's a simple guy, loves will all his being, is an awesome daddy& hubs. His favs right now: Rum N Coke, Tortilla chips, Reebok shoes, Jockey Undies(reminds me need to buy some tonight), Big Bang Theory, this ginormous magazine for reading material Gpa gave him, rockNroll music(metallica still his fav), hanging out with the fam outside, tasty twist ice cream, Mt Dew.

Teagan
She is starting that preteen stage(OMG will I make it thru this?), will be in the 4th grade as of Tuesday morning at 8:45, Loves the color blue in all shades, has a thing for wolves still, decided she will be a wildlife biologist when she grows up, plans to attend MSU(hopefully we can afford it in 8 years), is into drawing big time, has a love/hate relationship with her sister, is always thinking, she's a worrier like her momma, she's nervous about school and if she'll make new friends(which sh will I'm positive!), is a bit of a tomboy at the moment, she still has her braces on hoping to get them off in the next few months. He favs: Reeses cereal, Dr. Pepper, her nook, hip/hop music, Big Bang Theory, the Hunger games movie, swimming, her cat Mittens, riding her dirt bike, tasty twist ice cream, spicy McBites from McD's.

Mav
He is doing great this summer, road 2 trains this summer (LOVED IT), off his meds now on herbals, loves his portable movie player, is getting big OMG big!, loves swimming(he's part fish), enjoys his alone time still, going to be riding the bus Tuesday morning (his decision love it), Is actually wanting to go back to school now, is still happy with comfy pants and a tshirt, not a fan of hot weather, has named out new car Speed, is growing out of that momma's boy stage(he'll always be a momma's boy its just a lil different now), gaining more words and putting more together(love this) making decisions, plays alot and interacting with others too. His favs: still hooked on fries, loves OJ, Thomas the Train has made a come back, loves living in the new house, the swimming pool,pizza, music with bass, trains, chips & juice, Gma & Gpa's house, Angry Beavers show.

Avery

Is a mini scrapbooker, loves the color purple, is always on an adventure, thinks music is super cool, reading and writing lots, is excited to head back to school, bummed she's not riding a bus, loves the new house, plays outside a ton, her hair is getting long finally!, has fun with Duke, argues with her sister(OMG GREY HAIR SPROUTING), gives Mr.K and I both a run for our money, is a total tough ass, loves with all her being, will be a 1st grader as of Tuesday morning at 9, is a momma's girl, still loves tattoos(she will be wearing one the first day of school), is very independent, is a duck like her daddy lets it all slide off instead of worrying about it, loves her Popsicle(like majorly 8-10 before day gets home). Favs: Green popsicles, the right side of the bed, Taylor Swift, driving her sis crazy, outdoors, tasty twist dirt sundaes, going to the movies, mp3 player, bubble gum, fruity pebbles, princess movies, ponytails,purple, stretchy pants, mismatched everything, cheeseburgers no pickle no onion.

Me

 Happy, designing for Cocoa Daisy & The Stringery, ready for the kids to go back to school, so happy with the move(love the area and this house), lovin the vintage treasures I've found this summer, driving a hybrid(love it too), trying to get over sickness, worried about the first week of school and how everyone will do, I've had a great summer filled with lots of fun stuff(move, CHA, pubs, adventures with the fam etc), have a new friend named Mr. Dank(pussycat), love it when Mr.K laughs at me(he's the bestest), celebrated OUR 11th wedding anniversary yesterday(had to believe we've been together a 3rd of my life.), still stressing over everything, trying to get myself in to a routine, spent so time with some wonderful friends, Have a few fun things happening in the upcoming months. Favs: Cherry Coke Zero & Ice tea, the kitchen, instagram, turkey wraps from Arbys, Call Me Maybe, my scraproom, 8.5x11, Vintage , Old Navy t shirts, Mr.K's smell, yellow Popsicle, tasty twist lemon cones, black, Victoria secret undies(thanks to Danee), chalkboards, myhouse, Pride & Prejudice .

He Said, She Said Projects

Here are the layouts I created with the September 2012 Cocoa Daisy kit He Said, She Said

~MK

Sproutin up with the Sprout layouts finally...

Lots of Mav this month. There is another layout from my April Cocoa Daisy Gallery but it was picked up for pub so I'll have to wait to share. I've been into 8.5x11 lately they just seem to come together rather quick and its my go to when I have a bit of a creative block. anywho onto to the layouts....

this is a part of his story

photos from Mav's hospital stay from Jan 2011. Most will ask why would you want to scrap memories like that? My answer its part of his story life isn't always happy rainbows we all have times that we'd rather forget but they make us who we are so they are just as important to document too.

go see enjoy

a few photos I had multiple prints of and need to use. Love that honeycomb stamp. I also flipped the pattern paper for a different look and I really like how it turned out.

