I could totally get on board with this! Was in last years, and after I review what I said then, should be able to get on this one, too!

Oh, Rosie. "I'm sorry" doesn't cover it, but there aren't any other words, are there? I am so horrified to hear this, and have been thinking of you nearly every moment (not in the bathroom, though, I promise). I know there is likely nothing at all I can do to help you, but if you can think of anything, no matter how small, please let me know. And if you'll not be horribly offended, I'll check in on you another time to see if there is anything I can do. I just wish I had the right words. Or the right powers. I am so terribly sorry, and I wish you nothing but love and light, as impossible as that seems right now.

Oooh, hibiscus! The flowers are lovely, I've never had the tea before! Yes and no - I'm not *opposed* to Stevia, I just don't have any in the house.

Depressingly, my local market carries... not much. A lot of green tea (just "green tea"), a lot of orange pekoe... and not much else. *sadface* Plus, I'm horrible at making iced teas - I'm trying to cut out sugar, so I have no idea what I'm doing. ^_^ No clue how strong to brew, no clue how much sugar to use if I'm not using kool-aid level sugar... I'm lost! It's pretty dang sad, honestly. XD

As summer is around the corner, and I'm trying to ditch soda/pop/whatever you call it, TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE TEAS! I have a David's Tea across town, and I think a TeaVana around as well, tell me what teas you like iced!

Close, but just a tad off. I'm under "Homeschooling Hatters" at this point, largely because RBA is all 'accounting' type stuff. So the url would be homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca - so y'all have technically "international" reach this year. ;)

Gah! I'm not getting email updates! Yikes, I'll have to fix that. I'll get started on my own post, as well. As Mrs.Warde here has pointed out to me elsewhere, I can also dabble in research, the heritable nature of giftedness, and the diagnostic process for SPD, if additional posts are needed. ^_^ This looks to be timed just ahead of when I'm supposed to take Monkey for an extended-family camping trip, so it'll be a great thing! Also, just as an FYI, this blog hop from last year? Yeah, it was a HUGE help, and I made several new friends and a ton contacts in the arena of gifted education from it! THANK YOU ALL!!

I'd be willing to jump on this, if y'all would have me. My blog is a little defunct at the moment, and in need of some sprucing up, but I could totally get on board with this. My general thought is educating the gifted kindergartener - in a world that says "just let them be kids!" Maybe?

Thank you so much! I can never really tell what "normal" is - DS is an only, and the only kids we see on a regular basis are much like he is (though his best friend's mama is an astrophysicist, which is fairly indicative of what daughter is like!), so... I guess, and I never know! Thank you for the suggestions! I'll keep an eye to PBS - I only have it while I'm at my mom's, so I only have a couple days to check it out, though I suspect that it'll be much like Sprout is... Maybe I'll go to the PBS website and check the lineup, then I can see what shows are airing when, and check out individual episodes at home... Why, yes, I am an overthinker! I have no idea how many words are in DS's vocabulary. No clue. He had 5 words at 18 months, and hit 75 by 22months, then I stopped counting. I know he knows a lot of words, and uses them. All. Frequently, rapidly, and loudly. All day long. :tongue_smilie: Aside from that, though, I haven't counted. ^_^ I will take a look at the more "normal" places for the kids to gather, and watch for PBS shows (he loves Sprout, though none of it teaches him anything, nor does the Spider-Man he adores), see what shakes out. Thank you so much for replying!

Sorry - that probably would be helpful. DS is four. :)

Good evening, all! I have a question regarding filling in some information on paperwork, I'm hoping someone can help me out. I've gotten the fifty-two bajillion forms from the Gifted Development Center, and have begun filling them out. However, it asks if a) my son's vocabulary is advanced, and b) examples of this. Thing is, DS is my only child. I don't know what's normal for a child his age and what isn't, so I can't well say whether his vocabulary is truly advanced, or merely a product of what those of us around him speak daily. I'm running on the assumption (for now) that his vocabulary is advanced, as he has yet to use words he doesn't know, and has shocked the bejeebers out of me using words like "inquisition" appropriately in sentences. I'm just not sure how to answer the question, and am hoping folks here can point me true. Thanks so much (and feel free to ask questions if I've left out details that you need!) for your time, I really appreciate it!!

