hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

There is an intersection where reading, and researching, and attempting, and, tweaking, and innovating, and failing all sputter out, and you find yourself just waiting. This can be a seriously annoying and anxiety inducing time. Kind of like when you've been on a long drive and the baby is asleep, but as soon as you stop at that first red light, you are overcome with anxiety because the change in movement and sound is likely going to wake the baby who can't wake up because you're not there yet!! On the flip side, it can also be really refreshing. Like when the kids all fall asleep on a car trip, and the only sounds are those of music or adult conversation, and while you know that it's temporary and they will soon wake up and create chaos once again, right here and now in this moment all you have to do is drive. We are in that place. We are currently waiting. For several things. For evaluations, on waiting lists, for cooler weather, for answers, for therapy, for call...

Welcome to Wordy Wednesday! Todays subject: PERTINACIOUS I found this word while I was searching for a better word to describe a particular characteristic of Grace's. Because stubborn just didn't seem to cut it. And lo and behold, I stumbled upon this gem of obscure English adjectives. Definition: (via dictionary.com) pertinacious[ pur-tn-ey-shuhs ] adjective 1. holding tenaciously to a purpose, course of action, or opinion; resolute. 2. stubborn or obstinate. 3. extremely or objectionably persistent: a pertinacious salesman from whom I could not escape. That could very well simply read Grace, Grace, Grace. That's not to say at all that she isn't charming, and sweet, and thoughtful, because she most certainly is. But, she is also, sometimes more often than we appreciate, pertinacious. Let's face it. Artsy people can be very moody people. Notice, I'm not saying that ALL are, just that some, even perhaps many, can certainly be...passionate. Well we a...

Well, he finally did it! A few weeks ago, Zak became the official owner of an iphone 3gs. And while that sounds very fancy, it won't sound so by the end of the next paragraph. First, it doesn't operate as a phone. We have no plans to activate it any time soon to enable it to make or receive calls. Second, we also have no plans to activate any sort of data plan on it any time soon. We have Wi-Fi here at home, but if there's no Wi-Fi, there's no internet. Third, he still has to earn electronic time in order to use it, and like all the rest, he must ask permission first. So he pretty much has a four year old ipod. He made a deal with his dad that he could buy it for forty dollars. When he finally earned it, we explained to him the above rules. And we pointed out to him that he was already using the phone in this manner. So we made it clear to him that he could save his forty dollars, and still continue to use the phone as he had previously been. He was adamant however ...

Somebody forgot to check their pockets. Our dryer is now a lovely shade of melted green crayon. Don't know the extent of damage to the clothes yet. But it was mostly jeans so probably not too bad. Just another day here at the nut house.

Well, we had our first official ER visit.   And not with the either of the kids we would have expected.   It was Giddy Grace! Yup. Last night when she was dancing around the living room, Big Sister slipped, and fell backwards hitting her head on the hard floor. She cried, we hugged, and after a few minutes she was back to giggling.   When she came back in the kitchen a couple more minutes later I noticed a little blood in one nostril. She wiped it, and no more appeared. But I, of course, started googling.   Because it was so brief, and she was acting otherwise completely normal I took my normal wait and see approach. Aside from also getting bonked on her forehead by her brother's elbow, she seemed totally fine. No uneven pupils, dizziness, so I gave her ibuprofen for her head "that hurts on boff sides now!"   I checked on her several more times before she fell asleep. She was feeling better.   Then around 5:30 this morning she come...

... you see your toddler is about to puke and you cup your hands under her chin to catch it. ... your toddler's diarrhea leaks out onto your lap, but you clean her up first. ... your not even grossed out by puke or poop anymore. ... you fully expect any projectile vomit to land squarely on you. ... a shower feels like a spa treatment. And clean clothes make you giggle when you smell them. ... you celebrate not having to wash her hair or yours for the fourth time in a single day. ... you actually go over the logistics of burning the couch instead of cleaning it. ... your lightning quick reflexes intercept and prevent any food item that isn't completely bland from entering her mouth. ... you walk around with a pot and towel like a bird of prey ready to strike any living thing that moves and catch any expelled bodily fluids. It's as if you can smell it. EVERYWHERE! (As you probably gathered, we got hit with a stomach bug over the weekend. So far, only Kit has had it, ...

Here in our house we do school all year.   In fact, we probably do more school in the summer than any other season. This is because it's nearly 100° and 99% humidity for large portions of the day for several months. I keep the kids inside on most afternoons in the summer and send them out after five. It's still hot and muggy, but the sun is far less intense and its much more tolerable.   So with kids inside for large portions of each day, I learned early on that I needed to give them stuff to do. Having it be schoolwork is an easy and beneficial solution. We always have what we need, they always know what to do, or where to pick up from where they left off. And I don't have to sizzle my last remaining brain cells trying to scrape together new and appealing activities to entertain them. It also helps keep a semi-consistent routine.   This does not mean that they don't get time off. They get plenty of time off. They get days and even weeks off whenever we ne...