Today I gave Brianna both doses of her Adderall. The only thing I’ve really noticed is she was not hungry during the day until about the time her 2ns dose was probably wearing off. I say “probably” because at this point I am not seeing a difference in her ADHD symptoms. About 45 minutes after her morning dose she & I were sitting down having a conversation and she COULD NOT sit still, kept interrupting & trying to finish my thoughts for me. So, I’ll give it a few more days here at home & a couple of days of her being in school to get a better evaluation, but my thoughts at this point is that the 5 mg dose isn’t going to cut the mustard.

It was also my 2nd day on my increased dose. I didn’t do much that required concentration today, so I can’t make much of an assessment for myself. Basically I only took down the Christmas tree, cleaned the kitchen some, watched a movie with the family, cleaned the play room & the girls’ bedroom & closet.

Tags : add, adderall, adhd, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, Brianna, Sherra

We added another member to the family over the weekend.  Here are some pictures. She’s 7 weeks old. 7/8 Lab & 1/8 Husky.  We finally decided on a name for her yesterday – Jackie.  Partly to tie it in with the fact that we got her on Halloween (Jackie – from Jack-o-lantern) and partly to pay homage to our previous black Lab, Jake.

The girls, of course, adore her.  JR is thrilled to have a dog he can start teaching early (unlike Shiner, who was close to 2 by the time we got him and a little more set in his ways). I’m less than thrilled that I’ve got to deal with puppy behavior for a while, but she’s cute.

She’s not doing well at night.  Saturday night she whined almost all night. We had her in the kitchen with Shiner, but apparently having another dog in there with her didn’t help with her transition much.  She pooped in the floor twice and peed in the floor 5 times that night.  Last night I just simply could NOT stand the whining and knew I wouldn’t get a decent nights’ sleep AT ALL, so I caved and got her out of the kitchen and slept on the couch with her.  She wanted to play some, but mostly she did sleep quietly – thankfully – although most of the time it was on my head.  She also used the potty outside twice last night.  When she got restless I took her outside and she went! YAY, no cleaning up poo or pee in the morning for me!

She’s also doing pretty well at going potty outside during the day.  We’re diligent about taking her out IMMEDIATELY after eating (and by immediately, I mean within about 30 seconds of her last bite), after she wakes up from a nap and after a good session of play.  It seems to be working.  Yesterday I only cleaned up 2 messes.  But, she’s really small and only pees about the amount of half a thimble. She does poo quite a big pile though.  But, since we’ve been taking her out often, she’s only done that in the house twice (other than Saturday night) – she’s pooed outside about 6 or 7 times.

We’re trying to teach Delaney how to properly handle her.  She’s only 5 pounds right now, so she’s small enough for Delaney to pick up (for the next couple of weeks anyway).  She keeps wanting to pick her up by the neck. I think she’s starting to get it though because she did have her under the front legs the last time she picked her up. When I was in the shower this morning I made sure to have them both in the bathroom with me. I really didn’t want to risk having the two of them alone together!  I peeked out the shower door once and Delaney had Jackie by the tail spinning around! Yes, Jackie was up off the ground! Poor puppy! I was mortified. Delaney doesn’t mean to hurt her, I just don’t think she 100% understands that it’s a real dog that feels and not a cute stuffed animal that moves.

Brianna has been pretty good at helping out with her – making sure she goes out when she needs to and keeping her from chewing on the things she shouldn’t.

Shiner is only tolerating her at the moment. He’s not thrilled that he has to share with her. He’s growled at her a couple of times when he’s chewing on a bone or eating.  We nip that behavior immediately when he starts. He’s starting to get the message. He was even “almost” playing with her this morning. He should enjoy her more when she’s bigger and they can actually run and play without her getting hurt. He LOVES playing with the other neighborhood dogs – but then again he doesn’t have to share with them. We shall see. He may only end up tolerating her like he did with Jake. But, Jake was old and couldn’t run and play like Shiner wanted to, so I’m hopeful.

Tags : Brianna, Delaney, house training, Jackie, JR, new puppy, Shiner

Well, after a whirlwind couple of weeks of PTA fundraiser money counting, Fall Festival planning, prep & implementation, Fall Festival money counting, client work, signing new clients I’m finally digging myself out of my hole filled with tasks and am seeing the light! Today & tomorrow I’ve mostly just got some QuickBooks work to do. Whew!

Brianna got her braces fixed and adjusted last week. Literally the evening she got the loose bracket put back on, the tooth was straight! I’ll have to post the before/after pictures on that later. The quick progress on her teeth is completely blowing my mind.  She also got the palate spreader put in at her last appointment. We have to “turn the key” every night before bed, and Delaney see us put the thing in Brianna’s mouth and push it, so, of course, she thinks SHE needs to have her key turned to.  So, we have to put the key in her mouth and pretend to turn it. She thinks she’s being just like her sister. If I “forget” to do hers she starts hollering, “Me too, Mommy! Me too!”

JR took the girls outside earlier this week and Delaney FINALLY figured out how to use the pedals on her bike. She can ride it (training wheels) in the driveway TOWARD the house, but she can’t ride it toward the street yet. There is a very slight slope toward the house, so she’s not having to struggle very hard in that direction.

Oh, and Delaney is doing very well on her potty training. I don’t remember the last time she had a pee accident (it’s been a few weeks), and last weekend when we spend almost the whole day at Brianna’s school for 2 days in a row for Fall Festival stuff she pooped twice, but not in her pants! YAY! She has also pooped in the potty here at home all but once this week. So, I’m seeing huge progress in that department.  The only time I’m “prompting” her to go to the bathroom is when she wakes up, right before bed, and right before we go somewhere. The rest of the time she either just goes or she tells me she has to go so I can take her.

The current plan is to take the family to the State Fair next Wednesday after Brianna gets out of school.  That’s the only day during the fair when we don’t have SOMETHING going on in the evening.  We didn’t go last year and Brianna was devastated. I’ve already bought the tickets on-line. I also go the girls unlimited ride wristbands. I don’t care to ride the rides anymore – too old for that and my neck can’t handle the rougher rides anyway. I go for the artery-clogging-butt-widening food and the exhibits.

Tags : braces, Brianna, Delaney, JR, teeth