I like donuts but hardly ever eat them (maybe once or twice a year). My favorites are the glazed chocolate donuts. Our weekend was ok. DH has been out of town for five days and I'm super-tired. Had big plans for some fun activities with the kids this weekend, but we ended up just hanging around the house. We still had fun - just not the fun I had planned. I volunteer with two local nonprofits. One is an autism nonprofit which I began volunteering with three years ago and of which I'm now the president of the board. It's a small nonprofit, so the president's role is anything but glamorous. ;) In addition to serving as president, I run several support group meetings each month, handle support requests we receive via email/phone, speak to local businesses and other groups about autism, etc. We're an all-volunteer organization and we divvy up whatever needs to be done among us. The other nonprofit I work with is an animal rescue start-up. It's an initiative a friend of mine and her mom are starting up, and I'm helping them write their business plan in preparation for seeking funding/grants. DH and the kids don't volunteer at this time, but I'm looking for something we can all do together as a family.

Church Lady does not approve. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmwqnqL3Hbg

Lots of guys run shirtless here when the weather's warm. It's pretty common.

Oops. Posted in the wrong thread. :p

Sounds exactly like my DS when he was that age. FWIW, he has since been dx'd with Asperger's (with co-morbid SPD/ADHD). Doesn't mean your DS necessarily fits any of those diagnoses. He could just be an intense child based on what you've described. Consistency is the key. If you decide to set a boundary, you must stick to it, or the incessant testing will continue. A book I read a long time ago had an interesting description for kids who incessantly test in this fashion: "aggressive researchers". Basically, kids who are wired this way will test and test and test until they get a definitive answer regarding the boundary. That's why consistency is so important, because if the boundary is firm on Monday, but it's flexible on Tuesday, it's confusing to the child. So he keeps testing. Makes complete sense when you look at it from that perspective. IME, it's important to identify the truly important boundaries (e.g. no biting, no hitting, etc. - they'll mostly be safety-related), and become a lot more flexible about other things. If you have too many rules with a child like this, both you and your child will be exhausted at the end of each day. And the connection/relationship with your child will suffer from the constant power struggles. DS wasn't fully potty-trained until close to age 5, despite our best efforts. The stress/upheaval you mentioned could certainly have something to do with the regression. I'd back off on this a bit (just relax about it and follow his lead) and focus on other issues for awhile. Most of this sounds sensory-related. From what you've described, I would definitely take a closer look at SPD. A book I found helpful in that regard is "The Out of Sync Child". Aside from that, what has been most helpful with DS is putting relationship/connection first, shifting the emphasis from consequences to teaching right behaviors, helping him feel more understood (by acknowledging his perspective/showing empathy), providing more opportunities for exercise/sensory input, giving him more choice/control, avoiding power struggles and saying "yes" more. It's hard to have a power struggle if mom won't engage. ;) The beauty of all of the above is that these are all shifts parents can make on their own. They don't require the child's cooperation (although most children will likely respond quickly and positively). The problem with many "conventional" parenting methods IMO is that they put too much emphasis on *making the child change*. The reality is that you can't really make your child do anything. Sure, you can force your will on your child - but the child still chooses how to react. The only thing you truly have complete control over is your own behavior. IME it's infinitely more effective and less stressful for everyone when you focus on changes you can make to your approach and behavior, vs. trying to get your child to make changes. ETA: We did have DS tested for food sensitivities and made some changes to his diet based on that. Eliminating his reactive foods reduced some of the hyperactivity, sensory issues, aggression, as well as some physical issues. The changes were more pronounced in the first few months and then leveled off. While diet changes helped, changing our approach to DS provided greater benefits.

Does he intersperse his running with prancercising? :lol:

That's bizarre. I can't imagine why anyone would want to video him running. I wouldn't be worried about his safety, but I would think it's extremely odd.

Doesn't sound very appealing to me. Too sweet and too many fake (fat-free/sugar-free) ingredients.

Buy a few transitional pieces. It's worth it.

I agree that meeting with her will not help, and will possibly make things worse. Respond to her request with "There is nothing more to discuss", and then be the broken record if she asks again. IME this kind of drama only resolves when one of the parties involved leaves the group. You mentioned that she has stopped coming to the meetups. Hopefully it will stay that way. My guess is that she's more likely to stay away if you refuse to meet with her. That may sound harsh but I've seen this kind of drama completely tear groups apart before. The vast majority of the time, it was because one or a handful of people *created* drama. When people are inclined to do that, no amount of discussion is going to change anything or restore a healthy group dynamic. In those cases, it's better for everyone involved when the person causing the drama moves on.

