Tag: Pittsburgh

Bag ‘O Fun

On By justmymomsenseIn Uncategorized4 Comments

As I mentioned in my last blog, “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” we took a trip to Pittsburgh two weeks ago for Spring Break. We’re lucky and thankful that our kids are great on car trips, as long as plenty of snacks and activities are packed. They normally make it to the final hour or two before they need the iPhones.

Although having activities and snacks comes with dropping activities and snack which results in me turning around to get them most of the trip. But it’s a small price to pay for having them locked in seats for 7 hours.

The times the car rides become less fun is when ‘J’s’ sister (‘Baby J’) becomes unhappy because that is an automatic trigger for him. This was one of my earliest red flags of thinking this was all more than just empathy. The result is screaming and crying long after ‘Baby J’ is done whining or crying.

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Along with checking out the Mister Rogers exhibit at the Heinz History Center, we also stopped by the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. If you haven’t been there, I recommend it. It’s huge and there’s so much to see and do!

Since it’s so big and it was a Saturday, there was a big crowd. ‘J’ was definitely overwhelmed. He wasn’t unhappy just unsettled. He didn’t stay in one place too long, didn’t go over to exhibits if there were too many people around it and was extra clingy. Luckily they have a great art area with painting and clay. This was a much quieter space and we spent most of our time in this spot.

I was talking to ‘J’s’ Occupational Therapist after our trip about his triggers and she suggested having a backpack with some items they may help calm him in these situations. At home, he’s good about going to his room to reset himself if he’s feeling overwhelmed. When we’re out in public or he’s locked into a car seat, it’s not as easy. Luckily we have quite a few backpacks on hand and I’ve since put one together with his headphones, sensory bottle, his squishy fidget dinosaur, small toys and his water bottle. We brought the headphones on our last plane ride and for some reason I didn’t think to bring them on the car trip. They definitely would’ve been helpful for when ‘Baby J’ was upset.

She also mentioned carrying the backpack may help him since weighted items can provide comfort. We’ve already tried this on shorter car rides (30+ minutes) and so far it has come in handy.

I’m willing to try any and everything that will provide him any comfort or organization for his mind and body. Not all will work, but through trial and error, I know we’ll find the best combination of sensory items and activities.

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

On By justmymomsenseIn Uncategorized1 Comment

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” 

“Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.” 

“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” 

“Forgiveness is a strange thing. It can sometimes be easier to forgive our enemies than our friends. It can be hardest of all to forgive people we love. Like all of life’s important coping skills, the ability to forgive and the capacity to let go of resentments most likely take root very early in our lives.” 

“There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.” 

“You’ve made this day a special day, by just your being you. There’s no person in the whole world like you; and I like you just the way you are.”

These are just a few of the many amazing quotes are by the one and only Fred Rogers.

Two weeks ago, we decided to take a trip to Pittsburgh during spring break. Not the first place that comes to most people’s mind when you think of spring break, but we wanted to check out the Mister Rogers Exhibit at the Heinz History Center.

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Admittedly, I did not grow up watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Of course I had seen it, but my brother had been a fan when he was younger and I didn’t take to it in the same way. As I got older and learned more about him, watched interviews and read articles, I came to appreciate his message. Now that I’m a mom, it speaks to me even more.

With his 50th anniversary last month, PBS started showing some old episodes. I wasn’t sure how the kids would react to it since it’s older, slower and not all the sparkle that is everywhere on children’s programming now. Once I put it on, both ‘J’s,’ ages 3 and 1IMG_6907.jpg, were hooked. Mister Rogers never needed the sparkle, and it still holds true.

Although the exhibit isn’t big, it doesn’t have to be. As soon as you walk in, you’re transported to the land of make believe. You can see King Friday’s castle, Henrietta’s Treehouse, the trolley and of course a few puppet friends. There are so many little details from Mister Rogers’ shoes to the trolley. They are playing clips from the show and have two booklets you can read through about Mister Rogers’ life and the show.

There weren’t many people there on the Friday that we visited, but you almost felt the need to talk quietly. Everyone was there to take it all in and appreciate the artifacts from the show. His fanbase and the people he has affected spans 50 years.

Pittsburgh is a 6-7 hour drive for us and we took 48 hours out of our spring break to make the trip. As a bonus, the Heinz History Center also has a great kids’ area with building blocks, air tunnels, coloring and more! Of course there are many great exhibits for adults as well. If you can get there to visit, I highly recommend you do. You won’t regret it!

And now Mister Rogers defending PBS to the US Senate Subcommittee of Communications. A clip that shows the power of Mister Rogers perfectly: