That's fabulous! Congratulations:001_smile:

I consider it my responsibility to support a system that helps those who are less fortunate than myself. I do not begrudge anyone the right to welfare. I don't want to live in a country where those who can't or won't help themselves are not supported...Lucky I don't;):001_smile:

I try not to read too much into these things. My son sits up a tree all day! Lucas, Amy and Isobel are really, really good...excellent really;) at being Lucas, Amy and Isobel:001_smile: On another note when Lucas does learn how to read I will jump up and down with excitement. I might just faint should he ever voluntarily do any schoolwork :lol:

Thursday Next from 'The Eyre Affair' etc by Jasper Fforde. She's sassy :D

I talk to my kids about the importance of life and how precious it is...it is not to be wasted and that they need to make their lives worthwhile because in the end we all die :). I'm a realist...I don't sugarcoat. Pretty much like Pico :) These are things we talk about when it comes up too:) Sorry I forgot to quote so I will bold what Pico said:) I deal with this a couple different ways. One is the "Circle of Life"- the sun comes up and goes down, people are born and they die. The second is "Our Ancestors Live Through Us"- we talk about ways they are like their father (who died 5+ years ago,) and their grandmother (who died last summer.) Their other grandmother died before they were born, and we talk the same way about her.

Thank you for the link *happy dance* I have signed up for the newsletter. SO much easier than how I usually try to find things. Oh I love my kindle :D

Sure you can wear socks but I suggest you wear these sort ;) I'm not sure if you are allowed to hyperlink on this site so I will just add the link :) http://store.americanapparel.net/skpack2.html Apart from those? I wouldn't, but if it floats your boat then go for it:D

Because of Rosie in the other thread I have been looking through naalbinding sites and I am very excited about it. I think this is something the kids and I can learn together too. I have a friend who does the medieval festivals in full kit so I will have to ask her if she knows how to do it. Apart from that, I want to continue to learn to cross stitch. I've only started a few weeks ago so it is a new year thing too :) Knitting, I need to learn, or re-learn how to knit again. I want to sew clothes for the kids and myself. It is one of the things where I am extravagant, totally OTT to be honest, and I would like to cut back the spending while dressing my children well. I have been going to the local haberdashery for the last few months and buying the fabric, ribbon etc on sale and have built up a great collection for not a lot of money. Now I need the skills and time to put it all together!

Yes, you are right:001_smile: I try to tackle just a small piece at a time and it's a bonus if I get more done. I am trying to stitch on fabric ATM and I think I have bitten off more than I can chew...I will go back to my aida until I get a little better at counting and stitching. I've only been doing it for a few weeks. I tried to teach my 5 year old as well the other day and had to admit defeat...Mummy's nerves aren't up to that yet:001_huh::lol:

I got that for Christmas too!! I was standing in the toy aisle trying to work out what to buy the kids and just started idly playing with it. I spent 20 minutes just standing there trying to make it work so had to bring it home!! ETA Oops different thing...I would love one of those though and must look out for one!

I've taken up cross stitch and I just love it. Of course I'm doing subversive cross stitch because that's how I roll ;) It's all very new to me but I am loving it...I always thought it would be dull but I love how words are formed by just doing little crosses. I also felt and do other bits and pieces, none of it very well because I am not a patient woman :p

:grouphug: I'm so sorry:grouphug: I can't even begin to imagine your pain.

I'll probably keep coming back and adding because it's morning over here and I am just having my first coffee so I am a touch ;):D forgetful. My son can't read yet so I have to spend a lot of one on one time BUT he does not have to sit at the table to learn, he can go sit in his tree if he likes as long as he does the work :D He has a laptop, he has a breakfast? tray so he has a stable surface to write on if he wants to do his work on his bed, he can sit on the lounge etc. If I make him sit at the table he jiggles so much that I'm not sure anything gets through KWIM. I have balance boards for him to play with when he is reading. He has a soft ball to squish which helps with his concentration, I am going to get one of those balance balls too...I just have not seen one when I've been out shopping. We have a running machine that he likes to get on as well. I agree with the lots of sleep too. If Lucas has had a bad night then we just have a relaxed day...there will be enough meltdowns without having to try to do work on top of it. There was something else, I can't remember...I'll be back :p ETA Ah, that's it...we will be trying workboxes this year to see how they go...see I knew I'd remember sooner or later:p ETA See, I'm back again:p I say this with the full force and knowledge of a full 9 months of home-schooling behind me (that's a joke BTW ;)) that the reason I home-school is so that I don't have to follow a full schedule for my son, it, HS, is perfect for my son because it allows the day to fold into his way, not like when he was in a public school and my son was being twisted to fit their schedule which was just unacceptable to the way that Lucas thought. You know that they have found a genetic link for ADHD? I'll just throw this in here because I find it interesting...not really relevant but I know it helps me and it will hopefully help my son understand that ADHD is not something that he did, or it's not because he's stupid or some other ridiculous assertion. He was made this way, his brain is wired differently. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/30/3026236.htm

:grouphug: My husband has Aspergers and it is so difficult to get the children to stop mimicking him!!! I think it's just natural to mimic your parents KWIM. I do know that it was very difficult for me to determine what was nature and what was nurture so I took my son to a paeditrician to determine which was which. I was so comfused I thought my son had Aspergers too but he is ADHD...what did surprise me was how similar they are.

