I'm finding this already, so I hope it continues to improve. At least she is able to actually learn now and if I ever put her back in school, hopefully it would be in a small private school with a calm, focused approach.

I grew up on margarine. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter is probably the reason I'm infertile. Only slightly joking.

We stayed at a Hampton in Hershey. In Wlliamsburg we found a great deal at the Powhatan on a two bedroom condo. $50 a night on hotels.com! I'd stay there again for that price. We've also stayed at Greensprings, but it was pricier. We've also stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn and it was very nice and breakfast was delicious (they have an actual cook).

Wow! That was cool! I'd ask how you did that, but I should probably just google it. ;)

Oh, and I would have the eight year old help you. I don't believe in throwing much away behind their backs at that age. It's good for her to see how to make decisions and feel good about donations, even if it is hard. By 8, kids usually care about their things and you start messing with trust when you just throw things out. That's my feeling anyhow.

Well, what are your values? What's important to your family? What do you want to teach your kids? If the point of this is to not be so material focused, then get rid of at least half of it with their help and donate it to a shelter or daycare. Then you have to STOP buying things. :) If the point is to have lots of things and just be more organized, then rotate toys. It will be like getting new things all year and they'll probably play more with what's out.

Everything is a spectrum, so if it doesn't affect your ability to function, it's not a disorder. ;) Treatment includes stimulating whatever bothers you and learning to handle it at higher and higher levels, basically. The Listening Program activates certain areas of the brain and helps kids develop the ability to tolerate it a bit a better. Kids who have aversions to sticky things play with sticky things, etc. It's basically working to desensitize the area of your brain affected. Does that make sense? OT is basically playing with what ails you. ;)

I would take my kids by myself in a heartbeat! Can you hook up with another mom and her kids? I've had friends that have done that before.

Oh, she's been in therapy, we've done TLP, etc. With her issues, it will never "go away," but it's getting better. We can actually go to movies now.

We did some work at the library yesterday in between activities. All was well until a bunch of families with very young and appropriately noisy children came in. DD with dyspraxia was physically in pain from the noise! She jolted and plugged her ears and squirmed every time they made a noise. She couldn't get through one math problem. I used to send noise canceling headphones to school and her teacher told me she didn't need them. No wonder she learned nothing that year. She does well in classes that are focused and structured, but she HATES chaos. It was just a good reminder that home is a better place for her right now.

Us too. Full fat, butter not margarine, etc. We just eat LESS.

I haven't read all the posts, but it's how I grew up and most of my friends IRL are healthy eaters. I don't think I've ever had white bread in my house in my entire life. However, we eat out quite a bit and I do buy Oreos once in a while! We are working on five boxes of GS cookies right now! It's a goal, something we have made a priority in our lives, an area we've chosen to focus our time and money on, etc. it's just a different value and that's ok. I think maybe homeschoolers focus on food more because, well, they are home! I know I had more time to devote to what we ate once I quit my job. I also had less money and had to figure out how we were going to eat. I don't have the money to buy a lot of snacks and junk anymore.

:) I just totally feel for you. This is the first year dd has done any school work independently and everyday ay is a crap shoot. I have a regular routine and assignments written in a planner. It's working well. My dd brushes her teeth, but a Sonicare has made a huge difference. She just didn't have the motor skills for a regular toothbrush and I think it was truly wearing her out. Hair brushing is our big issue. I recently bought one of those tangle genies or whatever they are called and she loves it because it fits in her hand better. Now if she could only figure out hair washing... She needs reminders to get out of the shower every single day. I'm sorry your therapist isn't listening. One of my best friends is an OT and she has been invaluable. I can express a frustration and she can explain to me why dd struggles and give me tips on how to help her. It's wonderful. Anyone want to teach her to ride a bike?? ;)

Hmm. My ADHD/dyspraxic 10 year old has had these goals for a few years. I think there is a difference between not wanting to do something and truly not noticing or getting distracted. Can she not clean her room because she doesn't want to, or does she get distracted by every.little.thing. That's a difference. My dd has a hard time organizing. We have to frequently review what a clean room looks like and if we are going to do anything major, I have to be there and walk her through the process of organizing. She can follow her list in the morning. Her job is to feed the dog at night. I have to remind her EVERY night. Every night. She has a NT twin who needs a mild amout of help with thing, doesn't do extra things without being asked (usually), and leaves her shoes everywhere. Everywhere. However there is a HUGE difference. NT twin is sloppy and immediately makes corrections when told. Dyspraxic DD needs reminders every day, gets distracted incredibly easily, and still needs lists for a lot of things. So, depending on what your dd struggles with neurologically, I think those are good goals. Perhaps ask the therapist to help "manage" those issues. ask her for help with organizing. Our kids don't just naturally grow out of developmentally appropriate behaviors like their peers. They don't pick up on social cues or peer pressure to conform. They HAVE to be trained. They have to do it right every time or it doesn't become habit. That's my two cents.

This is popular in my circle. Proper alignment can help with all sorts of things. However, ear infections are incredibly painful and not something I mess around with.

Yep! In my signature. Please stop by!

We did twice a week for three months. Do twice a week if you can! Be very diligent about the home exercises. We saw major improvements. For us, going every other week would have really defeated the purpose. I would have had a hard time following through with home exercises for two weeks. We'd need more variety and accountability, plus there things she could only do in the office (3D stuff on the computer, trampoline things, etc).

Costco. We don't do Walmart either.

Haha. My husband is a graphic designer and I used Comic Sans ALL the time when I taught kindergarten. He would die a little each time...

Yes, it's very common, but usually considered an advanced class.

We've had it for years. It was a simple application, just like any credit card.

Oh! And the Kirkland dog food is the BEST.

We have the Costco Amex card and this year we got $230 to spend at Costco. :) I buy less now that we try to eat grass fed meats and organic produce, but I last week I bought: Speedo Swim suits ($12) Naked Juice Cantelope Pirate's Booty Toilet paper Dishwasher detergent Trash bags Lotion Shampoo/conditioner

I wear Aeropostale, but the last few years I haven't been able to find anything mom-friendly. Either I'm getting older or their styles are getting younger. ;) I just don't fit into a lot of regular mom stores.

We do Mind Benders and BTS. We do two Mind Benders a week and two pages of BTS per week. It will take us two years to go through BTS and I think we are doing two full MB books. I like BTS because, as a former teacher, sometimes I notice some "school language" that I'm glad they are being exposed to. Little random things...I can't even think of an example. But we only spend five minutes a week on it! It's good exposure if your kids like workbooks.