I'm going to agree with Fairfarmhand. Her suggestion for pre-visit instruction from your daughter is going to likely be the best way to handle this without too much turbulence. I have a WILDLY different parenting style from my mother. My mother believes that, at two, my son should have structured playtime, and that every moment he is awake, I should be entertaining him. This includes while I'm cooking and/or cleaning, and when I have to use the bathroom. Playpens, swings, and jolly jumpers are perfect child-monitoring and safety systems, to be used whenever necessary. She believes in bedtime at eight, and waking up with the birdies in the morning, just to do it all again. I, on the other hand, think that some time for my son to explore his environment (and the freedom to do it) is a good thing. So, while we have time we play together, when I need to cook (particularly since our oven is so incredibly old that it gets as hot on the outside as it does on the inside and I have to gate myself in the kitchen to use it!), have to pee, or need to just decompress for a minute, he plays with his toys. I have made the house as safe for him as I can, and we both survive and thrive this way. Visiting my mother, though... while she is willing to say I must be doing SOMETHING right, as my child is sweet, kind, and independent, she can never seem to FIND that something while we're there. I am more active in parenting at their house, knowing it is not as toddler-proof as my own. But my not actively supervising his every waking moment stresses her out. Her comment at the time was that SOMEONE needed to parent my child, as I obviously wasn't. I told her flat out she'd HAD her chance to raise kids, and I was raising mine, thanks, took my son and left. Why? A) Because my son doesn't need the toxicity that comes from two grown adults fuming at each other and trapped in the same house together, B) because I seriously needed to get away before I told my mother exactly where to get off, and C) I know myself well enough to know that staying would only make things worse. As we were visiting from out of the country at the time, there wasn't far to go, but we did have other plans for the day, so we kept them. After a while, when we'd both cooled off, we were able to have a discussion that boiled down to almost EXACTLY what Fairfarmhand proposed. Boy, would I have preferred to have that discussion BEFORE the screaming that I neglect my son because I do not feel the need to entertain him every moment.

:iagree: Backstory: My son, at two months old, wasn't gaining. We spent a week in the hospital with the doctors telling me all sorts of untrue things re: breastfeeding, and actually *forbidding* me to BF, only what could be pumped (which was .5z per session, if I was lucky)... That sort of thing. I fought tooth and nail to keep giving my baby breastmilk. There were days that nursing my son was what kept me sane and, quite literally, alive. Visiting Dr. Jack in Toronto said the exact same things I-can't-remember-who did - your baby will be just fine on nursing and solid foods. We, at about 4 months, were mixing up purees, and feeding the baby those, plus nursing. We supplemented overnight, as we also had issues with CAS involvement (for a separate reason, but still). My sweet son will be two in a month. He still nurses, though usually only for nap and night times. Answer: My personal opinion is that my baby will be small for only a short time, and once that time is up, I can't go back. I am willing to put every last bit of effort I have into nursing. It is the one thing that I, and only I, can do for my son, and I won't always be able to. The not TL;DR version: I already have fought as hard as I possibly could to continue nursing my own son. I don't think my fight would have changed had he been three months older when we hit troubles. :001_smile:

I'm likely not saying anything new, but YES. Get/take the drug, particularly if it will improve your quality of life. If you go back to the useless doctors (I'd be inclined to not, and find someone new), tell them you're on this med. You don't have to tell them why or how or from whom you got it, just that you're taking it. I'd just be worried about interactions with current/future meds if you don't disclose it... though truthfully you'd be better off at that point just telling your pharmacist and letting them handle it. Of course, I have rotten experiences with doctors prescribing things that their patient actually cannot have.

I'm assuming here that you're asking because the photographs are heavily inappropriate, and not just questionable (e.g. criminal content versus just baby-in-bathtub). If that is the case, absolutely report it. Sure, the finances stink for the people involved, but if these pictures are what I'm assuming you mean, the potential downside for this child is far worse. Also, as Pamela said, the *action* causes the consequence, not the telling of the action. Call the local PD, ask their opinion, and proceed from there. If we're talking some questionable photos... give some thought to whether or not these parents ought to lose their kids over these photos. If the answer is yes, then see above. :001_smile: