Showing posts with label lifehacks. Show all posts

Autism & Shoes

One of the key characteristics of autism is sensory sensitivities. Krisjon (Jon) has always had challenges with shoes. Most of the quality shoe brands tend to be a bit heavy for his liking. Also, he's in first grade this year and many of the children his age are tying their own laces. His fraternal twin brother being one of them.

It was a bit disheartening his kindergarten year, watching the frustration on his face, as a few of the children were tying shoes even at this age. He became completely discouraged at times. I tried double knotting the laces before he left in the mornings, but for some reason it didn't seem to hold up throughout the day.

Jon would come home often, with his shoe laces dangling, because his teacher would tell him, she doesn't tie shoes (thanks for nothing). There was a sweet little girl who told him not to worry, if his shoes need a bow, she would help him, and she always did. Thank you precious Ivy.

It's the beginning of another school year and we are still working on getting the hang of shoe laces, but I wanted to find shoes a bit more suitable for my baby this year. 

My first thought was to simply tuck his laces, but I knew that wouldn't work, because the strings in the shoe would bother him. The shoe lace holders, are a bit toddler-ish and I don't like to single him out unnecessarily.  I thought about shoes with the Velcro straps, but let's face it, they're just not that fashionable.

As I continued my quest for the perfect shoe, I came across a pair of black shoes, they were sturdy but lightweight. They were naturally wide, given extra wiggle room. The laces were short and knotted at the end. Oh my gosh, they were made to wear untied and they are hella cute!

Converse All Stars you're a life saver! My baby is stylish this year and has his confidence back. 

Autism and shoes you've been mommy hacked!

Flat Tire

I recently noticed my tire seemed to have a slow leak. Superman aka my father in law, came to the rescue as always. He bought his air pump and pumped the tire to see what was going on.

The tire seemed to be loosing air, you know sometimes you can hear it but not necessarily see it.

He asked if I would go in and grab a squirt bottle with water in it mixed with a bit of dish detergent. I gave him the side eye, thinking are we really about to clean this tire right now, though God knows it needs it.

But that wasn't it at all! He said now let me show you a little trick. He then asked me to start pouring the mixture around the tire slowly and let him know if it bubbles. It did, but by then I knew why!!

It only bubbles if there is an air leak!

Mix water and dish detergent (about 2/3 water-1/3detergent) in a bottle. Slowly pour the mixture over a tire to find any holes/air leaks.

Air leak, you've been hacked by my father in law!  

Laffy Taffy


Alright, this life hack may be one of the most off the wall ones you've heard, it was discovered totally at random by my family's day to day happenings.  But I thought it way too cool not to share.

I won't bore you with the details but I would like to mention that these Laffy Taffy's are one of my son's favorite candies (and I enjoy them as well). As bright as the package is, these guys still have a dark side.
The candy is often stuck to the wrapper when trying to open it. My son gets so frustrated with this and it often leaves me sitting and opening each one for him.


Well, if you toss these sweets in the freezer for a little while the candy will harden enough that it no longer sticks to the wrapper at all! And for a bonus, if you're like me and you love the taste but hate the stickiness in your teeth, this solves that problem also!

The candy thickens just enough that you can bite it, but once its in your mouth it turns right back into the soft taffy you adore.

Just for the record, I've left them in the freezer for 2 days (I had forgot about them) and they never completely"freeze".  Absolutely perfection.

 Laffy Taffy's you've been hacked!!!
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