PinkDramaMama

Sevina's 4 Year Photos

Jamie — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:55:00 GMT

Chera does it again!! (http://www.chera25.com/)

Sevina had her 4 year photos done this weekend. There is actually a funny story that I can laugh about ... now.

I had her in a cute outfit to start off the photos in. This was her "dry" outfit that she was going to wear after the photo shoot (As we intended her to get wet in her second outfit).

The photographer was running a little late because of a sick child and Sevi wanted to get in the water SO bad. She was being so good, listening to us. Just putting her feet in and trying to keep her outfit dry. Then in a blink of an eye, she reached down to get her hands went and reached a little too far. Heard a splash and looked up just in time to see her jumping up soaking wet saying "I'm ok!" Luckily she kept her head out of the water so her hair was dry. Haha

So that outfit did not get used, but we still got some amazing shots of her. Dinner afterwards was a little tricky since her dry outfit was now soaked, but we figured it out.

Enjoy!
http://chera25.com/galleries/71209Jamie/

Here are a few of my favorites.

Another "Day in the Life"

Jamie — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:06:00 GMT

Here is a Day in the Life of the H3 and their cousin.

Sleeping Beauties...

Julia got up super early and came and crawled in bed with me.

We had a fun day planned to go to Hawaiian Falls, a water slide park. Julia was up and dressed looking for her water shoes.

Then Sevi asked me to take her photo.

Ah, look who is awake!

Keira was going to go spend the night at my Aunt and Uncle-in-laws. She came to me like this and said she was ready to go.

My VERY tall nephew getting the ice chest ready to go.

And we're off.

Quick stop at the donut/doughnut shop for breakfast.

And it was downhill from there. Julia threw up and became very ill. So we had to cancel all our plans and focus on her. Poor babe. So back to the house we went. Keira quickly got naked (we are working on potty training), but found this lovely hat to wear.

And poor Juls laying down with the "Barf Bucket" next to her.

The other kids all headed upstairs. Scott went to his room to chat with his girlfriend back home...on the computer AND on his phone. Such a teenager.

He only stayed in there for a few before the girls were begging him to come play. They love their cousin.

Julia started to feel better during the afternoon. Keira came to help keep her company

Scott got to lift a little extra weight while working out.

Keira's naptime. Night night.

Sevina keeping Juls company.

Keira is up now and ready to play.

Sevi begs Scott to do this to her. She loves it.

A little smile out of Julia.

Time to make dinner.

While I was cooking, this is what I came out to find. Luckily, Julia had not actually thrown up in it yet.

And dinner is ready. Yummy Baked Ziti.

Right before dinner, Julia took a turn for the worse. She got very very sick. So she stayed on the couch while we ate. After we were done, Keira was so concerned for her and went to snuggle...at a safe distance.

Keira trying to be a big girl with her sister's sweatshirt on and my backpack.

Time to chill out and watch "Night at the Museum". The girls decided to cuddle with Scott.

Julia finally fell asleep.

Sevi giving her some love before heading to bed.

Time to get ready for bed. Starting with brushing their teeth.

And Keira showing off how she can use the big girl potty now.

Showing off her Bat Signal.

Night Night Keira

Night Night Sevi.

Night Night Julia and Scott (And Elyce on the phone texting with Scott )

This ended up being a very "real" day in our life. Poor Juls.

Red Nose Run 5K

Jamie — Sat, 23 May 2009 21:08:00 GMT

Julia and I walked our very first 5K today. I am so proud of her. She ended up running about half of it to keep up with me as I was trying to do a faster pace then her legs could handle. She got up early with me and only complained once during the whole event. We will be doing more of these for sure.

She had never used a port-a-potty before and thought it was really cool. Oh to be young and niave.

This was a really great 5K to start off with. very kid oriented. We got a free circus ticket for each of us as well.

Right before we hit the 2 mile marker, Julia started complaining she was tired and couldn't go much further. Then they had a water station, she got her drink and she didn't complain again and didn't slow down till the end.

Her running ahead of us.

She was out 5 minutes after we got in the car. So proud of her.

Happy Birthday Keira

Jamie — Fri, 22 May 2009 21:30:00 GMT

Today my Baby Girl turned 2. I can not believe it. She is growing up way too fast. All of them are.

Sevi and I decided today would be a good day to kick off the swimming season. Keira seemed to agree. Even though it was raining (no lightning) we still headed out.

She sat on the edge of the pool and then proceeded to jump in. Ack! Luckily I was right next to her. Guess she needs a refresher course on swimming pools for the season.

Just a cool shot I took of Keira's little swim board. I am under water looking up at it. You can see the clouds in the sky above it.

And because none of the other girls were willing to go under for me, I had to do a self portrait.

All done!

Chera Sneak Peek

Jamie — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:21:00 GMT

Chera does it again! Here is a sneak peek at Julia's 6 year photos and Keira's 2 year photos. Keira and her BFF, Emerson are both turning 2 next month and will be celebrating their birthday together. So we had matching outfits made and then we invited E to come take some photos with K.

Silly Sisters

Julia is having a bowling party, so we got her this adorable outfit for her party.

Say Cheese!

BFFs

Chera couldn't help but get a shot of this adorable little girl, Finley, Emerson's little sister.

And my favorite shot. The one that was not even planned. Sevi was not there to have photos taken. She was just there to play with Cayden while we got shots of all the birthday girls. But Chera has a special spot in her heart for Sevi because she has a daughter very similar to Sevi. Chera has been a HUGE help in teaching me about sensory stuff. Anyway, she went to take a photo of Sevi but Sevi was not in the mood. So she grabbed my leg and this photo was taken. I am so in love with this shot.

What is SPD?

Jamie — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:12:00 GMT

A lot of people have been asking me what SPD is. And honestly, I can't even explain it yet. I know what my child does, but I have not learned why she does it, yet. OT will teach me and her all of this. We will learn how to work with what she does and get her to be able to control it better. I will learn how to handle her issues better and to assist with them instead of trying to make her stop what she is doing.

We all have sensory issues to some point. Some just have more significant issues then most and need help dealing with those issues. From what I have gathered, Sevi has an impulse issue and a feeling issue. The feeling issue is where the climbing and jumping come into play. Something about needing to feel the jolt through her body, etc. She has to touch everything, put everything in her mouth, and so on. And then she has something that I am not sure what it is yet, but about needing to make messes. Needing to throw everything around her. Again, to feel everything (ie, diaper cream, toothpaste, all those things she has emptied throughout the house). And the impulse issue brings us back to the coloring on the walls, emptying the diaper cream, toothpaste, etc. She can not control her impulses. Her need to wear layers, tight fitting clothes, all falls somewhere in here as well. There is something else, but it is escaping me at the moment. I will remember it later and post. I am sure I will be posting a lot about all of this as I learn.

Anyway, here are some websites with more info.

http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/

http://www.spdfoundation.net/

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1689216,00.html

And the books I need to read.

The Out-Of-Sync Child

The Sensory Processing Disorder Answer Book

The Sensory Sensitive Child

I'm Angry

Jamie — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:41:00 GMT

I am angry today. Someone told me I would go through a roller coaster of emotions and they were right. Today...Anger.

I am angry at all the people who blamed me for her behavior. Who chastised me and the way I raised her.

I am angry at all the people who told me she was a bad kid. Who tried to tell me she had bad behaviors.

I am angry at all the people who wanted me to change her. To make her more "normal" (I hate that word. I prefer "Typical").

I am angry that I have to treat her differently now. She is special and wonderful, but so are her sisters. But now I have to treat her differently because she has these issues. I can not treat her like I do her sisters because it just doesn't work that way.

I am angry that her sisters might think she is getting special attention.

I am angry that others might treat her differently because if her issues.

I am angry that life and learning is going to be harder for her. She is going to be expected to learn just like all the other kids, but it is going to be a harder road or her to get to the same place as everyone else.

I am angry that we will have to go to OT twice a week.

I am angry that I am so angry and upset.

I am thankful and very blessed for all of those who have stood beside us and supported us along this journey. You all melt my anger away.

Sensory Processing Disorder

Jamie — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:53:00 GMT

Ever since Sevi was about a year old we knew there was something different about her. At first we just thought her motor skills were off the charts and she was just a strong girl with all the climbing. Then we just figured she was a genius with all the things she liked to open and take apart that were baby proofed. But as she got older, we realized there was something more. Our Ped started to agree that it was time to get her tested to see if there was something specifically unique about her. So about her 3rd birthday we really started to take notes, ask questions and then around 3 1/2 we started with the Behavioral Psychiatrist(Thinking Doctor). Started going every Friday but then quickly moved to every other Friday as Sevi was responding wonderfully. However, the thinking doctor felt there needed to be some more testing to make sure we were treating her properly. So she arranged some sensory and impulse testing for her. Several people had mentioned sensory issues to me, but I honestly had no idea what that all meant. But off we went.

Friday was a very busy day for us. Sevina had her regular therapy appointment with the "Thinking Doctor". She has done so exceptionally well that we plan to have her last appointment with her in two weeks. We are very happy with the outcome from her "Thinking Doctor".

