Rough Day

Today I woke up to 2 out of 3 of my children looking paler than ghosts. Michigan weather this time of the year definitely takes its toll on my kids. They get sick a lot! Dylan threw up all over in front of his ABA therapist and Jasmine slept till 1 pm. I cleaned the entire house trying to get the bug from spreading any further.

The kids seem fine now though, another case of the 24 hour flu I guess. Something else I noticed today while checking to see if she had a fever was that Miss Jasmine shaved the better part of her eyebrows off. I asked her why, she said she wanted to try my eyebrow trimmer out. HAHA I had to laugh, there not that bad but I bet she never does that again hehe.

Thanks for stopping by 

Terry Treetop and the Little Bear - Tali Carmi - Review

International Best Seller children author Tali Carmi has a new book :

Terry Treetop and the Little Bear

Book Description :
Want to take your kids on a spring adventure?
"March 21, the first day of spring!Wonderful things this day will bring."
In this book, Terry Treetop is about to play with a little bear that came into his back yard, when the bear's mother calls him back to the woods. But something went wrong and the little bear was in danger.
Will Terry be able to save the little bear?
Will they play together after all?
This beginner reader’s eBook, the 5th in the Terry Treetop best sellers series, will teach your child about the signs of spring, and bears that leave their den in this season.
Your kids will enjoy full-color illustrations of Terry and the bear cub. This book is written especially for you and your kids aged 2- 8, with simple text and 17 colorful illustrations.
The story is suitable as a read aloud book for preschoolers or a self-read book for beginner readers.

I received a free kindle edition for reviewing purposes.

Children Books:Terry Treetop and the Little Bear: (Animal habitats) Early Learning (Values book) social skills for kids (Adventure & Education) by Tali Carmi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So far in this series of Terry treetop, this book was the hardest for my daughter to read on her own. She is a 9-year-old with about a 1st to 2nd-grade reading level, she struggled with the wording a bit, which in turn made it harder for her to comprehend.

It is a cute story though! I love how Tali Carmi fits so much information in these little books. You learn about spring and about bears along with a few other things. It is just a very good values book. You will learn a few vocabulary words too, even I learned a couple to hehe. Just a fun way to teach your child new and adventurous things.

View all my reviews

 I hope you found this review to be helpful

I Went Awol For Spring Break - Fishing

It feels like forever since I even had time on my hands to sit down and actually blog. I did miss it a lot, but on the other hand I got to spend some good quality time with my kids and husband. It was spring break last week, the kids went back to school today. It's just me and Sofia in the house all day and it's so quiet you can hear a pin drop.

Some of our experiences we did this spring break were going fishing for the first time ever. Some people might be like "Girl you live in Michigan and your 27 years old how is that possible?" Well, if I had before today I do not remember it so I must have been seriously young and well in our house every one of us suffer from some sort of anxiety, making it difficult to do just about anything considering somewhere along the line I developed agoraphobia. Anyway, it was an ok experience that I seemed to enjoy a lot. I went with all kids and fairly close to home, by fairly I mean practically in our back yard there is a river, not even 2 football fields away :)

I took Jasmine and her friend Destiny the first time we went, I really didn't pick a good day then because it was kind of cold to begin with. Then you get down to the water and breeze and your freezing. I didn't mind being cold, but Jasmine got her feet wet stepping in mud and so she got really cold really quick and we had to leave.

The next day we went it was a nicer day, still a bit windy but much warmer than the first time.

We tried really hard but didn't catch anything. That is until the kids started fishing for minnows :) They had a really good time doing that. A few of the poles got the lines messed up

ThinkFun - Rush Hour Shift Review

Rush Hour Shift  (Ages 8 to adult, MSRP: $24.99)
Escape before your opponent, that’s the goal! The best-selling sliding block logic game is now for two players. Every move counts in this race to cross traffic. As you draw cards, you’ll need a little luck and a clever strategy to win. Should you use your turn to advance your own Hero Car or block your opponent? The potential moves are endless, and the shifting Traffic Grid adds a whole new dimension to play. Just when you think you’ve cleared a path to the finish, a shift of the grid can change the game!

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This game I have to admit is really fun and fast paced. Jasmine and her friends play it often.

Each game takes about 5 minutes, which I think is a good thing especially for children like Jasmine, She will lose interest fairly quickly because she does have ADD. Her speech therapist says that she gets audio fatigued, which means if you have to explain things to her for too long, her brain will shut you off and there's really nothing you can do about it. The rules of this game are pretty simple, it did take her a few times to get used to how the cards are played and how to move the pieces around. After she learned the rules of the game she found it really fun. All her friends really enjoyed it too. It's the first thing they want to do after school, everyone to Jasmines house to play rush hour LOL. I really like it because getting them off electronics is good. This game really works your brain too, I would compare it to like chess or some other game like that but much more fun and faster pace.

It does come with a rule book and shows how to set up the games with pre-made layouts for all the traffic. The girls find it more fun to just set them up however they want. Overall it is a great game for people of all ages 8+, My husband and I play it as well, when we can get the girls off of it :)

Well, I hope you found this review to be helpful, I did receive this product free of charge for the purpose of reviewing it. But that in no way changes my opinion of it and my review is completely honest.

Daily School Report 3/24/15 and Turning 27

Today was an alright day so far. It's my birthday, I'm now the big 27 :) I know its not just me that this has happened to but as you age doesn't your birthday become less important to you. It's kinda like blah now for me. Not that I don't enjoy having a birthday, but when asked do I want anything or do I want to go anywhere my response is always no. Today I just wanted to go fishing with Jasmine after she got out of school, but she didn't even really want to go. Its kinda of a chilly day anyways to be sitting by the river.

I did my normal routine of ABA in the morning and then pretty much nothing until my husband got home. Joe is cooking me dinner but besides that there is nothing else on the agenda. 

I received a letter today from a very special person who was part of my childhood and was pretty much there for me when no one else was. Ms. Hautamaki, my art teacher and my mentor. I lost touch with her through all the moves I did before we got this house, it's been about 10 years since I heard from her and it was very nice to get the letter. I will be writing her back really soon and sending a ton of pictures, so she will be able to see what my life has been like since she left. She moved away and retired from teaching while she was still my mentor and wrote that she has felt bad about it this entire time. I want to show her that I still turned out ok. :)

Jasmine is at her friends house right now, playing outside. It is a friend that I really don't like, but I have learned that just because I don't like them, that doesn't mean Jasmine won't hang out with them. I would rather her ask me if she could go than to try and hide it from me altogether and be sneaky. The reasons for me not liking this kid are that they are a complete bully to Jasmine. The kid and Jasmine go back and forth all the time and she will sometimes even come home crying. But with that said she always begs me to hang out with him. Since his yard, is right in my line of sight and I practically watch her out the window to make sure she is ok ( I know overprotective mom thing to do, right?) I'm allowing her to go over now and maybe she will see for herself and learn from her own mistakes. It's not right in my heart to be choosing her friends for her, she is her own person. ITs so hard when kids become more and more independent isn't it?

Sofia has been super whiney lately if she isn't whining she's back talking. Typical 2-year-old stuff. She's becoming a picky eater as well. She pretty much only eats it if it contains tomato sauce.

Dylans day went ok. From his teachers, note he seemed to eat a lot today at school. We got him to take a few bites from a spoon this morning for breakfast. After he drank his Nutren Junior though, all he did before was fuss about it. It's getting better and he's starting to do it more at home. It always has to be on his terms. I'm seriously considering making a picture schedule for eating here. Not for everything just eating, so I can try to make some sort of routine for that.

Well, that's it for today's daily school report, check back tomorrow for more updates.

Daily School Report 3/17/15

Today altogether has been a pretty sluggish day up until now. Right now, I just feel like cleaning the house from top to bottom. So spring cleaning has begun here. I have plans for cleaning and decluttering for the next few weeks.

Jasmine looked extremely exhausted this morning. I wasn't able to get her up until about 10 minutes before the bus come. She even asked if she could stay home. I told her no because I felt like she wasn't sick and so there would be no reason for her to be at home all day. Plus she already has about 7-10 late assignments to be turned in. As I mentioned yesterday she is currently grounded, after school though she tried to bring about 3 neighborhood kids home with her, and they got told to go home. She got to eat and then she is sitting at the kitchen table doing her late work. I ended up having to buy the book she is reading at school as a kindle edition because she kept forgetting to bring it home. Well, I really think she was doing it on purpose so that I couldn't make her do her homework, but now there is no excuse. They say things get worse before they get better, She is being a total rebel. If I say something in a nice tone, I'm a jerk or I'm lame. I'm going to keep at this punishment until her attitude changes. I know it's going to be really hard, but I have high hopes that if I stick to it she will see that it's unacceptable to act the way she has been.

Dylan was also really tired this morning, his worker has a heck of a time trying to wake him up. **Note to self** When you touch Dylans mouth he wakes up almost automatically. Touch anywhere else with no response, but touching his mouth makes him pop up instantly. At school, they are starting to hear more sounds come out of him. Today his teacher said she heard him say "hi" "yea" and "red". I myself have never in my life heard him saying anything close to red before, so I keep chasing him around the house saying red trying to get it to come out for me haha.

Sofia too was the same sleepy and she only woke up for about 1 hour then we both went for naps. Didn't wake up until Joe was coming home from work. Hopefully today my mom's car is fixed because I think not going to bed at 10 pm every night is taking its toll on me. I try to take my meds later because I need them to even get to sleep and then I can't wake up on time or like in the case of today at all. I don't mind being there for her when she needs it, I just take a while to adjust.

Well, Thanks for stopping by.

Daily School Report 3/16/15

Many of you know that Jasmine had broken her foot about 7 weeks ago. I'm so happy to say that she is now able to walk in a post-op shoe. That 7 weeks was totally stressful. Even by doctors orders and threats to put her in a whole leg cast we were not able to keep her off that foot. We had to keep her in sight at all time when she wasn't in school. That meant most of the time when she wanted to see her friends they had to come here.

Today she got up pretty good by herself, she has been really demanding lately. She has the entitled to attitude. That's the attitude that if she doesn't get her way we are all jerks and she doesn't want us as parents anymore. It has always been my belief that there should be a middle ground between friendship and parenting when raising children. But at times like this, When she's telling me she wants to be adopted and blaming everything on Joe and I, it turns to strict parenting. So until her attitude, and lack of doing her homework improves she is grounded. She starts seeing her new in school ( but not a school counselor ) counselor tomorrow. I have really high hopes that Jasmine will mesh well with this lady. She happens to be Dylans in-home ABA therapy supervisor too. Which works well for me as I can update her on how Jasmine is doing at home when she comes to see him.

You might have noticed that I have been completely slacking on the daily school reports lately. My mom broke her car and I have been giving her rides when she needs them. As well as we have been trying to update the house too. We still haven't finished the kitchen, but I'm still determined that we do the remodeling ourselves. We are completely able, we just have 3 kids and so it takes a bit longer than hiring someone to do it for us. I genuinely find it fun as well to do it myself :)

Sofia has learned to safely use our narrow, steep farmhouse stairs. She freely roams the house, And at this time I'm considering taking down the gate between the living room and kitchen. Just because we really don't have it closed most of the time anymore, and when we do it doesn't matter anyway because Sofia can open it herself. She is one smart toddler!

Dylan has been doing awesome since he started his medicine. Almost no fits at all and extremely happy all the time. He seems to be enjoying life more since he started them. We at first were so unsure about whether or not it was a good idea to be putting a 3-year-old on medicine. Once we saw the changes in him at school and at home I knew it was a good choice.

Lately at home though I have been doing aromatherapy. I'm fairly new to it and plan to share my experiences with you all on it.

Last Saturday we went to see Cinderella and it was amazing! Joe, Jasmine, me and 2 of our friends went, it was really cool. Jasmine did get bored in the first part of the film but then things picked up the pace and she seemed to enjoy it more. The littler children stayed with my dad while we went and he said they did fine. I was worried about it, bc my dad had never actually watched any of my kids before by himself. I thought it would be too much, but they described angels when we went back to pick them up LOL.

Well, that's it for todays daily school report check back soon for some more updates.

How to Help an Extremely Defiant Child. Part One

Many people who know me know I have been going back and forth with my eldest daughter Jasmine for years. She has her ways of being extremely defiant. By extreme I mean almost never listening to any authority figure at all, especially her parents. She was recently diagnosed with having a disorder, for this reason. I often find myself lost in trying to figure out ways to keep her under control, and so I turn to her doctors a lot for help.

If you have a child like mine, I know from experience that it can be extremely difficult and a lot of the time parents don't know where to start getting help for it. I was fortunate enough to notice something was going on with my son also and started having early on service come into my home and see how Jasmine was acting and they pointed me in the right direction to get the help she needed.

The first step I took on my road with Jasmine was to find her a good counselor. This took multiple times meeting different ones to find one that meshed well with Jasmine. The point though with counseling is not for parents to find out what is going on with their children. Rather that your child finds out what is going on with them and find coping skills to get through whatever it is that they are going through. Jasmine found one about a year ago that she really enjoyed seeing, but then that person found a new job and moved on. Then we were back in the search again for someone she could talk to. I don't mean to be harsh on this at all, but, to be honest, there are a lot of reasons children feel more comfortable talking to someone else about things that are going on in their lives other than their parents. A lot of them have nothing to do with parenting skills at all. So I would just like to say, you should never blame yourself. If your child has an issue they are unable to deal with, that is their issue, not yours. That was something that took me a long time to deal with myself. I tended to always put the blame on myself. Saying things like " Oh, I should have done that or this, I shouldn't have done this or that."  None of the putting blame game will help at all. If they are unable to talk to you, the best thing you can do for them is to find someone else to talk to.

Finding the right person though is the trick. Sure your child could talk to anyone, their friends, friends parents, a family member etc. That is completely fine, although if you do take this approach you might find that it wasn't the best idea. Your really going to want someone skilled in the art that is talking to someone and giving advice to a child in an appropriate manner. That definitely means seeking out a professional.

This is just the first step, there are more to come and I'll continue to talk about that in a later post. They say that the first step is always the hardest. I will say that this is going to be the hardest part.

Ways to seek out a counselor.

• Talk to your child's school social worker. That is why they are there, it is their job to ensure all the children there receive help where it is needed. That includes in their home life as well as at school.
• Talk to your child's Family doctor. They can definitely point you in the right direction to a therapist that specializes in children.
• Make an appointment at you local community mental health organization. They will be able to help you find other services as well, not just a counselor. They are also there to help and give you information that is out there about services you and your child can receive. 
• Talk to your friends who also have children. I know this can be at times a little uncomfortable, but you will be surprised at the fact your not the only one who is trying to get help for their child. They may have a referral for you from experience.

I do not recommend looking in a phone book. While you might find one that way really quickly, more often than not this approach will make finding the right person a lot harder. It is best to get a referral from someone who already knows about your child and some of their medical background.

I really hope this can help someone out who is completely lost on what to do. Remember that is will be the first step and also the most important one.

Abigail And The Tropical Island Adventure By Tali Carmi Review

NEW book by international best selling children author Tali Carmi

Want your kids to be familiar with exotic locations?
Want them to meet cultures and widen their horizons?
This is a wonderful book about a girl named Abigail, that goes on adventures around the world using her magical bicycle.
Who will she meet there? What will she discover?
This beginner reader’s eBook will inspire your kids to be open to new cultures, and be more curious and enthusiastic about exploring various places.
Your kids will enjoy full-color illustrations of Abigail and the tropical island.
Your kids will be inspired to be:

• Open to new people & cultures
• More curious
• Enthusiastic about exploring new things

Abigail and the Tropical Island Adventure is a sweet children's book written especially for you and your ages 2- 8 children

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With simple text and 16 colorful illustrations.

The story is suitable as a read aloud book for preschoolers or a self-read book for beginner readers.

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We received a copy of Abigail and the Tropical Island adventure (Kindle Version) for free for the purpose of this review and to share with my readers my honest opinion.

Abigail and the Tropical Island Adventure by Tali Carmi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My daughter and I sat down and read this book today. She loved it! Tali Carmi always takes you on a great adventure. Abigail and her magical bike take you so many places, in this story you get to go to a tropical island. Learning new vocabulary and exploring the islanders way of life. It always surprises me how much information can come from her children's book.

If you are looking for a series to help teach your children about culture and the world, but in a totally cool and fun way the Abigail series is for you. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with a young reader. My daughter reading level is 1st to 2nd grade and she could read this fine, she did need some help with a few of the words but no huge struggle.

View all my reviews

This book is available now on Amazon you can find it here

I hope you found this review to be useful.

Daily School Report 3/9/15

So yesterday we did our normal routine of going to church and then my dads afterwards. This time though I thought it was a good idea to go to Lil' Ceasars and get some of those new bacon wrapped pizzas. It was good, but Jasmine ate far too much and so she had to stay home from school today because she didn't feel well.

Dylan had ABA today which isn't normal, but he also wouldn't wake up for it. He was completely exhausted and was falling asleep sitting up.  We decided after about 45 minutes of this to call it off and try again tomorrow. This time change alone is going to make ABA harder for Dylan, he will need some time to adjust.

I woke him about 30 minutes before his bus come and he still looked exhausted. When I took him out to the bus the bus driver said, " That's ok Dylan, you can just take a nap on the ride in" I knew he would too.

Surprisingly though considering all of that, he had a great day at school. His teacher left a note that said, Dylan licked a couple of french fries and a vanilla wafer. He ate bananas (baby food) and apples. He was in a happy mood today.

With all this talk about him eating still at school, I'll give a little picture update of him at home eating now.

Sometimes he looks like this while eating, which is good:) He does seem to smile more in the school pictures, but we are working on it :)

Other times he looks like this, so he is still fighting doing it at home. When he starts this we just let him be, sitting there watching everyone else eat and he giggles at us.

Overall though, this is complete progress at home. He used to not even touch the food put in front of him and cry. Now he is able to sit with us at dinner and sometimes taste the baby food. If you noticed in the pictures there are 2 bowls. One has baby food that Dylan prefers and the other has what we are eating. You just never know when he will find some table food he loves and will dig right in. I stay hopeful for that, so it is always offered to him.

Well, Thanks for stopping by for today's daily school report, stop back tomorrow for more updates.

Daily School Report 3/4/15 - Struggle for Attention

Today was a pretty stressful day for me anxiety wise. I had to drive into the city which I don't like doing it sets me into panic mode every time, to take Jasmine to meet her new counselor she will see at school. It's not a school counselor, just a normally counselor who does the services at the school where Jasmine goes to. The first appointment needed to be done at her office, it's ok though I need exposures like that to get better. Normal I would have had my mom ride with me, when I'm in the car one of my biggest fears is going somewhere and getting lost then not being able to get home, Some might say it's impossible to get lost in today's world. Even my rational self would say that too, but once my anxiety rises that far its like I have no control over my thought process at all. My thoughts race, then I get into full panic. I didn't have a panic attack today though, My anxiety was pretty high, but I made it there and got to chill out for about 45 minutes again before getting back into the car.

I think Jasmine liked this counselor though. She needs someone outside of the house to talk to about her problems. It's completely secret that way. As a parent, I don't worry about not knowing either, sometimes I know there will be things she cants say to me. I'm just glad she can have some sort of outlet. There were some goals set. One was that she would be more respectful to her parents and learn to have respect when she speaks to us. Also that she would learn more about her brother and why his needs are what they are. Along with learning how to calm herself down emotionally before she reacts. These are issues we have had with Jasmine since she was little. While some may look at her and think she is just a spoiled brat, I look at her and see the attention she needs and wants. We do give her attention and lots of it, but she doesn't understand even though we have tried really hard to explain to her why Dylan has people come over to the house all the time. She just sees it as we love him more or something, which isn't the case and we have told her that. It coming from us though doesn't mean anything to her, if the view comes from someone outside of the picture entirely she might start to understand, that just because Dylan needs to have more services and doctors and whatever else, doesn't mean that we love her any less.

Daily School Report 3/2/15

Monday, Monday, Monday...you are the day after Sunday and I will always dislike you. LOL Ok so Happy Monday ya'll, at least it wasn't so cold today, right?  I was talking to my dads wife yesterday and she said my dad said it was going to be bikini weather today, that in Michigan means over freezing :) Also welcome to march, in 22 days I'll be 27 years old. this year is the year I'm starting to feel more like an adult. I have been an adult awhile obviously, but this year is different.  I don't want to preach about it too much, but Saturday Joe and I were saved and reborn new Christians. By new Christians, I mean that we have found our place in religion  Pretty happy about that:)

It was sort of a lazy morning for everyone. No one really wanted to play their parts in the morning routines. All Jassy wanted to do was sit like a zombie on the couch and All I wanted was to stay curled up in a blanket in bed, because too me, if its not over 70 degrees it's still cold. She got to school alright, but I don't think any of us were excited about it.

Dylan didn't have ABA today, so I let him sleep till about 10:10am. I'm never positive if that's a good idea to do. I mean on one hand, he gets the rest and he's happy, on the other hand, it makes Tuesday Monday that much harder to get up at 8:30 am for ABA. I do have to say he was really excited to see that bus come today, so excited he was almost running and almost slipped on ice in the driveway.  I havent yet actually seen Dylan run he kinda just speed walks.


Today at school Dylan did the following according to the daily objectives send home sheet sent by his teacher.

1-No Response/hand over hand

2-Multiple prompts (Gestural, physical, visual, and/or verbal)

3-No more than 2 verbal prompts

4-Independent

• 1 Imitate speech sounds and environmental noises
• 1 Indicate refusal by pushing away non-preferred objects with an appropriate force.
• 3 Request object with a single picture with an open hand cue and 1 prompt
• 2 Complete fine motor activities
• 3 Sit for 5 minutes at group without adult assistance
• 2 Work on age appropriate table activity for 2 minutes

His daily classroom activities were

• Play skills 
• Gym Class
• Gross motor
• Fine motor
• Language Arts
• Snack 
• Morning work
• Sensory Activity
• Calendar
• Math
• Lunch

Dylan's teacher left notes that today was a great day. Dylan was in a happy mood today again. He did a good job eating his baby food. 

Tomorrow is the first time I am having a home visit ever. Jasmine didn't go to pre-school so never had then with her. We shall see how it goes. They're planning on bringing all Dylans eating things he uses at school to see if he will eat for the teachers assistant here.

Thanks for stopping by and if you missed it HERE is a quick update I posted about not being able to blog so much lately we are updating the house and doing it ourselfs, so If I miss some Daily school Reports this week that will be why.

*Quick Update* Busy Week

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let everyone one know that I haven't forgotten about the Daily School Reports. We have been doing a little sprucing up in our house lately, painting, trims and adding a few other touches here and there. Find the time to do that means I had to cut out some of my blogging time just for a little while. If I do find that I have time in that day to write out the report it will be there but for at least this week I won't promise them daily.

The kids have been doing pretty good in school. I also wanted to touch base with those of you who were waiting to hear about Jasmines IEP meeting that was on Thursday. The meeting its self I thought went really well. It was nice to get to meet everyone who will be involved with Jasmine from this point forward. Her Special Education teacher seemed really nice and helpful. I did Learn a few things about Jasmine that I was unaware of up until they actually started testing. The speech therapist has concerns about Jasmines vocabulary and her use of words. Now I did notice the Jasmine has a really hard time explaining herself. When you ask her how she feels or why she is doing something or what she wants to do. I a lot of the time her answers would be "I don't know". Before I heard at the IEP that she had trouble, I would have just thought that she didn't want me to know. 

I also felt like the goals set up for Jasmine will help her a lot as she moves forward. Jasmine is not being taken out of her normal classes but will also receive extra help in areas where she needs it. I'm waiting for the speech therapist to get in contact with me to let me know whether or not Jasmine will be able to receive speech services as well. As of right now I and pretty happy with what they are doing for her.

Dylan has been eating very well at school, His favorite food is Bananas. It is baby food that he is eating, but it is the start of something I have been waiting a really long time to see from him again.We are also trying to make it more of a routine at home to not let him have his bottle just anywhere he feels like it. Now I do break this rule when Dylan is in full meltdown, but I was told once by someone I really trust to stick with my gut feelings as a mother, and that you can not save a sinking ship. Meaning I feel like once he is so far gone I think he's not getting anything from me trying to teach him the routine. This is a will be the hardest thing yet to overcome with my son, but I am entirely ready to take this on.

I know I said this was going to be quick but I feel like so much is going on that I want to share lol. Another thing being that my medication I started taking about 2 and half weeks ago has me feeling like I'm losing my mind at times. I loose my thought pattern quick, forget what I'm doing, get distracted, and am finding it hard to get what I am thinking into words at times also. This is all normal while adjusting to anxiety medication. There not really helping the anxiety much yet. But I'm hoping they will work after a few more weeks. I was told this is the worst it could get and things will only get better so we shall see.

Well, check back from time to time to see how things are going, I just wanted to let everyone know everything was ok here. I think I will have time tonight to do the Daily school Report so check back even in few hours. I'll post some more pictures of Dylan eating at school too.

Daddy/Daughter Dance 2015

I Just wanted to share some photos from today.

Everyone is ready for the Daddy/Daughter Dance :)

She looks beautiful :)

Daily School Report 2/25/15

Today Jasmine got up pretty good. It was really cold outside though. I'm having the hardest time trying to make my point with her about this break in her foot. She was told even by the doctor if she didn't stop walking on her foot, she would need surgery on it, then right after he looked at me and said I don't even want to have to talk about doing surgery on a 9 year old. I told the office lady at school and they told her teacher but I catch her doing the stairs on the bus all the time! It doesn't cause her any pain, but its caused it not to heal and break worse. She just doesn't get the importance of it. We have even told her if it doesn't heal right, she may never be able to do cheerleading again. Trust me she does get corrected when it happens in my sight. She isn't always in my sight and that is what I'm worried about.

Dylan did pretty awesome during his ABA session. He was in a good mood and extremely hyper. He was doing a lot of work and I heard lots of laughs and giggles. He even went on his crash pad briefly and he has been in a stage lately where he didn't like to use his trampoline or crash pad. Now there coming back into his interest. That's pretty typical with Dylan he will like one thing for awhile and then ignore it and come back to it later.

I started painting today in the kitchen....Yes, I do paint one wall at a time :) I was entirely sure I was going to like the color with all the comments my husband was giving about poo, but I really think it's nice! I really like it. We never have enough time to paint a full room and so this entire room will probably take a few days. Considering also that tomorrow is the daddy/daughter dance and also Jasmine IEP meeting and Lego Club day it might go into next week, who knows? I'll get it done one of these days soon :)

Today at school Dylan did the following according to the daily objectives send home sheet sent by his teacher.

1-No Response/hand over hand

2-Multiple prompts (Gestural, physical, visual, and/or verbal)

3-No more than 2 verbal prompts

4-Independent

• 1 Imitate action with body or toys
• 1 Indicate refusal by pushing away non-preferred objects with an appropriate force.
• 1 Request object with a single picture with an open hand cue and 1 prompt
• 2 Complete fine motor activities
• 3 Sit for 5 minutes at group without adult assistance

His daily classroom activities were

• Play skills 
• Gym Class
• Gross motor
• Fine motor
• Language Arts
• Snack 
• Morning work
• Walk 
• Computer Activity 
• Calendar
• Lunch

Dylans teacher left notes that today was a good day. Dylan was fussy at times. She thinks he was just hungry. He fell asleep on the bus and cried when he got woke up. He came in and went right to that table where he eats at, He had a Pediasure and only tried a little bit on babyfood.

Well, Thanks for stopping by and come back tomorrow for another daily school report.  

Daily School Report 2/24/15

This morning was interesting, it seemed to be colder than yesterday but both of the older kids did have school. It was nice to have the break that's for sure. I did get a lot done around the house.

Dylan's ABA session went well. He had one fit, but that was only because he was thirsty. Dylan has this stim, where he licks his hand or the object in his hand. From doing that he got a chapped hand. It's the same as chapped lips, just on his hand. It doesn't seem to bother him much, but I keep caking on the eczema butter I made at home to try to soften the skin some. I really don't want his skin to crack because I'm sure that would be really painful for him and just awful

Daily School Report 2/23/15 For the Love of Coldness.

Honestly are we in the tundra right now. I'm pretty sure Alaska is warmer. The kids didn't have school today and if they don't have school again tomorrow with all honesty I may go insane. They have been out of school since Wednesday last week. This mama is in desperate need of an 8 hour day break. Ya'll know what it's like to clean a house with 3-5 kids in it at a time. I count 5 when Jassy's best friends are over and I really don't mind them being here they keep her busy! But I feel like I been just constantly cleaning for a week straight now.

I got a new camera :)

Jasmine got a new puppy :)

Daily School Report 02/20/15

I was totally right yesterday when I said that there might not be school today. Today seemed a lot colder than yesterday. I've been using the rice bag my aunt gave me for Christmas as my own personal heater. I’m always cold, even if everyone else is comfortable I am cold.

Dylan had  ABA today it went well. He did have a diaper blowout during his session and needed to take a shower. He’s still really upset when he takes a shower, but he calms down fairly quickly when he is in his bedroom again.

I had my mom come over to watch the kids so that me and Joe could go out alone. It’s a rare occasion when we can shop by ourselves. We needed to go to Home Depot to get a pipe snake. Sofia decided that she was going to put a toy in the toilet, and now it’s lodged in there. After we got the snake and attempted to use it, it wouldn't even go into the drain at all. Joe and I tried using big rubber gloves and sticking our hands in there to see if we could reach the toy but we couldn't. Joe could at first, but then it just kept getting pushed further in the drain and now it’s completely stuck and out of reach. This probably means that we’re going to have to take the entire toilet apart to get Little Miss Sofia lee's toy. I definitely need to pick up some of those safety 1st child locks for everything. Doors, cabinets, toilet lid. Sofia’s been a little obsessed about watching the toilet flush and also putting things inside the toilet when nobody’s looking and trying to flush them. You know typical 2-year old stuff.

I found some really cute sweater dresses for Jasmine at the thrift store. There was this really cute one with a dog on it that I’m almost sure will fit me too. We can share :) Here is a pic of it and Jasmine were wearing it.

I think it is completely adorable.

Well, thanks for stopping by and see you Monday for another daily School Report.

Daily School Report 2/18-2/19 *Quick Update*

Been super busy these last few days. Still making over the kitchen and living room a tad. I'm trying to turn it into more of a "home". Not that it wasn't before, but before it was sort of a look like "we only bought this house 2 years ago", That is true, and we are finally able to put our mark on it this year.

Jasmine went to her bone Dr. today. Her foot isn't healed yet and she got a new cast. She was really upset about that, She thought it would be healed and that she be able to go to her Daddy/Daughter dance without it. She is still going, but I'm afraid there will be no dancing for her still.  Instead of getting her cast off though she did get a nice pair of Olaf earrings when she got her ears pierced today. The lady at the Jewelry counter was kind of rude to me. I mean, I knew having a baby at 17 might have this effect someday, but I really didn't think this soon. "You're her mother?" Yes, I answer. You don't look old enough to be her mother, can I see your ID. I just showed it to her and she looked at me surprised. I mean, I know I was young but not that young, and acting like that is just plain rude.

The kids had a snow day today due to the temps being too low.  I'm expecting the same for tomorrow, but we have to wait and see. They called my house at like 4 am, an auto message that school had been canceled. The temps here in Michigan have been below freezing for about a week. We are ready for Spring!

They did have school yesterday, but I was too tired to write out the report by the time I got their notes from school. They both had really good days yesterday.  Dylans teacher said that Dylan did great up until the last 20 minutes of school than he was just screaming at the top of his lungs. He had eaten some baby food and drank his Pediasure before this happened, didn't need to be changed or anything. He just wanted some kool aide. People and the doctor told me that Dylan maybe would be more hungry from the meds he got put on. This is not bad in Dylans case because he is extremely skinny as it is. he looks skinny but has muscles from all his jumping around he does that he is not underweight. I would put all my money on the fact that my boy might not have 1oz of fat on his body. The bad thing about him getting more hungry is if he has too much Pediasure he does get constipated, and he's not eating as well at home as he does at school. In fact, I am lucky if at home I even get him to lick anything anymore.  I started feeding him all his Pediasures in the kitchen chair with food in front of him, when I am home. I just have to keep at it and I know with practice at school and home he will be able to gain this skill.

Well, Thanks for stopping by :) We shall see if they have school tomorrow, check back tomorrow for more updates.

Discover With Dr Cool - Real Bug Dig Kit - Review

Jasmine has tried one of the Discover with Dr. Cool kits before, but not this one. The Real Bug Dig Kit was brand new to her, so of course she was super excited to try it.

Discover with Doctor Cool kits are always packaged really nice. With a book style packaging, so that kids and their parents are able to see what is inside the kit before they buy. There is also a Velcro tab to keep it shut. I have suggested to Jasmine with these kits she could put the entire box on her wall with the tools, leftover digging block and 3 real specimens inside. To use the box as a sort of a display case. She loves collecting the specimens she finds in the Discover with Dr Cool kits but she would much rather keep all her specimens in one place so that she is able to look at them whenever she feels like it. So she keeps hers in her "treasure chest" of awesome things. It was a good idea and if any of you are able to talk your little scientists into it, they would look great on a wall.

So, what comes in this kit is:

• Digging Block
• Adventure Guide
• Activity Booklet
• A flyer with some of the other kits offered.
• Excavation Tools
• 3 Real Specimens
• Jungle type backdrop thing

The packaging and the booklets inside the box are made of really durable glossy material. Your child will be able to keep these booklets just as they would any other paperback style book.

The adventure guide contains a lot of useful information. It is very educational, filled with real facts about bugs, in general. Then towards the end of the 12-page booklet they go into much more depth about the specimens the children have found in their dig. It is filled with vibrant and colorful pictures of real bugs! Up close pictures for your child to study the bugs.

The activity book is filled with fun brainy games. Keeping the bug theme, they have made games like mazes and word searches that add to the fun of the dig. This book it's also made of the same material as the adventure booklet and so is also very durable. 

Then there is the flyer with some of the other kits they make at Discover with Dr. Cool. Just some of them though, they make a ton of them you can find many more when you go to their website www.DiscoverWithDrCool.com.

Inside the box was a sort of backdrop, very beautiful, but there was no instruction that I could find as to what part this played in the kit. I told the kids when they were digging that it was probably meant as a sort of thing they could play with their specimens in their environment after the dig.  I'm still not entirely sure what it was actually meant for, but the kids did have fun using it for that purpose.

Jasmine had 2 friends over our house last weekend so I allowed her to do the kit with them to see how it would work as a team effort. They did very well together. There are 3 specimens and so each child got to dig out their own. The other kids didn't mind just watching, dusting off the dust so the others could see better or using the magnifying glass to examine the specimens already found. They had a lot of fun doing it together.

The kids eventually got all the specimens out and were studying them with the magnifying glass and the adventure booklet. They had a really good time all the while learning at the same time. Therefore, I would definitely recommend this product and any of the Discover with Dr. Cool products my daughter has tried to all parents and teachers with little scientist eager to learn. This would definitely be a great homeschooling product. As well as for use in an actual classroom.

I hope you found this review to be helpful. I would like to thank Discover with Dr. Cool for allowing Jasmine to try this kit free of charge for our honest review of the product. 

If you want more information about this product or any product Discover with Dr. Cool has you can visit www.discoverwithdrcool.com

Thanks,