Fun shirts

I like buying things online. If someone posts a picture of a shirt or a link, I will very often go and track down the link. Especially if it is something fun, funny or awareness related.

I do this all the time for the kids clothes (and have been told I have the most interesting awareness clothing), and sometimes for myself (what is more fun that a shirt with a wookie on it?)

So when I friend posted about these shirts with superheroes on wheelchairs I had to check it out.

The company is called Adaptive Apparel www.adaptiveapparel.org/ and they have so many different super heroes (and villians) to choose from.

Nick thought it was so cool and wanted all of them!

He ended up picking Batman.

And Katheryn really wanted one too, and picked Wonder Woman.

 It took about 4 weeks for them to come, and cost $25 USD, and shipped was another $3 (and with a 15% off code - 15OFF - if it still works. With a lot of choice for colours and sizes and even type of clothing.

The kids were so, so excited when the package came. They couldn't even wait until the next day, they tore off their shirts and put these on. And then even asked for pictures!

I agree that it is a cool shirt. (The dark blue doesn't show off the batman, but Nick got what he wanted). It is about normalizing the unique and different, being proud and display yourself to the world (from their website).

Its getting colder

It's getting colder and we had our first snow fall.

The dogs are loving it!

Out came all of our winter coats and hats
And our rosy cheeks and red noses

 Along with cold weather, we need to start coving up Nick's legs
I have a blanket that we have been using. But it isn't waterproof and really I wanted something like snowpants, but in a chair.

 

I found something that I liked, but everywhere I looked it cost so much for shipping and handling, or it wouldn't ship to Canada.
Originally I was going to buy from amazon.ca but for $45 and then another $15 S&H I thought I could probably sew what I wanted myself with an old pair of snowpants.

I kept finding the same picture over and over again of what I wanted (I think). In a violet colour (for some reason this is the stock picture). But it is available in a navy blue as well.
Everywhere I looked for different prices and S&H were the same thing. Hardly any variation, some were fleece lined, some were not. Some covered higher up and some didn't (this one only covers the lap). And they were all from the UK.
It is a brand called Sheerlines

Why Canada, with all of our snow, doesn't have any supplies of a leg cover for wheelchairs, I don't know. But they don't. Apparently this one variation is enough.

Finally after looking and looking, I found this website:

https://www.mobilitychoices.com/buy/mc001227/sheerlines-cuckoo-childrens-waterproof-wheelchair-fleece-leg-cover-violet

It is a company in the UK. And this fleece lined leg cover cost £21.53 (which is about $35 Canadian). And only $5 Canadian for shipping and handling.
They have the Cuckoo version which is the lap cover.
And the Wagtail version which covers up to the neck and has sleeves for the arm (this is  £41.68)
And a Woodpecker Warmer, which goes up the back of the chair, but zips at the front (this one cost £40.56, which is why I didn't get it)
And a Kittiwake version which is like a rain jacket for a wheelchair user
Here is a link to the Sheerlines children's products: http://www.sheerlines.co.uk/children-39-s-range/cat_5.html


I ordered the Cuckoo version (in blue) and I hope that it will work well.
I'm hoping that it will come before the next snowfall and I'm excited to have something!

Nick's new wheels ...coming soon

It is hard to believe but it is time to look for a new wheelchair.

It's been 3 years with the one that Nick has right now. He is outgrowing what he has. And he really, really hates it.

I was reading over my post from 3 year ago and my feelings about the wheelchair and it's uses at that time. Now this post was raw feelings about a wheelchair, as a wheelchair. Not feelings about a wheelchair as a way for Nick to move around.

The thing is, is that Nick doesn't like his current wheelchair. So he doesn't like moving it around himself. I have to beg and plead for him to move. I have never seen him racing down the street or hall in his chair. I have seen him move, I have seen him go places with it, but never racing. Never having fun moving in it. He might have fun sitting in it. 

I feed into this. I know that I do and I still do it. I push it, I treat his chair more like a stroller he can move as he wants to, than a chair he must move around himself. At school they have been trialing a smaller and lighter chair. And Nick has been liking it, and moving it.

This new wheelchair that we have ordered, the Tsunami, is lighter (11 lbs to the Quickie 25 lbs). It is a rigid frame and can't fold up, but I think in 3 years we only folded up Nick's chair once.
It will have lighter wheels (that we need to keep pumped up). It will also have the single handle on the back that can be lowered (or removed).
No arm rails, which keeps it lighter. As well arm rails is something that Nick uses so he doesn't have to push.

There will be a small neck rest. This was brought up for bus rides. When Nick is on the bus he rides in his wheelchair. If the bus were to be in an accident and the seat sits below his shoulders there is no support for his head. Imagine yourself in an accident, whiplash, but if there is no seat (or headrest) there is no support for the back of your head. So we got a headrest (but I think we'll remove it otherwise).

So it will be lighter, easier for Nick to move himself (and I told him that is the expectation). Of course it will be orange. AND most exciting of all. It will be good for sports.
We are still about a year out of Nick being old enough for the adapted sports that are in the area, but this chair will work great for whatever we choose to do.

Under(sewer)cover for Halloween

Ever since I have been doing Halloween costumes for Nick, I wanted to have something for his wheelchair as well as his walker. Nick has been very specific that he wants to do Halloween in his walker this year, but I still wanted a wheelchair costume for Nick.
So I wouldn't do anything big, but something fun.

This is my inspiration.

So I would make a sewer grate.
Easy right?