After that appt. Sevina had her sensory testing. I was a little nervous but excited to possibly have some answers one way or the other. The therapist immediately knew what was going on. I loved that I didn't tell her anything till AFTER she spent an hour with her and already had her own thoughts on what was going on. Then we talked and she read my answers to their questions and it just solidified her thoughts.

So, we now have an official diagnosis for Sevina. She had SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder).

This is the newest term for, and is used synonymously with, Sensory Integration Disorder or Sensory Integration Dysfunction.

I'm still not sure how I feel about this or what I think. I have a lot to learn. The therapist has already assigned me homework, three books to read. Sevi will now have two OT (Occupational Therapy) appts. a week to go to. I am slowly taking it all in.

I am a huge ball of emotions right now. I am not overly surprised by the diagnosis as I had been leaning to this thought for awhile, but to actually have it in my hands is totally different. I am happy to know it is nothing to do with my parenting, but I am sad to know that she is officially "different".

I just have a lot to learn. It's going to be a tough road, but very worth it. We already started with the "Thinking Doctor" which was hard, but look at the results we have already gotten. So I can only imagine how OT is going to help. Her appts. with her "Feeling Doctor" should make things so different or her, for all of us.

So thanks to all of you who have listened to me over the years trying to figure out what is going on with her. To all of you who have answered my hundreds of questions and listened to all the crazy things this child has done without judgement. And a HUGE thank you to Julia and Chera for all of their insightful thoughts, positive posts about their own kids and patience with me. You both are amazing mothers!

I am afraid of losing "her" in all of this therapy. I have come to love her just the way she is, quirks and all. Yes, I understand all of this will make her life easier to be able to function properly with these issues and yes, the whole family will be able to function as a whole together. But will I lose "her". Will it change who she is. Because she is the most amazing little girl. Her spirit is so unique and wonderful, I don't want that to change.

Julia has helped me to see things differently and to accept things better.

"Try to see it less as "fixing" and more as "assisting". Less as a disability and more as a learning difference."

Hopefully I will remember this and we won't lose who Sevina is. We will just be assisting her to become and even more amazing child and help her to be able to figure out how she needs to learn to do things.

A Prayer for a Friend

Jamie — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:54:00 GMT

My neighbor/friend just came over to ask us for some help.

Her 4 year old daughter has just been diagnosed with a brain tumor. It is too close to the ocular tubes or something and in a spot on the brain that they just can't operate. So she starts 15 months of Chemotherapy and tomorrow she starts getting hormone shots every 20 days. This tumor has affected her hormones and made her grow much bigger then she should be and that is how they found it. So the shots will try and help slow that down. She will have to have s hunt put in her chest to get the shot every 20 days. Then the chemo for 15 months.

This is all a 50% chance of working just to shrink the tumor. No idea what happens after that since they can not operate to remove it 100%.

Anyway, we will be helping them out any way we can since her husband works in San Antonio and is gone all week.

If you could please say a prayer for them, I know they would appreciate it. She has 4 other children. This is her "baby".

A little irony...When she was explaining all of this to me she seemed like she had done years of research on this. I was amazed at her knowledge. Then she told me that she went to school to be a doctor in her country. She just never did the testing and such she needed to do to have her credentials transferred here. She is such an amazing and strong woman.

Julia's New Favorite Dress

Jamie — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:56:00 GMT

Julia has a new favorite dress. And on the way to school today, she said "Mom, I don't want to put any dress up on when I get home from school because I don't ever want to take this dress off." So I would say it is a HIT!!!

Thanks to the lovely and talented Nicole for making it for us. Julia picked out the fabrics herself, which makes it even more special to her.

And with her favorite shoes that she wears ALL the time.

Is the Easter Bunny real?

Jamie — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Steve and I have always said that when they came to us with a direct question, we would answer them honestly. However, I never expected to come at 6. Well, technically, she is still 5 for another month.

Anyway, today at lunch Sevi was talking about the Easter Bunny and baskets, etc. Julia turned to me and asked "Mommy, isn't the Easter Bunny really just a person in a costume?"

Steve and I both had to pick up our mouths off the floor to answer.

I explained, that yes, the ones at the mall and such were just that. She said she knew that, but wasn't the one who brought the baskets really just a person.

Sevi was sitting right next to her, so I told her we would discuss it later, just the two of us.

Now, do I bring it up with her and tell her, or do I leave it alone and wait for her to bring it up again.

Steven's only reaction to this was "So reindeer pulling a sleigh is more believable then an Easter Bunny?"

