So, I finally gave in and purchased the mp3's ofThe Old Schoolhouse's fall expo. OMG!! Wish I had done it sooner! What a great source of inspiration. Loved SWB talk, of course, and gleaned a ton of info. from (I think it was Barnier's) talk. I plan on implementing a lot if her ideas to add more fun to our day. I just really needed that! Okay, just had to share with others that can relate to my enthusiasm over hsinginspiration. Dh just looks at me like a deer in head lights:).

I had someone show me once. Obviously one lesson wasn't enough, so I turned to YouTube:). People have posted some really great instructional videos on there! What DIDN'T work was an instructional book!!! I think I had one like learn to knit in a day or something. I had NO idea what they were trying to get me to do!!

I must have a very naughty mind, because when I think of the "c" word....it's not crap:tongue_smilie:

Haha....seriously, I never realized how awful jumping jacks were until Jillian forced them on me!! It makes the ab work feel like break time:)

I think she intends for it to be a daily routine for the first 30 days. It does get easier....but, then you have to move up a level. The results are pretty great and come relatively quickly:)

I have used Neutrogena's face tanner for a long time and love it. Looks so natural! It is kind of runny, but they key is to rub it in quickly:).

Thank you for all your suggestions. I am currently on the hunt for a psychologist. I would also like a new dx evaluation. She was dx 8 yes. ago and things have changed a lot since then. Unfortunately it seems most practitioners think that if you have a special needs child, you are automatically wealthy:(. Seriously, it is hard to find someone that accepts insurance! Those that do have outrageous waiting lists or aren't accepting new patients. Ahhhh, so frustrating!!!

I did. I hated every minute of it. However, the results were great. That said, I haven't done it since. You don't even want to know the names I call Jillian while doing it:)

Thank you for your input!!:) We are seeing a DAN! doctor and a psychiatrist at this point, but I think you're right, maybe a psychologist is the way to go. Definitely need someone with better skills than I have to figure out what is causing this behavior and what I can do to alleviate some of it.

I'd just have ds write a nice thank you note and leave it at that

My third was a surprise.....what a blessing it turned out to be:). Congratulations!!!!:party:

Dd, 13, is dx with PDD-NOS. She is academically and socially at about a second grade level. She has always had sensory issues, though they seem so minute compared to now. She used to have issues with food textures, tags in clothes, etc. Those seemed to have resolved themselves. In the last year or so she has started with a whole new slew of "odd" behaviors. For example, she will touch her feces (getting all over her clothes, towels, bathroom. I have tried putting appropriate stuff like playdough and magazines in there for her to occupy herself in other ways....all to no avail. Even monitoring is out as she is a terrible sleeper and will do it in the middle of the night. So, that's been going on for the last year. Recently, more odd behaviors are apparent. Just the other day she stood in her room and deliberately peed on her carpet. Her reason? The upstairs bathroom was locked (in an attempt to supervise her) and she didn't want to walk downstairs. So, last night I discover a bag FULL of her hair. OMG....she chopped some bags and gave herself "layers". She didn't even act like she cared we were mad!!! She was so non-chalant. This is not the first time she has done this, but the first to this extreme. I could go on and on about other things....coloring on walls, cutting up her clothes and bedding...it goes on and on. She never did anything destructive like this before! She started her period last year. Could it be she doesn't know how to deal with the hormonal changes? Anyone else have a new crop of behaviors pop up around the teen years? I really could just cry. Thanks for reading this far!

Someone in my area just coordinated a reading activity bag swap. We haven't made the swap yet, so I can't say how my kids like them yet. But, the examples on the website look good. If you have a support group or co-op you belong to, maybe you could organize one. I organized a preschool activity bag swap and it was pretty easy:)

I love my Dyson! FWIW, I don't just use it on the carpet. I use it downstairs on all our tile as well. I agree though, it's not as portable as I would like and I never use the attachments.

