Another day down. Had a scare yesterday that my tablet with all of our education links on it was permanently trashed. Seems fine today though. Swimming started with a meltdown. On Tuesday I suggested not having a lesson today for the up coming holiday. No, she wanted a lesson. Then yesterday after I confirmed it, she started in on not wanting a lesson. This morning I woke up to her insisting she was "sick" and couldn't go to swimming. Of course, when the threats of what a sick day meant sunk in, of course she'd go. Got to the pool and tears and running away from the instructor and then she started trying to cling to me. I managed to extract myself and leave the pool and her instructor managed to get her into the pool. Once in she did great and by the end she was doing the exercise she's been resisting for several lessons by herself. I understand it is hard for her....but now it's a matter of personal safety that she knows how to swim. Lunch was a disaster....I was still a bit on edge from swimming and she was testing boundaries with me all during lunch. *sigh* Probably not the best, a bit rushed, but it got done. Discussed grammar (pulling teeth....and she saved me time by perfectly reciting her poem during lunch) and then applied grammar wonderfully. Math went much better. Then I kicked her off for "quiet time". I'm thinking next week I'm going to be adventurous and try to add a science concept. Stefanie

So not a good end to the day. I had to cut DD's co-op day short to make it to the toddler's preschool egg hunt. It was really great watching DD help him hunt his eggs. We didn't get to school.....but we did clean DD's room. That was an important lesson in and of itself because she complained and tried to get out of it the whole time. Then the day was ruined. I'd been telling DD to leave the eggs from the hunt alone all day. The toddler's parents came for their visit.....and DD took his basket and eggs in there and they opened all the eggs.....and then they ate all the candy. Even if they didn't and they gave it all to him, 12 eggs worth of candy is extremely poor judgment on their part......pretty sure they ate the majority of it. Oh...DD got a lecture. I think I put it into perspective for DD. I compared it to how she would feel if she spent her time and did something special for her granny. And then I went ahead and gave her present to her granny before she could. Stefanie

Yay....school done, productive day done....now its all me time. I got up at the very early time of 7:30 -7:45 and boiled some eggs for the toddler to dye at preschool today. I left some for DD to boil and dye later tonight. Dropped DD off at hourly daycare, dropped toddler off at preschool, and went shopping for Easter. I've got all the candy bought....I just need a toy or two to round out the eggs. Hit the bank and picked up DD for swim lesson. She had an awesome swim lesson and did a whole lap on her back by herself. Then she went after some rings on the bottom of the pool by herself too. Took her to lunch just the two of us and then we picked up toddler. I let her watch a tv episode before starting class while I smuggled in the Easter stuff. She's across the street at granny's right now. School went great. Got math done quick. She's got her poem practically memorized and this is only the 3rd practice session on it (it amazes me how fast she memorizes which makes the attention issues that much more frustrating). We did WWE narration today. It's not her favorite, but she did it relatively painlessly. She even managed to properly tag pronouns. She tends to want to put in the noun in her sentence so I made her go back and resay them using pronouns. And for what I did make her write.....no fighting over letter formation. She did them all correctly, except 1 o, the first time through. Yay, great day. Tomorrow is co-op day with Spanish and Art. I negotiated with her to only do spelling on top of that tomorrow. Now...did I take my allergy pill today? Oh, well, if not I guess I'm doubling the dose.... Stefanie

Tawlas - I used to do the shots. I started reacting badly to them and had to stop. A schedule flip won't help. I have a new set of stuff crop up every season. And the mold crops up every time it rains....from about 24 hours before to about 24 hours after it stops. The cats only really bother me when they get in my face.....which for one is an uphill battle to prevent. But we've been productive so far today. Stefanie

Its pretty bad. I'm pretty much like this year round but usually that first punch of spring is the absolute worst because we still have the mold of the spring rains AND the light dusting of pollen on everything (my front door is even tinted yellow). It hits hard one particular day and the rest of the time is low volume but constant. When I was going to an allergist, he did a nasal swab and said my allergy reacting cells were 50X normal levels.....and that was on a low reaction day for me. On a high reaction day I'll either be unable to stay awake enough to function (last Monday I was asleep for close to 24 hours), unable to stop sneezing (think tens of thousands of sneezes in a day), or actually experience chills and body aches. And single dose a day allergy pill does very little except on mild days and I react poorly to Nyquil type products (they last much longer on me). I'm allergic to over 70 environmental allergens throughout the year, mostly moderately and severely, and severely to the big 3...mold, dust, and pets dander (I *really* love my cats) . And that doesn't include the probable food allergies/intolerances. I really feel down that we never seem to get anything accomplished sometimes. Between my allergies and DD's sensory issues, it can be a nightmare. I don't always have the energy to fight with her when she's being resistant or bouncing off the walls. We did get math done (a short version of math) earlier and it was all I could do to drive home from gymnastics I was so tired. I'm debating if I want to fight over language arts or pick up the house because I'm not sure I'll have the energy to do both. I made her get in the bath to see if that will cut down on the seeking enough to do LA if I feel up to. As for the stuff for baby....I'm already thinking maybe I'll get up early and do it last minute with breakfast. Stefanie

Well, last week was a complete bust. My allergies just about killed me. Our black car is completely covered in yellow..... Just for an idea of just how much snot a person can produce....our almost full package of 24 rolls of TP, is gone.... Hopefully this week will be better now that I'm 'acclimated' to the yellow and drug induced haze..... Stefanie

We have two people on the OT list in my hometown, and multitudes in Houston. I think I'll try one of the OT's close to home and research NP's through insurance because our insurance is crap on psych stuff. We will not have one of those accessible in town unless maybe the uni has one squirreled away by some miracle. And I guess I'll stop stalling on the horseback riding lessons. Stefanie

I think I'll be trying to get an appointment at TX Childrens in Houston this week...they should have everyone I need there, either as a group or separate. Stefanie

My DD is 7 and will be 8 in Nov. She was seen at a run-of-the-mill OT who started off telling us that insurance wouldn't cover anything sensory. She has not been seen by any kind of psych so far. At the appointment they did the motor test and we filled out the sensory questionnaire. The results were relayed to me as fine and gross motor were within normal average, but I can see she's really active so you can google "heavy work" activities the help with that, but they would not be providing any services. When I asked about postural issues, I was simply told to correct her when I saw the behavior and that sports would help with that and they didn't address the sensory questionnaire at all. She's almost 8 and still can't do a cartwheel or even a simple pivot turn. She gets herself all tangled up and forgets her handedness. In soccer it seems like she can't visually adjust to the players running around on the field, and when she goes to kick there is a noticeable delay and it appears she has to reorient herself before she can kick. She also has a lot of problems with swimming.....she can't keep her legs straight and she has issues floating (tone?) as well. She's also the "dangerous" child.....she almost impaled her self jousting with a hammock and her "lance" caught the railing of our deck. She has always pulled her hands out of mine and tried to take off across parking lots without looking. She also will get so bad she'll barrel head first into the couch with enough force that I'm afraid she'll break her neck (Fortunately she seems to be outgrowing that one). She constantly spinning or sliding whole body on the floor, climbing up something, or going in circles around us, W sits, and when writing will occasionally bend over and put her head on the table. She'll even walk around bent sideways from the waist. She also does have a lot of anxiety and poor attention and EF. She can learn....but she doesn't seem to retain *anything* done auditory. I don't do read alouds because she doesn't seem to pick up on it at all, even after multiple repetitions, even when she is interested in the materials, and fidget tools/play dough don't seem to help. The only thing that helps the auditory retention is some form of exercise just prior. It is really hard to figure out when is the best time for school. Once she gets tired or hungry she gets incredibly resistant to anything and her behavior tanks. She can not tell when she 's hungry or tired or needs to go to the bathroom. She'll be insisting to high heaven that she's got "to go pee" bad and can't hold it and then 5 seconds later she's conked out asleep. She'll eat 2 bites of breakfast and pronounce herself "full" and then refuse to eat until dinner. Very frustrating because her behavior is horrid. When she's hungry she won't say she's hungry, she'll just start chewing on her shirt or toys and then won't admit she's hungry (funny that she never took a pacifier as a baby). She has attention issues, but my gut doesn't scream ADD/ADHD. I don't think she's on the spectrum, but with such a huge family incidence, I'm a bit more open to consider some of the possibilities. If you had to pick one to do first, would it be sensory or NP? Stefanie

Then get a boy. I think same gender pairs tend to bond better outside of littermate pairings. Stefanie

Look along the Brazos River then. Mixed open pasture with oak woods. And the Bluebonnets are to die for. I can't believe we've gone 4 pages and forgotten to mention the bluebonnets. Stefanie

It's very up and down and rocky dry more than sandy dry. Think goats and sheep vs. cows for livestock. The river areas in the Hill Country are really nice and clean (flow over rock) and popular. I personally am a gentle hills and wavy grass girl myself. Stefanie

It's dry and scrubby. Central and East TX is more grassy and wet. Stefanie

I would like my DD to be tested for sensory and possibly other issues. I believe she is sensory seeking and at a minimum has postural issues (W-sits and poor balance). She has had an OT eval and they claim she is "average" in gross and fine motor, but I see that my DD has issues and is lacking compared to her peer group and they didn't address half of my concerns (primarily the postural/sensory seeking stuff and a complete inability to read her internal body cues). Her pediatrician has pretty much already offered to give me an ADHD diagnosis and meds but I felt like it was pretty much a "dope her up and it'll all be good" attitude. She may have ADHD, but I don't want to just rely on meds. There is also a strong family incidence of autism with two of her cousins having autism. Next month my DH is going with one of his adult kids to a NP to take a huge battery of tests. His current psychiatrist thinks he'll probably test on the autism scale. Since he'll be there, he could try to schedule my DD for an appointment. The question is, do I want a neuropsych or do I want to find an OT that works with sensory issues and get a second opinion for sensory? Stefanie

