we have a carport. We don't park in it. It's my kids' outdoor play space-the only part of our property that has shade from the deadly, blazing sun. I did try to park in it once, and got my van wedged against the post. Maybe it doesn't fit, or maybe my spacial awareness sucks.

luna's birthday is Dec 30. We celebrate January 30. do what you want.

J had a miniature woodworking kit that I built for him. Scrap lumber, 4oz hammer, short, stumpy screwdrivers, tack nails, small woodscrews, and a drywall saw. He was very young, any generally didn't build things. Just worked with the tools. We like a little building kits from home depot and Lowe's. They have workshops on Saturday mornings. We also like the maker's space at the library. We did a pinewood derby that was fun.

2 and a half. It is confusing. Because she can hear, I forget that ASL is originally intended for those who can't.

it's not uncommon for old ladies to have a small lap dog in their shopping basket, here. I think old ladies have done this for a long, long time. My mom had a chihuahua just before she died. She took her a lot of places. In california, a lot of restaurants have outdoor spaces that are dog friendly. People pop in while out walking the dog. It's not really weird at all.

I agree. I would be willing to do this with my 8yr old, even. I'm considering it this year. As for what happens the rest of the day, read alouds, drawing, child lead writing, Signing Time video, Legos and other open ended toys, outside time, cooking, and science classes. But only one formal lesson per day.

We are out in the nowhere. Luna gets speech, physical, and developmental therapies at home and a home teacher. She is doing so well. I am looking for resources for her when she aged out of therapy in December. This is a good avenue for us to pursue in Phoenix and Tucson.

No one. Luna has selective mutism. Some days she speaks, but some days she can't. We don't know why. Today was a bad day.She mostly screamed, but also signed. Eta: When she does speak, she's not easy to understand. Definitely on the low side of normal. Signing is much easier and clearer.

I see words, too, but I'm visual in other ways as well. I see music, like that scene in Fantasia, I need to write my thoughts down, I need to look at a map to orient myself, I make lists and draw diagrams. If I want to spell something, I type it out inside my head.

Kleen Kanteen are the only ones we haven't destroyed. We need replacement tops, but that's not a huge deal. Jay has an article zone bottle from Wal-Mart that is holding up pretty well.

I also realized that I often sign to Luna while her back is turned to me. While she is sitting in my lap, or looking at something else. Not super helpful.

Thank you for clarifying this! I'm learning this stuff on the fly. I'm sure I'm missing a ton of details.

I think all of my kids have done this. My 11year old still does it. I think they are trying to include me in their stream of thought, but are just not following through. Does he need some attention? Maybe he needs to lean on you a little bit to get the conversation started.

If you greet him, does he respond? Because I would. And for that, common courtesy and I require a response. Entering and leaving the house also require a greeting or acknowledgement of some kind. I would be creeped out if Someone were in my house and I didn't know. For safety reasons, you should let someone know before you leave the house. If this were an issue, I'd have a brief conversation about it. My aspies are often unaware of social norms and requirements. We will have a quick chat about expectations whenever I notice a gap, or they are confused. I will often say, "Benjamin" as we pass. He will respond, "Mom". Apparently after doing this for months, he was unsure of the purpose of this interaction. I filled him in that it's just an acknowledgement that people will do when they see eachother often in the same place, like a home or a workplace. then no one feels they are being snubbed, but they don't have to invest a lot of time and effort. If you think this is more than just an oversight or teen surliness, you might want to have a bit of a chat. Take him out for coffee, or make him a cup of tea. Invite him to a cozy spot and ask, I noticed you have been avoiding me. Is there something I should know?

I know that in ASL, a lot of the signs are multipurpose. Verbal language has a LOT of redundancies. I,me, my, mine are all one sign. There is no verb "to be" that I'm aware of. No sign for to or and. The verbal structure is just different.

echoing a lot of the other posters, D has his own hangups stemming from his own experiences. He isn't necessarily in disagreement with me that our kids have difficulties. But he is very opposed to labels. Very. He was just saying the other day that "some mothers" want a label for all kinds of things just to make their little snowflakes more special. I pointed out that our kids have a wide array or labels, so that would make me one of those mothers?? Oh no. Not me. OUR kids have real problems, but yeah, we don't really need LABELS for them. I just...what? How? I don't know. his basic gripe is that he sees some parents as using a label as an excuse for a lack of parenting. Which I find kind of laughable, as I am 100% doing the heavy lifting around here. I don't know a lot of lazy, hands off parents, but I could name one. he also tends to discount a lot of the work that has gone into making our kids "so normal". i am aggressive with my children's needs. I have designed therapy programs, implemented systems, found resources, etc. I have poured my whole self into them. And I have strongly advocated for help when we needed it. My kids therapists have been tremendously helpful, and worked very hard on my kids. d will point to the outcome, and call it "growing out of it". He discounts all the work that went into making that happen. he sees Luna meeting milestones for the first time and says "There was never anything wrong with her." No. There were a lot of things wrong with her. We addressed them and now she's better. If she had not received so much help and support, she would not be thriving like she is. Her outcome is not typical. When pressed, he does acknowledge all the work, and that their problems are real issues, and not imaginary. He agrees with our treatment plans, and basically goes along with whatever I tell him needs to happen. I doesn't actively sabotage my efforts. and when it comes right down to it, I do have his support. I kind of chalk up his crappy attitude to his diagnosed and undiagnosed issues :lol:

Luna signs. She's better at it than I am, which often leaves me feeling at a loss to keep up. she has far surpassed what my other kids did. Yesterday, we went to a special story time with an ASL instructor. It was great and Luna was absolutely lit up that everyone was speaking her language. She has never had that experience before. We also picked up signing times videos, which she is watching right now. Both the story time and the video did animal signs. We have also been working on animal signs. So this is good. I have often wondered about the signs for animal sounds. I noted that the teacher was doing what he have been doing. The animal sign for both the name and sound of each animal. Now, Luna does hear. As did my older kids who signed They had various speech delays, but everyone can hear. So it never occurred to me that ASL has no signs for sounds. Because why would they. There's no need to describe a sound You Can't Hear. Gah. I had an epiphany yesterday. Of course there's no sign for bark. The dogging is dogging. Whatever that sounds like. Now I feel a little bit ridiculous. Y'all. I am out of my depth here. I'm so glad I didn't ask the instructor about it. I would have been so embarrassed.

sheesh. i think the summer heat is making some people grumpy. we got a replacement wedding set for me from amazon. it was around $25 shipped. The black has worn off, leaving it a rose gold color, which also suits me. Some of the other colors would last longer. maybe have a peek and see if something looks good to you. https://www.amazon.com/Wedding-Fashion-Jewelry-Promise-Engagement/dp/B01MPXQGXX/ref=sr_1_196?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1499264740&sr=1-196&nodeID=9539896011&psd=1&refinements=p_36%3A2661613011 I'm glad we didn't pay much, because i'm starting to lose my baby weight, and my rings are falling off. For $20, we can get a smaller set with no problem.

:( I hope it works out for you. I had forgotten too, but D reminded me, thank goodness. I had forgotten to write it on the calendar.

great info! They do have a " stroller and book check" which I think is like a coat check to drop stuff off. a backpack is a great idea. I doubt I will buy more than a backpack full of stuff. I'm not a big spender. We are hammering out our household budget this week. Perfect timing. I'm afraid that I will get cold feet and walk out with nothing because I don't want to spend. With a hard budget, I don't have to stress. At least not too much. I am working my way through the rainbow catalog with notes, but there is no way i can finish in a week :( I'm going to have to wing it a little. The convention has a "buy it here" incentive drawing. eh. I'm hoping they have some fun small items that i want. The kind of things i usually don't throw in my basket because all those little things add up. I hadn't about asking for shipping. that's a great idea. The only two vendors i really want are rainbow and usborne. I plan to hit those two first, then spend the rest of the time wandering about just looking. taking a timeout before purchasing is a good idea, but hmm. maybe not. i might just lose my nerve. but then, if i get overwhelmed, i can do that. they have a section for young entrepreneurs. that sounds like fun. I'm doing the shopping only pass. No lectures or workshops, besides the newcomers mini conference on a different day. I like the idea of getting a bunch of catalogs to bring home. then i can peruse at my leisure.

I've never been before. I'll have 5 hours to shop. Rainbow resource will be there, which is where i get most of my stuff. Give me all your best tips. I plan to go with a list, check out the vendors before hand. Do they usually offer discounts and specials?

Become a snowbird. I'm the odd one. I like summers here. As long as we have a pool and lots of air conditioning.

we have foam. They are pretty fumbly. Mine are from the dollar tree. We don't use them much. I wouldn't recommend them if you plan to use them more than maybe never.

OMG!!!!! I'm going to the convention!!!! Actually, I'm just going to shopping afternoon. Want to meet up for lunch? Or dinner might be better. I'm thinking about going to minicon on Thursday, but D would have to get home early, or I'd have to bring Luna with me. Well talk about it. I'm crazy excited. I've never been to a conference before. Have you been before? Is it amazing? It's not hectic here. D is home for 5 days this weekend. It's nice. He's lazy, so we are mostly just chilling out. We went to a family party on Saturday, but I'm not required to do anything but show up. We are running a couple of errands today, and I degreased the kitchen floor last night in preparation for sealing the rough concrete. It looks much better, and will be so much nicer once it's finished. I will work on it again tonight, then it should be ready to patch and seal. I cannot wait to be finished with this kitchen. I raked the back yard, but I need a hula hoe to finish clearing it. I think we had one, but I cant find it. I'll have to buy a new one. I'm so happy the weather has cooled enough to get some work done finally. Tomorrow is the town 4th of july party. it's super fun. and we'll watch the fireworks from our front porch. Breakfast here was leftover pizza from last night for everyone else. D did the Papa John's half off thing for the Diamond backs. I had a Carl's Jr fish sandwich leftover from lunch yesterday. I took the small ones out to McDonalds playland for happy meals and fun. I hit the carls drive thru next door first. they had a two fo rone deal, so i got a bonus sandwich. yummy.

we have tried a million things. My favorite is Progressive Phonics. It's mostly stories that you read together. There are very small little lessons, but not more than a couple of sentences, and you could skip them if he hates them. The three kids who have used PP have all loved it. Snuggle up and read a story. Not like a dry lesson at all. Additionally, I make Starfall, Teach Your Monster to Read, and any other cd-rom, online, whatever computer resource we have available for them to play with. It's kind of a treat, but they get to work on learning their letters.