It’s been a busy month here in our household. I was trying to squeeze in all my usual monthly client work into about 2 1/2 weeks so I could take these last 2 weeks of the month off (mostly). Then, of course, there are the other normal regular life things going on – PTA, Brianna’s holiday functions at school, getting ready for Christmas and dealing with a sinus infection slowing me down for about a week.

I haven’t been taking my Adderall as consistently as I should. If I know I’m not going to be working, I often won’t take it, or I’ll only take it in the morning and not take my afternoon dose.  I also need to start journaling my symptoms better, even on the days I don’t take it, so I can get a better view of what the meds seem to be helping and what I need to be working on.

Like I said in a previous post, I am noticing a difference in my mental focus when I take it, as well as my fidgeting and my desire to do things “in a hurry”. I also had lunch and spent the afternoon with a friend today and helped her with a few things at her office. Partway through our time together I could feel my meds wearing off, but wanted to wait a little while until I took my 2nd dose of the day. I could feel myself getting a little more fidgety and noticed I was talking faster. When we sat down to lunch I took my meds and about 10 minutes later I started feeling “normal” again. I found myself speaking slower without having to think about it and not feeling the need to tear the straw wrapper into hundreds of little pieces (one of my fidgety habits). Something that totally took me by surprise was when my friend told me she was amazed to see how quickly it “changed” me. She said one thing she noticed right away after it “kicked in” was I finished sentences instead of jumping to another thought in the middle of the sentence. I didn’t even realize I did that!

So, after much thought and consideration I decided to get Brianna evaluated also since she is almost a mirror image of myself when I was her age. I do not want her to have to struggle with focus and studying like I did in school. Although I was on the honor roll, studying was almost painful for me. I scheduled a meeting with her teacher and we discussed a few things before I made her appointment.

Brianna was in rare form the day we went to the doctor (which was combined with my monthly check in). The child did not sit still the entire time we were in with the doctor. She was constantly walking around the room putting her hands on pretty much everything. I tried, in vain, to tell her to sit still, stay in one place, stop touching everything, etc. The doc said based on what I had told him about her at home and at school and “just being in the same room with her” (yep, his words), it was one of the easiest AD/HD diagnoses he’s had in a long time. So, we’re starting her on a light dose of Adderall twice a day. I’ll have to get all the paperwork done for her school so they can give her 2nd dose to her at school.

We’ve had a pretty good Christmas here in the household. We got a Wii! It’s GREAT! We’re having a great time playing games with each other. Even Delaney is able to play some of the games. JR’s enjoying it more that I thought he would. I’m much more SORE than I thought I’d be! That darn thing works muscles you forgot you had with some of those games…especially the ones you use the balance board for. I did all the yoga poses the other night just to try them all out…I could definitely feel it the next day!

Jackie and Shiner are doing great. They’re pretty much inseparable now. Shiner actually enjoys being around her. Jackie’s getting so big…she’s up to 30 pounds now. When the two of them get to running around the living room chasing each other it’s like a herd of buffaloes running through the house. Jackie’s gotten “sit” down pat and she’s pretty good at “stay”, so we’ve moved on to trying to teach her “down”.

Tags : add, adderall, adhd, adult add, adult adhd, attention deficit disorder, Brianna, Christmas, Delaney, Jackie, JR, Shiner, Wii

Tags : Delaney

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

My birthday has been pretty good. When you’re 36, quiet = good. JR made a quick run back home this morning to bring me breakfast. When he leaned over to kiss me (I was still sleeping), his iPhone fell out of his shirt pocket and knocked me in the head. Those things are pretty good weapons when they come at you from a far enough distance and the corner of it hits your forehead. I spent most of the morning putzing around reading birthday wishes on Facebook & Twitter. This afternoon I picked up money for the fall festival “mummy wrapping” then had a PTA committee meeting after. Ran a deposit to the bank (for the PTA) got home then checked my email. When we got home Brianna gave me the card she made me this weekend and I put it on the fridge. Shortly after that JR got home from work and we headed out to Chili’s for dinner.

Our “local” Chili’s is normally excellent – great service & food. Tonight was definitely the exception to that. The server was nice enough, but she had to be reminded to bring out drinks (about 10 minutes after we ordered them) and it took a long time to get our appetizer. When they brought our food they got both my order and JR’s orders wrong. Mine was easy to fix, JR had to wait extra time for his meal. Drink refills were VERY slow (we were only drinking water, so it’s not like they had to be mixed or anything). The floor manager ended up coming to check on us and we were quite honest and told them what was going on. They offered to give us a free dessert, but since I was getting a free dessert anyway (my birthday dessert), they offered to remove the cost of JR’s meal also. When the check finally came they had indeed deducted my birthday dessert and JR’s meal, however they charged us for 2 drinks – we were only drinking water. So, they had to go fix that also. If that had been our first visit (or one of the first) to that particular Chili’s we probably would not be inclined to go back. However, since it normally is excellent I can’t imagine we wouldn’t go again…especially since we love the molten lava cake and I ALWAYS get the country fried chicken crispers w/ black pepper gravy – YUM.

