Behind the scenes: The making of the 2011 Holiday Card

Background info:  The photo shoot was done in our living room, on the floor (sans dropcloth---it seem like a good idea, but we would have been tripping on it, and I don't think it would have contained the mess, anyway).  The backdrop was holiday stuff that we tape to the back of our couch (with black duct tape).  We took 233 pictures.  The clean up is an ongoing effort---when I dust, I'm still finding flour.  It keeps going airborne and redistributing. 

All pictures will be enlarged if you double click (I think).

In the beginning things were festive, but flourless . . .

(sprinkling flour)

 Then, the stage was set . . .

And the talent was brought in . . .

Maya: What is this stuff?

Parker: Guys, this seems like a very bad idea.

Maya: This is fantastic!

Parker:  (gulp)

Maya: I think I could be very naughty with this stuff.  Hee hee!

Parker: I think I'm hyperventilating.

Parker: Save meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

This flour is so slippery!

She had some fun shaking the bag . . .

and then moved on to dumping.

This is the most fun I've ever had!

(that's Maya talking, not Parker.  In case you can't tell)

Maya: Daddy!  I need more flour!

Parker: Please no. 

Maya: Whoa!

Parker: Seriously, are you guys seeing this?

Maya:  Hey Mommy, are you watchin' me?

Parker: Yeah, is anyone watching?  Anyone? 

Maya:  Woot woot!  Can a girl get some more flour up in here?!

(note Parker seeming to stretch as far as he can away from her)

FLOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Parker: I can't believe they really gave you more.  Everyone has lost their mind.

When Dave wasn't quick enough to refill the bag, Maya took matters into her own hands:

Maya: Fine, I'll do it myself.

Parker: Someone needs to cut her off.

Maya: FUNNEST DAY EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Parker: We're done, right?  Please say we're done.

The aftermath:

 (fancy lighting, right?)

    Ended with a great-job-Maya kiss from Daddy :)

The best holiday card ever (2011 style)

Front:

(you can click to enlarge)

Inside:

Happy Holidays from our family to yours :)

The picture was taken by us, in our living room---tomorrow, I'll put up a few behind-the-scene photos.

Holiday Card--2010!

This card was awesome.

Yes, it was real paint (nontoxic washable black finger paint).  Yes, it was really on the dog.  This was done on the floor of our living room.  For some behind-the-scenes action, check out "the making of" post. 

There will be a behind-the-scenes post this year as well, but it will be much smaller, since somehow the 2011 card was even more messy than the 2010 one.  And that's the only hint you're getting. 

The 2011 card will be posted on Monday, to allow time for some folks to get them via mail before it pops up here :)

The 2nd in the series---Holiday Card, 2009

So continues the annual parade of holiday-cards-past, leading to the reveal of the 2011 masterpiece :) 

When we put together the 2009 card, Maya was 1.5 (and as adorable as ever).   Here's the card we mailed out that year, and it's story (the story is copied from a blog post last year, so if it sounds familiar, that's why). 

Last year we thought that we had come up with a great card. It was a pictoral representation of 2009, it made us laugh, and we thought it was clever. We didn't anticipate that it would prove to be possibly too clever. Have a look:

Front:

Sorry that's a little blurry.  I'm not technologically savvy enough to know how to clean it up.

Inside:

Get it?

To us, it made total sense. Spring = Maya is sad, Summer = Maya is sad, Fall = Maya is sad . . . but in the Winter, Maya is happy! Tie it all together with "It's the most wonderful time of the year" Christmas song quote, and we loved it. But then we had a few conversations that went like this:

Them: "Hey, we got your card! It was really cute. It was . . . interesting . . . you know, how you picked so many crying pictures."

Us: "Did you get it? Like with the whole 'it's the most wonderful time of the year' thing? You know, because the holiday season is fun, so she was only laughing in the winter?"

Them: (pause)  "Ohhhhhhhh . . . "

Us: (Sigh)

Oh well. We still think it was an excellent card :)

It's a December tradition here on the blog . . .

December (aka the best month ever) kind of slid right past me this year.  We had  the trip to Yale, the start of my new job, the assistive tech re-evaluation, training on my new job, and the most amazing fundraiser ever . . . and suddenly it's already Dec. 8th.  I've got to get on the ball. 
 
Here's why December is the best:
1.  It can possibly snow in December.  I am over-the-moon-crazy-excited when it snows.
2.  December smells good.  The air is crisp--outside it smells like snow and fireplaces and inside it smells like pine and cinnamon. 
3.  There is no prettier way to light a room than with a lit up Christmas tree.
4.  It's basically the only month of the year when I bake.  And then I have an excuse to eat baked things.
5.  Giving people presents is super fun.
6.  People are happier.  I mean, they're a little crazy too (especially in retail arenas) but generally, people are just more merry.
7.  City streets look like enchanted places when trees and balconies are strung up with lights.
8.  Christmas carols sound like home.
9.  My birthday is the week before Christmas, and I love the fact that everyone is really excited that week.
10.  Christmas morning will always feel like the most magical morning of the year.

This year brings the added bonus that Maya is kind of old enough to "get it."  Last year she was in love with Santa, but she still had no idea what his deal is.  This year I think that if we talk about it enough she might actually understand.    She's loving the tree, and the holiday crafts we've been doing (more to come on those tomorrow).  It's really fun!

If you're new to the blog, you might not know that holiday cards are kind of our thing.  We try to come up with something cute and different every year, and I love sending them out.  Last year I shared the cards from holidays past---and I'm going to make that a December tradition.  We'll do 2008- 2009- 2010 -and then this year's card  (I can't wait to share it).

Without further ado, Maya's first ever holiday card (2008):

Yes, I really put her in a pot. Yes, it was really on the stove. She couldn't move, the burners weren't on, and she was (clearly) having fun. So don't hate mail me.

Happy December, everyone :)

The week that nightmares are made of

Last night I had nightmares.  Nightmare(s)-plural.  All of them directly correlate to stressful events on the horizon (well, honestly, one might have been related to the Dexter episode that I watched right before going to bed). But mostly they are due to the week ahead.

The week's itinerary

Today: Most of the day was spent trying to clean and restore order, which is apparently unmaintainable when we have a week of vacation.  This afternoon Maya got two fingers caught in the elevator door (to be fair, this wasn't a planned event, but it caused an hour of chaos, nonetheless).  Then came the return of our EI speech therapist (who we will be seeing once a week---very exciting---and I'll have to write about the re-balancing sometime soon). 

Tomorrow: More organizing (yeah, we're that messy), cleaning out old toys & clothes, donation trip to Goodwill, then draggin the Christmas stuff out of storage.  Also, trying to plan this year's holiday card.  (Yeesh--I wish last year's hadn't been so good.  I feel like the bar is set kind of high.)  Support group meeting in the evening (had to skip last time, can't do it again).

Wednesday: Dave &Maya are playing hooky so that we can go to Yale to meet with a new geneticist.  All new appointments are unsettling, but new geneticists are the worst.  At this point, the thought of them finding a diagnosis is more scary to me than the not knowing.  This trip has the potential to link us to a interesting team . . . but I'm getting ahead of myself.  We'll have to wait and see.  But I'm feeling nervous.  (Also, bailed on book club, because it's just not going to happen after we arrive back, physically and emotionall wiped out, from CT)

Thursday:  I start my new job.  In the future, most of my working hours will be logged from home, but I need to be in the office a bit this week and next week to train on the system I'll be using.  (It's academic work for a grad school, drawing on my teaching experience.)  I haven't started a new job in 8 years.  And I'm not really a people person.  So, a little nervous.  (Also, bailed on "Parent's Night Out" with the folks from Maya's class this evening, because I will be beyond frazzled.)

Friday: Maya's asstistive tech re-evaluation at school.  Ugh.  She's had the TechSpeak at school for a month, and is doing well with it.  Now the DOE people will decide whether she should stick with that, or get a Dynvaox Maestro (which seems to be their high tech device of choice).  I don't even know what I want to happen here . . .

• if they want her to stick with the low tech device, she will outgrow it sometime soon. She already has to supplement heavily with the Word Book, because the Tech Speak just can't hold all of her words. However, at least it's familiar to her right now.
• if they give her a Maestro, then she loses what she's currently using (and is used to).  Also, now that I've met with the Dynavox and PRC people, I want to trial each one of their devices and figure out which is the best fit for Maya.  What if they give her a Maestro and a month from now (when I get around to training and trialing) I can see that they Vantage Lite is a better fit?  We can't keep switching systems on her, it's not fair.  (sigh)

So, that's the week.

In other, more interesting, news:

• Last week's Thanksgiving post quickly becamse my fastest shared post ever (surpassing Amsterdam International with over 470 Facebook shares in less than a week).  It also generated the most page views that I've ever had in a day (2,051).  Pretty cool.
• If you missed it over the weekend, check out the post from Sunday, in which you can see how Maya uses the Word Book.  If you're trying something similar at home, make sure to read the comments---there are a few good ideas there.  (And if you have any ideas to share, don't be shy.)
• Go check out the 2011 Holiday Toy Guide for Kids with Special Needs, put together by Ellen over at Love That Max.  It's full of great ideas!  Plus, if you scroll about halfway down, you'll see a familiar face!  Hint: It's Maya :)

* I had to write this twice, because the internet ate it the first time around.  This draft is much more choppy and fragment filled, but it kind of matches my mental state anyway, so it's staying as is. 

