Email Issues

So, even before I did a wipe out of the computer, I was having email issues. People would tell me they sent something to me and I never got it. It appeared to be an issue with people mailing from hotmail, but now, it appears to be going beyond that. I have tried to send myself test emails to my Verizon email and a yahoo address I have set up and they have not been received. It's very sporadic. Once in a while my mother, who has a hotmail address has been able to send me things with no problem...other times it doesn't go through. Last night, I sent a blanket email to those people with email addresses I remembered, asking them to send me any contacts they had that I might find useful and I know at least one of those people (coincidently my mother) received it. So I have no clue what is going on. I have checked all of my settings and everything seems right. I have a call in to Verizon and they are working on it. In the mean time, if you have emailed and I have not responded, please don't be offended. From what I can tell I can still receive email through yahoo so you can email me there (comment on this post and I will send you the yahoo address).

American Idol

The boys rule. Except Danny Noriega. I HATE HIM. And Yeager? Too goofy looking or something. But other than that.

Girls: not so much. There isn't one who really stands out to me. I mean, I'd give my left arm to sing like any one of them, but no one is coming off as being...well, the next American Idol.

What do you think?

Silly me...

...forgot to print all of my email contacts before I just gave the computer a major overhaul. Duh. I got all of my pictures and everything else backed up but forgot to do the email contacts.

So...if you think I had (or you want me to have) or think I would want to have your email address, and you have mine, can you email it to me?

And if you understand what the hell I just said, bonus points for you.

Anyway, thanks!

PDF Question: Answered

I ended up having to print it one page at a time (which was suggested by Jay in my comments just after I had thought of it myself...great minds and all of that). It was annoying, but it worked.

Thanks all, for your input.

FYI

I have decided to offload a MAJOR amount of scrap booking related supplies. Most of it will be stickers, but I anticipate a few albums and other related items being thrown in for good measure. I plan to eventually list these all on Ebay, but, plan to list them here first, in case there is anyone out there that may be interested. I will be grouping them together in different categories (wedding, Christmas,Disney, summer etc) to make it easier, and am hoping to do my best to take pictures of each assortment.

I just feel like I have more than I will ever use, and if something comes up, I can always buy more, right?!?!

FYI, most items are new, never even opened and the ones that have been opened are still in perfect condition.

Paypal will be the method of payment, unless of course I know you in "real life." Other payment arrangements can be made in that case.

Anyway, check back over the next couple of days. Once I have everything grouped, photographed and organized, I will post them here!

Does anyone have any idea...

...why I can't print a full pdf document? It's one specifically that I am referring to and even though I select print all, it only prints the first two pages. Weird.

American Idol

The only real observation I have so far?

David Archuleta? He has to be the cutest little thing ever. Like in the squeeze his cheeks, baby boy kinda way. Seriously. And, he has an amazingly soothing voice to boot. He needs to become a little more well versed and less shy but he is just 17 years old so, with age, I am sure that will come. Anyway, I love him.

I don't know why...

...but it still amazes me how catty and childish people can be regarding blog posts, comments and everything else in the online world of communicating.

This has nothing to do with something that went on here. It's just something I've noticed elsewhere, and among respectable (or so I thought) adults.

It's silly really, and it's sad at the same time.

Too Much Cinderella Perhaps?

Last night, while laying with Julia before she fell asleep, the train went by. The whistle was blowing and Julia asked what it was. I told her. A few seconds later, it blew again and she said, "Don't worry Mama, at the stroke of midnight that sound will disappear."

Note To Self

Upload classical music playlist to Ipod for nights when everything is working against the possibility of you sleeping.

Music (especially of the classical version) has always been soothing to me when having a difficult time falling asleep. Last night, it would have have had the possibility of working wonders. Julia ended up in with us (after numerous unsuccessful attempts to bring her up to her own room after she fell asleep). That in itself would have been enough to ruin at least half way decent sleep for me, but added to the mix was a racing mind, Ryun snoring (which was odd for him),hot flashes, a semi-upset stomach, and Julia being unusually restless. I tossed and turned until 3:00 before finally falling in to a fitful sleep, full of strange dreams which I can't seem to recall now. I woke when Ryun left for work and didn't really fall back asleep before the alarm went of at 6:30. It doesn't help that it's that time of month, meaning of course, that I am already feeling much more tired than usual. Ugh.