The girls are now in bed – Delaney fell asleep on the couch waiting for Brianna to get out of the shower. I think I’m about to head to bed myself. I keep catching myself yawning while I type this!

Tags : birthday, Brianna, Delaney, JR

It’s been a few weeks since I updated the blog, so I have a lot of stuff to talk about.

Delaney said her first “I love you” a couple of weeks ago. She didn’t say it to me or to JR, she said it to Brianna. No big surprise since she loves her sissy so much. Brianna missed the bus one morning, so we had to take her to school. As she was getting out of the truck, I said “Be good today. I love you.” So, Delaney said, “Love you.” She said it a couple of days later to. She has only ever said it to Brianna…not me or JR yet.

She’s also doing pretty well at potty training. Most days she stays dry all day. The past two nights she’s had an accident, but prior to that she was dry for a couple of weeks. She’s even gone #2 by herself a time or two. She’s only had two pee accidents during the day in the past few weeks.

Brianna’s been back to school for 2 weeks. Her classroom job is “book critic”. She has to do a book review every week. Every kid in the class has a job and they get paid for it in class cash. They also get class cash for bringing back their reading log signed and homework, etc. They get to go shopping once a week in the class store with their class cash, but only if their “check register” is balanced. They get to change jobs every 9 week period. She put her application in for computer technician also. She’s hoping to get that one next. She’s also got her eye on the librarian job.

Soccer practice started this past week. So, I get to schlep her back and forth to Camden 1-2 times per week for the next few months.

JR’s due back from Ohio tomorrow. He’s been up there this week. His dad got out of the hospital this week after his heart valve replacement surgery several weeks ago.

I’ve been keeping super busy with client work and PTA stuff. With the new school year, switching from a PTO to a PTA, Fall Festival Committee and the fall fundraiser, I’ve got my hands full!

I spent all afternoon today cleaning the shower and stripping out old caulk. I even took the doors off and took them outside to use the high pressure hose to get down into the nooks and crannies of everything. I’m not looking forward to doing that again anytime soon.

Tags : Brianna, cleaning, Delaney, JR, potty training, school, toilet training

Today was the first day of 3rd grade for Brianna.  I was rousted awake this morning at 5:40 by doors opening in the hall. I figured it was Delaney waking herself up to go potty or something. I walked out into the hall to find two bright eyed and bushy tailed children, fully dressed and ready to go…including shoes! At least we weren’t rushing around. Tomorrow morning will be a totally different story though.

Tags : 3rd grade, Brianna, Delaney, school

I took the girls to the “festivities” at the Historic Camden Revolutionary War site for the Battle of Camden Remembrance Day (actual battle was August 16, 1780). Brianna didn’t want to go at first – “Why can’t I stay home with Daddy?!” But, once we got there, she had a great time looking at all the houses and buildings of the period and playing some games the kids “back then” played. I had to drag her away when it was time to go. Fortunately, she will get to go back for a school field trip in a few months. Plus, I told her we could go back and walk the nature trail another time. She wanted to do that earlier, but by the time the reenactment was over, it was just too hot and muggy for my taste.

Tags : Brianna, Delaney, Historic Camden

After WAY too long of doing NOTHING, I’m trying to get back in some sort or “working out” groove. I’ve been taking the dog for a walk (about a mile and a half) 5 out of the last 6 nights. The girls have gone with me all but last night. Brianna rides her bike and Delaney sits in her stroller. Sometimes one of the neighbors and her little girl walk with us. Delaney really loves that because she’s got someone close to her age sitting in a stroller right next to her she can “talk” to and pass toys back and forth.

Brianna has been getting a lot more reading done this past week – but only because she lost her DS. Literally lost it. She took it to the library – after I specifically told her NOT to – and it apparently fell out of the truck in the parking lot and, of course, whoever found it probably kept it.

Anyway, she’s about halfway through the 3rd Harry Potter book. She read the first one last month and the 2nd one last week. She’s really enjoying them.

Tags : Brianna, Delaney, exercise

Here are two videos of the girls singing Happy Birthday to my dad.

Tags : Brianna, Delaney