Espeically when I found a guide! http://www.thescrapshoppeblog.com/2013/09/diy-1-manhole-cover.html

I got some foam and some sticky letters. I glued the foam down on the cake pan.

When I covered it in foil, the NYC SEWER didn't stick up high enough. So I did it again.

 I wasn't too sure about the painting, or my painting abilities.
But it doesn't actually  need to be neat or anything.

Overall, with some trial and error it took a couple of hours to get this. It should be able to withstand any rain if we have it, Nick really likes that he is sitting under a sewer grate.

The walker costume will be coming soon!

Happy Halloween

The day has arrived!

Time to get ready to head out to school

 

Nick had his walker...

 

We've had a number of people who don't know who Tryone is...

(I think I did pretty good...)

 

 

(I was afraid to send his wheelchair costume with the houses I spend hours doing to school)

They went trick-or-treating at school

 

 

 

And Katheryn was a super-hero

Just like she wanted since the summertime.

With make-uped mask

Katheryn wanted to be her own super-hero.
She was excited to go, and I had plans to do all this crafty-stuff to her costume, but it didn't really need any touch-ups. Katheryn was happy with it (she just wanted the make-up - and colour in her hair)

  The kids picked out my costume

The day and night called for rain and wind.

So we wanted to get going in a clear period

 



 See my foam houses!! I didn't really get any pictures of the finished product
It was all made of foam and plastic so that it can withstand the rain

And it did
We got to the end of the street before the rain started
But we got soaked by the time we were done (and kids wanted to go back too)

 

I forgot how last year we had some issues about actually trick-or-treating

Until we got to the first house

and the steps

 

Nick didn't really mind though
Some people in the houses came out to give Nick candy on the driveway, and Katheryn was good at asking for something for her brother, or one of us going up with her.
(We did have one person who thought he was Santa's reindeer... with the houses)

 He  didn't notice, didn't care.
And hopefully I'll have a plan if her comes to that point.
But right now it's about fun and showing off how cute they look!

And what some sugar at bedtime does to the kids
(And vampire teeth in the Halloween bags)

a Sneak Halloween Peak

The same as last year, I had a walker and a wheelchair idea going.

And I had one day set aside to do everything!

 

This is my walker!

 

I had to try him in it a couple of time to make sure I wasn't blocking anything.
Plastic plates, permanent markers, popsicle sticks, green tape and a plastic table cloth
Tada!

Nick just wanted to try out the antlers!
(And he has orange face makeup on too)

My wheelchair houses needed some additional work as well

I wanted it to be real houses
To have more substance, but still be able to go on the chair.
This is the final product

It should be waterproof and durable enough.
Now I just have to make sure that they will stay on the wheelchair.
I'm waiting for something to attach it to (my project for tomorrow). But the Tyrone house (the orange one) will fit behind him, and the other 2 should go beside the chair.

Because I put so much work into it, I'm hesitant to send him to school with these houses. So the wheelchair will go around on Halloween Night, and the walker will be ready for school.

Nick thinks they are fantastic! But there was a lot of detail in these!
Katheryn is ok will so much time spent on Nick's costume. She just wants me to paint her face

Halloween Plans

We have had a plan for Halloween since the summer.

Nickolas has had a very specific request.

He wants to be Tyrone from the Backyardigans

 

So my mind started thinking about what I wanted to do.

First I prices out off-the-rack costumes.

I didn't like them

 

So I looked for how to make them.

Got my pieces back in July

 

 

But now it is 1 week to Halloween, and I have to put these plans into action.

We have 2 costumes to make.

 

 

A walker backyard, and a wheelchair backyard, with Tyrone in the middle.

 

 I needed to make sure I had the right inspiration.

 

I made some quick drawings to see how it would show up.
It's very important for everything to be waterproof.
I don't want to do something in paper and then have it all dissolve in the rain/snow, or not use it because it would.

I added 2 other houses for the walker (yellow and purple) which aren't in the original picture
So I have plastic plates to use for the walker-houses (draft versions above)
Then foam for the houses for the larger wheelchair-houses.

I'm going to put it all together this weekend.
I am a little nervous that it is going to flop...

Katheryn is going to be a super-hero, and her costume is all done.
I was going to add some embellishments to her, but I pulled it out yesterday and I think I might just make it worse. But I'll do something for her... Maybe some wrist cuffs?

Pirate Ship Makeover

I already posted about creating Nick's Halloween jolly wheeler/walker. But when I looked at the pictures (and of course showed them around) they just didn't pop the way I wanted them to.
I wasn't happy about how plain it looked.

So I went out and got a whole bunch of foam 'paper' from the dollar store (including a whole roll of yellow, orange and red) and tried to make things pop!

So I needed some new inspiration.

I started with some bright accessories

A captain's wheel

An anchor

 

A pirate flag

 

 

A treasure chest

With treasure of course! (jewels, gold coins and a king's crown)

 

These ones can all transfer back and forth between the wheeler and walker.

To the actual boats I updated the look too
A nice sparkly name!

I added a new deck (this is where the roll of foam came in)
And a 'figure head' sticker (I did quickly consider trying a lalaloopsy doll to the front, but thought it might traumatize Katheryn)

I put on some port holes

I updated the jolly walker too

Some chain, port holes and water

 

Trying out the telescope

Can't forget the pirate!

 

Oh Uh a Sneaky Thief!

 

Sorry, no sneak peak for the costumes until Halloween!