Blogroll Updates

I have added a few casino-related blogs to the old blogroll.

Bellicose Bumpkin is the blog of Mark Belanger, anti-casino activist and very well versed spokesperson on why a casino would not be a good thing.

Casino FAQS is the blog of Brian Giovannoni, chairman of the Casino Resort Advisory Committee, who claims to be neither for or against the casino.

Coffee Shop Talk is the blog of Selectman, Attorney, and Radio Show Host Adam Bond, who from all accounts is pro-casino.

Gladys Kravitz is the blog of Bridgewater resident Mary Tufts, who is most definitely anti-casino.

And finally, we have Media Nation the blog of Dan Kennedy, former Middleboro resident, assistant professor at the Northeastern University School of Journalism, published author and anti-casino supporter.

I need to...

...do the taxes, or hire someone to do them for me. One of the two. I have always just done them myself, but, I am completely confused by my "non employee compensation" from my lia sophia business. I can't figure out if I can still telefile the state tax. I looked at the telefile sheet and there is a spot for 1099-MISC information, but it's for winnings and fees, not for non employee compensation. I gave up pretty quickly when I sat down to do it the other day, so I might try to spend some more time with it today, and see if i can figure it out. the lia website actually has a spot to look for questions about small business taxes, so I might check that out as well.

On the other hand, it might be interesting and beneficial to pay someone to do it for us. We usually make out pretty well with taxes but it would be interesting to see if we could find more money. There is an H and R Block right in town, but I don't know if it would be better to go to a smaller type place and get more a more personal touch?

Help

Do you have a hard time asking for it, be it financial, emotional or otherwise? It's a tough thing for me to do personally and I don't know exactly why. I feel like a failure when I ask for it, but like an idiot when I need it and don't.

Weekend

It has been such a fun weekend that I am sad to see it ending, more so than I am the usual weekend. We have had Wayne and his kids here since Thursday, and it has been a lot of fun for my kids (his too I think). Julia has really come out of her shell, and it was quite obvious this weekend when she interacted with and had a great time showing off for the kids. She was also funny, having to copy everything Billy did (right down to putting on shorts because he had them on). They all ended up bowling yesterday (Ryun took Emily and Katherine while I stayed behind with Julia and cooked dinner.) I made chili, which we had with hotdogs (aka chili dogs) , taco salad (for my first time and it came out great by all accounts), as well as sandwiches (to attempt to use up the cold cuts I bought). I also bought ice cream sundae stuff for dessert. The kids went out in the snow after dark which they thought was awesome.

We have stayed up late every night (well midnight isn't late for me but it is for the kids). We've had Wii tournaments, watched movies and just hung around. The living room was covered in kids every night, while Wayne took Emily's bed upstairs. Julia didn't stay up quite as late (it was more like 8:30, which is late for her considering she is usually in bed by 7:30). She slept in her room, even despite her asking numerous times to sleep in the livingroom. There was no way that she would have been able to sleep among the noise and whatever else was going on so I didn't budge on that.

They will all be back later to pack it up and head home (except for Wayne who I think will be back to spend one more night).

Anyway, like I said, I am sad to see the weekend go, for the reasons mentioned, but also because tomorrow? It's back to reality. Vacation ends, school begins again, and life gets back to normal. It's not all bad of course, but I am going to miss the relaxed nature of the week off.

Like The Top Of The Chrysler Building

My house is officially clean. Like majorly, seriously, totally clean. I have spent the past couple of days going "house" cleaning the house. From top to bottom, side to side and back to front, this place looks pretty damn good if you ask me (well, except for the entry way which I need to vacuum but alas, everyone is asleep). It feels remarkably good to have accomplished this, but even more exciting? I am caught up on laundry. Yeah, I know, right?

It's nice to have an reason to do this every once in a while, because God knows the liklihood of such intense cleaning getting done without one is not good. This time my excuse was company coming in the form of Wayne and his kids, and, even though he would probably be telling me to not worry about it and not to clean for him, I would just like to publicly say, "Thanks Wayne, for giving me an excuse." Because darn, it's nice to feel all clean and organized. Oh, and I am looking forward to seeing you...ha ha ha!

