Someone told me it was full moon...

Do you have those days where you are always trying to find the best in it.... Maaaayyybee you should have just stayed home?

We had it today, that is for sure.

I thought it was going to be another good day, ha to me.

Woke up early.  Went over some school paperwork. Listening to the birds outside cheering me on.

Had a plan, didn't work out at all.

Ashlie is 10 acting like a 14 yr old. The attitude and the looks she gives just could drive you crazy. She knows better. Ashlie, why.........

I was just like her and that is what makes it even worse. But you know my life was different then hers and I really had reasons, she doesn't.

We study the Lord's way and talk about treating others the way she wants to be treated.

She is growing up.
Can't our kids stay kids for a bit longer. I am not ready for her to grow up.

Who is with me to keep them young...... Sometimes you do things for them and they don't act grateful, I remember I was always grateful.

Just wait it is going to get worse when we get that Accountable Kids, ha, can't wait. It is easy for her now, not anymore..... I am going to be known as a mean mother for a while. Muahahahahahaaa....

I love her though, would not change things at all. Just accepting the challenges from her, it is almost fun. LOL

Where are the batteries....

You would think my son has rechargeable batteries. He goes on and on.....

He woke up at 9 then went outside to play, came in at noon to eat, then went outside until 1:45. We went to park day at 2-5pm. Then we went to Sams, on the way home which was around 6:30, he ask what else can we do. Do you think he will be tired yet? No, he is outside playing in the dark. When he comes in, he will still be on the go. AMAZING.... I wish I could do that.

Today was awesome. We are taking little steps. You know when you have a challenge, little steps are extremely important.
It has been  a week since his last meltdown. YEAH!!!! At park day there was not fighting, he had one issue that happened but it was worked out immediatly. My son played with other and played. I have never seen him do that before.

So what does that mean, progress, I must say. It was a good baby step. That means the therapy we have been doing is paying off so far. I know there will be days where we might take two steps back, but I know what we need to do. It has been great.
Even the other moms were impressed.

Very good feeling to know some sort of accomplishment is happening.
So remember when you have a challenge, you need to count everything that is positive even if it is a little step. ;) Everything counts....

Is it Confidence or Faith?

I think all the things we would not be doing if I didn't have confidence in myself.
We would not be homeschooling, I would be working outside of my home, would  be treating Aleq for ADHD, would not be livning in our house.... I could go and.

Can you think of the things you would not be doing if you didn't have confidence?

Or is it really faith?

I think it is faith.

If I did not have faith in God then could I accomplish homeschooling, living on one income, help our family function, and continue therapy with Aleq at home for SPD? Nope, I don't think so.

Yesterday was a wakeup call to me that I am doing the right thing.  Do you ever have those days?

We did yard work, school work, we played and did therapy. Those days remind you that is it possible.
Everyone pitched in to do something, that is family is all about.
I did therapy with Aleq and he didn't even realize it. The rain did not stop us either. It was beautiful.

Aleq did have a couple of moments but I was able to see the trigger and stop it. I think he even caught it a couple of times.
Ashlie had a couple of her moments and we taught her a lesson... Not fun raking by yourself when everyone is sitting around. lol
Okay we laughed but she wasn't.

It felt wonderful,  I could feel God's love surrounding and embracing our home.

Was not even tired to come in and cook. It was awesome.

I know if it was not for my faith ,I would not be writing this blog. It helps me share what I go thru with Aleq to help others possibility, to give some light that it can be accomplished. Not everyday will be the best, but you can overcome it with faith.

I wish everyone a blessed day and to try to have more days of peace. Knowing it will be okay.

Restraining more animals, lol!

So Ashlie is in her 4H Vet Science and there was another chapter of learning to restrain exotic or small animals. You think this counts....

Yeah, isn't that lovely.

We still have to find some horses and cattle to restrain. Hahahahaha! That is going to be funny.

We went today on a field trip w/ our homeschool group. We did learn an interesting thing about mice.It is healthy for them to have YELLOW TEETH... EWWWW.

Sorry, I could not touch this!