Keep Unique

another Mav layout using one of my favorite photos of him from last summer. This is totally Mav being Mav he's such a cool kid and does things his own way like taking a pile of books to the barn and reading in a nest of straw.

Sunshine

This one is simple and fell together quickly til it came to hand stitching that border design. I almost gave up stitching after this layout but decided it was worth the time spent and looks cool.

Watch U grow

Love that "Grow" stamp from CD. I knew I wanted to use it and then I saw this photo and the journaling came to mind then the design then the title. Journaling is about how people tell me he's lucky to have me but to be honest I'm the lucky one because I get to watch him grow and have learned so much from being his momma.

Sometimes I just have to Stop....

Simple. Quick.and a reminder that photos like this make me stop and think about all those good times and why I scrapbook.

Thanks for stopin by and taking a peek. Have a great afternoon.~MK

Cocoa Daisy Pier 39 Layouts finally..

I say finally in the title because it seems like it's been forever since I posted the sneaks. We've had a wonderful stomach bug making the rounds in the House of K and poor Mav got it bad last week then I got it again at the end of the week NOT COOL! I think we are all good now and hopefully we've had our share for the rest of the year crossing my fingers, legs, and toes.

The March Cocoa Daisy Kit Pier 39 is still available you can check it out HERE.Some of the extras are also still available HERE too. I have to say I was a little nervous about the colors in this kit at first but when I got the box and saw it all in person UM Hello what's not to love? and these layouts came together pretty quick. I have lots leftover and 2 more layouts in the works today that I'll share later in the week.

now on to the layouts:

Good Bye 20's Hello 30:

I love this Dear Lizzy paper and knew I'd be cutting it up to use something like this but I didn't have this layout planned it just happened. I love the stitched title and I think or at least I hope that I created a new technique with the stitching around the title to make the white thickers pop.I haven't seen this done but if you have please let me know.

REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION

I'll Love you yesterday, today, tomorrow, Always:

I think some of you might be wondering what the hell is that picture? It's a moment I captured of Miss.A and her pony Trixie Girl. I love the picture but some don't. The journaling is about their love for one another. The stamped words(green) is a past Cocoa Daisy stamp that is still available you can find it HERE.

REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION

He is all of these}
This is one of my favorite photos of him and it's on of the first ones I took with the photography course I took. I knew it would be a larger photo and the focus would be kept on it not everything else on the layout. Simple simple simple!I love how this one turned out except I'm not thrilled with the journaling and I think maybe I should have went with a different title and no journaling. I don't know...it's done and it's him.

I hope you all are healthy and creating! I'm going to try to blog hop a little tomorrow once the bigs are at school so if you've been creating please let me know I'd love to see!!~MK

10987654321Breathe

Today I thought I'd share my post from the Cocoa Daisy blog it's a couple tips/tricks that I used to create this quick and simple layout using pieces By The Numbers Kit and the DeweyDecimal, …count the ways, & EmbellishmentPack add-ons.

TIP/TRICK 1:
I love the Hambly Rub-ons in the DeweyDecimal add-on(sorry this one is sold out) and it's perfect for the single 4x6 photo layout i had sketched in my mind because it measures 6inches wide. To get the look that the rub-on was 11inches long I cut between the woodgrain and graph patterns.Then I moved the 2 piece to get the right placement(no measuring just eyeballed it on my craft mat) on my cardstock rubbed away then placed my photo between the 2 rub-on pieces.

Tip/Trick 2:
Y'all know I have a love for my 1920′s Royal typewriter and use it a lot well the ol girl is in storage right now(long story but we’re moving and things had to be packed) so how do I get my loved typewritten journaling with no typewriter? I downloaded this font and work the size and shape of my journaling in PSE. Once i have the journaling sized so that it fits my journal card i print on regular old printing paper. I hold the paper up to the light to see if the journaling fits the card space if not I rework it in PSE and reprint(sometimes it takes a couple trys to get it right).When the journaling fits and looks the way I want it to I adhere my journal card over the printed text.
Then run it back thru the printer and it looks like this when done.Voila I have that same typed look it just takes a few more steps than it would with a typewriter.

Another look at the layout and a couple closeups.


So there you have it a couple tips/tricks to try next time your scrapping!
Have a great weekend!MK