And, for the next five minutes before bed I am going to enjoy the view because I am quite sure that once dawn breaks and the kids awaken from their slumber, the picture will be completely different.

Random Pictures

Here we have all three kids, smiling at the same time!

Katherine showing off those gorgeous blue eyes.

I LOVE this picture of Emily.

Yup, she's a goofball!

This is Julia pretending to sleep in her new "big girl" bed.

And, here she is doing the real thing! Poor kid had the worst chapped lips/face.

The Quest For Total Wellness: Being Supportive: What Does That Mean?

I thought it might behoove me to go over that a bit here. After re-reading a few of my recent entries, I noticed that I did quite a bit of complaining about what doesn't help, but didn't really get in to too much detail about what does.

For the most part, it is the manner in which things are said that can make all the difference. Saying something to the tune of, "Maybe you should try and get a medication change, or take more of what you have" is saying, in effect, "Your crazy Sharon, and you are not doing a good enough job with what you have." On the other hand saying something like, "Just make sure to explore all options, and don't close the door on anything before giving it a fair chance" says, " I have faith in you and your abilities to know what works for you Sharon, and I trust that whatever decisions you make, will be in what you feel is the best interest of yourself and your family." And, even if it's not? Even if I make a choice that may not be viewed as great? Let me make my mistakes, and let me hopefully learn from them.

Don't deny me the right to have a bad day. I am human after all, and just because I have a "history" does not mean that every bad day, or even bad stretch is going to send me in to the depths of despair. Sometimes life is good, sometimes it is great, and sometimes it sucks. Even "normal" people go through those kinds of cycles. I admit to going through them more, um, severely then some, but, because I know that about myself, I am doing something about it. I am opening up more here for starters, but I am also actively pursuing help. By actively, I mean not only going to see someone but, really taking an active interest in improving myself by reading, following through with what I have learned and taking baby steps to get to where I want to be.

Love me. It's really that simple. Love me for who I am and not what you wish I would be. Love me for what I do and not what you wish I would do. Respect my ability to make decisions as an adult, and be they good or bad, don't mentally infringe on my right to make them. I have earned at least that I think.

That about covers it. I am sure I could probably think of more, but, this is a good basis from which to begin. And, these are the big things. If these needs/requests are met, I have a funny feeling that the smaller and more minor needs will no longer matter.

On My Mind

...some amazing ideas I have been working on regarding PTA, and how I want to approach and implement them. I will probably post more on that over at Adventures in Education in more detail, in the near future.

...laundry (as in I need to do some and am putting it off...so unlike me, huh?)

...whether or not I want to go to the library tomorrow for a free "live animal" show sponsored by the Museum of Science. The kids would love it I am sure, so I probably will.

...whether or not I want to go out tonight to get the paint I need to finish the "paint framing project" I had started.

...finding the time to read two reports I have saved called, "What's Wrong With MCAS" and "On The Clock: Rethinking the Way Schools Use Time."

This list is only partially representative of course, but it's a start!

FYI

Adventures in Education has been updated, twice, since I last linked from here.

Funding Etc.

If you feel that the federal and/or state governments should back out of the education picture entirely, since that doesn't seem to likely to happen, how do you feel the current situations in education should be handled?

For example:

What should be done the many, many requirements through NCLB that must be met and the severe lack of funding to support them?

What should be done to attract quality teachers?

Should "good" teachers be rewarded?

What qualifies as a good teacher?

What about school choice?

Should MCAS be a graduation requirement?



Please remember, the questions are asked in a manner which reflects the current situation. I know that some people will feel that the way to resolve all of it is for the feds and state officials to back out. That's about as likely as a snowballs chance in hell though, so, what can be done to fix things aside from that?

Community Service

Do you think community service should be a requirement for high school graduation?

See article.

While I am a big believer in actively promoting the importance of serving your community to students, making it a requirement just seems like one more thing that the kids have to do to graduate. Some kids will no doubt learn a lot and have fun with this, but I can see it as a problem for other kids as well.

Incidently, the teacher, Mr. King that is quoted in the article, was freshman year social studies teacher.

Ebay

I have had some recent success selling there, listing 2 books and an old digital camera. The camera and one of the books sold. So I was thinking I might try and list some other things there as well. More books for sure (Lord knows I have plenty of those I could sell) but some other things as well. I have a number of smaller type items that I think I will list, just to see if anything comes of it.

Has anyone else ever bought/sold on Ebay? Any tricks you'd like to share?

Logic

Julia: "Mama, babies can't drive cars because they're too little."

ME: "That's right Julia."

Julia: "But, babies can pretend to drive cars!"

Attitude Is Everything

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. "Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she did, and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "Hmm," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today." So she did, and she had a grand day.

When she woke up the next day, she looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "Yeah!" she exclaimed. "I don't have to fix my hair today!"

While it's true, that even with the best of attitudes, things still might not go your way, it also seems true that if you go in with a negative attitude, it is a lot less likely that they will.

I am impressed with...

...the amount of honesty displayed here on this blog recently. I can't tell you how good it feels to let it all out. I never knew how...relieving that could be.

When Life Gets In The Way Of...Itself

It happens to the best of us. We have a plan, whether it be big or small, and with each step forward, we take two steps back. It happens with the simplest of things, like setting a goal of cleaning the house. You start to wash the dishes, and the phone rings. You answer it, go back to the dishes and a kid starts crying. You console the crying child, go back to the dishes, and someone knocks on the door. You answer the door, and go back to the dishes and...well you get the point. Sometimes life just doesn't go as you planned, or as you think it should.

This sort of "interference with my life plan" has really been a big problem for me lately. I have many millions of ideas in my head about what I need to do, what I want to do, and where I want to be but the sheer amount of work that it will take to get there is overwhelming. Throw in the "everyday life" stuff that just seems to jump in of its own accord, and making any real progress on anything is next to impossible.

I have not been able to master the balancing act that is "taking care of me" and running every day life. It almost seems impossible for the two to exist concurrently. What's worse is that I am getting so burnt out trying to balance the seesaw that nothing is getting done on either side of it. It's almost like I am on one side of the seesaw saying quietly, almost desperately, "Hey over there, remember me? Sharon? I need you." On the other end I am hearing in much louder, demanding tones, "Mom, Can you....will you....I need...." and "Hey Sharon will you ...can you...I need you to...". And then there is this other entity representing me, standing in the middle of the seesaw, getting pulled in the direction of the louder voices calling out me, while looking back at myself on the other end saying, "I'll get back to you some day, I promise."

I have to figure this out, and, I am trying. It's more than I have ever done before so that has to be a step in the right direction. I am setting priorities (or at least attempting to), but to be honest, life has been a bit overwhelming lately (in case that wasn't obvious yet).

Sometimes, I guess, you just have to say, "To hell with the dishes."

I seriously think...

...that if I lived in a place that was for the most part sunny and 70 degrees, I would be a happier person every day.

Because today? It's sunny. It's not exactly warm (34 degrees isn't too bad for February though) but, I feel about a million times better than I did yesterday, when the rain was pouring down in record amounts.

Season Affective Disorder. It's not a made up thing. I am living proof.

God, I Am In Such A Mood...

...but while we are on the topic of things that annoy me, I may as well say that it is so annoying when people comment and blog about things that they obviously know nothing at all about, and try to sound all high and mighty about whatever it is at that.

I have no fricking idea why I am being such a bitch today. Maybe it's the weather. Who knows.

Ugh...

Ok, So Here's The Thing.

I have an opinion about some things. Just like every other person in the world. And, just like every other opinion in the world, there are going to be people who disagree. I can't tell you how good I am at keeping my mouth shut when I hear or see or read something that someone else is doing that I don't agree with. Who am I to criticize? It's not my life and it's not my business and, unless something you are doing is going to have a direct effect on my family, I could basically care less.

That, however, does not mean that I don't actually have an opinion about what you may be doing, and it doesn't mean that I don't have a right to express it here, in a general sort of way. I would never say something specific about someone (Like, "OMG I can't believe so and so didn't do it this way"). But, if I feel like expressing an opinion about how I would handle something or what I think about something then that is my right. Maybe it's hard for some people to see that.

