Mama DOES have eyes in the back of her head!

Marion Crane Earrings from Clevergirl.Etsy.com

Boo! Eye see you!

I love Halloween. But I love Halloween from behind the scenes.  I like the planning and creating and the troubleshooting.  For me, it is like a treasure hunt to warm me up for the upcoming holidays. I have to find just the right thing, I can plan all year for it, and I have to have a backup plan.

Eye Wide Open

Les Yeux

I do not like getting dressed up and people in masks and people who are barely recognizable freak me out. Seriously. I have trouble understanding spoken language unless I can see the person’s mouth and I have made an ass out of myself (there would be a costume!) more than once by enthusiastically approaching folks I think I know and then I realize oops- not them.  It is my hope, that these oopses become clear to me before I hug the person, kiss them on the cheek, or sassily pinch their behind (happened to me, ClubMed age 10. I thought the skinny blond was my mom. It wasn’t. It was a shocked dude. My mother thought it was hilarious. I didn’t tell her about the part where the person was a Mick Jagger-ly skinny dude.).

But I do enjoy indulging in some of the lower key camp of the holiday.

I have a pair of the eyeball hairpins for my own use (the ones offered are unworn) and it really reitterates the eyes in the back of my head thing with the kiddo (and appeals, I think, to his very visual learning style.

The earrings were inspired by the shower scene in Psycho, and the necklace is just a gorgeous, matte eye.

All of them are set in handmade, from scratch, sterling silver settings and are heirloom quality.

Which, of course, is as important as design and style when eyeing a signature piece.

If you order before 10/28 6am EST I’ll send orders that include treasures from my “Great Pumpkin” category in my Etsy shop via USPS Priority Mail (within the US) and I’ll refund your shipping charges once they ship. I am offering a $4.00 credit for international friends, though international orders will not arrive in time for the Great Pumpkin)…. Just mention “blog” in the notes to seller area and I’ll take care of the rest.  If you are in the US and need one of these shipped overnight via FedEx or UPS give me a holler and I’ll send you a quote.

Anyway, Happy Trick or Treating!  Now go shopping!

xo

Bek

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Ticket to the Great Pumpkin Festival

Pumpkin Festival

Originally uploaded by CleverIndie

We use rolls of carnival tickets as a visual, tangible “token” instead of monetary allowance. This helps him stay on track, helps reduce stress for our whole family, and teaches him the concept of money and hard work.

The tickets accumulating in his bear shaped plastic jar “ticket bank” are another visual and we also track his daily and weekly ticket progress on a task sheet. He earns tickets for everyday chores but we also give him tickets for choosing to play with a toy from his “sensory bucket” (more on that soon, I promise!) and I give him an extra ticket here and there for doing little projects or favors for me. For the special project tickets, I usually write the date and task on the back, so we can reinforce with praise when reviewing the day or week.

Anyway, I was looking at the big bag of tickets he earned over the summer and didn’t want to put them in curbside recycling and I couldn’t reuse them with Alex (he’s very rigid in his thinking- we are working on it but at this time “re-earning” the tickets would totally throw off his game)… So I asked Alex if he could think of a project to do with them.

These necklaces are what we came up with and we make them together(he’s the very enthusiastic glitter department).

$5 of each necklace purchased goes towards Alex’s virtual school fund (he gets tickets/points toward his goal). He is saving up to take language lessons online, through K12.com.

To learn more about Asperger’s please visit NIH’s info sheet

To buy a necklace please visit my Etsy shop.

xo
Bek

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A Chip Off the Old SIGG bottle.

Sigg & BPA

Originally uploaded by CleverIndie

SIGG was a company many of us trusted. We were led to believe that we were making healthier choices for our families by choosing SIGG’s water bottles. Many of us recommended their products to friends and family, hoping to spread the healthy message of avoiding BPA.

I don’t feel like we drank the kool-aid. I feel like someone slipped something in our drink, in this case it’s in our water.

They claim the amounts of BPA are not able to leach into the water.

Here is Alex’s bottle. See the chips and the damage to the threads? That’s through regular wear and washing-since June 2008. The bottle is always used with a plastic SIGG “sport” top. Our other bottles don’t look like this, thankfully. Even if the BPA in these bottles really doesn’t leach in water, what about the folks that use their bottles for more acidic beverages? How does their supposed non-leaching liner behave then?

And what about when that lining chips off while the thoughtful Mama, trying to do the best for her kid, screws on the top and that little bit of lining enters his mouth, and travels into his stomach?

Does the BPA leach in the digestive system?

What does that BPA do to growth and development in that kid?

