Today is not a get things done day. I'm in my ADD, distracted, tired, lazy mode. I replied to an email about DS11's astronomy club debate, which is a joke that they turned into more of a joke by moving DS to the other team two weeks before the debate. I called my dad to see if he wants to go to the star party with us. I replied to an email about our upcoming star party trip, giving them our headcount and the meal that we'll provide. I gave our old dresser to our neighbor. I got the big kids started on their school work. I washed last night's dinner dishes and this morning's breakfast dishes. I had DS11's scoop the litter boxes and take out the trash. I had DD13 put away some clean dishes and make lunch. I went to super supplements and the library. I ate lunch.

My library system has that book at a different branch. I put it on hold; it should be here in a few days. It looks like it might be helpful for DS11 as well. She is very likely gifted. My oldest two definitely are, and she's following a similar path of my oldest daughter.

I'm not surprised. Even when you educate people about it, they don't change anything unless it affects them or their kids. And even then they sometimes don't take the precautions they should.

I've done nothing but get dressed and eat a bowl of very unhealthy, sugary cereal for breakfast. I sent my kids to the store to buy cereal, telling them to get what they want, and they came back with Cocoa Pebbles. Lunch and dinner will be healthy though. The big kids have to do state history which is completing a map of Washington state showing the population by county. DD13 needs to do math. DS11 and I need to do math. My reading student is coming at 3pm. I don't have a plan other than Motivated Moms list. I think I'll list what I did after the fact rather than preplan. See you later. Happy tackling.

I've only listened to one children's book and the Harry Potter series on audiobook. I don't have a device to put digital books on so that makes it harder. I haven't been part of the thread for a while because I got into a rut and wasn't reading. However I finished two books recently, one of them last night. I have another book that I'm nearly done with, but put down for a while in favor of fiction. #15: Empire by Orson Scott Card #16 Hidden Empire by Orson Scott Card My son picked these up at the going out of business sale of an online retailer of used books because he enjoyed the Ender's Game series. They are set in present day and are very political. They were poorly rated on Amazon, mostly because of the politics. Anyone on the liberal side of politics will not like these books. Anyone who loved Ender's Game and are expecting the same kind of writing, will not like these books. The first book involves a civil war (some casualties, mostly political) in the US with the lines drawn between conservatives and liberals. The second book revolves around a virus with a fatality rate of 30-50%. It continues with many of the same characters as the first book and involves more politics.

She had a second meltdown this evening. Two hours spent with a screaming kid who absolutely refused to listen to anything. I'm exhausted. She's the sweetest most charming kid all of the rest of the time.

I will try the counting next time. I hope I remember...because when she starts the only thing I want to do is get away from her.

Can't do timeouts at all. She absolutely will not stay where she is put. Actually, if she's in meltdown mode, we can't enforce anything...not time out, not staying in her room, not bedtime, not picking up things she threw on the ground, nothing. She absolutely will not do anything that she is told to do and there's no safe way to force her.

Someone mentioned pictures to help her communicate. She is extremely articulate...probably as articulate as a typical 5-6 year old. No one ever has trouble understanding what she says because she enunciates so well and she has a broad vocabulary. Academically, she is ready to start kindergarten and is ahead of some pre-k 5 year olds. If communication is the problem, it's because she can't communicate complex thought processes. She definitely can communicate any basic needs and wants and doesn't hesitate to do so. The only pattern to her tantrums would be not getting her way. Today she got mad at her older brother while they were riding bikes. She just got her first two wheeler with training wheels. He rides like an expert stuntman. He was riding circles around DHs car, and she was yelling at him about him cheating. I think they were racing, and he started faster than her leading her to think he was cheating. Since they weren't playing nicely, I told them to come inside. The meltdown lasted an hour and a half.

A typical food day is eggs for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, and meat/veggies for dinner. I often scramble eggs with about an ounce of finely ground sausage and some spinach. Sometimes I fry them in olive oil with a side of Dave's Killer Bread as toast. It is usually served with fresh fruit. Lunch is typically a sandwich with fresh fruit. She likes peanut butter and honey or turkey/ham (preservative free) with cheese. Dinner lately has been marinated grilled meat, salad, and either a cooked veggie (like steamed green beans or broccoli) or baked potato. She will only eat salad if it has caesar dressing, but we use one that has no preservatives. We do eat unhealthy food from time to time. We'll have Kraft Mac & Cheese and hot dogs occasionally as a treat for the littles. Cereal is a treat they get once in a while. We do eat fast food...about 3-5 times a month. If food is part of the problem it isn't an obvious one, and I'm used to making connections with food. Three of my kids have had past problems with dairy and have seemingly outgrown them. DD3 was allergic to dairy for her first year of life. It caused stomach pain and vomiting. She started eating dairy without problems when she was twelve months old, and consumed it without problems for two years before the tantrums began. So, it is possible that dairy is an issue, but it seems unlikely since she had it without incident for two years prior to these starting.

Well, we did see naps were an issue so we make sure she gets one every day. Other than that, there is no pattern that I can see. And the set off is always some seemingly insignificant thing but never the same thing. I'll look at the video. We'll consider diet. Dairy has been a problem for three of my kids though they all seemed to outgrow the allergy. We could try to remove it again.

My three year old has tantrums/meltdowns that last 30-60 minutes, sometimes more, never less. Nothing we have tried works. We have tried everything we can think of from talking/reasoning with her at her level to rescue remedy to timeouts. Nothing works. If you ignore her, she'll cling to you, grab your clothing, grab anything you have in your hands, climb on you, sit on you, etc. She'll do everything in her power to prevent you from ignoring her. If you try to take anything she's grabbed from you or hold her, she runs away. If you leave the room, she follows, clinging to you or tearing at your clothing. If you go to her, she runs away. If you put her in time out, she leaves it immediately. About the sixth time, you put her in time out, she starts fighting you with all she has, risking injury to both herself and you. (She nearly pulled furniture down on top of us once.) If you lock yourself in the bathroom to get away from her, she'll stand there pounding on the door as long as it takes to get you to open it, using ever-increasing methods of hitting the door harder (ie. using items). It's so bad, I've had other moms come to me in awe of her persistence. That time, we were at the park while her brother had football. I tried getting down to her level to talk to her but it didn't work. I couldn't leave him there alone so I just stood there talking to a friend while she clung to my leg and screamed for an hour. Our family's schedule is worked around her naps because we've found that meltdowns are guaranteed in the late afternoon if she doesn't have one. However, having a nap isn't a guarantee she won't have one. Today's started at noon. The one at football was at ten in the morning. But getting that nap in reduces the frequency of them. We've moved her bedtime to 8:30pm so she'll be asleep before her sister goes to her room for the night. (She shares a room with her much older sister, and wasn't falling asleep until 9-10pm because of her sister's reading light.) But now she's waking up consistently at 6am, so she isn't getting any more sleep than before. The meltdowns make me feel completely helpless. I don't know what else to try. Please don't slam me. This has been going on for a long time. It's frustrating and nerve-wracking. I cry over it. The only reason I haven't asked for help with ideas before is because certain people delight in cutting you down when you have a difficult child. If you want to tell me what a horrible parent I am, please keep those thoughts to yourself this time. I just need ideas of how to help my daughter.

We had a great day. Tomorrow will be busier since I wasn't home to get stuff done today.

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Coming in to wish you a good Thursday. The big kids and I are tackling amusement park rides and water slides in a park full of barely unchaperoned public school kids by the busload.

Well, my "new bike" isn't new...just new to me...it's a purple 21 speed only I can't figure out how to get to 7 of them. Bedding is done; I just have to put them back on the beds. Lunch dishes are done. Math with DS is done. Tutoring is done. Cleaning the 3 trout DD and her friend brought home from fishing and giving them to the neighbor (we don't like trout) is done. Priority for the next hour and a half is bedding and dinner. After that, I have to take DS to boy scouts.

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Lunch update. New bike will be mine. It'll fit either DD13 or me, but she doesn't like the handlebars, so I get it. Riding a bike again after 20+ years is terrifying. Both sets of bedding are in progress. Math with DS11 is in progress; we had to take a break when the friend with the bike showed up. I washed the breakfast dishes already, so the wash breakfast and lunch dishes are also in progress.

Fortunately, I have two older kids who can do some of it. DD13 is picking up and vacuuming her room and cleaning the main bathroom shower/tub. DS11 is picking up and vacuuming his room, scooping litter boxes, and taking out the trash and recycling. I'm also not expecting to finish it all, so anything is a bonus. I just need something to keep me moving forward, so I'm trying MM again.

My list comes mostly from the Motivated Moms app (which I'm finding to be too much work to get done in a day): Make bed Clean master bathroom shower Make breakfast Wash DD3's bedding Wash DS6's bedding Clip children's nails Empty trash Exercise Feed pets Scoop litter box Make lunch Wash breakfast & lunch dishes Clean main shower/tub Clean hair brushes Wipe out bathroom sinks Dust master bedroom Vacuum master bedroom Vacuum girls' bedroom Vacuum boys' bedroom Clean out upper kitchen cabinets Plan/cook dinner Wash dinner dishes Wipe down kitchen sink and counters Have kids do state history assignment Do math with DS11 Go to library to pick up holds Tutor Complete and mail application for DS11's camp (a STEM day camp on base that's free!) Complete and mail health form for DD13's camp We also have someone coming over to drop off a bike for Dh or I. They might stay and play for a while. Take DS to boy scouts. There's no way I'm going to get this whole list done.

Looks like you've all done well tackling the day. I'm just getting online after a fun day. We got up, dressed, had breakfast, and headed out to a park about 40 minutes from here (we were meeting a group with a majority of the members up that way). I managed to put my bedding in the wash before leaving. When we got home, I put the sheets in the dryer and threw the quilt into the wash. Then DS11 and I spent 1 1/2 hours doing math. After a short break, it is time for me to move laundry again, make my bed, wash breakfast dishes, and start dinner.

Having next year figured out and bought doesn't mean this year is done. We got way behind. So far behind that I scrapped a lot of my plans for history, gave up on doing any experiments for science, and am looking at doing math and state history all summer to finish. Oh, and planning for state history isn't finished yet. I'm trying to do both so next year can start and finish well.

I know that feeling. It looks like you got a lot done despite that. Good job! I feel that we got a lot done, but I'm disappointed that I didn't get to work in the backyard and that the laundry (most of it) is still sitting in baskets in my bedroom. And I didn't make it to the library. Tomorrow is a park day 40 minutes from home, so I'm not expecting to get to a lot.

I've already bought most of what we need. I have a few duplicates I need to buy, science supplies, and a few minor things for the littles. DD (9th grade): MCT Level 4 MUS Algebra 1 Science Shepherd Biology Trisms Discovering the Ancient World Destinos Oak Meadow Photography Syllabus DS (7th grade): MCT Level 4 AoPS Intro to Algebra Science Shepherd Biology Trisms Discovering the Ancient World Destinos DS (1st grade): Spectrum Spelling Grade 2 Phonics Pathways (last half) HWT Grade 2 MUS Alpha SOTW 1 Apologia Zoology 2 Swimming Creatures DD (preK or K4)...because she demands her own curriculum: Phonics Pathways HWT Grade K MUS Primer SOTW1 as interested (probably just activities) Apologia Zoology 2 Swimming Creatures as interested (probably just activities)

I'm sorry. I was dairy free for about a year with my first and six months with my last. After a year of being strictly dairy free, it got easier as I learned to cook more, but I never stopped craving it. We probably would be better off without it, but no one but my husband is interested in given it up.