I haven't bought any CD's as I have found everything on YouTube. What I like about YouTube is that you can listen to the original, as well as other musicians interpretation of the music. Plus, the kids enjoy watching the musicians play the piece. They especially enjoy watching pianists as they are frequently amazed that someones fingers can move that fast:)

I wish there was an answer as well!!! I'm always up past midnight. Unless I take a Klonopin:). It was actually prescribed because I have pretty bad TMJ and grind my teeth at night, which makes it worse. But, I don't like taking that unless I am desperate! I think part of my issue is that the late night hours are my only alone time. Kids and dh sleeping, house is quite, and no one is asking me for anything. I treasure that time, but pay for it the next day:(.

1. Such a personal choice. I would not go back to work. I worked until my middle was most 3. It was a great job with great co-workers.....but it never made me feel as complete or happy as being home with my kids does. My youngest is now 3 and being with her full time since she was born has shown me what I missed with the older two. 2. Depends. If they aren't doing any extra curriculars now, I would do that. If they are, and you would just be adding more, I'd opt for travel instead.

Sadly, they don't seem to care if you were able to know about the problem or not. We had an issue with our house after we moved in. Apparently there was water getting into the walls. We had no way of knowing this as our inspector gaves us the thumbs up and there were no external signs of damage. That is, until one night during a storm when water came POURING in. The insurance company offered to fix the damage, but not the problem. Inspector denied responsibilty as water damage was not externally visible. It was a nightmare which resulted in rebuilding a wall, replacing the floor, replacing the upstairs french doors in our master (leads to a patio which is apparently where the water was coming from. Long story short, they wouldn't budge. Our pleas that we had no idea water was coming in (how would we have known when even the inspector didn't catch it?), fell on deaf ears. I truly hope you have better luck than we did! We never followed up with any "higher ups", but if I had it to over again, I would.

My son was about 5 when we kicked him out:)He was fine with it by then. He will still sleep big sisters roomon occasion. Dd 3 is still in our room. I also had really bad nightmares and was so scared at night in my room all alone at night. I would cry for my parents. They would usually come in and yell at me, but at the time I didn't care....so long as someone was in there. My mom feels really bad about that now!

Dh and I just returned from Sandals in Jamaica. We got an awesome deal by keeping our eye out for a last minute deal. We booked it just 3 weeks in advance.

My wonderful great grandma gave me a glass blown rooster for my sweet sixteenth. No, I didn't collect roosters nor glass blown decor. ETA: how could I forget the awesome pair of socks mil gave me for my 30th. Yup, one pair of socks. And seriously called to see how I liked them.

My son is 7 and seems to have lost his mind. So, I'm going with that. I may have to change my answer to 8 after his bday:)

Not at all!! My two oldest were in PS. One until 3rd and the other only lasted two months in Kindy:). They love homeschooling. In fact, they freak at the mention of PS. However, homeschooling is SO prevalent in our area that it's not considered "abnormal".

We just painted dd's room using a texturized roller. It wasn't a sponge roller, but one that was supposed to give a "crinkle" sort of effect. It was NOT fun. We ended up doing 4 (seriously) coats to get good coverage. Plus, it was really hard to cut in.....it would have looked funny if we cut in using a brush but it was almost impossible to cut in using a roller. What a mess!! But, if you aren't going for full coverage (ie. having a base coat and are just looking for a sponge effect over that), it would likely be a lot less traumatic:) I would still pick using a regular sponge over using the roller though. We found that with the texturized roller it was a lot harder to get an "even" look. You have to constantly be careful of how much paint you are putting on the roller and how much pressure you put on it when you apply it to the wallso that it looks even. Much more of a pain than I had anticipated!

Celexa is my friend:) Seriously though, 7 years ago I could have written your post. I always struggled with anxiety, but it was really starting to impact my life and my relationships. Started Celexa and was a new person. Side effects vary from person to person, but I have had none. No weight gain, tiredness...nada. I started on 20mg and ended up at 40 which is where I have stayed for years now. I tried going off it a while ago and it was awful. Not awful in a withdrawal sort of way, but awful because all that anxiety crept back up. Now I know I just need to stay on it. Good luck...I hope you find what helps you. It really makes a world of difference when you do!!!:grouphug: