The Journey of Cozy

When I was looking for a prepainted reborn kit to make into a doll for Andy for his birthday, I found this Cozy (the kit's name) on eBay.  It turned out too awful to use as it was, so I stripped it (ie, took the paint off).  It seemed that they took the amount of paint necessary for the whole kit and used it only in certain areas (like the soles of the feet and palms of the hands!)   I took pictures of what it started as (green background), after I stripped the paint (blue background), and after Rachel repainted it for the Dolly Day swap (black background).  I didn't take a picture of the whole kit after I stripped the paint. 

Kids Clothes Week - Epilogue

I was able to finish Will's pajamas.  He is so excited about his cozy, snuggly pjs.  ☺

Top all finished

All ready for bed

All cozy and warm ♥

Selective Mutism Awareness.

October is "Selective Mutism Awareness" month.   Even though William never got an official diagnosis of having Selective Mutism, I'm sure that he did have it as he had the main indicator of not talking in certain situations and talking in others.

1. The main symptom of selective mutism is a lack of speech in specific social situations.
2. People with selective mutism can and do talk normally in situations where they are entirely comfortable.
3. Children with selective mutism are often extremely talkative and loud when they feel comfortable.
4. It’s common for people with selective mutism to struggle to communicate in social situations even without their voice (by whispering, writing, or pointing, for example).
5. Some people with selective mutism display stiff body language and a blank facial expression in situations where they have trouble communicating.
6. People with selective mutism are often of above-average intelligence.
7. Selective mutism almost always develops before the age of six.
8. Children often show the first noticeable symptoms of selective mutism when they start preschool or kindergarten.
9. School is the most common place for someone with selective mutism to be silent, and inside their house is the most common place for them to be able to talk.
10. According to research, 0.1% to 0.7% of children have selective mutism. That’s one child in every 1000 to one in every 150.
11. Over 90% of people with selective mutism have social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, as well.
12. It’s common for people with selective mutism to have more than one other anxiety disorders or phobias.
13. Without treatment, it’s not uncommon for childhood selective mutism to continue into teenage years or even adulthood, and it can become significantly worse rather than improving over time.
14. It’s thought that many children with untreated selective mutism to grow into adults who can speak but suffer from severe social anxiety disorder and possibly depression.
15. The first name for selective mutism was “aphasia voluntaria” (voluntary lack of ability to speak), which was first mentioned in 1877.
16. The Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders first included selective mutism in 1980 as “elective mutism,” again meaning a voluntary lack of speech.
17. An "s" was added to the name “elective mutism” in 1994. The new name, “selective mutism,” was supposed to avoid the implication that people with the disorder choose not to speak.
18. In the proposed revision to the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders, selective mutism is listed as a subtype of social anxiety disorder.
19. People with selective mutism usually say that they want to talk but either are too afraid to or feel like they physically can’t.
20. Selective mutism sufferers almost never have control over when they speak normally and when they are silent, though it may look like they do.
21. Some people with selective mutism appear entirely calm and confident in social situations, though they may still feel extreme anxiety about speaking.
22. Selective mutism is not caused by trauma. It is said that some people who go through trauma suffer “traumatic mutism” in which they suddenly stop speaking in all situations for a relatively short amount of time. This is an entirely different pattern than selective mutism.
23. Many people with high-functioning autism have selective mutism or symptoms of selective mutism, but the majority of people with selective mutism are not autistic.
24. It’s thought that some people with selective mutism are highly sensitive, and when they become overwhelmed by sensory input, they "shut down" and are unable to interact with others.
25. Some children with selective mutism have very minor speech or language problems, which make them more anxious about talking.
26. Currently, most treatments for selective mutism emphasize that although the person needs to interact with people in situations they’re scared of, they should not be told that they need to speak.
27. Pressuring someone with selective mutism to speak or punishing them for failing to do so is often counterproductive because it makes them more anxious, which reinforces the problem.
28. Selective mutism is often treated like a phobia: the person slowly works through a list of anxiety-provoking things, from least frightening to most, which ends with speaking out loud to new people. (This is called desensitization.)
29. Sometimes, a person with selective mutism needs to have their more general anxieties treated before they can think about dealing with their fear of speaking.
30. Antidepressant drugs help some people with selective mutism, but even when they do work, they are unlikely to cure it entirely without being combined with therapy.
31. Selective mutism can be completely cured, but this tends to get more difficult the longer it goes on before correct treatment begins.

Halloween Activities Part 3

I was planning on having the kids carve their pumpkins today, but I saw an idea for a fun yarn craft, so we did that instead.   I had some yarn that I didn't really like (it felt plastic-y) and I figured it was a good way to use it.

Kids Clothes Week - Day 7

For the last day of Kids Clothes Week, I decided to work on some winter pjs for William since he's outgrown most of the ones he had.

I am making the top using the pj pattern on the left, but the pants from the pattern on the right since that is the pattern I used for the camo pants and I know those fit him! 

All cut out

Bottoms all finished ☺

Halloween Activities Part 2

We went trick or treating at the historical museum in town.  It wasn't big, but the kids had fun and we saw my sister and her family there.

Halloween Activities Part 1

Today was the 13th annual Family Costume Party.  It was at my brother's house this year.   On the way to their house, we stopped at Walmart and Meijer and did their in-store trick or treating.

Rapunzel (Tangled)

Ariel (Little Mermaid)

Spiderman

Thor

Walmart:

Meijer:

Best Buddies holding hands ☺

The 2 Snow Whites

The 2 Rapunzels

My sister's family

My brother's family