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Is the Cork O'Connor series low brow? I am loving William Kent Kreuger right now.
Bossy Pants by Tina Fey and I'll second the recommendation for Born a Crime.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anyone read this recently? I liked the part that took place in the 1800s, but really felt like the modern-day story line fell flat. I felt like most of the interactions were forced to make a point, as opposed to having any real feeling or depth.
Curious to hear what others thought.
This is my overall impression of Brooks as a writer—one-dimensional characters who are just there to advance an agenda. The thing is, I often agree with her agenda. If Horse is anti-racism, I’m all in. But these points could be made so much better by working them around complex characters and plotlines. I found People of the Book almost unreadable, for example. Brooks began as a journalist and she hasn’t learned the novelist’s skill of showing not telling.
Interesting that she started as a journalist. I love the point you made about showing vs. telling. I've had similar issues with other books/authors but never had anyone frame it that way.
DS is in 1st grade and does 1 extracurricular. He's never been particularly interested in organized activities. I think it's just his personality. He's very independent and creative and can entertain himself for hours. He has 1 activity he likes to do and it's once a week.
I suspect DS2 will want to do *all the things* when he's older, but until he starts requesting it, we're just doing 1 activity for him as well.
My friends with older kids who are good at sports spend most of their weekends at sporting events. No reason to rush into that schedule when they're still young, IMO.
I suspect DS2 will want to do *all the things* when he's older, but until he starts requesting it, we're just doing 1 activity for him as well.
My friends with older kids who are good at sports spend most of their weekends at sporting events. No reason to rush into that schedule when they're still young, IMO.
OP are you swaddling?
For newborns, I would follow their lead 100%
In my (limited) experience, both my children scheduled themselves.
They went from cluster feeding from 7 to 10 to suddenly falling asleep for the night at 7 basically overnight at around 3 months. I didn't do anything to make that happen. They were just ready for it.
By 6 months, they were taking 3 fairly regular naps a day.
That said, I did find general routines to be helpful. So things like wake, feed, play, sleep that repeated throughout the day.
In my (limited) experience, both my children scheduled themselves.
They went from cluster feeding from 7 to 10 to suddenly falling asleep for the night at 7 basically overnight at around 3 months. I didn't do anything to make that happen. They were just ready for it.
By 6 months, they were taking 3 fairly regular naps a day.
That said, I did find general routines to be helpful. So things like wake, feed, play, sleep that repeated throughout the day.
Anonymous wrote:Cupcake or slice a piece of cake and then put candle in the piece. Please don’t ever do this again. It is nasty.
This is what we do. I don't think it's a big deal otherwise, but seems like a small adjustment that makes more people comfortable.
Anonymous wrote:This is OP- thought I'd give an update since people seemed interested. Last night was night 3 of 'no interference dinner'. We incorporated a few of the things people suggested, plus a couple other things.
First, we made a clear-set start to dinner by saying a blessing- something which we never did before, but a friend suggested incorporating some kind of ritual to formally start meal time.
Then, we set a 20 minute timer. I use a timer we got from a Lovevery kit, which has a color countdown, so she can see how much time she has.
I am continuing to serve her the same food that we eat, which always includes something she likes.
And, we've eliminated desserts, just to get rid of the whole: you didn't eat enough dinner to have a cookie argument.
Both DH and I have ceased commenting at all on how much she eats.
Day 1 was very stress inducing (internally) for me, because she ate NOTHING. She was giving us side-eye the whole time waiting for us to say something, but otherwise seemed pretty happy about the evening. No arguments at all.
Day 2 she ate a good 1/3 of the food on her plate, which was amazing. No arguments whatsoever.
Day 3 dinner was a little late, and she had a hangry tantrum about the existence of cauliflower. Once she calmed down though, she nibbled at her chicken and couscous, and ended the evening in a great mood.
Overall, I'd say that so far, this is mostly a success. She's happier, I'm happier that she is happier, and I enjoy not being the mean food police. BUT it is still a serious struggle watching her not eat. I've pulled up this thread a few times and reread it for reassurance that she's not starving, and that's been helpful.
