The Kids (and I) are Alright!

Geez. After my last post, I probably left my readers a bit concerned! I'm still here. Just busy and trying to focus on the positive.

We took younger son, James off the stimulants as well. He had lost 9 pounds in a mere 3 months! So we put him on the Intuniv too. He really did well with it, just the starting dose of 1 mg worked great for him at school, so that's where we kept the dose. School is saying he's still doing really well. Only slight issue is that he's tired in the afternoon, but his teacher is really great about it and just kinda meets him where he's at.

At home, we're continuing to have a real problem with the whining and crying over every little frustration and disappointment. The fact that he does not do it at school tells me he must have control over this, so we're working really hard at it; Ignoring him (the old "I can't hear you when you're talking like that") and reminding him that he's working on using his words. Honestly, I'm not seeing any results with that. It's frustrating and frankly, annoying.

I think it's really difficult for him in that he really struggles at school. Academically, he is average, but fine motor skills are such a challenge for him that I believe it takes a lot out of him to complete all the schoolwork and then come home and do homework. He's just done. They do so many work sheets at that school. It's ridiculous.

I am trying to get both boys into a new charter school in the next town over. They have a "whole child" approach and much more hands-on learning. I believe that would help both Blake and James. I don't think most schools are teaching kids the way they learn best. Children should develop a love of learning, so that they'll want to be life-long learners. They should have a personal investment in their learning.

In today's society, with all of our technological developments, kids no longer need to be "filled up with facts". They need to learn how to learn. How to think critically. How to question, investigate, test theories, collaborate and connect to their world.

I am very excited about this school and am hoping with all my heart that both boys can attend next year. The even better news is that it goes all the way up to the 8th grade!

Blake is doing pretty good. He's gained about 8 pounds and looks truly healthy. He's still oppositional much of the time, but the frequency and intensity of his violent tantrums have decreased probably about 75%. I'll definitely take that.

So, we're hanging in there. I'm still slightly in "catch my breath" mode, but I'm content. My kids are alright for right now. My marriage is good. I'm getting healthy again by exercising and eating right and I have hope for the future.

Life is OK and I'm good with OK!