February Playroom Update

A lot has been happening at our house over the last couple of months. Between bouts of sickness and holiday events, we have managed to move forward on our basement sensory playroom. Here is how it looks today...

It's hard to get the whole room in one shot but here are 3 corners of the room. And, yes, it's a mess but we were playing!!!!

Here is the missing corner from the above photo.

And this is the corner where the first two pictures were taken from....leading back through our basement kitchen. This is what we are currently working on (the kitchen).

So, the room is divided into 4 sections. The first section is the grown up seating area. I made curtains for these very large windows out of king size sheets...just striped them. We also have our old couch (hide-a-bed), garage sale coffee table that I repainted, and Ethan's trampoline. Sorry it's a bit dark, but the sun was REALLY shining through the curtains that day.

This second section is the playroom. I LOVE this bookshelf that I got for $20 on Craigslist. We also have many hand-me-down toys & my yoga ball (for therapy play). My sister donated this out of date globe that we fixed to be hung from the ceiling, and my friend Megan gave us these large maps that are perfect to cover up our unfinished walls & add color/interest.

This is our newest addition! For Christmas, Santa brought this for Ethan. It's a bounce house that fits perfectly in this space! Now that Ethan is growing older & bigger, he seems to need more jumping room & more often. The trampoline wasn't cutting it anymore although it's still a wonderful tool for us. And rumor has it that Santa got this used for $50!

 

Here is the the fourth section. Ethan LOVES the newly added fireplace (made & donated by my In-Laws). It definitely helps keep this cold basement warm! And our In-Laws' old entertainment center for VHS watching. This side of the room leads to a bathroom.

I love this basement playroom so much! It is finally safe for Ethan to be in as well as functional enough for us to spend our mornings downstairs. We are working on the kitchen/storage section right now. We have also decided to put my craft room down here as well....on the other side of the basement (not pictured). And the swing is still in the works. We have lots to go, but I'm so glad we are at this point. Ethan can play, I can do laundry, we can do messy play & not stain my carpets....it's wonderful!!!!

Sensory Playroom Updates - Part 2

Yesterday, we talked about how we are using our daily living space to double as our sensory playroom. Although it is so nice that we are able to do this, I can't wait to have our own PLAYROOM to house most of our sensory play as well as have more room to do some things we currently are unable to do. So, several months ago, we gutted the largest room in our basement in order to create a sensory playroom. (We needed to gut it because there was some water damage....and it was old 70's paneling.) Basically what we have done by this point is gutted it, cleaned it, and painted it white. The dark paneling before made it feel so dingy, so the white helps it feel cleaner & brighter. Here are some pictures of how it looks today.

Here is how this room looked before we started. We sold a lot of this stuff to fund our renovation!

And here is how it looks today.

Wall #1 - We still need to put up paneling. Eventually, this wall will by my work space (see the desk on the left), as well as a working fireplace. This was made by my father-in-law, and it will help keep this room warm during the cold months. The far sides of this wall are exits...the left is to a kitchen & the right is to the bathroom. The kitchen area will now be used for holding our sensory play....similar to the bookshelves upstairs. Paints, glue, water beads, rice box, etc. will all be kept in this kitchen. We are just waiting on some shelving to be installed.

Wall #2 - This wall will house most of our play area. I'm still brainstorming how it needs to be set up. This space will also host our swing that will hang from the ceiling.

Wall #2 and #3 - This is where I'm planning on showcasing kid artwork.

Wall #3 - This wall will hold our boards - magnetic, felt, write on/wipe off...

Wall #4 - This TV is for our VHS videos....it's great to get those from the library & watch new shows! We also use this for all Ethan's leapfrog TV games...like the bike shown here. It plugs into the TV & he plays video games that encourage him to pedal. It's great!

Wall #4 - I love this wall. These windows are HUGE, and they look out to our backyard. We currently have a few spare sheets working as curtains. This space will be our messy area. I would like to have a large table in this space.

We still have a long ways to go, but it has been really nice being able to USE the area now....it's no longer a construction zone. But here are a few things I'm working on for the basement....

1. Curtains - I have purchased king sized sheets in 2 colors, and I am currently making curtains for our large window.

2. Swing - My husband is currently making a swing to put in our basement. It will look something like this....http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/2011/07/diy-sensory-swing.html.

3. Because we are still unsure if our water issues are solved, we will not be adding walls/carpet just yet. So, I have discovered that duct tape is great for hanging things on these basement walls. And have you seen all of the colors & designs that they have out now?! I will be using LOTS of duct tape in this room!

4. Crash pad - I am wanting to give Ethan a space where he can flop & crash because he LOVES to do it. I am thinking of putting tumbling mats on the walls/floors of that area & loading it with bean bags/pillows. I also think it would be nice to make this same space a reading area & give it a canopy of some type. Still thinking.....

