hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

I cannot imagine all of the things I never would have learned of it were not for my Great Inquisitor - Zak. I have studied the whats and hows of countless subjects from exactly how tornadoes form to crossbred canines to the history of graphite, just so I can answer his endless questions. Today was no exception. During his math work, he looks up and asks, "what does a.m. and p.m. stand for?" "Ummm...I don't know. I'll have to look it up." "Ok" "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's Latin," I mumble as google. Sure enough. And of course, I learned a few other interesting facts along the way. Here's the highlights, in case your kids ever ask. The 12-hour clock is a time convention in which the 24 hours of the day are divided into two periods:[1]a.m. (from the Latin ante meridiem, meaning "before midday") and p.m. (post meridiem, "after midday"). The Romans also used a 12-hour clock: daylight was divided into 1...

 This is a great video that explains it very well:  

Throughout my relatively short experience of parenting, I have tried out a great many different techniques to try to foster responsibility, motivation, reward, and self-sufficiency. There were some that worked very well. For a while. Then the kids either grew out of a method, or grew used to it and unmotivated.   We have a big family, compared to the average family of three or four. And we live in a cozy, yet small house. But I am out numbered and am in constant demand. Which, I suppose is a complement of sorts. Nevertheless, exhausting.   Even if my children attended public school, I would still likely be behind in everything, since Kit demands my whole attention nearly the entire time she is awake. Occasionally, she will get distracted enough playing with the kids that I might be able to whip up something to eat or use the bathroom unaccompanied. I get the majority of things done when Victor is home and puts her to sleep, takes her for a walk, or takes her to pl...

Way back around November or December I found a weighted exercise ball on clearance at Wal-Mart. I was excited for several reasons. One being that it was weighted. That meant no out of control bouncing of the ball around our house. Second I was there to buy one anyway, so to find a weighted one on sale was icing on the cake! I think I paid about eight dollars, it had obvious damage to the box, but all the parts were inside, and I think they just weren't stocking it anymore.   Anyway, this ball gets some major use in our house. All of the kids use it. They do the usual sitting and bouncing, but they also surf off of it, and use it as a chair during frustrating school assignments. I have sat on it many times bouncing a fussy Kitty Kat, sometimes nursing at the same time, even putting her to sleep that way on occasion. I have also just bounced on it when I'm feeling stressed, or to read to the kids, and many other times. Zak can balance on the ball on his kn...

Just a quick update. I'll have more specifics when I receive the official report in a few days. Well, I'm disappointed, but not surprised. She currently doesn't qualify for services through Early Intervention. Like I had said before, they are qualifying based on delays. She fell into the significantly delayed area of her verbal skills. But only mildly delayed in several other areas. And advanced in two areas. She must be significantly delayed in at least two areas to qualify, so she does not qualify at this time.  They did the autism screening. A score of 17 or more indicates a risk. She scored a 24. So there is enough basis for further evaluation. And that is conservative because some of her behaviors are still typical for a 20 month old, or the questions didn't apply to her because she is still too young. The good news is that when they send me their full report, it will include a list of practitioners who can do a more thorough diagnostic evaluation. If she were ...

The thunder is rumbling outside. It's a good description of what's going on inside my head, and stomach as well. All of my thoughts are swirling like those storm clouds. Slamming into each other and sending pulses through my consciousness like bolts of electricity. And then settling into a rumble until the next wave of anxiety crashes into my heart again. Kit's evaluation is tomorrow (of course you're reading this today, so it's today). I am really uneasy. I'm anxious. I'm scared. I am so afraid of another person looking at me like I'm crazy or "over-concerned". I cringe at the thought of hearing the words "she's just a baby, let's wait and see"... again. My stomach turns at the thought that these women could potentially leave my home tomorrow knowing full well that my baby has real, evident issues, but not enough to qualify for their help. How much worse does she have to get before she gets better?! My tea...

Stack.   Knock it down.   Stack.   Knock it down.   Over and over and over.   At least she's happy when it falls down. Some kids cry or throw major fits. She saves that for when I take my phone away from her. Or diaper changes, during which I sometimes will let her watch a video on my phone just so that she will let me get her clean and a new diaper put on, but which just results in a massive meltdown when I have to inevitably...take the phone away from her. Oh, and see the canister with a blue lid and slightly different shape than the rest by her leg in the second picture? That is the poor rejected off-brand can. She wouldn't use it on her stack. Even when I would hand it to her, she put it on once, then took it immediately off and tossed it. Every other time it was offered, she would shake her head vigorously and push it away. (Sorry about the fuzzy pics, it's hard to catch good shots of her sometimes, she moves so fast!) ...

  Today's Top 10:     WHY WE DON'T HAVE REGULAR TV, AND LOVE IT     We gave up regular tv around five years ago. It was initially circumstantial, we moved into a camper (a story for another time) and were waiting a while until we found a tv that we really wanted. Well after a couple of weeks, we realized that we really didn't miss it. In fact we thoroughly enjoyed it.   We found ourselves with a lot more time to read and study, and we played games more. But the biggest thing was how much more willing we were to go outside, just to be outside. We didn't have a screen trap holding us hostage in our chairs, or beckoning us to come back because this or that was going to be on at a certain time.   We didn't completely cut out all media entertainment. We had a portable dvd player that the kids used to watch movies on. And we had a laptop that we could use for research, study, banking, email, games, and movies also.   One of o...

  Welcome to my new feature, Le Petit Gourmet , starring Grace , one of our resident foodies and aspiring chef. Grace loves to help in the kitchen, she asks frequently to pour, stir, and her favorite, taste test. So in my efforts to help her find her groove, I am acting on one of my goals to really get her more involved in cooking. We can't do this for every meal, sometimes things are just too chaotic, or rushed. But some evenings are much more laid back, especially if Kit had a decent nap in the afternoon. So my goal is to have at least one cooking project a week in which Grace is involved almost in every step. Then she can continue to help with the other meals as life permits. This by no means leaves out Zak. Zak spends a lot of time in the kitchen as well. In fact he makes a mean batch of mac-n-cheese with only us on stand-by these days. And eventually, we plan to assign him one night a week that is his night to cook. So he is getting a well rounded kitchen education. B...

  This weeks theme:   SEA SHORE SORT        Supplies:   sea shells   decorative glass beads   craft fuzzy balls   craft feathers   foam sticker fish   small plastic containers for scooping, sorting, dumping, etc.   feel free to add anything that you might find on a beach, this was just what we had already, so the whole thing cost $0!   Tip: If your kiddos need a new twist on it, this one can easily be changed up by adding water, just like at the beach!   And bonus, no sunscreen needed!!                            

I think my desire to find order in chaos is what constantly drives me to delude myself into thinking that 'tomorrow' will be better, cleaner, quieter, smoother. But today was yet another reminder that my life was not meant to be clean, quiet, or run smoothly. No, indeed. All my big plans for establishing order, routine, and self sufficiency were cruelly suffocated in the span of less than 45 minutes. Here's what happened. 1:30 p.m. - Zak finally starts working on his daily school assignments. I have Grace haul their burgeoning laundry hamper into the laundry room so that I can  finally teach her how to start and load the machine. (We have had a few hic-ups on the way to starting our laundry routine.) I show her what settings to put the machine on, how to measure the soap, and show her the full line on the machine so as to not over load it. All goes well. 1:45 p.m.- Grandpa emerges from his room and announces that he has stripped his bed and needs all his linens wash...

WORDY WEDNESDAY will return next week. So today you get to see Kit meet her new cousin for the first time! She was full of hugs and kisses for him.     A couple weekends ago, we girls headed up to meet the newest member of our great big family. I was a little concerned about how Kit would react. Her history with babies hasn't always been very loving. She kind of likes to pull their hair. And any time I have ever held one around her, she gets very jealous.   Much to our delight, she was very smitten with her new cousin, and was very affectionate. She didn't mind me holding him at all, and was very interested in feeding him, all by herself. She kept pushing my hand away from the bottle. She liked to experiment by taking his bottle out, then popping it back in. He didn't seem to mind a bit. I was very happy to see her be so sweet and gentle.