:lol: I'll go break every chair and lounge my son owns to even up the score:lol: My son is only 7 and we have only just started after a horrendous start at a public school. Lucas has a concentration span of 5 minutes, tops...that is my window and it is like teaching a jack-in-the-box. My son has a lot of outside time. We are learning Kinesthetically if possible and I try to find as many visual teaching tools as I can. Big protein breakfast with a protein shake if possible and he must be fed and have something to drink every two hours or so, like a toddler really. If we are studying (on vacation ATM ;)) I will try to get some caffeine into him but he doesn't like coffee without sugar and if he has sugar it defeats the purpose. I do understand your worry. I come from a family of addiction as well and it will be over my dead body that my children tread that path...but what do I do? I'm not anti meds either and plan to try them this year to see how they go. I just wonder if my son has the knowledge ADHD that the others have not will it make a difference? We all know what makes ADHD and it is not hidden from him and it is certainly not referred to in negative terms. I try to tell him at least once a day what we can do better ;) http://ezinearticles.com/?Positive-Characteristics-of-Children-With-ADHD&id=2489457 I have a few books and like this one http://www.amazon.com/Gift-ADHD-Transform-Problems-Strengths/dp/1572248505/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1294433437&sr=8-7 ADHD is not seen as a problem in my family...well we try...it's very hard some days. I am hoping that this attitude and his being home-schooled away from the negative comments will lead him away from a path of addiction. I really don't know and to me that is the frightening part. I do not want it to be from me medicating or not medicating that makes the difference KWIM. I do think a positive attitude and knowledge is power to my son. I know it is to me. I think his understanding of what ADHD does to him and how he can help himself is a powerful tool.

Absolutely. My house is your house:001_smile:

Yes, me:001_smile: I remember being taken to Sunday School as a small child and thinking that I do not believe this and I never will. If you cannot convince me at 4 you will not convince me at 43:lol: I cannot even fathom faith in a god. It is an alien concept to me :001_huh: My mind will not think that way so I have never struggled with my lack of faith in a god :)

:iagree: I also hope that poor girl finds somewhere else to live away from someone with that kind of anger. Disgusting man!!! Absolutely the adult should apologise. How do I show my children the right way to act if I do not extend that same common courtesy to them?

We don't celebrate it either :) I love my husband dearly and he me, but we have no need to set aside a special day to celebrate. I will clearly state that it is one of the many things I don't understand;):001_smile:

I'm an embracer as well:) My husband is diagnosed Aspergers. I believe if he was diagnosed as a child his diagnosis would have been more in the spectrum. He cannot drive. He is completely incapable of driving...he shuts down when I am driving. That does not mean that other people in the spectrum can't drive, many can, it is a large and varied spectrum. Frankly if the child hasn't been formally diagnosed then how does the mother know? I belong to spouse Asperger groups and I get a bit sick of people informally diagnosing their spouses and relatives. Is that an American thing? Just because the mother says it is so does not make it so IMO.

Here is the thread that I participated in though there seems to many of them if you do an advanced search :) http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207889

There was a long thread on ADHD and caffeine when I first joined here because I joined in on it. I'm not used to searching on this site but will try to find it for you. For us, the caffeine does work but there is the problem of what and how to give it to him. I am having a little break from it for the time being as we are taking a long Christmas break but I do find that if I can get Lucas to drink something caffeinated then he does focus more. It is completely useless IMO if you give them caffeine with a lot of sugar....it completely defeats the purpose for us anyhow:)

My son has ADHD and he does Akido...nothing like a sharp sword to improve his concentration:lol: Not really, they generally use a wooden padded sword and only bring out the sharp one every once in a while ;) :) I have observed him in his class and I think it has been wonderful for his self discipline and his focus. My son is not aggressive though and the others that he learns with are all teenagers who understand that while my son is a big boy nearly the size of some of them, he does not have the maturity or impulse control that they have. I think it has helped Lucas so much that I am looking for a more hands on one for him as well but I am unsure of which one to choose. I don't think a kicking one would be good for my son though....I don't know why but I feel he is more impulsive with his feet?

Someone mentioned to me the other day about giving my son a physical list to tick off once they were done. I think him having to actually do something to acknowledge it had been done will help my son...of course mine can't read yet so I will have to do pictures. I KNOW he will be deliberately obtuse and won't recognise what the boy brushing his teeth is supposed to mean:001_rolleyes: :p

Just jumping in here as the wife of an Aspie. It is up to us to 'get' it. All the Aspie marriage counseling books tell us so. While I'm not exactly NT either, I have ADHD, it is up to me to make the leap to understand my husband because it is not a matter of him being able to change...he can't, so it MUST be me to make the leap. You are completely right, in my experience, of NTs not being able to grasp this, they think that my husband should be able to change, that somehow he should be able to change the way his mind is wired. People will only make themselves unhappy if they don't grasp this....Aspies are not NT and never will be able to be NT, they can mimic etc but their brains are wired differently. Sorry I'm probably rambling here. I'm ill ATM I hope I even understood the question:rofl: