For those who may have missed it, a few weeks back one of Amelia's teachers read a book about bugs and animals and the part about ticks really stuck with Amelia. Every since then I get constant questions about ticks, I've told her they only live in the dark woods but the questions never stop.
This morning on the way to school I was getting my daily quizzing: what happens if they get in the light? are ticks scared of adults? if they are under a tree it's dark...
*sigh*
So with all of my exhaustion and feeling overwhelmed with life I thought I'd have a little fun. I told Amelia to find Ms. Jessica (that teacher who read her the book) when she got to school and she could ask her questions ALL DAY about ticks. We got there and Ms. Jessica was right in the lobby, the questions started. I then told them both that Amelia could follow her around all day asking questions. The entire staff that was around erupted in laughter as it all started.
Yep, it should be a great day for Ms. Jessica and I hope she gets the "why", "you know" and everything that I've been getting for the past couple of weeks.
Revenge is sweet...and can make you giggle no matter how tired you are.
My Amelia Rose
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
The Soda Diaries
So my tests continues:
For those who missed it, the pediatrician prescribed Amelia some medicine to help her sleep. I was told to give her 1/2 a pill an hour before bed.
Wednesday, 2/20, Day 1:
630pm I gave her 1/4 pill, I'm just not ready to give the full half, heck I don't even want to give her anything but not sleeping isn't good for any of us.
830pm She's still talking away, to her "friends", her "friends" are "talking back to her", about 'odometers', ticks and everything else in her little brain. I know she needs to sleep so I tried something I had heard of, gave her a small cup of coke zero. Caffeine can have an opposite effect on ADHD, Autistic and Aspergers kids. 5 minutes later--SHE'S OUT! Slept all night like an angel.
Thursday, 2/21, Day 2:
7pm After talking to the pediatrician I gave her the 1/2 pill, the assure me it's a very mild medicine and technically she could take a full pill. As part of my test I don't want to give the coke, let's see how the med works along.
945pm O-M-G, it won't stop. She's laughing and talking non-stop. I'm at my wits end so 1/2 a cup of coke zero here we come. I finish watch House Hunters International and at 10pm she's out cold.
Could it be the coke zero? Could it be the combination?Who knows, Friday night we'll try the coke zero only. When I got home from a girls night out I found out my husband didn't give her the coke but proceeded to inform me that we are putting her to bed too early, she'll fall asleep on her own about 10pm...yep, just what a 4 year old needs to be doing. So Saturday night Mommy will do this experiment herself.
She did wake up at 230 because she wet her bed, can't blame her, I gave her coke at 945pm. She stayed awake until 6 this morning but played a little quieter except the occasional really loud laughing...someone was funny in that room!
Friday, 2/22, Day 3:
Don't leave your husband to do a job.
Saturday, 2/23, Day 4:
Well it was a rough night, she was a complete diva. I sent her to her room for punishment and was debating whether to give her the coke, it seemed like a reward. But after she settled down I decided to try it. It took 45 minutes to an hour but she went to sleep. Really I don't know know if it was the coke or exhaustion from all of that rebelliousness.
Sunday & Monday, Days 5 & 6:
I thought maybe the medicine was taking longer to work for her so I gave it to her at 530 in the afternoon, 730, 830, 930, NOTHING! So I gave the coke. Sunday night it worked relatively quickly, Monday, she was dancing to "if your happy and you know it". Finally about 930 she went to sleep.
So in conclusion, research is not my field of expertise. I have no clue! I suppose I need to call the doctor back, all the books I read say the parent who doesn't give up has the most successful child, God bless those parents. Can you sense my discouragement?
I'll rest my brain this morning and see how I'm feeling in the afternoon. Perhaps my child really is the energizer bunny.
For those who missed it, the pediatrician prescribed Amelia some medicine to help her sleep. I was told to give her 1/2 a pill an hour before bed.
Wednesday, 2/20, Day 1:
630pm I gave her 1/4 pill, I'm just not ready to give the full half, heck I don't even want to give her anything but not sleeping isn't good for any of us.
830pm She's still talking away, to her "friends", her "friends" are "talking back to her", about 'odometers', ticks and everything else in her little brain. I know she needs to sleep so I tried something I had heard of, gave her a small cup of coke zero. Caffeine can have an opposite effect on ADHD, Autistic and Aspergers kids. 5 minutes later--SHE'S OUT! Slept all night like an angel.
Thursday, 2/21, Day 2:
7pm After talking to the pediatrician I gave her the 1/2 pill, the assure me it's a very mild medicine and technically she could take a full pill. As part of my test I don't want to give the coke, let's see how the med works along.
945pm O-M-G, it won't stop. She's laughing and talking non-stop. I'm at my wits end so 1/2 a cup of coke zero here we come. I finish watch House Hunters International and at 10pm she's out cold.
Could it be the coke zero? Could it be the combination?
She did wake up at 230 because she wet her bed, can't blame her, I gave her coke at 945pm. She stayed awake until 6 this morning but played a little quieter except the occasional really loud laughing...someone was funny in that room!
Friday, 2/22, Day 3:
Don't leave your husband to do a job.
Saturday, 2/23, Day 4:
Well it was a rough night, she was a complete diva. I sent her to her room for punishment and was debating whether to give her the coke, it seemed like a reward. But after she settled down I decided to try it. It took 45 minutes to an hour but she went to sleep. Really I don't know know if it was the coke or exhaustion from all of that rebelliousness.
Sunday & Monday, Days 5 & 6:
I thought maybe the medicine was taking longer to work for her so I gave it to her at 530 in the afternoon, 730, 830, 930, NOTHING! So I gave the coke. Sunday night it worked relatively quickly, Monday, she was dancing to "if your happy and you know it". Finally about 930 she went to sleep.
So in conclusion, research is not my field of expertise. I have no clue! I suppose I need to call the doctor back, all the books I read say the parent who doesn't give up has the most successful child, God bless those parents. Can you sense my discouragement?
I'll rest my brain this morning and see how I'm feeling in the afternoon. Perhaps my child really is the energizer bunny.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Listen
Forgive my rant, and if your sensitive and know me you may not want to continue reading.
Everyone has an opinion, some are trying to be helpful, some are judgmental, some are genuinely concerned. But everyone has one.
To a Mom who is dealing with a child who has a "disorder" or "disability" that can be overwhelming. I share my stories on Facebook sometimes, to get them out, to share, sometimes for advice but many times the responses that I get are overwhelming.
Amelia has been a diva this week, she could be a teenager! Of course, as I shared this many said "it must be the new medicine, you know it can do that". Um no, the bad mood started Monday, the medicine started Wednesday...S-T-R-I-K-E! I know that it's from some people who are not really into giving kids medicine like this--I get it, I'm THAT Mom...or I was.
You see, every kid is different. I love that my friends are trying to help me, really. But this morning I spent 5 minutes crying, it was overwhelming. The "try this, try that", "could she have...", "have you had her tested in a lab", that's a lot for a Mom to take. Yes, I need to trust my gut but I'm going with some things that my pediatrician says because she's known Amelia since birth and I truly trust her. Oh she knows that if I doubt something I'll tell her, but overall I hear what she has to say.
Some people have asked if Amelia could have aspergers, talk about scaring me! I called the doctor, she doesn't see that in Amelia, I can test her, but I'm not ready just yet. I don't want to stick my head in the sand but I don't want to go looking for trouble either. There are some bad doctors out there. And if I do then what? Label her?
I know for some parents it's important and I respect that and have several friends whose kids have Autism and Aspergers, they are amazing parents who really help me with Amelia because some symptoms can be similar and I've gotten great advice from them. But I'm not there yet...I don't think. It's a day-to-day thing.
So next time your friend says she put her child on medicine just listen, your fear comes through whether you want it to or not, know that it's not a decision that any decent parent wants to make. But what worked for your child may not work for mine and vice versa.
Listen.
Everyone has an opinion, some are trying to be helpful, some are judgmental, some are genuinely concerned. But everyone has one.
To a Mom who is dealing with a child who has a "disorder" or "disability" that can be overwhelming. I share my stories on Facebook sometimes, to get them out, to share, sometimes for advice but many times the responses that I get are overwhelming.
Amelia has been a diva this week, she could be a teenager! Of course, as I shared this many said "it must be the new medicine, you know it can do that". Um no, the bad mood started Monday, the medicine started Wednesday...S-T-R-I-K-E! I know that it's from some people who are not really into giving kids medicine like this--I get it, I'm THAT Mom...or I was.
You see, every kid is different. I love that my friends are trying to help me, really. But this morning I spent 5 minutes crying, it was overwhelming. The "try this, try that", "could she have...", "have you had her tested in a lab", that's a lot for a Mom to take. Yes, I need to trust my gut but I'm going with some things that my pediatrician says because she's known Amelia since birth and I truly trust her. Oh she knows that if I doubt something I'll tell her, but overall I hear what she has to say.
Some people have asked if Amelia could have aspergers, talk about scaring me! I called the doctor, she doesn't see that in Amelia, I can test her, but I'm not ready just yet. I don't want to stick my head in the sand but I don't want to go looking for trouble either. There are some bad doctors out there. And if I do then what? Label her?
I know for some parents it's important and I respect that and have several friends whose kids have Autism and Aspergers, they are amazing parents who really help me with Amelia because some symptoms can be similar and I've gotten great advice from them. But I'm not there yet...I don't think. It's a day-to-day thing.