We have them enforced at one specific area in town, but that is usually for kids that are unsupervised during school hours. It's a known drug hang out as well as a known "skip" hang out easily accessible to three schools. They relax the curfew on days off for the PS though. Otherwise, there are usually no issues with homeschool kids being out and about during the day. Stefanie

No, mine is just REALLY persnickety. She will really only settle down for my attention under two circumstances....I'm on the bed or she crawls in my lap. Even if she's standing somewhere meowing for my attention, if I pet her, she'll slink away and start giving me dirty looks. If I'm on the bed, she'll only settle for pets in a specific manner (me on my side with her across my arm). If I move even a fraction of an inch she takes off and starts sulking. Same if she crawled into my lap....the moment I even slightly shift in my seat she takes off and sulks. She's "pretty grumpy". She's even less cooperative with other people and after 3 years she still *hates* one of the boy cats (the other is her littermate). But she's not aggressive. If you catch her, she will let you know she isn't happy and try to get away but she has yet to bite or scratch someone or the kids directly. Stefanie

Central TX. Mix of open pasture and wooded landscape. Mix of small/medium cities and towns. And in the middle of a triangle that is between 1 1/2 to 3/4 hours from all the big cities. Houston, DFW, Austin, San Antonio.... Stefanie

Agreed. My calico girl has really earned her nickname....Pretty Grumpy. She's a pretty cat that is pretty grumpy. She loves my attention (and only my attention), but if things are not 100% her way, she's out of there. Stefanie

If you don't like cold/snow, find Waco on the map and draw a line across the state. Then stay south of the line. We are just a shade over an hour south of that and we get maybe an inch or two of snow every 20 years or so. We literally only got 1 week of freezing temps this year. The drawback....tons of bugs in the spring and summer. Coastal areas also have horrid mosquito problems because of the lack of freezing weather to kill them off. Beaches generally, IMO, are icky close to Houston/Galveston and are only slightly icky around Corpus Christ and there are more offshore rigs here than you'll find on the other coastal states. Also, the farther south you go, the more illegal drug issues you can run into. Stefanie

Interesting, the article mentions it only being possible in mammals with two uteri. One of my cousins was found to have two uteri when she got pregnant with her son. Stefanie

Not getting much done Monday. I've spent all weekend prepping DD7 about having to put the dog down. In typical 7 year old fashion, she's upset in the moment when we talk about it, but otherwise bouncing off the wall when we aren't. I think she could push through school....but I'm not sure I will be able to. At least I managed to get our hole dug out where my boy's "sissy" is buried so he can be by his partner in crime. Stefanie

Yeah....he's my huge, handsome, smart boy. It's kind of surreal. Just a month ago he still had the energy and spunk of a 6 month old puppy. He has never seemed old until just now. My poor boy. I think Monday is going to be the day. He's been unable to keep anything down at all since last night and the vomiting attempts are horrible. He will hardly even wag his tail at me. I'll only have one of my three puppies left (the three I got at the same time so they were all around the same age). Stefanie

*sigh* Mixed bag for Spring Break. On one hand we got a ton done. I overslept my dentist appointment so I'll have to reschedule, and the estate attorney cancelled us so she could get some additional info from us before we came in, but we went to Ikea when we went to pick up the toddler and we've completely redone DD's room. (I was sure we'd kill ourselves trying to get her old bed up into the attic....now I'm sure we'll kill ourselves trying to get it down when it is time to be used by the toddler.) And the bad news.....one of the dogs has been throwing all the signs of a tumor in is gut, and last night he refused his food. He's never missed a meal before in his life....and he's never played second fiddle a meal times. So, I took him to the vet, and yep, a big tumor on his spleen and 3 - 4 smaller ones on his liver. We are choosing not to operate (he's 10 and it isn't an easy surgery) and just keep him comfortable. I've changed his food and he currently seems willing to eat, thankfully the days are starting to get warmer so he should be more comfortable outside. So, we'll see how it goes. Stefanie

I've decided to move our spring break up a week. We made arrangements with the toddler's other grandmother for a visit, so Monday was a travel day. Since DH has off most of the week we took the opportunity to make appointments, so we wound up booking our week solid. Tomorrow we have appointments from 8 am to close to 3:30 pm. Thursday we have major appointments as well and travel to pick up the toddler. Friday we have a contractor coming out to give us a bid. We converted our garage last year to a playroom/schoolroom and now we want to put in a sliding glass door to our backyard, put in a concrete patio and walkway to the driveway and create a screened in porch so the cats can "go outside". DH is also doing some minor kitchen work by replacing our sink and making a small alteration to some of the cabinets. Stefanie ETA: And I don't know what I did, but when I woke up from a nap today, I could no longer walk on my ankle.....