I just recieved a BF email from the Just Kids Store advertising 25% off Playmobile. Not sure if that is the best price going, but thought I would pass it along. They have a really cute folding Take and Go horse stable: http://www.justkidsstore.com/brand/playmobil/3

Okay, so I just ordered her a bunch of seamless, footless leggings she can wear under her dresses, and am not going to worry about her feet. I will put shoes and socks in the softest options in the car, her cubby at school, and in the pack on my wheelchair. I think we are going to try the Soft Shoes for preschool. Plans are good, right? Now, provided we get the all clear from the doctor, we are headed to Europe to spend Christmas with the hubby's family. We will be in Scotland, England, and then in France. Definitely not Texas weather. Do I stick with the same plan? Surely, if anything can convince her to wear warm footwear the weather in winter Scotland will do it! Or can someone recommend anything that is more appropriate for that kind of weather?

Yes, and she will wear them around outside our house...but at preschool they come off the second she hits the classroom. As well as socks if we were able to get her to put them on, and she is not allowed to be barefoot. She just won't keep them on!

Thanks for the recommendation. Happiduck pointed them out and they look great! I think we will give them a try.

She is actually able to put all her own shoes on as well as tie her own shoes with laces. After the millionth time of retying them for her to get just the right tightness I taught her in an effort to save my own sanity. But none of that matters when the sensory issues are the focus. Her little brain seems to just shut down, narrow down until the sole (ha!) remaining focus is the feel of them. Honestly, her preschool is well aware of her 'little quirks' as they tend to call them. This year is an experiment to try to have her interact with children her own age (with it a 3 yr grouping) and play a bit. Also, I am in a wheelchair and pregnant, and it is looking like we will be dealing with placenta previa and bed rest (for both reasons) so I REALLY need to make this work for her this year if at all possible!

Wow, my inbox was flooded with random emails about sales this morning. A few I recieved: Lulu is having a site wide 35% off sale on all Printed materials. The code is WQT32 and the sale is through Dec 3rd. Critical Thinking Company is offering sales on particular 'popular items' and then free shipping on any size order with code CYBER14. I had a quick look for a specific book, and it does seem to be roughly 10% cheaper on popular materials like Building Thinking Skills, Mind Benders, Editor in Chief, etc. Scholastic has some good deals as well, lots of book sets marked way down, as well as a coupon for an additional 20% off with code HOLIDAY. Barnes and Noble has BOGO 1/2 off all games and educational toys, plus they have a coupon for an additional 30% off one item with code BFRIDAY14. No idea if they can be used together but I did that last year.

Yes, as well as the fact that it cannot be through any 3rd party dealers:)Still, I saved $9.80 on a book I have been eyeing! Woohoo, enabling at its best.

Some of these look great! I am going to ask her what she thinks in the morning. She would be able to get away with wearing them at school. I tried letting her change into slippers as soon as she got to school, but the teacher decided it was too disruptive to have her changing back and forth to go outside.

Elemental Science just sent out an email with details of their BF and CM sales: Friday 20% off 1 volume with BFNEWS 25% off 2 volumes with BFNEWS2 30% off 3 volumes with BFNEWS3 Then on Monday, 20% off site wide for ebooks, including Sassafras science books with CM14. Codes won't be active until 12 a.m. on those days.

Oh yes, and she has picked out her own clothes shopping for a very long time...and even then she often decides later that something is very painful or irritating. I have no issues allowing her to create any ensemble she can envision:) she loves tutus and boas, tiaras and bizarre combos. None of that bothers me in the least, lol. We have an agreement that mommy will only interfere if there is a very good reason, like a specific event or pictures. Even then I give her choices and she ultimately picks.

I think that is it. We have tried seamless socks, even seamless tights. She does not like the snugness feeling, or even the feel of the material on her feet. If we get larger socks they bunch. She also gets very upset by 'hot feet.' I will be SO glad next fall. We will be homeschooling officially then, so it won't matter so much. She does gymnastics and swimming as activities, both of which are barefoot:)

I am sure the playground is part of it, it is covered in mulch. I actually am not sure if they are REALLY worried about safety or teacher sanity when the 66th child that morning insists on having help removing their sandal for the 9th time that play period to get out the bits:)

Dd went through a Daniel Tiger phase nearly 2 YEARS ago...and I still find myself with them stuck in my head multiple times per week. I wake up with them repeating incessantly in my poor brain. Aaawwwful. When you have to go potty, stop and go right away...flush and wash and be on your way...when you feel so mad that you wanna roar, take a deep breath and count to four... And so on.

Thanks for the book suggestions, I will check them out tonight. We did have a full Neuropsych workup done this last summer, which was very helpful in many ways. The Neuropsych conclusion was that whilst he does not think she is on the spectrum, he did see evidence of many of the behaviors that were the basis of our concern. He showed us an overlap chart of characteristics and behaviors commonly associated with children on the spectrum and children with very high IQ. Whilst I wasn't suprised, I still feel like there is so much going on that we need to still pursue therapy either at home or elsewhere. Honestly, the cause is great information to have and may have implications for how it is treated or managed, but ultimately it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is helping her learn how to cope, right?

Well, yes and no. I have spent a bit of time looking through the handbook as I had a note sent home with her. The handbook has a couple of requirements: 'footwear must be appropriate for the activity and closed-toe.' But honestly, I have seen little girls in every variety of sandals and such --nobody has ever mentioned it in the summer. I think it just offends sensibilities, and goes against the norm. This is quite an upscale Montessori school, which is ironic as I would think they would value the autonomy of the child. I would even support telling her that she would not be able to go out for recess without socks if the weather was below a certain temp or inclement...even though I know this would probably result in me having to pick her up when the school couldn't deal with the sensory issues:(

This is ridiculously reasonable:). And right up her alley, as she will like the thought of carrying them in her own little purse that she never leaves home without...of course, it doubles as a unicorn:)

See, this is a bit how I saw it in the beginning. We are really very logical and reasonable, and have always taught the kiddo that we can have a discussion as long as she is calm and rational. Growing up, shoes were just expected. But I grew up in mountains, in Idaho. We have tried telling her an hour out, then every 15 minutes when we will be leaving. If shoes and socks were not on we wouldn't be able to go. She understands this...but truly, when the sensory issues happen she is not able to deal with it and no amount of missing the 'fun activity' is going to change it. In fact, the activity is more likely to be ruined even if she tearfully and semi-hysterically wears them. It is heartbreaking. This is not just a battle of wills. Also, there are times, like part-time preschool when we are on a schedule:) What it comes down to is that I am not willing to go through all of this multiple times a day without a real reason. Is there one, other than it is just expected and I am the adult telling her how it is? Safety? Health? Those are the things that I would feel like I must enforce...I am just thinking it is just a mindset, and really is not a hill worth dying on.

I guess I should have clarified: this is for outside of the house. In the house I couldn't care less what is on her feet:) 99.9% of the time we are all bareboot at home, and she will wear slip on purple princess slippers I her feet get cold enough. The problem is when it is time to leave the house. Every time, I know it coming. Clothes are enough of an issue, and we are working on that: everything from tags to snugness to collars, etc. She chooses clothes when shopping and has for the last two years because I soon learned it would not get worn otherwise. I think the biggest problem right now is routine things like the 3-morning per week preschool she attends right now. They are required to have something on their feet...and I can imagine the comments if I let her go in sandals. Not my primary concern of course, but they do spend a fair amount of time outside. Socks ands sandals I could handle, but she refuses the socks. I tried Crocs and boots without socks but she immediately takes them off!

I just feel like giving up the battle. It is just not worth it! The tears, meltdowns, fits and drama over shoes and socks. Really, is it the WM of the world if the kid has cold feet all winter? I feel like we have tried everything. Seamless socks at $7-10 per pair. Tights. A huge selection of different styles of shoes. And this is not an inexpensive endeavor as I strongly believe that good quality shoes are important, and Alex already has soooo many issues with clothing, seams, 'beautiful-ness', and matching. If I thought it was JUST being spoiled I could deal with this, but it is so much more. She cannot let it go and it literally will become the focus of any outing. I know lots of parent have dealt with the sensory issues, so please HELP! It is so hard to let go of the idea that she MUST be dressed appropriately...but really, we live in Texas. No snow. She isn't going to be in danger of frostbite or anything, although she will surely also whine and be upset at how cold her feet are as she is sensitive to that too. You would think that would solve the problem, but it doesn't:( So what says the Hive? Is it horrible parenting to let her run around in Chacos and other sandals all winter? Any other ideas or solutions? I am exhausted dealing with this:(

[quote name="heartlikealion" post="6046864" timestamp=" Right now on Amazon there is a promo code HOLIDAY30 to save 30% on one book. I wish I knew when it expired. I just googled and it looks like the code is good through 11/30...I tried to use it for a textbook however, and it seems to have a maximum value of $10 and cannot be through a 3rd party seller. Still, I used it to order the Theodore Gray Molecules book for hubby's Christmas (and mine!)

Any cream? Can you make whipped cream as the topping?

Funnily enough, when I was just looking at the Learning Reaources BF sale I saw they have a set of dual readers (English/Spanish) called Reading Rods marked down from $219 to $49.99. No idea how great they are, but here is the link: http://www.learningresources.com/product/mobile/reading+rods-reg-+fon--233-tica+y+vocabulario+%28phonics+-amp-+vocabulary%29+readers-+classroom+library+set.do?from=Search&cx=0

Also, King Admetus. He was ated to die young, but when Apollo was banished from Mount Olympus he went to serve Admetus for his punishment. Apollo tricked the Fates (by getting them drunk) into allowing Admetus to live past his expiration date provided he could find someone to die in his place... The rest of the story: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admetus

Hmm, King Acrisius? He was given a prophesy that his grandson would kill him, so he locked his daughter Danae away. Didn't manage to stop Zeus from fathering her child, Perseus, so he tossed mother and babe into the ocean. Followed by traditional stories of Perseus and Medusa, Andromeda, etc., but eventually Perseus is competing at games when a wind blows his discus off course to strike a random old man in the crowd killing him...which was Acrisius.

Especially after Santa interrupted a busy day in the toy shop to answer a call from Mrs. Claus...only to discover it was not in fact an emergency but rather Rachel from Card Services. Santa will be distributing her personal number all over the world so that 7 billion people can call to wish her Happy Holidays. From inside her house.