Hammock for Easter

Our OT therapist often comments about how much my oldest seems to enjoy his time in the "taco swing." I've never seen it, but she says it's like a large hammock which he can wrap himself up in, and receives sensory input from all around...or something like that. The one session I was able to attend I could tell he did need certain movement input to calm his system. Unfortunately, he's so big, and our ability to provide him with some of these opportunities is somewhat limited. I'm certain he'd really enjoy a large trampoline, but it would need to be quite large, and my mother hen fears dictate that we would need a super duper "safe" trampoline, which isn't cheap. However, some of the less expensive things I've been able to procure for him are balance balls, balance board, and of course I try and arrange our home in a way that maximizes open floor space for whatever movements or stretching one might feel inclined to initiate. He likes to do P90X3 with his father, so that requires a lot of open space in front of the T.V.

The view from the hammock

Our Easter gift to the whole family was a new nylon hammock for the back yard (which will be brought inside when not in use), and a hammock chair for our swing set (though it's not a swing). Both have been very popular this weekend and the kids race to them whenever one has been vacated, so that there's almost always someone nestled inside (sometimes more than one). I did manage to snag a few minutes in the hammock myself today and enjoyed the scenery.

We all spent a lot of time outside on this glorious Easter day. The temperature was perfect, and the trees haven't quite hit their pollen producing peak, so allergies weren't overly aggravated. The industrious kids took to building a fort like house with our tomato stakes and bamboo shoots. My husband taught my daughters how to make deviled eggs using some of the dyed eggs (which nobody likes to eat, but everyone wants to make anyhow). Meanwhile, I started my zinnia seedlings for two of the three colors I have planned for our yard this summer. Then I capped off the time outside, by getting started on giving the dog her springtime clipping...which will have to be continued another time, as it's taking a long time to cut through the long winter coat without taking it all off. It would go much faster if I weren't using a guard to keep it from becoming skin tight length. I'd like to leave a little bit of length on her, as temperatures are still fluctuating. For now she looks rather ridiculous, with somewhat of a reverse Mohawk look.