Aleq loved it here, I think he could sit in front of the snake, spider, and frog tanks all day.

He discovered he wants a corn snake....

It was a good day today, Aleq has his therapy with the animals. I let him sleep until 11. He is still having a hard time sleeping AGAIN. He did good on the field trip except with one of our friends. He does understand he can't push Aleq or talk to him where Aleq thinks he is being mean because then Aleq is ready to fight because his feelings are hurt. It was good though.

Ashlie on the other hand had a great day. She woke up bright and early to help with the dogs. We did school time early, done by 10 am. It was GREAT.... Now if can stay on that track.

I will let Aleq sleep in because it was great one on one time.

So we shall see how it goes tomorrow. 

Parks are good therapy...

My husband was off the other day! It is great when he is off, we love our family time.

We include the dogs in there too, lol.

There are many things you can do to have family time that does not cost very much or nothing at all. Those are my favorite outings, nothing materialistic is needed.

So our outing was going to a park that we had not been too in awhile after our visit to the library.

The park was exciting to me because there were things we could do with Aleq for therapy and he would never know it. Hey, as a parent you have to find a way to throw things in where they don't realize what is being thrown in.

So here is Aleq and Ashlie, we had her do some of the exercises as well. Hey, it is beneficial to her as well.

Isn't that just a beautiful spring picture at the park, I thought so.

Family time is so important, going to the park there are so many things to do and get good exercise.

Everytime we come back from the park everyone in our house is so happy and calm.

It is great to go home and learn about trees, maybe some insects that you may see, dogs... There were plenty of people and their dogs there including us.

I feel so refreshed and see all the amazing things that God has made. When you are stressed, grumpy, everyone fighting about something go to the park. It is a true breath of fresh air for your body and soul.

You think they were not listening sometimes....

So we went to church yesterday.
Aleq did not want me to leave him in Sunday School, even though his bud Sam was in there with him.
Of course, he had to be next to him and he got along  with Sam really well. It was nice.

As we sat there while the program was going on he seemed like he was not paying attention, some of the teachers kept asking him to be still and to be quiet. They didn't know about his issues, that is why I stayed. Most adults think all kids are the same, that they can keep still and be quiet. NOT!
Of course when they were dancing to music he had to run around because that is him.
To me it was a success because he didn't fight w/ anyone, no one upset him. It was great.

Ashlie on the other hand always has a great time and event old me they talked about kids with ADHD. I think that was awesome because she needed to talk to other about the difficulty  and that her brother is not the only one.

That night while we were eating Aleq proceeded to tell us about the story they told in Sunday School. It was about Joseph and his mean brothers. He told it all, now if his Sunday School teachers heard him, I think they would have fell over.

So sometimes we don't think our kids are listening but they do in their own way. ;) Thank you Lord, for giving us a blessed Sunday morning.

Computers vs Playgroud, what is happening to us?

Found this great article in a Sensory Processory Disorder Magazines.

Computers vs. Playgrounds – It’s a No Brainer! .

What is sad is that the more time spent with technology and not enough play will hurt social skills. I have come across many children that just don't know how to play. I mean to sit or go outside and figure out what to do.

Technology is important but there needs to be balance, yes?

How many hours do you let your child play on the computer? How many hours do you get your child out to play in the "green playground? How many hours do you turn off TV, radio, phones to just let them play w/ toys or read books?
Not just kids, I think we all need to do this.
Try it for a week! I dare you!

Blessings from God

Do you ever get those days where you know it was a blessing from God. We did today!

We had a good playdate, there were compromises and plenty of understanding. Whew, I needed that more then the kids. No crying when they left, just smiles.....YES!

It was a blessing to see my kids wake up, get dressed and run outside to play in the green playground.
I love this time of year and it is hard to keep them in to do school right now. One of the flexibilities of homeschooling is when you want to take a day or two off or change the time of school.

When Aleq woke up we did the brushing. Ashlie was full of energy.
This afternoon Aleq played in the ditch and found 2 crawfish. That is his special find today.
I think I am going to order a ladybug and butterfly habitat for Easter for them.

Tomorrow is going to be very strange, it will be the first day of Spring but with 80% chance of rain and in the 40's. At least we have had a beautiful week of spring like weather.

Tonight, I must get more letters out for my transcription service. Need to get some more work coming in.

I just love these type of days.

Advocate for Sensory Processing Disorder

I found this today

Webster's Dictionary defines the word advocate as "a person who speaks or writes in support of another. To champion, support, encourage, advance, promote, recommend, approve, and endorse."

We are our children's only full time advocate. Our kids need us to learn as much about their disorders as we can. They need us to understand what they are going through, every day. They need us to feel how frightening and chaotic their world can be. Above all else, they need us to be their advocates. (form the SPD website)

When we figured out what was wrong with Aleq it was hard to tell people because they would just look at me and say "there is nothing wrong with him", "you are making excuses for him". I have heard it from friends and family.

Why are you babying him?

Here is a website http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/ , that has helped me so much.

I feel I am the only one that understands him and trying to help him. I feel I am his only advocate!
Being with him at therapy, I have seen the issues. Being with him everyday I have dealt with the issues.

How can I get people to understand that it is not a quick fix? How can you explain to other kids, they are kids themselves and do not understand the magnitude and take what he does personally. It is hard.

I work with him everyday. I have a hard time with him wanting to do things because of his self esteem. Today we did not do any therapy. I did finally finish the Out of Sync Child Has Fun , highlighted all the things we can do. Just need to get supplies and I hope it helps. I think the biggest challenge is to get him in a positive mood.

If  he doesn't feel included he feels everyone "hates" him. Therefore he lashes out. It was hard to watch because I dont' think even they understand the magnitude of how important it is to make him feel he is wanted. I need people around him that want to be around him not people that just have nothing else to do.

Tomorrow will be a great challenge, we will have park day. I pray that it will go well.

I tell myself this is a journey....we will make it because I am his advocate.

The frustration with Sensory Processing Disorder

The way I have read it is like you have a TV flipping channels real fast and you can't process the TV to stop so you can focus on one channel.

Somtimes you have to hold back the hurt because you can't take it personally. You have to realize when your child continually says "I hate myself" he really doesn't.

We have had more good days then bad since we have started therapy and it really does make a difference now to where we do have a bad day all the negative feelings come back.

It is like you have to talk and make sure he is looking at you then repeat what you said to know he is processing it.

Yesterday was awesome we all did yard work together. I  think the last time that happened was after IKE. Aleq did pretty good because we were outside in his green playground.

I pray today will be another good one.  ;)

Family and Siblings....

Family and siblings, you can't live with them and you can't live without them!

So first I will talk about family. What do you do about family? I don't know if anyone else teaches that family is very important and that they come in next priority after God. Am I the only one?

What do you do when you teach your children that family is important and we need to take time to spend with them. Then in return family does not show the same respect?

You try to teach your children the right thing. You want your children to show that others are important. Wow, our big learning experience is for the kids to try to understand or we try to explain why others don't show the same values, when we are ourselves do not know why.

This is a hard one for us. My children get so excited when family is around and truly love them. However, the family does not do the same. Memories and time is what is important.


Friends! What do you do when one of your children has friends and the other doesn't.

My daughter is outgoing and has friends. Aleq on the other hand because he just has not found that anyone likes to spend time with him because of his disorder.
So my daughter is always asked for playdates but not Aleq.
I feel bad when he says "what about me, who can I play with?".
It is not good to punish Ashlie and not let her have play dates. But I seem to not be able to find anyone to play with Aleq. 
Ashlie is a tomboy so all her friends are boys, that doesn't help much as well. lol

Oh well another one to figure out... You want to know the right thing and sometimes the right thing isn't ever figured out. lol

You never know when you might need it....

You never know when you might need or want to know what you have learned.....that is what I always tell the kids...........

After almost over a year we finally decided to go back to our favorite spot, Moody Gardens. We had not been there since Aleq's sixth birthday party.  Then when Ashlie broke her leg, we knew we would not be going for a long time. So yesterday morning, when we told the kids we were going, they were so excited.
It is very unusual for us to stay away from there that long. Attending at least 4 to 5 times a year is our record.
So after school work and a little therapy with Aleq we went....

