End of Year Teacher Gifts
We absolutely love our teachers and want to let them know how much we will miss them at the end of the year. I've complied a list of ideas you can give individually or pair with gift cards in ranging price points so everyone can find something that works for them. Let’s talk end of year teacher gifts!
Building Mobile Workbenches
My parents very graciously offered the unused part of their garage for storage of all of my tools. Considering my previous storage space consisted of the closet under my stairs, this was a huge upgrade. There was even room for a few workbenches, so I pulled out all of the rusty nails from some scrap wood I had, grabbed some hand-me-down cabinets and started assembling my custom workbenches!
The Ever Evolving Desk
In 2016, I took on one of my very first DIY projects. I turned my grandfather's old work desk into something completely new. I had a family friend who is a woodworking pro help me carefully take the desk apart, strip it and then paint it. I ended up with two end tables and a kitchen table. The desk stayed that way until 2020 when we moved into the house we live in now. Since then, I have transformed it a few more times. Let me show you the transformations this one desk has gone through!
Visual Schedule
After Jackie was diagnosed as autistic, one of the things I learned that was really helpful for her was having a visual scheduled board. It was something they used in her special education preschool class that was really helpful for her. Once COVID hit and I was teaching her at home, I knew it would be beneficial for us to use one around the house as well. So I decided to put one together myself.
Autism Binder
When I shared my binder organization system a few years ago, I also shared the autism/medical binder I created for Jackie. At that time, a lot of the overwhelming response I got was: I wish my parents had done something like this for me and then given it to me when I graduated! Combine that feedback with conversations I've had with other parents I knew, I wanted to create something universal that had all of the information someone with a new diagnosis would need in one place.
How to Make a Channel Headboard
I recently turned our third floor into the nursery, but when we first moved into the house it was our guest room. We had a bed frame, but no headboard. I wanted to make the room look a little more put together without buying a whole new bed frame so I decided to make a channel headboard.
A Bed Box for Bedtime Anxiety
We've had a hard time with Jackie staying in her room at night or wanting me to stay in her room with her until she falls asleep. One of the members of our therapy team came up with the idea of giving her a bed box full of activities and toys she was only able to have if she stayed in her room without me. I gathered a bunch of special items together and put them in a bedtime only box for her. Let me show you what's in her current bed box!
How I Use A Medication Organizer to Stay on Top of My Meds
I have a lot of pills I have to take. Between supplements, ADHD medication and more, it can be hard to remember to take them all. I found this awesome four week pill organizer almost a year ago now, and I absolutely love it. I wanted to show you how I refill it every month and why I love it so much!
Kreg Pin Hole Jig Tutorial
Let's talk about how to use a pinhole jig to create custom shelving pretty much anywhere you want. The jig I'm using is from Kreg and honestly they make some of the best jigs out there!
ADHD & Pregnancy
Now that baby brother is here, I wanted to talk about ADHD in pregnancy. In my previous pregnancy with Jackie, I stopped taking my stimulants as soon as I found out I was pregnant. This pregnancy, I stayed on my medication the entire time so I have experience with both ends of the spectrum. Lets get into it!
Turning Our Storage Closet Under the Stairs Into A Play Closet
If you have been here a while, you'll know that we added a closet under the stairs in our house a few years ago. For some reason the builder didn't and it was a total waste of space. It has been my tool closet since we built it and has worked well. However, I don't need it as my tool closet anymore because I have workbenches now. It has unfortunately become a dumping ground. I haven't even able to go into because it's so full of random stuff! It's time to clean it out and make it a much more functional space in time for baby to get here.
Tips for Decluttering Toys
A few posts back I talked about how I organized the entertainment center. I did a lot of decluttering in the process and I promised I would go over how I declutter toys in our neurodivergent home. These tips might not work for everyone, but they work really well for our family. Let's get started!