5. Activity Table - We have been tossing around a few ideas, but we definitely know that we are either going to make our own or alter an existing table to fit our needs. We want to have a space large enough to do playdough, but also have drop down places for our rice box/water play/light play/etc. I'm thinking something like this....http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/2011/10/sensory-bintableplay.html.

Sensory Playroom Update....Part 1

During the construction phase of our playroom, we have had to put our play stuff around the house until our room is ready. Here are a few pictures of our stuff waiting for the playroom. Tomorrow, I will be able to show you where the playroom is at right now as well as the projects we are working on for it.

In our entryway, I placed our write on/wipe off board under our shelf & above our shoe bench. I was able to use the shelf to contain a few of the writing utensils (in the jar on the left), and the bench is great for Ethan to sit at while vertically writing. We also use this board as our projector screen.

 

In our same entryway across from the write on/wipe off board, we hung our oil drip pan that we use for a large magnetic board. It's nice to spell out messages for our guests!

This is our hallway, and we use it for A LOT for physical activities. We have a small piece of horizontal tape at both ends of our hallway for a start & finish line. The long vertical tape is our balance beam/animal walk trail/etc.

Though not very pretty, these 2 bookshelves are my life saver! Most of our sensory play items are stored on these bookcases that are currently in our living room. The stuff at the bottom, Ethan can get to all on his own & at any time. The stuff towards the top are things that he needs supervision to play with or it's messy (and I need to prep our kitchen table).

Each of the bins has a label on it.

Even the baskets have labels....I love labels!

While I was babysitting my sister's kids, my refrigerator was overflowing with artwork! So, as a quick fix, I added clotheslines above my couch to display the kids artwork.

Using pushpins to hang twine & clothespins to hang the art, this was so simple, easy & cheap! I may even do this in the new playroom!!!

Summer Has Started! Updates!!!

Wow...it seems like FOREVER since I have been able to sit down & write! I'm so thankful that Ethan is taking one of his rare naps today! This is giving me a chance to have my 2nd tall tumbler of coffee & catch up on things!

The last several weeks, as I mentioned in an earlier post, have been CRAZY! Pretty much since the week before Mother's Day, I haven't had a quiet moment to myself. But, now that life seems to be settling back down & sickness seems to be leaving our house (shoot! did I just jinx it?!), I can tell you all about the exciting things that are going on, regarding living with autism.

First of all, we got a pool! Not anything spectacular, but it will be great for Ethan. A few months ago, I was contemplating which activities to put him in for the summer. His teachers & therapists all seemed to think that swimming was the best choice out of all of my ideas, so we were planning on signing Ethan up for swimming lessons all summer. Then, we figured up the cost of that as well as actual time in pool, and it was definitely cheaper to buy our own. So...we got one of those Easy Set-Up pools, and Ethan LOVES IT! We were out there every day until we got sick. However, I foresee us spending a lot of time swimming. It is shallow enough for him to walk around & play in the water, but I can also teach him to swim in it. He is already getting really good at kicking his legs! YEAH!

Second, we have started summer preschool at Easter Seals. It's only 2 times a week for 3 hours each time....which I thought was fine to do in the summer. Just enough to keep him moving forward yet still have some lazy summer days at the same time. We both participated in a 3 hour evaluation last week, and by the end of that time, he was done with ANY kind of therapy/teaching. That is a lot for a 3 year old. BUT...when I asked him if he was ready to go, he told me, "No!" He really liked all of the new toys & the new classroom. We will see how he feels about it in a couple of weeks. :0) However, his first day was great, and he seemed to really like it. He was VERY chatty when he got home. So....he either was quiet for 3 hours & let it out when he got home? OR he was excited & was still on a learning "high" when he got home? Either way, it was nice to see a good reaction after his first day.

Last, now that my husband has a break from his college classes, we are hard at work on the basement once again. (I say "we," but I really mean I tell him my ideas & he does the work.) The last couple of weeks, we have really been focusing on getting our house organized. We moved into this house when Ethan was 6 months old, and we have never really been able to set things up how we want them. (You know how house projects get put at the bottom of the list when you have little ones!) So, as of right now, the upstairs has been completely gone through....toys, closets, clothes, etc.....organized & labeled. Corey has started back up on the basement, and we are hoping to move lots of our "DIY Therapy" stuff down there in the next few weeks! YEAH! It will be so nice to have the extra room to do therapy with Ethan without it messing up our dining table or living room! A HUGE shout out to my husband for running with this project even while Ethan & I were sick with strep throat & he was our caretaker after working all day! THANKS COREY!

Well....that's basically it. I am SUPER excited for the start of summer, and I get to have more time with my Ethan. We have LOTS of summer LIVING to do!!!!!

Sensory Room Progress....or not....

