Tuesday, June 16, 2009

What I love about bedtime

is that my just-about-done-with-5th-grade son still comes downstairs after he's brushed his teeth and insists that I come up and tuck him into bed.

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Wounded by School?

I'm over here talking about school wounds.

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Friday, June 12, 2009

And This Time I Mean It

Really. I really mean it this time.

This time I am going to exercise and eat better and stick with it.
I mean, seriously. Twenty - thirty minutes a day. Slightly smaller amounts of food at meals. Fruits for snacking.
How hard can it be? It's not.
And it works. I've seen the results.
And I like the results. I like how I look. How I feel. The increase energy. The happier moods.

But life. It gets in the way. Food is yummy. Sitting around is easy.

But then I gain back the weight I lose. I start not liking how I look. I start not liking how I feel.

But this time I am serious. This time I mean it. This time I am going to start up again and stick with it.

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

When Divorce Hits Home

I'm over at DC Metro Mom's talking about divorce.
Whether a celebrity, a friend, or a family member, divorce is sad.

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Can't Get Much Better Than This

Adam was supposed to participate in a study at Kennedy Krieger Institute.

There were a few phases before he got his turn. We easily passed each phase to continue in the study.

Yesterday was Adam's turn. He was to have the ADOS, an IQ test, a lunch break and then a practice MRI to get ready for the MRI/social skills component today.

After 3 hours the tester came out with him and told me they would be ending at lunch time.
Adam doesn't qualify for the study.

Because when they gave him the ADOS, he scored outside the range for being anywhere on the Autism Spectrum. The tester saw NOTHING. Absolutely nothing.
I was speechless.
I know he's been doing well. I've even wondered if he is still on the spectrum. So many good weeks in a row. So many social and behavioral milestones met. So much hard work over the years with behavioral treatments.

Although it's not official - he'd need a comprehensive workup to rule out Aspergers/PDD, and he'd probably end up with ADHD and/or anxiety, it's real. He's really, truly is making huge gains.

We've been lucky. I was a special ed teacher working with kids on the spectrum before we had Adam. I've been able to take grad classes to help him. I've been able to take time off of work to focus on him. I've had time to read and research. There is so much to be said for knowledge and early intervention.

Which is why I was so saddened to see this article in the Washington Post yesterday.

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Sunday, June 7, 2009

More Books!

I really wasn't kidding when I said I had been busy reading books since my grad classes ended. Or rather switched from assigned chapters to leisure reading.

Here's some more:
20 Boy Summer

and

Surviving High Society

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Saturday, June 6, 2009

More Things that suck

Being on strong steroids and antibiotics for systemic poison ivy.

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Thursday, June 4, 2009

Things that suck

Right now systemic poison ivy is right up there at the top of that list.

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Monday, June 1, 2009

Book Reviews

One for the adults

and

One for the kids.

Hope you enjoy!

More coming soon!

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