We've had a couple of busy weeks again. Here's what's been happening:
-My mother had pneumonia so the girls and I have been helping out by taking Mom to her doctor's appointments, getting groceries, and helping out around the house. My sister Amy also helped out a lot in these areas. Abby would have helped, but she had a lot to deal with because of her terminal brother-in-law.
-My blind, special needs brother broke his ankle and was staying at Mom and Dad's, so I helped out by driving him to and from his group home and helping him around the house. Amy, again helped a lot.
-We managed to go to story time, play dates, and have sewing lessons in there a couple of times. Those were fun!
-I had my own set of dental appointments and Sami had doctor's appointments.
-My sister's brother-in-law passed away so we helped babysit her kids a tiny bit, and also helped watch my brother so that my parents and I could take turns going to the funeral home.
On the good list?
-We've had a couple of really beautiful weather days.
-I got to mow the lawn (yes, I like mowing)
-Our Dave Ramsey gazelle budget is rocking and rolling.
-My tooth that has been hurting since early January is finally feeling better.
-We learned how to make onigiri. Yum!
-I'm learning how to make socks. Even though I'm screwing it up, it's still fun.
-Sami is still doing well with her OCD meds, although I can see a trend and we may have to increase her dosage a little. We'll see if calming our schedule down helps her this week before we change any medication. She's so brave.
-We get to spend today at HOME. :)
I've been remarkably optimistic even with how busy we are. I hope I stay this way, and I hope that our schedule doesn't come up with any more emergencies.
Showing posts with label schedule. Show all posts
Showing posts with label schedule. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
OCD IV
We're still maintaining in the OCD symptoms. The symptoms are seeming less severe, but still there. Sami seems to be coping with them a little better. Does that mean that she is getting better because of the CBT, or because she is waning (as opposed to waxing) in this bout of OCD?
She was able to sit some today, but only on two chairs, my bed, and the kitchen chair if it was covered in a clean towel (the first two, she was convinced, had touched Lysol from the kitchen table. Never mind that I didn't use Lysol). She's been able to sooth herself and she is learning to wait out the episodes. This is critical because it is a key factor in battling OCD. Showers calm her down a lot, so I quit complaining at the length of her showers and I will just pay the increased water bills with a smile.
Interestingly enough, I've been reading many OCD articles that also include Tourette's Syndrome and tics; OCD and Tourette's/tics are very closely related and many children have both. After learning about tics, I think I've discovered what has been wrong with a couple of other relatives of mine. I'm not a doctor, and maybe the fact that I've been reading so much about it makes me look for it in everyone, but there were so many dots connected that I swear I saw the picture.
I'm looking forward to having a slightly normal homeschool schedule next week. I think it would do us some good to get back into a routine, even if it has bumps.
I do have some good news! I've finally been successfully keeping other people's schedules out of our lives. We've done a couple of things that we wanted to do, but we haven't been constantly running from here to there. It's a good thing, too. It's helped with Sami, and Sami's OCD has forced me to learn to tell people no just to help us have peace in our lives. God shows us the way, doesn't he?
She was able to sit some today, but only on two chairs, my bed, and the kitchen chair if it was covered in a clean towel (the first two, she was convinced, had touched Lysol from the kitchen table. Never mind that I didn't use Lysol). She's been able to sooth herself and she is learning to wait out the episodes. This is critical because it is a key factor in battling OCD. Showers calm her down a lot, so I quit complaining at the length of her showers and I will just pay the increased water bills with a smile.
Interestingly enough, I've been reading many OCD articles that also include Tourette's Syndrome and tics; OCD and Tourette's/tics are very closely related and many children have both. After learning about tics, I think I've discovered what has been wrong with a couple of other relatives of mine. I'm not a doctor, and maybe the fact that I've been reading so much about it makes me look for it in everyone, but there were so many dots connected that I swear I saw the picture.
I'm looking forward to having a slightly normal homeschool schedule next week. I think it would do us some good to get back into a routine, even if it has bumps.
I do have some good news! I've finally been successfully keeping other people's schedules out of our lives. We've done a couple of things that we wanted to do, but we haven't been constantly running from here to there. It's a good thing, too. It's helped with Sami, and Sami's OCD has forced me to learn to tell people no just to help us have peace in our lives. God shows us the way, doesn't he?
Monday, January 17, 2011
Too Many Interruptions
We barely have extra-curricular activities anymore. We used to be so overscheduled that we would rarely spend a day at home enjoying our lives. I've got it down to School-Age Story Time at the library (geared towards older homeschoolers) and sewing lessons with my sister, and Friday park playdates in the summer. That's three days committed. But we still have too many interruptions on the other four days that we should be spending at home learning in a quiet environment.
The girls are getting really frustrated with having our lives revolving around everyone else and our necessary commitments outside of the house. We still need to go to the doctor, dentist and orthodontist when needed, the store for food, helping out my elderly parents, visiting with friends...and every week there are several things added that are completely unexpected and can't be avoided. Or so I thought.
So why are we so overbooked? I think part of it is because of when those commitments occur. All of these things happen right smack in the middle of the day. 11:00. Because we homeschool, we are given middle-of-the-day appointments that no one else wants. I think that if we change what we can to be first thing in the morning or last thing in the day, then we'll be better off.
I also think that once people find out that you homeschool that you should be available at the last minute. They don't respect your time as much as someone who works a job or has children in school. They think that we should just be ready to babysit at the last minute or take all the appointment times that no one else wants.
A homeschooler's schedule is a double edged sword. We can do what we want when we want, but it also means that we can easily become available whenever anyone else wants. I'm going to start saying NO. We deserve better.
We love visiting with our friends and helping my parents, so we aren't going to give that up. We have to go to the dentist, orthodontist and doctor when needed, so we can't give those up. I will be a lot pickier about what appointment times people try to give so it doesn't screw up our whole day, and I can ask for better days or more advance warning on other matters. Time to lovingly put up some boundaries for our own sake and sanity.
The girls are getting really frustrated with having our lives revolving around everyone else and our necessary commitments outside of the house. We still need to go to the doctor, dentist and orthodontist when needed, the store for food, helping out my elderly parents, visiting with friends...and every week there are several things added that are completely unexpected and can't be avoided. Or so I thought.
So why are we so overbooked? I think part of it is because of when those commitments occur. All of these things happen right smack in the middle of the day. 11:00. Because we homeschool, we are given middle-of-the-day appointments that no one else wants. I think that if we change what we can to be first thing in the morning or last thing in the day, then we'll be better off.
I also think that once people find out that you homeschool that you should be available at the last minute. They don't respect your time as much as someone who works a job or has children in school. They think that we should just be ready to babysit at the last minute or take all the appointment times that no one else wants.
A homeschooler's schedule is a double edged sword. We can do what we want when we want, but it also means that we can easily become available whenever anyone else wants. I'm going to start saying NO. We deserve better.
We love visiting with our friends and helping my parents, so we aren't going to give that up. We have to go to the dentist, orthodontist and doctor when needed, so we can't give those up. I will be a lot pickier about what appointment times people try to give so it doesn't screw up our whole day, and I can ask for better days or more advance warning on other matters. Time to lovingly put up some boundaries for our own sake and sanity.
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