So next time your friend says she put her child on medicine just listen, your fear comes through whether you want it to or not, know that it's not a decision that any decent parent wants to make. But what worked for your child may not work for mine and vice versa.
Listen.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Yay for sleep!
A quick update on the sleeping situation.
Don't judge, unless you've been in my shoes with my child, you don't get that right :)
So after another entire night of NO sleep and I literally mean she was up ALL night, the pediatrician prescribed something to help Amelia sleep. She told me to give her 1/2 a pill an hour before bed. Of course, I hate giving medicine to my child so I gave 1/4 of the pill. Two hours later she was still in there talking up a storm--I mean Mickey, Donald, Daisy, Minnie and whoever else she could imagine was talking.
I had it and went to the fridge and got a cup of coke zero, took it in the room and she drank it. 10 minutes later...SILENCE!
She slept all night! WOOHOO!
The pediatrician wants me to give the full 1/2 pill so I'll try that tonight but this weekend I'm going to try the coke zero again. I guess I'm doing testing on my child but I need to do what I can to help her brain keep growing...and my sanity not go any further down.
Don't judge, unless you've been in my shoes with my child, you don't get that right :)
So after another entire night of NO sleep and I literally mean she was up ALL night, the pediatrician prescribed something to help Amelia sleep. She told me to give her 1/2 a pill an hour before bed. Of course, I hate giving medicine to my child so I gave 1/4 of the pill. Two hours later she was still in there talking up a storm--I mean Mickey, Donald, Daisy, Minnie and whoever else she could imagine was talking.
I had it and went to the fridge and got a cup of coke zero, took it in the room and she drank it. 10 minutes later...SILENCE!
She slept all night! WOOHOO!
The pediatrician wants me to give the full 1/2 pill so I'll try that tonight but this weekend I'm going to try the coke zero again. I guess I'm doing testing on my child but I need to do what I can to help her brain keep growing...and my sanity not go any further down.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
What I love about Amelia
Having a child with ADHD is certainly exhausting, add in the diva attitude of Amelia and it's downright overwhelming!
But as one of my recent Macaroni Kid contributors said, sometimes we need to remind ourselves of our successes, so here is my "success board" of sorts for Amelia, I'm actually using it to show me the fun times that I have with her. Let me tell you, this is one funny kid!
On Sunday we decided to take her to church; it's really one of the first times she sat through a church service so she wasn't sure what to expect. First she started off asking people if there were sno cones there, just random people that would walk by before church started.
Then as worship began she got excited hearing the music and loved clapping, when others would raise their hands in worship she would raise hers. She even sang the songs as though she knew them, she did ask if they would sing Carrie Underwood though...eek!
When they would bow their head in prayer she would ask me when they would be happy again. Oh through the eyes of a child!
That's just one morning of fun!
On Friday daycare apparently was showing pictures of bugs and showed her a tick, then explained how they get in your skin and it hurts. Thanks daycare! She was obsessed all weekend and will probably be for weeks to come. She is a very anxious child and this set her off, for now we've explained that ticks only live in the dark woods and she would never go there. Go with it people!
Let's not forget the trip to the pet store a few weeks ago...Amelia is obsessed with "thermometers" thanks to Frosty the Snowman., she calls them "odometers" though. I decided it would be an expensive way to entertain her to go see the animals at the pet store and we visited the fish. It was then that she saw an "odometer" in one of the tanks. *Sigh*, every time I tried to get her to go look at another animal she wanted to go back and look at the "odometers". So, yes, we went to the pet store to see "odometers".
The Amelia-isms keep coming, she certainly keeps me on my toes and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Except at 3am, at 3am I could trade her.
But as one of my recent Macaroni Kid contributors said, sometimes we need to remind ourselves of our successes, so here is my "success board" of sorts for Amelia, I'm actually using it to show me the fun times that I have with her. Let me tell you, this is one funny kid!
On Sunday we decided to take her to church; it's really one of the first times she sat through a church service so she wasn't sure what to expect. First she started off asking people if there were sno cones there, just random people that would walk by before church started.
Then as worship began she got excited hearing the music and loved clapping, when others would raise their hands in worship she would raise hers. She even sang the songs as though she knew them, she did ask if they would sing Carrie Underwood though...eek!
When they would bow their head in prayer she would ask me when they would be happy again. Oh through the eyes of a child!
That's just one morning of fun!
On Friday daycare apparently was showing pictures of bugs and showed her a tick, then explained how they get in your skin and it hurts. Thanks daycare! She was obsessed all weekend and will probably be for weeks to come. She is a very anxious child and this set her off, for now we've explained that ticks only live in the dark woods and she would never go there. Go with it people!