Due to the amazing weather we have been experiencing, we have been spending A LOT of time outside. Bike riding, walking, jumping on the big trampoline, swinging, sliding, coloring with chalk, kicking a ball, and so on. LOTS of moving & heavy work....the whole point of me setting up a INDOOR play room. In this sensory focused room, I envisioned us rollings on scooters, swinging on indoor swing, animal walking through sensory stimulating paths, crashing on a crash pad corner, and lots of messy tactile activities. BUT....we have found a couple of glitches in the last couple of weeks. We were told when we bought this house that the water damage to the walls was due to a gutter related issue, and it had been fixed. However, as the paneling & such has come down, we have found that to not be the case. And, I have been convinced by my husband & others, that it would be pointless to finish the basement (where the playroom will be) without first fixing these issues. In the words of Ethan, "I'm so sad."

So, we have been told that the best thing to do next will be to dig around the outside of our basement walls & seal the walls. Boo. So, that will be what is next for our play room...an outdoor project for my husband. And since he has gone back to school, this will more than likely have to wait until his semester has finished.

This is very disappointing to me, but then I realized that it has been nice outside, so we can do most of the needed therapy things outdoors! And, I am hoping to enroll Ethan into at least one summer program that will help him burn off his mounds of energy. So, I guess the basement will have to wait until the fall.

Until then, I can focus on making/finding supplies for the playroom. And, to help ease the blow of disappointment, my husband has given me the green light on some home improvement projects upstairs. I love how well he knows me. :0) I'm not going to pretend that I'm not upset that the playroom won't be ready until next school year.....it stinks! But, I'm going to try to focus on what we can do OUTSIDE, and enjoy this amazing weather.

It's a Mess!!!!

Well...it's kind of a mess now!! But that means it can only get better from here, right?! So, this week....

1. Ethan's Uncle Scott came over & helped us remove the gas stove & cap the gas line.

Here is what part of the kitchenette area in our basement looked like when we first moved in..none of the appliances worked, but we could envision an updated look. In fact, the oven is being held closed by cardboard jammed between it's door & closure. And how about that 70s carpeting!?!? But love the space & the possibilities!!! This kitchenette is right next to the playroom area.

Here is that same space now...torn down to the studs. The beautiful fireplace was given to us by my husband's parents. It used to be in their home but it was just too big for their needs. We are planning on using this in the playroom because it gets cold in the basement!!! Eventually this area will be lots & lots of shelving to contain all of our sensory play items.

2. All of the paneling has been removed! I have been on Craigslist looking for materials & items that we can use in our playroom, and I came across a family WANTING 70s paneling!!! They are planning on using it to renovate & extend the living quarters in a horse trailer! They came and got all of our paneling this past week. I was so glad that someone else could use this paneling....and they saved us from having to haul it all away! So we are officially down to the studs!

 

Now, Corey & I have been talking & planning about where to go from here. There are many options, but I think we are going to focus on the walls. We are going to remove the studs, wash the walls with a strong cleaner & then paint on a couple of coats of sealer. That really wasn't in my plan, but my husband convinced me that it would be the smart thing to do since we already have everything torn out...and he is right. I'm just getting impatient! LOL! Lots to do, but it's going to be so nice when it's done!!!!

Playroom Project...Step Two Complete!

Here is what we accomplished this week on the basement...soon to be sensory playroom....

Here is how it looked at the beginning of the week. Last week, we removed the drop ceiling.

I had a day off this week, so I began tearing down paneling. I was pleasantly surprised to find Styrofoam insulation behind the walls. This was something we were going to buy & install, but now we don't need to! YEAH!

My mom came over one night, and Corey & I both worked on removing the paneling. This picture is a bit blurry, but my husband is pretending that he is about to break this board with his knee. Yea, I married a ninja.

And here is what it looks like now. The drop ceiling AND the paneling are now removed. I'm not really sure what the next step is going to be, but I'm thinking it will either be running new gas lines (for our donated fireplace....thanks Grandpa Wolfe!) or addressing some water damaged spots that we discovered. These are both projects that will involve my husband, so it may take some time to get to it. But we have done a TON in two weeks!!!! I'm so excited!!!!!

Demolition Begins!

Well, our basement has officially become a construction zone! After selling some household items, we have enough money to begin funding our Sensory Playroom Project. Last week, we focused on selling our stuff as well as doing a typical "clean out the basement" sort. This week, we have focused on the first step in renovating this space....the ceiling. Originally, we were simply going to take down the drop ceiling, put a fresh coat of paint on it, and hang it back up. However, tonight as we took down the ceiling, we realized how much having NO ceiling opened up the space. PLUS, I think having the rafters show would also be beneficial when we install a swing. Now we are thinking of just painting the ceiling & leaving it bare. And I'm already thinking of how I could use this exposed ceiling to increase our sensory play....I'm thinking in the Christmas lights genre.....

This is how our basement looked before we started...

And this is how is looks as of tonight. We sold our big TV & other things, got rid of some random furniture, and removed the drop ceiling. It already is feeling more spacious. It doesn't look like much, but this project is moving right along. Next step....take down the paneling. And do you see that big beam going across the length of the room....I am already talking to my vinyl guy (Corey) about doing some cool lettering there! I can't wait for this room!!!