The making of the Best Holiday Card Ever

Here's your behind the scenes look at the holiday card shoot (these were taken the last week in November).

Dave and I traded off with the camera and staging duties---it's surprisingly complicated to get a toddler and a puppy to simultaneously cooperate.  Add in some wet paint, and it's (literally) a messy situation.  (The paint was black fingerpaint--totally nontoxic, washed right out, and I'm not sure if he even knew it was there, so no animal rights hate mail.)

Did you know that you can click on any picture to make it bigger?  So don't squint and hurt your eyes :)

Setting the scene-in the living room (the backdrop is our comforter draped over our couch):

Parker is clearly enthused and ready to begin.

Me: Parker!  Get in there!

Maya: Parker!  Let's go!

Parker: I don't think I like this.

Ok, guys, come on-perk up!   Pay attention!

Um, not like that.  That's too children-of-the-corn.

Maya's starting to get into it.  Add the paintbrush!

Hold it like this, Daddy?

Parker: I don't like the look of that paintbrush.

 

Maya: I think I could do some serious damage here.  (Is it me or does the way she's holding the brush totally scream "Psycho"?)

 

Ok, Maya, paint your Parker.

THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!  I CAN'T EVEN STAND IT!

I love this day!

And then things took an  . . . um, unexpected turn.

Hope your holidays don't stink!  :)

The best holiday card EVER!

Without further ado, our 2010 card . . .

(You can click on this to make it appear full-screen)

We wish(ed) you a Merry Christmas (2009 style)*

Last year we thought that we had come up with a great card.  It was a pictoral representation of 2009, it made us laugh, and we thought it was clever.  We didn't anticipate that it would prove to be possibly too clever.  Have a look:

Front:

(sorry that it's a little blurry, I'm not a tech person so I don't know how to clean that up!)

Inside:

Get it?

To us, it made total sense.  Spring = Maya is sad, Summer = Maya is sad, Fall = Maya is sad . . . but in the Winter, Maya is happy!  Tie it all together with "It's the most wonderful time of the year" Christmas song quote, and we loved it.   But then we had a few conversations that went like this:

Them: "Hey, we got your card!  It was really cute.  It was interesting how you picked so many crying pictures, though."

Us: "Did you get it?  Like with the whole 'it's the most wonderful time of the year' thing?  You know, because the holiday season is fun, so she was only laughing in the winter?"

Them:  "Ohhhhhhhh . . . "

Us:  (Sigh)

Oh well.  We still think it was an excellent card  :)

So now you've seen 2008 (Maya's first card) and 2009 (Maya's 2nd card) . . . in a week I'll put up this year's card (which is Maya's 3rd card and Parker's 1st card).   And this year's card . . . well, let me just say that it's good. 

Really good.

(I'm slightly biased, but whatever)

I can't wait to share it here!

It's coming on Christmas . . . *

I Love December. 

L-o-v-e December.

My birthday is Dec. 19---same week as Christmas.  While this sometimes brings birthday sympathy ("Did you feel like you got shortchanged because everyone's busy with Christmas-y stuff?"), I love it!  I love that my birthday falls right during the time when everyone is decorating, listening to carols, wrapping presents, drinking hot chocolate . . . it's like everyone (everyone who wants to, anyway) has stars in their eyes.  And snow!  There's always the possibility of snow, too!  I'll leave my feelings about snow for some other time, because I could fill a few pages with them.

Anyway, in honor of our entry into December (and Hanukkah, too!  Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate!) I bring to you Maya's First Holiday Card.  This was Dec. 2008, she was 6 months old :

Yes, I really put her in a pot.  Yes, it was really on the stove.  She couldn't move, the burners weren't on, and she was (clearly) having fun.  So don't hate mail me.

We have a bit of a holiday card obsession.  This is the one from 2008 . . . in a few days I'll put up the one from 2009, and then this year's card (it's a good one---some folks will have them arriving in mailboxes this week!)

In other EXTREMELY EXCITING news . . . guess what arrived today?!?!?!?

Did you guess?

That, my friends, is our handicap parking permit  (and the champagne that we are currently celebrating with)!

If you're not a New Yorker, you might not fully understand the wonder of this thing . . . it's not like "I can get a closer spot at the grocery store". 

