2023 Christmas Decor
I look forward to decorating Christmas all year long. While I usually start decorating for Christmas on November 1st, it just didn't happen this year. We had a lot of activities the weekend of Halloween that we were participating in and right after that, I had to dive headfirst into the headboard and bed frame that I did so we could get them done in time for family to come visit. However, after our visitors left I was able to get decorating done which made me so happy! I've really come into my own with decorating, so I wanted to share some of my style choice with you.
Accommodations We Use in Our Neurodivergent House for the Holidays
Accommodations we use in our neurodivergent house for the holidays. As a reminder, both my husband and I have ADHD, our daughter is autistic and we have an infant. Many of these accommodations we already use throughout the year, but some are specific to the holidays because of how different things are this time of year.
Favorite Small Businesses to Support During the Holidays
It's the holiday season which means it’s holiday shopping time! Instead of making a another gift guide for you to go through like everyone else does, I'd like to share these small businesses I've either discovered this year or still love that you can help support as well. I've split them up into categories so they are easy to shop and I've also highlighted the ones local to Southeast Tennessee.
DIY King Bed Frame
When we moved into our house in 2020, we upgraded from a queen to a king size bed. At the time I bought the cheapest bed frame that I could find that I was moderately okay with and, honestly, it has not held up well. So I went to a local lumber yard, found a gorgeous piece of wormy maple and decided to build a headboard that I actually loved.
Social Stories to Help Prep for the Holidays
It's holiday season and if you have a neurodivergent family member, you know, this time of year can be kind of hard. With all of the excitement, parties, holiday foods, family and fun brings new routines, loud noises, new smells and over stimulation. All of this can be very overwhelming for someone neurodivergent and it can be hard to know how to help them navigate this time. So I have rounded up all of the social stories that I already have available on my site that can help prepare your neurodivergent family member for all of the change and potential travel that you may have this time of year.
Why You Need a Drill and a Driver
We're back again to talk about another set of tools that are really necessary. Today, we're going over why you need BOTH a power drill and an impact driver.
Christmas Tile Mat Ideas
It's the most wonderful time of the year! So of course I had to come up with some tile mat designs for the holidays. I tried to make some that would be usable no matter what holidays you celebrate this time of year, because I know there are quite a few. I also did several color variations for most of these designs. So, if you're looking for a more traditional color scheme or you like a more color heavy color scheme, like me, I've got you covered!
House Bed FAQs
Whenever I share about the house bed that I built for my daughter, I inevitably get a lot of repeated questions about it. So I'm dedicating an entire post to the eight most frequently asked questions I get about the house bed. These are not in any particular order. They're just questions that I get and I'm going to answer for you today.
Baby Proofing Our House
Baby brother has started rolling and he is working on crawling. So, it's time to baby proof the house. Not only are we doing this now so we're ready when he actually starts crawling, but also prepping things early helps this neurodivergent household get used to all the new things we need to be doing before it's officially necessary. Let's round up the baby proofing items we are using!
My Process for Making a Space More Neurodivergent Friendly
If you've been following me for a little while, you know that a lot of the DIY projects that I do in our home are to better utilize the space for our neurodivergent family's needs. While I've talked about WHAT makes these new spaces neurodivergent friendly, I want to talk through my process of HOW I better utilize our space to make it more neurodivergent friendly.
My Favorite Non-Power Tools
I decided to do a round up of all of my favorite (and sometimes new or unconventional) non-power tools. Spoiler alert: this list doesn't include my tape measure because that, to me, is just an obvious. Lets go!