I'd be incredibly frustrated by that too. While you obviously did the right thing by taking care of it, I wouldn't jump in and bail her out next time if it can be avoided. Some people just won't learn until they have to face the consequences of their actions.

1) I'd contact the person who sent the docs and provided the instructions for clarification. 2) If that person wasn't available, I'd contact someone off the phone list of people to contact if there's a question. 3) If I couldn't reach anyone from the phone list, I would call the co-worker that does the same job as me (shouldn't matter that they're in another building - I'm assuming the person can be reached by phone or email). 4) I would contact my supervisor only if all other options had been exhausted. I wouldn't bother any of the co-workers who have different jobs, as I would assume they wouldn't have the answer.

Instead of giving her the book, how about just using it as a jumping-off point to discuss the topics you think would be helpful to her at this time? Use it more as a reference/guide for yourself? I've always loved my freckles, but then I never had someone tell me (nor did I read a book that told me) otherwise. :) I'd be hesitant to give her a book that could introduce completely irrelevant and unnecessary "issues".

Great advice, especially the bolded IMO. Keeping in touch is so critical. While you don't always want to be the one emailing, calling, initiating get-togethers, etc. (one-sided relationships aren't fun) don't always wait for the other person to make the first move either.

Welcome to the boards! :) I've found that the best way to make friends is to connect with others around a shared interest. Do you have a hobby or something you enjoy doing in your spare time? Are there groups in your area where people connect around that hobby/activity? I'd start by checking out www.meetup.com, www.groups.yahoo.com, as well as the community boards on www.craigslist.org for your town. If you're on Facebook, you could also search Facebook groups for your area. Join a few groups, and just lurk for a bit to get a feel for the groups and how people interact and connect. If it seems like a group and its members might be a good fit for you, sign up to attend a meetup or get-together, and go from there. Attend several group get-togethers to start getting to know individual members better. Group meetups are a great low pressure way to get to know people. After awhile, you'll likely form a closer connection with some individuals and can then invite someone to join you for coffee or lunch outside the group. HTH!

I thought the same thing, but DS didn't seem to have that much trouble falling asleep. However, I didn't sleep a wink all night (I was in a recliner in his room). I just couldn't relax, with cameras monitoring us and people coming in occasionally throughout the night. If you'll be spending the night, you might want to take a nap beforehand. ;)

MSG is really difficult to avoid. If I had to cut out MSG, I'd likely move to a paleo-type diet. You may already be aware of this, but MSG can be found in more than 40 different ingredients. Just avoiding foods with "MSG" or "monosodium glutamate" on the label is not enough. Even many organic foods contain MSG, as an additive to ingredients like "yeast extract", "natural flavoring", "seasonings", etc. I actually did a research paper on MSG a few years ago (as part of a health coach training/certification program) and was surprised to learn about the loopholes in FDA regulations that allow MSG to not be listed as an ingredient if it's added to another ingredient and constitutes less than a certain % of the primary ingredient (it's been a few years, so I don't recall the exact %). Even if a product says "No MSG added", that doesn't mean that it doesn't contain MSG. You really have to read the actual ingredients and compare them to a list of MSG-containing (or potential MSG-containing) ingredients like the list I linked above.

I doubt it too, but since my google-sleuthing turned up a hit on "federal agents seize Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", I thought I'd pass it along. ;) The case summary at the link does mention homes being raided by federal agents in order to seize toys, but those were (I presume) the homes of people being indicted. Just posted it on the slim chance that the OP might recognize the names of the individuals/businesses involved.

Could it possibly have something to do with this? http://www.justice.gov/usao/nye/pr/2013/2013feb06.html

I just learned a new word via Facebook, and feel the need to use it immediately. So here goes... :D I'm tired of the "askholes" in my life. Askhole: a person who constantly asks for your advice, yet always does the opposite of what you told them.

It's the little things that make life meaningful.... :tongue_smilie:

You must do some REALLY interesting searches. :p

The pronunciation of 'a' with an umlaut ('ä') in German sometimes sounds like a short e.

I'd skip the medication for the reasons already mentioned. DS had a sleep study and was not offered or given meds (IIRC the instructions we received specifically said not to give medication, but this was 5 years ago so my memory is fuzzy).

I think DH must be an anomaly. He's been taking his vitamins every day since before I met him. He's better about remembering to take them than I am.