Slowing Down

Can someone tell me how to slow down? Seriously. I always feel like I am hurrying try to catch up. It isn't as if I have stuff scheduled all the time. I didn't even sign all the kids up for sports- in fact N is the only one playing this year. As for busy days...the only really busy one is Wednesday cause we leave home at noon and only return home for about 1 hr (long enough to eat dinner) and then we are gone until 9pm. But I still feel like I am always running! Maybe it is just a state of mind...I can only hope!

My "Baby" becomes a big boy!

Tonight I am feeling kind-of down...I am not exactly sure why. Our school week went really well. I am excited about the progress we made. The only thing we didn't get to this week is apple picking and I am going to try to go tomorrow.


I think my mood has more to do with my baby reaching a milestone...My baby is becoming a big boy. Of course I knew that - I mean the boy did turn 5 yrs old not to long ago but he is still tiny and ...my baby!! I felt the same when the older boys reached a certain age or achieved a certain thing. I really can't remember exactly what it was but I distinctly remember literally crying when the older one reached the place where I didn't consider him a baby anymore. The same for the 2nd son...but this is my baby! I don't plan on having any more babies so he will forever be it...but he is growing up. Mama must admit defeat and let him become a big boy. For tomorrow my "baby" will play in his FIRST soccer game. I am going to go to bed now and cry myself to sleep...

First week of the 2010-2011 school year...

So we have one more day to complete our first week of homeschooling for the 2010-11 school year….I have to say it has gone pretty good. We did not start slowly- we started with all subjects, just as we will through-out the year. My schedule, which may change later but seems to be working now, requires us to get up around 8am. Chores and breakfast have to be done by 9am when school starts. We have a calendar on the wall with the lesson plans so the kids know what they are to do. The first subject is Spelling, which we do together. K is older and can do some subjects on his own. But we also do science, our last subject of the school day, together - which is usually around lunch time or right after. I know I am going to tweak a few things around. Next week K will not be doing the same spelling as the younger boys and will require a different time. I have already switched K’s history and math times so that I can instruct J in history and then K in history. The math K usually can do mainly on his own. But the structure should remain the same.


Our first day went relativity good. I jokingly told family that we had a great day- J only said he hated school twice! :-) In reality he basically had ½ meltdowns that I was able to corral before they became full meltdowns. But we still were able to get through the work and lunch by about 1pm.

The second day went better for J but not for K, the oldest. He became very frustrated with his mistakes and started saying he was “stupid”. After a break he was better. On a side note J did not want to get up this am. He was very grumpy during our chore time, but eventually got over it. I guess I wore him out on the first day of school!! :-)

The third day (today) we all slept in a little. I didn’t hear the alarm go off at 8am. K woke up around 9am, woke me up, and started his chores. J was definitely in a better mood since I “let” him sleep in! He did, though, have issues with staying on target today.

So every day is a different challenge, and requires different solutions. I am still excited about the school year and think that as long as we can stay on schedule (and get up on time! LOL) we will continue to have a great year

ADHD & Aspergers

So since starting my research I have come across many articles that suggest that my son may have been misdiagnosed as ADHD instead of Aspergers or may have both. I am not sure exactly how I feel about it. Aspergers would explain a majority of his symptoms. I have found some great websites that have lots of info on them: http://www.retrainthebrain.com/autism.html and  http://autism.lovetoknow.com/ADHD_and_Asperger




According to http://www.retrainthebrain.com/autism.html below is a list of characteristics associated with ADHD or Aspergers.



Autism (or Aspergers) Behavioral Checklist



• Difficulty mixing with other children; My son has this.



• No real fear of danger; My son use to have this - now he seems to fear alot of things



• Tantrums: displays extreme distress for no apparent reason, He has this to a degree- he overexagerates.



• Inappropriate giggling or laughing, In preschool he would get in trouble for laughing at another child's injury.



• May not want cuddling or act cuddly, This varies- sometimes he wants to cuddle, sometimes not.



• Noticeable physical overactivity or extreme underactivity; hyper



• Little or no eye contact, When he was little he could not make eye contact and I use to make him look at me when I talked to him. He would fight me on this but I wanted to make sure when I talked to him about safety issues he was listening. To this day he still doesn't usually make eye contact.



• Works impulsively; often makes careless mistakes: work is sloppy, This is him!



• Uneven gross/fine motor skills I am not sure exactly what they are talking about with this one. So I am not sure whether it applies or not.



ADHD Behavioral Checklist



• Cannot talk or play quietly; disrupts others with talk or actions, This varies-sometimes he can play quietly but other times he cannot.



• Difficult awaiting turn in games or activities, yep!



• Engages in potentially dangerous activities, This is accelerated when he has red dye.



• Plays without normal caution or consideration of consequences, definitely!



• Severe temper tantrums, He use to have these all the time. THey went away for a while but now they are back in the form of "You’re hurting me"



• Interrupts, disrupts, talks and acts inappropriately, Yes



• When younger, difficulty accepting soothing or holding, Sometimes



• Always on the move, overactive, even during sleep, especially when he has red dye



• Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly, I have to repeatedly call his name and make him look at me to make sure he is listening. If I don't see his eyes then he probably doesn't hear what I am saying.



• Often does not give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in school work or other activities, Yep!



• Uneven gross/fine motor skills. Again I am not sure what they are referring to...



This site also said that Aspergers/Autism can seem to suddenly develop too. So it seems according to this my son has both ADHD and Aspergers but according to the DSM he doesn't qualify for Aspergers...So confusing!!