I wrote a post recently that I think may have offended someone... as if I wrote the post directly at them or something. Like I would do that. Even more aggravating is that I only know I have angered them by my own powers of observation. I mean, is it that hard to just tell me your angry or upset or offended? Seriously.

This post was mainly for me. Sometimes it just feels good to vent.

Bridging The Gap

Does any one else find it impossibly hard to bridge the gap between what is too personal in nature to post and what isn't? I ask that question rhetorically of course because I know the answer for most would be yes. I have family and friends alike that read this blog but there are only some with whom I would like to share, by way of writing, my deepest thoughts and some that, well, I would rather not.

Today for example, I wanted to say that I felt like crap after leaving a counseling appointment and that as upset as I was, I was also on a certain level happy that I was sad because, it meant that for the first time in the history of my life, I was opening up.

I don't know why I worry about putting such things out there like that (like yeah, I am actually admitting to seeing a counselor and what the heck I have been on anti-depressants, and while we're at it I am just a bit more crazy than most people might think, and no my life isn't or wasn't as perfect as I would like y'all to think). Oddly, the people who know this all already are exactly the same people (well some of them anyway) that I don't want reading this. Mainly because I don't want the backlash (Oh my God, Sharon is having a rough time, maybe she's going to go off the deep end and lose it again, maybe she should do this, maybe she should do that, is she taking her medicine, blah blah blah). Because it doesn't help. Not one bit. It makes things worse, actually, even if it is coming from a good place.

I've tried and thought about the anonymous blogging piece. It just isn't the same. There are some people who read this blog whose thoughts and opinions mean the world to me, and I am just not willing to give that up. I need to get over my "don't rock the boat" attitude and lose the fear of revealing my true(r) self because you know what? I am who I am. And, this is my blog after all.

Sleep

I am not sure why this is, but, for some reason I function better on less sleep. Take today as an example. I slept for a grand total of about 2 hours last night (maybe 3 on the outside). This was due in part to a certain three year old taking up most of the bed, as well as the wind that was screaming all night long...blowing so hard the windows were rattling and the barrels were getting tossed around the deck like leaves. I got up at 6:30 (Julia who apparently didn't sleep well either slept in until 9). After I got the older two kids of to school, I went in to the living room, gave it a major overhaul (including vacuuming, dusting, re-arranging picture frames, re-organizing the toy chest and using the mini vacuum all around the perimeter of the room). Then I went and swept the kitchen floor, wiped the counters, and took out a steak to defrost for dinner tonight. I came in to the office and organized all three desks and got started on a painting project I have been meaning to do since Christmas(I got these awesome picture frames for Christmas that I wanted to paint white to match the white woodwork in the livingroom which is where I want them to hang). This, mind you all occurred before I had even thought about making a pot of coffee. What the heck? I mean I am not complaining...getting things accomplished is a good thing but, it's weird. I certainly feel tired, and I doubt I will be burning the midnight oil tonight, but the energy level (or at least the motivation level) is way up. I don't quite understand it, as it stands to reason that the less sleep you get, the less able you are to function at a reasonable level.

Calling All Bedwetters Past And Present

Parents of bedwetters too!

Did you or do your children wet the bed every single night, in what appears to be large amounts?

I understand the sleeping through the feeling part completely. Katherine is a very deep sleeper so that makes sense. What I don't understand is the fact that it happens every single night, multiple times. I mean even I, who has had three children and pees when I sneeze (TMI but, whatever) doesn't have to pee that much at night. Most nights her pullup is soaked to the point of being heavy. And, on the nights where she asks not to wear one because she is becoming really self conscious about the whole thing, she wets the bed and doesn't even wake up until morning.

The fact that Julia is now (or as of tonight anyway) going to be in a bed and soon after she adjusts to that, out of pullups (she wakes up dry almost every morning)is making me re-evaluate Katherine's situation a little bit more. I think it will be harder for her, despite my telling her that she shouldn't feel bad about it and it is not something she can help. My real concern though is the sheer amount of urine that she expels at night, and the fact that she is sleeping so deeply that she doesn't even wake up when she is pullup-free after wetting. Should someone be sleeping that deeply? She has even slept through the smoke detector going off.

What do you all think?

They All Grow Up So Fast

Julia will be sleeping in a "big girl" bed tonight for her first time, for no other reason other than the fact that she's 3 1/2 and, it's just time. She's funny. I will hear her on the monitor when she wakes in the morning saying, "Mama, I'm stuck." I go up there, expecting her to be half hanging from the crib or something but she's not. She's just lying there, looking up at me and the bars that surround her, apparently thinking that there is no possible way she could even attempt to climb out. It's better that way I guess, and having her in a bed will be better if she does decide to climb out at some point.

In other major milestone news, this Thursday Julia will have her first trip to the dentist. I am nervous that she will not be too thrilled with the idea. I am hoping I can hold her in my lap and that it will help her feel more comfortable, at least as comfortable as you can be at the dentist. I will never forget Emily's first trip to the dentist. On the way to the appointment I had to stop and get gas. Emily's window was rolled down about half way in the back and she exclaimed excitedly, "I'm going to the dentist!" The attendant commented that he had never heard someone so excited about going to the dentist. When I told him that she had never been before he said, "Ahh, so she has no idea what's coming does she?" It was funny.

Random Question

If you are a person who does not believe in government "handouts" if need be, would you still accept them? Say for example, you were in the depths of despair, with no end in sight, would you go on welfare or use food stamps etc?

An interesting discussion popped up the other night and I was just curious. It would seem kind of contradictory to me if you did accept them, especially for those who are so vocal about how wrong it is to begin with but, with no other option in sight, one might not have a choice, I suppose.

Green

For the first time in my life, I saw someone's aura. It was a strange experience, not because I don't believe in such things (because I completely do) but because it was the first time it has happened to me and it was so fitting and timely, it gave me the chills.

I think I was about half way through the counseling session when I noticed it. We were having a discussion about finding inner peace, staying in the moment and getting in touch with our spiritual side. I had just heard about a book that I want to read by Eckhart Tolle called, "A New Earth: Awakening Your Life's Purpose" and my counselor was recommending that I also read his first book called, "The Power Of Now." Anyway, I looked over at her and it was just there...surrounding her...a green energy. I kept refocusing my eyes, wondering if I was seeing things but it wouldn't go away.

I have looked things like this up before. Green is a healing and relaxing color and reveals that a person is healthy, or is healing some one. It can also be the color of meditation and of being at one with themselves. It was very fitting.

I believe in these things, probably more fiercely then some. Mostly I believe, because this type of experience has happened to me before...not the aura but the "other worldly, sixth sense" types of experiences. I have had dreams about things before they actually happen (like, when I had a dream that my nephew had this awful cold and was going to the doctors and a couple of days later, my sister called and said that he had a cold and she was bringing him to the doctors. Or when, I was driving down he street remembering the time that a deer ran out in front of my car in the exact spot that I was currently driving, and as soon as the thought left my head, a deer ran out in front of my car again, in the exact same spot and way that it had happened before. Or when I have this weird "mind meld" with Emily and she verbalizes the thought I was just having. These are just a few examples of course, of many things that have caused me to believe.

Anyway, it was interesting.

FYI

Confessions Of A Stay At Home Mom has been updated.

Proud

For reasons which are hard to explain, I am feeling all proud and happy with myself for doing something that I have needed to do forever.

I made an appointment with the dentist and found and made an appointment with a primary care doctor.

Small steps for some, but for me, it was like finally climbing down the other side of the mountain.

GO ME!

More Good News

Eric, aka the Straight White Guy emailed me this morning saying that, aside from a tree down in the back yard, he is ok. I had been thinking about him after hearing the news that Mother Nature was wreaking havoc in his neck of the woods.

Very good news indeed.

In the good news department we have...

...Romney dropping out of the race! YAY! YAY! YAY!

And, on another political note, I think, or actually I pretty much know, that for the first time ever in my life, I will be voting Republican. When there was any chance that Romney was going to be the nominee, I would have had no choice but to not vote at all, or vote for Clinton or Obama. Of course, there never really was a chance that Romney was going to take it, but I had to be sure.

And, while I don't exactly love McCain, I love him just a little bit more than the other two. Lesser of two (or three) evils and all of that.

You Know What Really Stinks?