(he he, that is my pic I took from the highway coming off the causeway...)

While stepping out of the car and walking around, Aleq kept saying "I am so happy, I could cry". Ashlie even had a smile instead of the tween attitude look on her face. It was awesome feeling.  A little dissappointing still while we saw the rainforest was still not restored. They will have a new exhibit coming called "Jitterbug" in April that will be where the rainforest once was. They have this to get you ready for it....

.....so we are very excited and ready for that to come.

As we came to the aquarium we were excited they still have the Shark exhibit. Now here where our learning came into place. We found this guy wanting to play with us, he was too funny....

his name is Porter a Harbor Seal...

he was found abandoned in Maine....

I just could have sat there and played with him all day.

Well he is our object of our study today. You see this morning we had studied about Maine.  So it is awesome when you tell your children something and they know exactly what you are talking about, and can imagine it, is an accomplished feeling.

I hope when these two get olderthey will realize that all we do is for them. For them to learn and be successful in their lives. No, I am not saying so they will be rich material wise, rich in knowledge!

I love you Ash and Aleq you both help make our family a family.

The Next ADHD? - ParentDish

The Next ADHD? - ParentDish

Love to learn thru movies as well....

This morning we watched The Adventures of Huck Finn . This is awesome because we have been learning a lot about the Civil War while going thru the states. More of about slaves then every. While going thru the states especially the ones on the east coast some of the things we have focused on is Harriet Tubbman and where the underground railroad was. SC being the first to want to be the first to be it's own union. Ashlie thinks it is crazy.
So while watching this and seeing what the slaves had to go thru visually was a great experience for both of them to see. Yeah, Ash and I both cried a lot.

Last night we watched Hoot , which I loved. Aleq can't stop thinking about it since he thinks a lot about the animals that endangered. I would love for Ash to read the book, I even found a study guide online on it. You could read it to younger children for great conversation and reading comprehension.

Both of these movies have a lot of bullying in them. I love to watch it with the kids and talk about how would you feel in that situation. How you should never bully anyone?

Tonight we will watch "How to Eat Fried Worms". Ashlie is grossed out by the title, but I think I can get her to watch it with us. It is about bullying as well. There are a couple of unit studies for this one, I bet Aleq would like it. LOL
We are STILL waiting for the "Miracle Worker".... Whoever checked it out still has it....

These would be go unit studies with the books. If you google the titles to these with study guide, you will find them free.

Happy watching, it is so hard to find good movies. I love to find them as we are learning about things. It is a good treat and a good visual. ;)

Starting all over....

I started our new modified schedule for school this morning.

Ashlie's really has not changed much. She is still MUS and Total Language Plus . She has already read Charlotte's Web and the Cricket in Times Square. Now she picked out from her age groups Amos Fortune to read and study about with the TLP program. We both have really liked this program, it is exactly what I was looking for when I went to the THSC convention center.
She is still enjoying the 4H Vet Science. We are slowly but surely catching up. While going on our field trip this past week to Bayou Wildflife, she was able to accomplish restraining goats.

We also started the 4H Dog Learning and Obedience books.

So, I think that is all for Ashlie....

Aleq is who I had to modify a lot. Thanks to a good friend letting us use her Konos Vol. 1 we are starting that. He seems to enjoy it. The first lesson was about Attentiveness using your ears. So we have been learning about the ear in more detail ,Helen Keller, and Alexander Graham Bell who helped people that are deaf. He loves learning about people. Just waiting for the dvd "Miracle Worker" to be returned to the library so we can watch it. It has been a week and they have not returned it yet, my luck. lol

Ashlie has been learning with us as well with us, she will hear us learning about something and come listen.

Aleq is still using MUS as well, we just went into the second book of the old version. He is so good in math. We are learning early algebra already. For spelling and phonics we use Spelling Workout Books , we love these. Him and Ash skipped phonics and used these, they work great.

