What's up!

I get on here dozens of times but just can't seem to find the right thing to post. I do want to update so no one thinks we fell off the face of the earth!

This week is turning out to be a beautiful spring-like week. We have been spending time outside. It's especially nice now that I recovered from a bad cold. It sucks being sick when you have 3 kiddos to take care of and shuttle around town. Thankfully hubby helped out some so I could try to rest.

Life in our house is good, occasionally there are some more difficult days, but isn't that normal? Sometimes we struggle with Claire's angst over being the middle child, we often hear "Nobody loves me" regardless of how often we tell her we love her very much. Sometimes we struggle with Olivia's need for growing independence. It's really hard to see your kid grow up and not need you as much but they need to learn some things on their own.

Lately, I've been reading "The Winter of our Disconnect...", that's right Disconnect and it's prompted me to start our own experiment. I decided the kids would not have any screen time during the school week, Monday through Thursday. This means no TV, no computer and no video games. I try not to watch TV till the kids are in bed. I have to say, it's been really nice, somehow the kids find something to do among our gazillion toys, games, art supplies, etc. They play together well and use their imagination. It even prompted the girls to become more interested in knitting (for a short time).

I can't leave out an update for Nicholas. He is doing well, some days really great and some days are more challenging. We've been seeing the dermatologist and the allergist quite a bit. He has been on a gluten free diet since the past summer due to some digestive issues, it seems he might have a gluten intolerance. We found out he is mildly allergic to many things so we had to put him on daily allergy medication and additional Benadryl when needed. He also has sensitive skin, has had eczema on his hands and his scalp. Since he has been home, we have been fighting with some warts on his hands. He had one on his palm but after continuing to put his hands in his mouth, they spread some on his hands and his face.

He recently finished his social skills class through the local child guidance clinic. He was diagnosed with ADHD so now we are working to get an IEP through the school hopefully. He is eager to learn but I can see he often has a difficult time focusing and staying on task and he is constantly on the move. We also saw an OT and it seems he could have SPD as well, that is sensory processing disorder. I'm currently reading 'The Out of Sync Child' to get some tips. I think he will do well with right kind of assistance.

Nicholas recently lost 2 teeth around the same time as Claire. He just learned to ride a 2-wheel bike and quickly caught on. He has also been able to build with Lego's really well. He can build a small set with just some prompting and some reminders to follow the instructions. It's amazing to remember how just a year and a half ago he could barely draw a scribble!