I’m curious.
I’m frustrated. I’m disappointed. I’m angry.

I’m exhausted.

Not over the bottles. Or, not completely over the bottles. I guess we have to assume that if damage was done, it has already been done.  But don’t take that as me being passive because if anyone contributes to the challenges Alex faces in this world I cannot let it just float into the wind as just a hard lesson learned in the trenches.

So what to do? Right now I’m sitting here looking at 5 bottles and wondering what to do.

Will people ever trust SIGG and their new eco-liner? The company is offering a voluntary bottle exchange- send in your old bottles and they will email you a code to cover the cost of a replacement with the new liner, from their webstore, but that is little consolation to those of us who put our health, the health of our families, our cash, and our reputations on the line.

But do we trust the new liner? Will we ever trust Sigg again?

And when will the FDA catch up with Canada regarding banning BPA?

And what will this stuff do to my kid, who probably has ingested a chunk of it. Or what has it done already?

Need a pocket?

Pocksie!

Ever find yourself needing a pocket for a little hands free carrying of tiny stuff?

Going for a walk with the dog, and want to take your ID (you should always have ID on you. Don’t make me mom-out on you) but no pockets and not so much a fan of the fanny pack? Need a covert little storage area on your person while you play devastatingly beautiful spy for the evening?

These are “Pocksie” and they are available through Amazon.com. You get 6 for $9.99 and they are this fabulous soft, thin, stretchy flannel-y material. There is adhesive on three sides with one side left adhesive-free (that’s the opening)- you stick them to your clothes (on the inside, typically) with the opening facing up, and your clothes become the backing to the pocket and voila! A little hidden pocket for your ID, some business cards…That sort of thing. They are beige, pale beige. I would love to see these in black as well, to blend more with a wider variety of clothing- and to bust up any confusion as to where you stick these (you do not stick them to your skin!).

I test drove these by sticking them to the inside of a fairly thin, soft cotton jersey loose fitting t-shirt (I didn’t want anything close fitting supporting it as this was one of my personal product tests and I wanted fairly clean anecdotal results). I jammed my insulin pump (heavier than most modern cellular phones) in it and went about my day. And it stuck. All day. It stuck really well and I was amazed at the end of the day how well it was still sticking- I had to give it a good pull to get it off (probably not a good match for silk!). I would feel confident wearing these under anything, holding ID, credit card, or a small cell-phone. Of course, your mileage may vary *insert disclaimer here* but I do recommend grabbing a 6-pack of these and keeping them on hand. On the inside of a loose fitting, single layer shirt you could clearly see where my pump was- but with ID and card, it wasn’t so noticeable.  I would probably use these under clothes with a more substantial fabric anyway, so for me that is a non-issue.

I bought them to see if my insulin pump would fit in them. My Animas 2020 was a very tight fit (not easy to get it in or out, but for a formal affair and the perfect outfit, I would be much happier with a little tugging to get the pump out than looking like I am losing my underthings…as was the case when I tried the leg thing- which is great if it fits you well… not so friendly on my curvaceous stems) and from the looks of it a Cozmo would fit well (not necessarily with the Cozmore backing)…

Women who wear insulin pumps are often faced with this dilemma as the choices for carrying their pump when all gussied up are usually- a case with a clip, reenacting the “pencil test” with their pump, or a “leg thing” (like a garter).
While my pump does have an integrated clip and I usually wear pump, tubing, etc fairly exposed (frankly, on most legging or jeans wearing days I just don’t give the aesthetics of this life improving device another thought), there have been moments during workouts or dress up that I have longed for a comfortable, concealed way to carry my pump.

The Awesome That Is Amazon.com Prime

I am obsessed with Prime. Me obsessed? I know, all of my readers are shocked. :-)
We have had Prime for two weeks and already it has paid for itself- we can buy necessities through Amazon.com and have them delivered 2 day for FREE. Ok, not totally free- Prime has an annual $79 membership fee. BUT last week I needed two different weight medicine balls, all other sites were charging $15-$40! for shipping the balls. As I was ordering a few other things and rationalized that around the winter holidays two day is sometimes the only way to get Santa’s sleight here on time (or to relatives that live elsewhere). Of course, we shop handmade whenever possible, but on occasion a sibling or a parent really digs a DVD or has mentioned a book they would like… We eat a ton of almonds in this house- and really like the flavored Blue Diamond ones- I bought a 6 pack and had them shipped Free (under Prime’s 2-day shipping) and I definitely saved some cash, and stocked up our Hurricane kit.