Aleq has his 4H Entomology books that we are going thru as well.

Now I am in the process of trying to schedule different therapy sessions thru out the week. I have picked up Out of Sync Child Has Fun . It is awesome, this week I will building the yard as a therapy center, lol. I just ordered more books as well. So I think we can do it.

The good thing that has been happening with Aleq since therapy is he is ready a lot of words on his own. Words we have never gone over. He was going thru a shark book and just reading the words in it. UNBELIEVABLE!

Hopefully, I will be done by tomorrow. This week Jaime will be home for 3 days and he has really been helping out with Aleq.

For science we are also using Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space for Ash and Aleq.

So we have a lot of learning going on, but they don't realize it sometimes, lol, that is the magic.

So who says we don't do much and lay around all day, not... If you think I just sit at the computer, not...It is in the living room with easy access. lol

Clique's! What is the Purpose?

You know all our lives we are dealt with "ciques", what is the purpose of them.

Are people so insecure that they set up cliques and push away outsiders?

When I was in school, I was friends with everyone I never tried to exclude anyone because they were not like me. Why is it that people feel they need to make cliques and exclude others.

That is the one thing my kids have only encountered a couple of times. I have taught them never to leave anyone out. The times they have been left out I remind them how it feels. No one is better then any of us.

Who is to judge who because they have a different religion, race, and morals?

Is it really our job to tell anyone that they are not good people? Not really, it is Gods job to judge.

So the next time you feel compelled to think you are better then others. Think twice, you don't know what they are going thru or why they may believe a certian way.

Don't get me wrong, it is okay to have a group of friends you are comfortable with, but if you meet someone new use your manners. Be polite, encourage support, give them attention that they matter.

Someone once told me "not everyone wants attention". It is not about attention. It is about saying "Hello", "Thank You", "How are you", "We care", and "What can I do for you"...

Can you imagine how the world would be if people stopped thinking about themselves and stopped judging others. Everyone who makes a change makes a difference.

Sometimes it is hard for my kids to encounter kids that have been in public school always or in one time in their life. Those kids are more into cliques and judging others. So when my kids try to become friends with them a clique is there.
What can you say to your children, I am sorry, they just know God's way?

When people are judged or left out they tend to hibernate. Just one bad experience can leave a bad impression or really hurt someone to where they will change their life. Those people start thinking "is something wrong with me". Is that fair to make people think they are not good?

I pray for adults and kids to realize it is not our job to judge.......

Always treat people the way you want to be treated.

Add OT for SPD and ADHD to my "to do" list....

Today, was quite a day I must say!

Aleq was excited to go and I was ready for some feedback. Ashlie was excited to spend time with her papi.

Well, did things change in two hours. I asked the therapist for her feedback on the evaluation from last week and she responded with "I have not put it all together yet".  She is very nice and really does know her job, however, as a client you really want to know the full picture. Especially if you have already established a diagnosis.

So here are some things that I learned today that I really realized:

1.  I have known something has been wrong with Aleq since the day he was born.

 a.   never would drink a bottle upright, always had the bottle hanging down to drink
 b.   would not sleep (for the first 2 yrs he slept either in my arms or a slightly reclined highchair) if he did is    was only for a short time perhaps 4 hr
 c.  he was always attached to me, didn't feel comfortable with anyone
 d. loves to run and be really rough
 e. very sensitive, hurting his feelings is why he will have a meltdown most of the time
 f.  has to be perfect if not he feels stupid, dumb, loser, a lamer (those are his words)

Now, before we went to the Peid and OT these past several month I had diagnosed him with ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder. They confirmed it.

Therefore, today, I had to make an executive decision, are you ready.... I am going to stop therapy....

Why, you may wonder. Here is the answer, because I can and I said so... no really.

I have read a lot of good books on ADHD and SPD. I have now in my posession "Out of Sync Child has fun", which is about providing therapy at home. SPD is not something to mess around with, not taking the correct measures of therapy could really hurt your child.

Why do I feel I can do it?

I asked the therapist there "what can I do at home to help him". My thinking is it is not benefiting the child to come and do therapy once a week. You need to do therapy everyday. Her answer was that there really isn't much to do at home with him. She would rather him be there to do it. To me that is not beneficial.
Am I right?

As my husband brought out, that is what they do and how they make money. Don't get me wrong, she is good and very nice.

So then I am thinking, I remember when I first started homeschooling it was scary. I had to learn to organize and teach my children. At first Ashlie, then I had it down and it was smooth. Then came Aleq, I freaked out for a while because I thought, now I have two to school. How amd I going to do it?

If I have the resources and dedication I put in to homeschooling, then I can do it for Aleq with SPD.... I have the resources and determination.  We can do this....

I did it this past week byt letting him sit on an exercise ball while we did school time. I brushed him morning, noon and night. Follwed with joint decompression which really does the trick. I brought out my exercise bands and he would use those when he started feeling hyper or when he would start getting upset.

Our routine:

 This is an awesome techinique, it activates the sensory nerves. The brush is like a baby brush. You start at  the arms and with the brush at a rectangle postion (the long sides are the top and bottom) then move up and down the arm and the palms. Then you brush the legs, then the feet. It really relaxes him and helps him focus.

Then we massage the face and ears. With two fingers you start at the forehead and make a circle around his face then start at the nose and massage out. After the face you put your fingertips on the top of the ears and just touch then gentle tug on the lobes.

Just by doing that when he started getting up set made a difference. We started with the nature sounds when he sleeps. I roll him up like a taco or the way the bundle up the newborns.

We bought a chair hammock outside that is supposed to give him that spinning sensation as well as helping him learn to lay back.

So, now do you think I can take this on...

I do!

This weekend I will be trying to create yet another schedule for us.

Perhaps in a year of if I start having issues we may go back . Until then, we will do therapy everyday. I will share my struggles and mishaps while building a therapy center in our yard. lol

You know, I think I felt so overwhelmed at first because this is another thing I am doing. I am a wife, mom, teacher, home planner, cook, event planner, homeschool support group coordinator, transcriptionist, soap and candle maker, nurse, now an OT.... I know I am missing some but that is all I can think of right now.

I thought about the verse I had written on facebook the other day about on the way home:

What i my strength, that I should wait? What is my end, that I should endure? Job 6:11. Lord, help us to endure when we are weary from our day to day responsibilities. When calmity strikes my household, may we trust You with every detail. Give us faith that, like Job's, can weather any storm life blows our way. Help us... to instill that kind of faith in our children... PLEASE... ;)

I did make a final step this week and really talked to Ash about pitching in more then she has been. She now washes dishes for me, folds clothes and helps me with Aleq and I am busy. I know she can do it, she is her mothers daughter. lol

I make it up with bringing her to playdates and doing things for her.

The only issue I is being careful with her playdates. You see, Aleq does not have many play friends. He knows a lot of kids. But none are any he has playdates with. Do you know how it feels to have a child with no friends? He always ask, why doesn't anyone want to play with me. I even has a mom tell me her child does not like to be around Aleq because he gets mad sometimes. So what do you do? I am still trying to figure that one out besides praying.

But you know God is with us and I know we will get thru this. It could always be worse.....

So after a very emotional day today, we went to Walmart to by a ball to help give him more muscle tone. He has low muscle tone. By getting the medicine balls you throw back and forth to build up the muscle tone. Also, we will be doing school on the floor sometimes, it coordinates his hand better. If you have a child that has issues writing the correct size. Have them lay on their belly and have the elbows support them while doing school work. Bought some flowers to replace the ones we lost. Came home washed the car and planted the flowers. Being outside always helps me think better. ;)

Remember as I do , be at peace! God is there to hold the load!

It hurts...

There is nothing worse then being in another room and hearing your son cry with anger of how stupid his life is. It hurts more then anything.
You think how at 7 or younger could he think that and feel so angry....

It happens in our household. It was a daily thing. After therapy last week, he had not had a meltdown until a few moments ago.

WHY?

