Holding steady is better than declining! I laughed a little at the big pee in the litter box. I'm also litter-box stalking these days.... my cat has been on and off antibiotics for a UTI for TWO months now, so I watch the litter box like a nutcase. He must be drinking some to be peeing, right? I think if they're not eating much, not much litter box-ing happens... at least in my uneducated experience. It sounds like his mouth really hurts. When my cat is sick, she'll often eat baby food in a jar - the kind that's just plain turkey or plain chicken (no weird gums added). Hoping he's just resting and letting the medication do its work. Also hoping that you're not sick! Waah. Life is so hard these days. (hugs)

@stephanier.1765, how's your cat today?

Eek! That's a scary looking wasp! Maybe email the picture to someone at the state?

I want to do this, too. I love and miss my family and friends so much. But I'm too afraid that one of them will be hospitalized, or die, from COVID that could spread at an indoor gathering. It's very hard to stay away.

Yep. It's so dishonest.

Thanks! I will. Makes me queasy now though 😷

Exactly. And if ONE more person on the news says, "WELL, back in MARCH, the CDC said we didn't have to wear masks!" I'm gonna lose it. We didn't know in March that masking was essential, but over the past months, we've LEARNED NEW THINGS. I don't understand why people just don't say that. "Now that we've been studying COVID for eight months, we know that wearing masks is extremely important." 😬

I visit https://rt.live/us/MA daily. I like it because it shows the new cases AND the testing volume. In Maine yesterday, we had one of our highest new case counts since March, yet the testing wasn't too high. So we're having less testing, more cases. Uh oh.

I'm so sorry! I've been going through health challenges with my kitty, but she's 15. It's so stressful not knowing, because they can't tell us how they feel. I hope the steroids and medication start working soon.

I fully agree with this. None of my students with attention challenges can work independently. Well, they can for short periods (5 minutes, 10 minutes) with check ins. Of course he likes going off too his room, who wouldn't, but it doesn't sound like that's working well. If there are things he can do independently, you could have him stay with you for something, then go in a different room for the thing that he can do on his own, and then come back, etc. I also like PeterPan's idea of something to work towards, like an activity or something else fun. The habit of doing the work first, then doing something fun, is a good habit to start cultivating.

Agree completely. Kids with great reading comprehension really get the short end of the stick when it comes to being identified with reading disabilities. They KNOW what word should come next, and often use the first letter of a word to help them correctly infer the word. If you show them the word in isolation, nope, can't read it. Or give them nonsense words like PeterPan suggested, that's when you'll see the contrast between actual decoding and compensating with good reading comprehension. This is a HUGE problem in schools because lower elementary classrooms frequently use predictable books with pictures for assessments, and smart kids know what words should be there, although they can't read them, and they're able to hide their poor decoding skills by managing to guess the correct words. This works till about 3rd grade and then it all falls apart. It's really a travesty.

DH chimed in to say he thinks there are elements of false equivalency and incomplete comparison as well.

We're going to do outdoor Thanksgiving and freeze our butts off. No idea about Christmas... maybe a snowy walk? No inside time in any other houses. 😞

You don't want someone who is selling you something secret. You want someone who is really good at what they do, and who can tell you exactly why. If you haven't ordered "Equipped for Reading Success" by Kilpatrick, that would be a valuable resource for you.

I have to say, I agree with this. Unless she needs LiPS, and then that would be great. Otherwise, no. I also agree 100% that 4 hours of actual OG would be insanely a lot, and probably an hour a day would be more reasonable. Kids do start to flip out at LMB. 4 hours is so much, especially 1-1.

From their website: HOW DO THE PROGRAMS DIFFERFROM ORTON-GILLINGHAM? The programs develop the imagery-language connection underlying the reading, comprehension, and math processes. Whereas programs like Orton-Gillingham focus on instructional strategies and expectancies related to phonetic processing, Lindamood-Bell programs stimulate the cognitive skills for reading fluency and language comprehension. But what we want is a focus on sounds, correct? I have never heard the term "phonetic processing" before. This LMB stuff sounds a bit off to me.

I don't think Lindamood-Bell is Orton-Gillingham based, is it?

When you investigate Lindamood-Bell, ask about the qualifications of the tutors. I got a summer job at a LMB once, long ago. I got two weeks of training, and then worked 40 hour weeks at $13/hour. The parents paid $90/hour. I was a recent college grad and had never taught anything before. I feel really bad for the kids and parents that had me as their tutor! I've since become a good reading teacher, but back then, I was not good at teaching reading at all. They may have great people, they may not, so just do your due diligence before enrolling. If I remember correctly, there is not a lot of phonemic awareness work at LMB unless you are in the LiPS program (which she may need). Seeing Stars is all visual. My memory may be fuzzy since it's been a while, but hopefully others can give you more up to date info.

I probably won't. We're not seeing anyone indoors, and getting grocery delivery. Not sure if that's the best idea though. I'm more scared to be near other humans than the minuscule risk of the flu since we're not going out. Just learned that's how you spell "minuscule." Looks weird!

I saw Robert Redford at my local coffee shop last year. I couldn't believe it was him, so I stared for like 15 minutes (trying to be discreet, googling pictures of him), and lo and behold, it was him! I had just watched The Sting, so I was all aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh Robert Redford is 6 feet from me!!!!! I was too shy to say hi. He probably thought I was a weirdo. The funny thing was, NOBODY talked to him or gave him any notice at all. He just got his latte and sat there drinking it, reading on his iPad.

Thanks for this, I did order some D-mannose. She's had it a couple times (mixed with bacon grease, yumm), and it didn't help this go round. But there's no harm in continuing, so I'll give it some more time.

The vet said that there is still bacteria and blood in her urine, which I expected. She also said that based on the urine culture from last time, the bacteria is susceptible to the antibiotics that have been used in the past month. So.... either the course wasn't long enough, or there's some other reason they keep coming back. I'll do wet food only, and extra water, and see what happens. An ultrasound showed no stones or crystals, but she did see that there are some masses on her liver that look like cysts. 😞 She offered to refer us to a specialist, but really, at age 15, with kidney disease, thyroid disease, bad teeth, etc... that doesn't really sound like a good idea for us or the cat. It's possible the cysts are benign, so I guess we'll wait and see for now. Feeling bummed that the bacteria should be killed by the antibiotic, but haven't been yet. I guess we should talk to another vet and see if we get a different opinion. $1,200 so far this month and no better off than before. I'm not too stingy about money, and obviously her care comes first, but geez!

Thanks, Laurie. I'm sorry your cat is going through kidney disease, too. I ordered a cat fountain, and I'm sure she'll love it. I also told her no more dry food!

Haha! I hear you. Maybe I won't become a hugger after all. Lol. Maybe a high-fiver?

Yikes! What a crazy thing to happen. Animals are wonderful, but they sure can cause a lot of worry 😞