Instead, it means that I don't have to carry Maya out to the car to move it for street cleaning.  It means that instead of leaving for feeding therapy 1 hour and 15 minutes early to allow for parking time, we can leave 25 minutes early and just grab a "no parking" spot close to the building.  It means that as Maya starts walking more, I'll be able to park close enough to places to actually allow her the chance to practice walking, rather than tossing her in a stroller all the time.  It means that (hopefully) my arm, neck, hip, and back won't hurt as much from having to carry her everywhere.

It's a game changer. 

It was a pain in the butt to get (an 8 month process, which included having to get Maya a license, and resubmitting forms because they couldn't read the doctor's signature---really?) but in the end, we were victorious :)

Time slips away, and leaves you with nothing, mister . . . *

I haven't written since Monday?  Really?  Well, that's what happens.  Dave gets a week off from work, projects take over, time slips away, and the blog gets bumped down on the list of priorities.

We've been having a great week :)

We had some therapies on Monday and Tuesday, but canceled them all for Weds-Thurs-Fri.  3 days of blissful unscheduledness.  I'm sure that Maya misses her buddies, but it's nice to have the time off.    We've hung out with family (both sides), Maya's gotten to play with both sets of grandparents, 3/4 of her aunts & uncles, and 5 out of 7 cousins.  We've played, ran errands, and created another fantastic holiday card---coming soon to mailboxes nationwide :)

Oh, and we picked up these:

AHHHHHH!  (that's the angels singing) 

If your a real life friend of mine, or a regular reader, you might know that I have a thing with iced coffee.  I have 2 per day (ok, occasionally 3).  It has to be iced, has to be strong, has to be in a large (venti, whatver) cup.   A few years back Starbucks made these reusable iced coffee cups, which flew off the Starbucks shelves----and unfortunately, flew off of my desk at school, cracking mine straight down the side.  (Dave ordered a replacement for me from Thailand.  Seriously.)  Since then, we try to have a few back-ups on hand.  They only come out twice a year (holidays and summer) and don't last long.  So we grabbed 2 new ones this week.

And then, my fabulous sister-in-law brought me a blue one!  Blue! Someday I'll have all the colors of the rainbow.

And we even got this teeny tiny Christmas tree ornament cup :)  It's too cute (and perfect)!

(If you like iced coffee, a cup like this is really worth getting---it's double walled, so no water beads up on the outside of it.  More importantly, it's reusable (good for the planet).  AND, I just make a pot of coffee and then keep it in the fridge (in a Tupperware style pitcher) so it's cheap and always on hand.)

On the other end of the relaxed spectrum, this week we will be SERIOUSLY OVERBOOKED.  (That's in all caps because it's a scary, intimidating week.)  Maya will have her full schedule of therapies, plus a pediatrician appointment (2.5 year check-up) plus 3 evaluations for CPSE.   I'll explain what that means some time this week, but for now just know that it's stressing me out.

So we will be completely booked, from breakfast until dinner, nearly every day this week. 

Monday: (breakfast/walk Parker) Therapy A: 8:30-9:30,  (walk or dog park, lunch) Therapy B:11:30-12:10, (nap) Therapy C: 3:15-4, (snack) Therapy D: 4:30-5:15 (dinner, play, bed)

Tuesday: (breakfast, dog park) Therapy A in Manhattan with travel time 9:45-12, (nap), Therapy B: 3:15-4, (snack, walk in lobby) Therapy C: 4:45-5:30  (dinner, play, bed)

Wednesday: (breakfast, dog park) Therapy A in Manhattan with travel time 9:45-12, (nap), Therapy B: 3:15-4, (snack) Psychological Evaluation 4:30-?  (eat, play, bed)

Thursday: (breakfast, walk Parker) Music class: 9:30-10:15 (walk home, snack, play) Therapy A: 11:30-12:15, Pediatrician 12:30, (nap, walk Parker) Speech/feeding evaluation 4-? (eat, play, bed)

Friday: (breakfast, walk Parker) Therapy A: 8:30-9:30, Psychological evaluation 10:30-? (lunch, nap) Freedom!

I'm sure that I'm not alone on this front---sometimes it's really hard to explain to people how we "don't have any free time" even though Maya's little and I'm a stay at home mom.  Our free time really exists in 30-60 min blocks, which isn't quite long enough for a play date or lunch or whatever.  It can be really isolating.

So those are all of my random, strung together thoughts on the past week.  Oh, and I should include this, which was our Facebook status on Thanksgiving Eve, in case you didn't see it:

A year ago today we were having Maya's brain MRI done. This year we had breakfast and dinner with family, ran some errands, and enjoyed a therapy free day. Sometimes a year makes a big difference :) Happy thanksgiving, everyone.


:)
Hope you all had great Thanksgivings!