Let's not forget the trip to the pet store a few weeks ago...Amelia is obsessed with "thermometers" thanks to Frosty the Snowman., she calls them "odometers" though. I decided it would be an expensive way to entertain her to go see the animals at the pet store and we visited the fish. It was then that she saw an "odometer" in one of the tanks. *Sigh*, every time I tried to get her to go look at another animal she wanted to go back and look at the "odometers". So, yes, we went to the pet store to see "odometers".
The Amelia-isms keep coming, she certainly keeps me on my toes and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Except at 3am, at 3am I could trade her.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
What is brain training?
I get lots of questions about what Amelia is learning at LearningRx and honestly, I'm just getting a grasp of it myself. When I started into this process I thought it would be like the typical place, tutoring and teaching her the basics; but now I know it's so much more.
What does playing with blocks, clapping on beat and memorizing a bunch of words have to do with school and learning? I've found it's about training her brain unique ways to learn. If she can learn these "crazy" things then when she starts school she can use her own unique way to do what needs to be done. This brain training has already taught her my phone number, directions and much more. She's learning to process things in a different way than I can.
The other day while we were waiting, one of the other students who I would say is about 17 told me he wished he had started LearningRx earlier in life. He see's a difference in the way he can study and learn and it's improved his studies tremendously.
For Amelia being so young, it's about providing unique challenges and showing her unique ways to get through them, I wish I knew that she would be taught this way when she starts "regular" school.
I'm probably not the best person to explain how it works because putting it into words is tough but I see that it works.
Today someone said that I need to let Amelia know that she is smart, very smart but that she learns things in a different way than most kids. The things she is learning at LearningRx will help with this. If it takes using beats or singing to solve a math problem then so be it! I wish I had found a way to do that when I was young.
What does playing with blocks, clapping on beat and memorizing a bunch of words have to do with school and learning? I've found it's about training her brain unique ways to learn. If she can learn these "crazy" things then when she starts school she can use her own unique way to do what needs to be done. This brain training has already taught her my phone number, directions and much more. She's learning to process things in a different way than I can.
The other day while we were waiting, one of the other students who I would say is about 17 told me he wished he had started LearningRx earlier in life. He see's a difference in the way he can study and learn and it's improved his studies tremendously.
For Amelia being so young, it's about providing unique challenges and showing her unique ways to get through them, I wish I knew that she would be taught this way when she starts "regular" school.
I'm probably not the best person to explain how it works because putting it into words is tough but I see that it works.
Today someone said that I need to let Amelia know that she is smart, very smart but that she learns things in a different way than most kids. The things she is learning at LearningRx will help with this. If it takes using beats or singing to solve a math problem then so be it! I wish I had found a way to do that when I was young.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
She's growing up too fast!
How many of us say that about our kids? Everything happens so fast, it seems like just yesterday she was learning to walk.
Today I took her for testing for magnet school, I won't know until April if she gets in but it was very scary for me. That building was so big and she wondered why the big kids parents weren't with them. Me too, Amelia, me too. I know at some point they have to be dropped off but can't I just follow her around and make her hold my hand until she's like 15?
When they called her back I almost threw up, literally. All of the talking the other parents were doing was too much, they were loud and I just wanted to peak in and see how she was doing.
When she came out I asked her how it went and in her usual fashion of not giving information she said "fine". I asked what she did and she said "I can't tell you". Just great kid!
Fortunately another Mom who brought her child to testing was at Chick-Fil-A when we arrived and her daughter was much more forthcoming so I was able to get the scoop. That made me about to get her to talk about it a bit more, she couldn't draw a star. Honestly I can't either so no big deal in my eyes.
It's funny though, we all see our kids as geniuses and then when testing starts you wonder if you've done enough to teach them.
Ahhh, this waiting until April may kill me! But then again, let it pass slowly because August means she goes to school and I'm not sure this Momma is ready, even if my big girl is ready to take over the world!
Today I took her for testing for magnet school, I won't know until April if she gets in but it was very scary for me. That building was so big and she wondered why the big kids parents weren't with them. Me too, Amelia, me too. I know at some point they have to be dropped off but can't I just follow her around and make her hold my hand until she's like 15?
When they called her back I almost threw up, literally. All of the talking the other parents were doing was too much, they were loud and I just wanted to peak in and see how she was doing.
When she came out I asked her how it went and in her usual fashion of not giving information she said "fine". I asked what she did and she said "I can't tell you". Just great kid!
Fortunately another Mom who brought her child to testing was at Chick-Fil-A when we arrived and her daughter was much more forthcoming so I was able to get the scoop. That made me about to get her to talk about it a bit more, she couldn't draw a star. Honestly I can't either so no big deal in my eyes.
It's funny though, we all see our kids as geniuses and then when testing starts you wonder if you've done enough to teach them.
Ahhh, this waiting until April may kill me! But then again, let it pass slowly because August means she goes to school and I'm not sure this Momma is ready, even if my big girl is ready to take over the world!
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