Thanks for the update OP. The fact that you've seen progress in 3 days is awesome!
The core issue here is that you personally feel like this particular group has to be supervised, and your neighbor either doesn't feel that way, or is taking advantage of the fact that you do.
Even if the other parent should be taking turns with you, wishing for that won't make it happen.
You should do only what you're willing to do. If you're cold and sick of being outside, then go inside.
I am confused though because if you are going back to work in January, won't you need child care for your kids? I'm assuming you either don't have a partner, or they're not supervising the kids outdoors based on your post.
Even if the other parent should be taking turns with you, wishing for that won't make it happen.
You should do only what you're willing to do. If you're cold and sick of being outside, then go inside.
I am confused though because if you are going back to work in January, won't you need child care for your kids? I'm assuming you either don't have a partner, or they're not supervising the kids outdoors based on your post.
OP my son was very much like this. We'd do Gymboree classes and all the other kids were following the teacher's instruction, and he was off on his own playing on the free equipment. I checked in with the staff and they said not to worry about it at all, but it did bother me that he didn't participate more.
We tried a little soccer class and one point, and same thing. He was running around the field doing whatever when the other kids were participating in the activities. In that case, he was definitely disrupting the flow of the class so I just pulled him out. Not as punishment but just because it was clear that he wasn't ready.
Something clicked with him around 3 and he has had no issues since.
If your DD isn't disrupting the other kids, and her lack of participation doesn't bother the instructors, and you are able to check your expectations, then just let her be.
Otherwise, I'd pull her from the classes and just wait another 6 months or so and try again.
We tried a little soccer class and one point, and same thing. He was running around the field doing whatever when the other kids were participating in the activities. In that case, he was definitely disrupting the flow of the class so I just pulled him out. Not as punishment but just because it was clear that he wasn't ready.
Something clicked with him around 3 and he has had no issues since.
If your DD isn't disrupting the other kids, and her lack of participation doesn't bother the instructors, and you are able to check your expectations, then just let her be.
Otherwise, I'd pull her from the classes and just wait another 6 months or so and try again.
Depends on the season, but right now it's swimming in the morning and whatever comes up in the afternoons.
I'm so sorry OP. You have a lot going on in your life besides your diagnosis. Moving + home construction + 2 toddlers is a lot on its own.
Is the construction throughout your entire house?
If not, I would hire some organizers to come in and get a few rooms of the house completely "ready" so you have a place to go where you don't have to see boxes lying around making you feel like you need to *do* something with them.
Also, be kind to yourself. And yes, ask for help from those around you. Sending hugs OP.
Is the construction throughout your entire house?
If not, I would hire some organizers to come in and get a few rooms of the house completely "ready" so you have a place to go where you don't have to see boxes lying around making you feel like you need to *do* something with them.
Also, be kind to yourself. And yes, ask for help from those around you. Sending hugs OP.
So we have these friends whose daughter had a lot of issues. She was finally diagnosed with ASD but the road to get there was awful and exhausting with lots of eating issues, failure to thrive, struggles to get the right services etc.
They finally just had their 2nd, and their older daughter is 11! But they really did want two kids and they didn't feel ready for a long time.
They finally just had their 2nd, and their older daughter is 11! But they really did want two kids and they didn't feel ready for a long time.
Anonymous wrote:Meal is 'x' minutes long. She eats in that time frame or not. Little to no prompting beyond one or two reminders "It is time for eating."
Your role is to decide what food to offer, plus when and where. Her job is to decide when and if to eat.
Make breakfast nutrition rich if that is your best bet for getting quantity in.
Remove the negativity and stress associated with meal times.
This, and especially the bolded. Just drop the rope.
Have you tried putting your mouth over your preschoolers to form a seal, and then doing a quick hard blow?
That worked for us when this happened, but it was food so maybe easier to dislodge.
That worked for us when this happened, but it was food so maybe easier to dislodge.