That my most focused, creative, and motivated time to do anything seems to fall right around 3pm...just about 40 minutes before Emily and Katherine arrive home, and just in time to start the dinner, homework, showers, bed etc. Rarely does the mood strike at a much more convenient time, like say when Julia is at school, or, for that matter when she is here. Although today was not representative of this, she is pretty easily entertained and not terribly demanding of my time. It would be easy to take complete advantage of that if I was actually feeling inclined, so, in order to prevent that, I always make it a "part of my day" to sit with her and do a guided, specific activity. Today's activity involved flashcards (word/picture recognition) which she loved.

Anyway, even if I am still feeling it emotionally after the kids and hubby are all asleep, I am feeling just the right amount of tired to distract any real or creative progress on well...anything.

It's frustrating.

FYI

Adventures In Education has been updated, with the results of Julia's mid-year progress report.

Julia's Progress Report

When I dropped Julia of at school today, I picked up her mid-year progress report. It looks like she is doing quite well, and making progress in all areas. Some things (like for example writing her name) are either out of date or something she only does at home. That's just one example of a couple of things I noticed that I have seen her do myself that she hasn't done at school, at least not when anyone was looking! Here are the results:

Physical Therapy

Current Performance Level( at time IEP was developed): Julia presents with hypotonia throughout her extremities and trunk. She presents with decreased proximal stability and hypermobility throughout her joints. Julia’s reflexes are present but diminished in all planes and direction secondary to her tone and generalized muscle weakness. Gravitational insecurity is demonstrated with Julia fearful of being suspended. Overall strength and endurance is decreased throughout with Julia having difficulty in sustaining an activity to strength and attention. Compensation is noted throughout her developmental sequence with Julia demonstrating a wide base of support, decreased trunk rotation, decreased proprioception and stability with Julia using her hands to push off from the floor from a squatting position. Julia is an independent walker with the following deviations noted: waddling type of pattern with flat footed slapping progression, wide base of support, decrease dorsiflexion, ankle pronation, decreased hip flexion and instability in hips and ankle joints. Running pattern is a fast walk. Stair climbing is immature with emerging step to pattern with reverting to a crawling pattern when ascending and a step to pattern when descending with minimal assistance needed. She is beginning to jump with the emergence of a gallop pattern. Unilateral balance is momentarily on either foot.

Goal: Julia will demonstrate improved postural strength, proximal stability and strength, overall strength and endurance and sitting balance to enhance the acquisition of her gross, locomotor and balance skills.

Progress: Julia has received PT services 2x per week within a sensorimotor group. She is able to complete a 5 step obstacle course given minimal assistance and has made nice progress is all areas. Currently, Julia is able to come to a stand using a half kneel progression in 50 % of trials. She can propel a scooter up to 25 ft but this is a slow and labored process. She is jumping at least 6 times and attempting to hop. She is able to balance on one foot for up to 2 seconds. She is ascending and descending stairs using a step to pattern. Julia is generally cooperative and hard working. She is a pleasure to work with.

Occupational Therapy

Current Performance Level(at time IEP was written): Occupational therapy testing indicates that Julia presents with low postural/proximal stability and tone. She exhibits weaknesses in the areas of visual motor/fine motor/ development and sensory-motor development. Sensory weaknesses are noted in the areas of modulation related to movement and visual input, sensory processing related to tone and endurance, oral sensory processing and registration.

Goal: Julia will improve sensory processing, sensory motor development and fine motor development.

Progress: Julia has made nice gains in OT. She can build a three cube tower. She is not yet building a bridge or steps. She holds a preschool pencil with a right handed finger grasp to a tight tripod/quadripod grasp. She can color within the boundaries of a three inch design, but doesn’t color it in completely. She is not yet tracing her name but she is beginning to print the letter J. She copies a horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. She strings small beads. She uses a three jaw chuck to obtain small objects. Julia is a joy to have in therapy!

Communication

Current Performance Level(at time IEP was written): Julia is using three and four words sentences spontaneously. At times she is difficult to understand due to articulation errors, especially in utterances longer than two words. She is able to follow one and two step directions at times, but continues to be inconsistent in answering questions.

Goal: Julia will demonstrate improvements in articulation and listening skill development.