Because he was trying to draw a picture for a friend and the picture was not perfect....
So, for this reason he thinks he is dumb, stupid, has a terrible life, and should be dead are his words.

While he moans and groans in bed because if you comfort him, he turns into the hulk.


It hurts, it hurts a lot for a mother to hear those words come for a son who has a big heart and really loves everything.  I so thought those days were over with.

Now it will take me an hour for him to calm down, he can't process the knowledge that it is okay to not be perfect. He can't process that he can keep trying right now. He can't process that just because it is not perfect does not mean he is dumb. It truly hurts to have a child feel this way. This is what causes me to have pain and stress because I can't sweep away the negative thoughts he has.

I pray everynight for the SPD to get better.... So he can look me in the eye when he can't process and say "Momma help me"....that way I can talk and comfort him that it will be okay. Until then....

My daughter, my daughter who is so used to it calls me "Mom, I think you need to calm Aleq down"... She still has a hard time understanding how hard it is to do. That is her mistake, she will try becasue it hurts her to hear him.  Why should a 10 year old have to deal with that.
I know others are worse off. But is normal to want the best and for your children to feel good and happy.

My kids are good and happy most of the time. It is a lot of work I realize raising children in the negative world. That is why I press them to understand the goodness and following of Christians.
Tonight I pray and pray for this all to turn into a positive thing for us all.

Thank God for therapy!

Tomorrow is our second time for therapy since my son was diagnosed.
Aleq and I both look forward to it. YES!

I cried when the therapist called today to check on Aleq. For the first time in his life he has been sleeping.
Who would have thought wrapping your child like a taco every night would help them sleep...Alternating from "summer night" and "ocean" sounds is a plus....

Brushing him w/ a baby's brush actually activates his senses. It works wonders.....

Tomorrow we are going to bring a banana to see if he will eat it. He has never eaten a banana or any fruit.

This week, I have only heard him call himself dumb only once.  Schooling this week has been awesome as well. He can focus better now.
We still have a lot of work.

My poor daughter, she has put up with so much. I think this is all making her stronger. Having to put up w/ a brother w/ a disability is hard. I think that is why I make sure I do things for her extra.

Hoping tomorrow will be a good day. We had some friends come over today. Aleq enjoyed them, got over excited. Make note to brush him before getting together with friends. Wasn't too bad except when he chased one of the girls with an earthworm. When chasing her, he made her fall. Ugh!

I was not able to see how Ashlie acted with her friends. I worry because she lives, eats, and sleeps Pokemon. I am trying to get her to understand not everyone cares about them. She needs to learn about them. They wanted to come back so it could not have been that bad. lol.....

Need to finish reading my Out of Sync Kids Have Fun book. Need to turn our home and yard into a therapy center without breaking the bank.....

Wish us luck in trying a banana and bowling tomorrow. I am hoping Aleq will be good to go after therapy for our homeschool bowling day.
Have a blessed night!

A little history of a homeschooling mom and SPD

I thought I would start this blog  to help me as a mother. Why do I need help because my children are getting older, one hitting puberty and the other with Sensory Integration Disorder.
I thought if I could type it out, I could feel better or help someone else.

History:
I have a 10 yr old dd that will be 11 in May! The other miracle baby who is my ds, just turned 7 this February.
They have always been homeschooled.
My daughter has already hit puberty  and my son has just been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder.
So my days are filled with fun emotions.
I love them and think that God knows I can handle it....

Ashlie is a tomboy that loves Pokemon and Bakugan. She is very smart and is involved w/ 4H Vet Science and another 4H group. She wants to work with animals.

Aleq, well since he was born, I have known something was always wrong. When he was born we thought at the time and the past that he was born with GERD.  However, about 2 yrs ago I thought he might have ADHD. Then the past 6 months he had been getting worse. Behavorial managemet was not working for us.  With the help of another homeschool  mom, I found something else, Sensory Processing Disorder was the answer.

My sweetie and I have been married going on 15 yrs in April. He is my life, support, and dream. We live in his childhood home that I truly cherish. Our 4  awesome dogs keep us busy as well.

So, that is the quick history of our life.......