I have ordered so much over the past year- because I can’t get to the store, or the store I can get to doesn’t have what I need. Prime makes sense for our family. I can get some grocery items, some medical supplies, home improvement supplies and tools, and even physical therapy & occupational therapy tools. It’s also great for those “I’m too busy to get to the store and junior has a birthday party to go to in 3 days! I need to grow more arms!” moments…

Anyway, the $79 definitely pays for itself and I think is a great tool for folks like me who can’t drive and don’t live in an area where it is safe or even manageable to walk to the store… Of course Prime only works on goods shipped/fulfilled by Amazon- and each product page lets you know what is and is not Prime eligible.

Click here for more info on Amazon Prime

xo
Bek

Purse safety tip…

Last night and today I have seen the video of the 82 year old woman in a Florida Publix store having her purse snatched, slamming her and her 80 year old brother to the ground. I think I have seen it a few dozen times. Hey, I had an early docs appointment and had some mellow rest as the sleep I should have had overnight was punctuated with kid feet (we had thunderstorms last night) and some of my ‘betes technology was beeping every hour. Fun. Anyway….

I can’t remember where I first learned this suggestion, but since I have stopped sporting a backpack diaperbag everywhere I go and have returned to a smallish bag/handbag/purse, I find that it doesn’t replace vigilance and care, but it does help a little.

If you put your bag (even a regular diaper bag could be secured this way) in the fold out seat near the handlebar of the shopping cart- simply use the seatbelt (if it is not being used for a small child) and loop it and clip it through the handles or strap of your purse and click-it closed (and if your purse closes for Pete’s sake, close it! No need to tempt anyone who might be up to no good).

It might not be 100%, but with hooligans (yeah, I said it. Call me an old lady. Go ahead. I dare you. *shaking cane in air*) afoot, it is best to take precautions to ensure the safety of you and your belongings. At any rate, even if you do fall (and hopefully are unharmed) the perp will hopefully be slowed down quite a bit by the rolling metal cart he is dragging around by a handbag.

***Of course, the cart-tie method is in no way perfect or guaranteed, use it at your own risk***

xo
Bek

Pops!

Celebrate the Daddio in your life with handmade treasures!

Posted some clickable treasures at Clever.Typepad.com (click to jump!)

Goody! A grab bag special!

UPDATE:  The grab bags were a success! Thank you to those that participated in any way, shape or form!

Giant hugs all around! Next time I spy an overstock I’ll post here as well- possibly supplies or papergoods next go-around…

xo

Bek

Spring Cleaning + COBRA payments = Grab Bag Fun!

I put this on the new blog at typepad.com as I put the ease of paypal right in the post! Woohoo!

Click to jump over to Clever.Typepad.com!

See you there!

xo

B

ps. Am I on Twitter? Yes I am! Come Play!

Oh carp!

Oh carp!

Originally uploaded by CleverIndie

At Dragon Gate…
I believe this is koi #4, but I have to check on that… Each one is a little different and I only make around two of these a year. This is the first one that is not lariat style, due to a rather fortuitous oops on my part…

Koi represent perseverance through struggle and triumph/success.

You can find this one in my Etsy shop.
Once someone hooks him, he’ll be gone…

xo
Bek

Old pictures and updates…

Found this today.. This is Alex and me. Just before his 1st birthday, he was admitted to Children’s Hospital in Boston for every neurological test except the one the doctor wanted him admitted for (an MRI).  The cribs are solid steel and built like tanks. The nurse told me I could climb in if I wanted to…So I did.

Bek & Lexo the Great (2004) *click for all blog entries about Alex...*

Anyway, I love this picture and so does Alex and I just felt like sharing on this sleepy Tuesday night. (Can you believe how big he has gotten? Can you believe that his head is now only a couple of centimeters smaller than mine? And mine is in the >98% to begin with!)

For those of you that are curious, we still don’t have results on my MRI from last Monday (yes, it has been almost 9 days. We were supposed to have the report within 24-48 hours.  The neurologist’s office finds this odd as well but hopefully the radiology peeps are just reading and rereading it and writing a thorough report).  I am still having the jello legs/weakness thing and the arm thing. I’ll post when we have more info.  Needless to say I am steering clear of power tools for the time being, but never fear! I have quite a few pieces in my arsenal that you have not seen yet! So I will be posting those and also planning for a “Move us the heck out of Florida to anywhere with an increased likelihood of Jeff finding a job and more options to help Alex rock even more Fund” grab-bag/mystery sachet/container o’surprises thingeroo fundraiser in the near future… So keep those eyeballs on this space and keep your fingers crossed that we get some sort of an answer soon so we can get back to whatever it is we do here.

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Hugs all around,

xo

Bek