Progress: Julia has done very well during small group therapy lessons and has demonstrated much progress in articulation and listening skill development. She is able to produce k and g in all word positions and is able to be understood almost all of the time in conversation. She is able to point to pictures in a book, answer “wh” questions while looking at a book, and answer yes/no questions. She is much more talkative during group and is interacting very well with her peers. I anticipate continued progress in all areas of Julia’s language development.

Pre-Readiness

Current Performance Level(at time IEP was written): Julia is able to identify some body parts and state her age. She is inconsistent in being able to name objects within categories. Julia is able to identify some shapes, including a square, rectangle and triangle and 9 out of 9 colors. With prompting she can rote count to ten and recite most of the alphabet. At times, Julia is distracted by external noises and her own thoughts. She can also be impulsive at times. It appears that Julia does not always process information accurately and has difficulty understanding some task instruction despite modeling and practice.

Goal: Given decreasing prompts, Julia will increase time spent on non preferred tasks throughout the school day.

Progress: Julia has become comfortable in school. Julia continues to need a lot of prompting and encouragement to engage in no preferred tasks. She currently able to engage in interactive play with 1-2 peers for at least 3 minutes. However, at times, Julia needed to be redirected back to the appropriate activity. Julia is beginning to attend at circle with prompts and adult assistance.

Outdoor Classroom

This season's Family Challenge for the Outdoor Classroom at the Goode School is to find proof that "animals exist." It can be anything...pictures of the actual animals, footprints or anything else that proves they exist. Last Tuesday, the kids were out playing in the snow and found a bird print as well as a pattern of small footprints leading through the snow, right up to a tree. We figure it was a squirrel. Anyway, here are the pictures:

FYI

Confessions of a Stay At Home Mom has been updated.

Self Care Skills

Mine? Yeah, they basically suck. I mean I have the basics down, like, you know showering, but beyond that? Not so much. You may be wondering why this has any relevance to this blog. It's relevant because I think part of the reason behind my lack self care skills is that I spend all of my time taking care of, worrying about, or focusing on everyone else. The kids. The husband. Everyone but me.

This is not good. I know that. How can I do a good job of seeing to everyone else's needs if I don't see to my own? It's the whole "airplane going down" scenario. You know, put the mask on yourself before you put it on your kid? I haven't quite mastered that yet. Part of it is my obsessive-compulsive need to just do everything myself, because, in my head anyway, it's just easier that way. If I do it myself, it will get done right, or at least the way I want it done. It won't cause any "discontent" among among anyone if I, God forbid ask someone else to do it for a change, and they don't want to. It won't cause me to be angry, or resentful, if I let someone else handle it, and they don't handle it in a way I think is appropriate. In reality, it is becoming painfully obvious (both literally and emotionally) that doing everything and ignoring my own "things", is not in fact easier, and could actually be detrimental to my own physical and mental well-being.

It's time that I put myself first for a change. I am not talking about anything major here. Just the usual things...like making an appointment at the dentist to get this tooth that has been bothering me taken care of. Getting a primary care doctor just to have a physical, something I haven't done in years. Finding some "me" time that I don't allow anyone else in on (either literally or figuratively). Focusing on losing weight and getting healthier (I don't believe that the two are necessarily connected but for me, past experience indicates that I just feel better on an emotional level when I am eating right and exercising). Continuing with counseling, and really, putting in to practice some of the things I have learned and will learn through counseling in the future.

It's a lot. All of it. A full plate, no doubt. That's why I am going to take baby steps. Win one battle before I start the next.

Well...

...the agenda was changed on account of the Patriots getting their ass kicked rather than kicking ass but it was a good night anyway. Emily managed to stay up for the whole game (shocker!) and Katherine fell asleep sprawled on the living room floor around 9. Julia was asleep snuggled next to me on the couch, after dancing around the living room like a maniac during the half time show.

It's sort of shocking that they lost, but, I mean it had to happen sometime, right?

Tonight

Agenda:

Watch Superbowl.

Eat.

Watch Superbowl.

Eat.

Watch Patriots kick some New York ass.

Eat.

Eventually, sleep.

Menu:

Kielbasa cooked in brown sugar and mustard.

Homemade chili.

Pigs in a Blanket.


Yum.