DFW Area Moms was on TV

Jamie — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:03:00 GMT

My Mom's Board that I run was on TV tonight. (www.DfwAreaMoms.com)

Steve was watching the news when he yelled for me to turn to 509. Right as it tuned in I saw my avatar and my siggy on the TV. (And I have to giggle because it is me breastfeeding Sevi ) Anyway, they were doing a story on ways to go green in Dallas and local sites that could help you and they found DAM!

DAM Goes Green

And I had to chuckle because the picture in my avatar on the thread they showed is a picture of me breastfeeding Sevina. Woohoo!!

Kids say the darndest things

Jamie — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:07:00 GMT

We have been having a bit of an issue with Sevina's shoes just randomly falling off places. Mostly in the car, which is not a big deal, but also at restaurants and grocery stores, etc. In her defense, it is usually her slip on shoes, so sometimes, they really do just slip off. However, today we were in the car when her shoes slipped off again...

Sevina - Mommy, my shoe slipped off.
Mommy - Hmm, that's interesting Sevina. How did your shoe just slip off.
Sevina - It was Magic.
Mommy - Really, Magic?
Sevina - Yep, Magic Mommy.
Mommy - That's some good Magic Sevi since you are wearing shoes with straps today. Those straps keep the shoes from just slipping off.
Sevina - Ok Mommy, I will tell the truth. Jesus kicked them off.

Now if that wasn't funny enough...15 minutes later.

Sevina - Mommy, I can't get my other shoe off.
Mommy - Why not? Can't Jesus just kick that one off too?
Sevina - No Mommy, he is too tired now.

A Day In My Girls' Lives

Jamie — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 03:13:00 GMT

Sleeping Beauties...

Mooooooooorrrrnnnnniiinnngggg

Watching TV. They made a nice mess while Mommy was checking e-mail.

Clean up! Told them they had to clean up while I made breakfast.

Breakfast time! Bagels with Strawberry Cream Cheese and some with Peanut Butter and a side of bananas.

Every time I aim the camera at her she goes "Cheeese!"

Pretty good job on the clean up!

Julia got ahold of the camera...Keira playing on the Magna Doodle (courtesy of Juls)

Sevi (Courtesy of Juls)

Miss Juls is all dressed.

Keira is all dressed and throwing her diaper away.

Julia took a lovely shot of me.

Keira felt my hand needed some cleaning.

Time to tame this wild hair.

Sevi wanted a bow today.

Off to CVS. Out of Allergy Medicine.

Off to the "Thinking Doctor". Sevi loves going and gets very excited. She also loves the revolving doors.

The elevator ride up. Since it is Spring break and all of the girls are home, our "Thinking Doctor" thought it would be a good time to see how all three interact together. So I brought all three in today.

In we go.

Straight to the "Where's Waldo" book. She reads this thing every time we go in.

Rachel!!!!!!!!

This is Julia and Keira's first time here. They both jumped right into the playdoh. This is funny, because if you know me, you know I don't have any playdoh in my house. And this just reminded me why.

Talking to Miss Rachel about climbing.

Daddy playing with Keira. I need to brag on my husband for a minute. He has made EVERY appt. This is a big deal with his schedule. I have never seen him so committed. I am very impressed by him with this.

The girls were cracking me up. They were pushing in opposite directions.

Checking out the fountains at the office building.

Keira and Daddy.

Sweet Sevi

Always hard to say Bye to Daddy.

Sisters

Lunch time. Ham and/or Salami Sandwiches and Cheetohs.

A little drum playing.

Night Night Keira. Nap time.

Time for a little finger painting for the older two.

Julia is SO my child. She was dainty at first with just one finger.

Sevi dived right in.

Julia thought she might be able to get a little more dirty.

A little dancing

Look who's awake.

Someone texted me so I jokingly told Keira to go get my phone. She came back with two. Well, after she dropped one. Luckily, it was the cheaper one.

Julia got the camera while I was "wrestling" with the other two.

I left to go cook dinner and this is what I found on my camera.

Keira didn't want to wait much longer for food. She climbed up in here chair and pouted.

Dinner Time!!

Sevina being...well...Sevina.

Julia is so proud of herself. She has learned how to whistle.

Some more dancing while Mommy gets the movie ready.

And down they go!

Movie Time

Keira came and snuggled with me for a least 20 minutes. I swore she had fallen asleep.

Time for bed.

Daddy was having technical difficulties.

Good Night Sweet Keira!

Time to brush teeth

Her shirt says it all...

More technical difficulties.

Night Sweet Sevi!

Night Sweet Julia!

Went South for Spring Break

Jamie — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:36:00 GMT

We headed South for two days to visit with my SIL and her husband and their brand new baby boy, Reid. He turned 3 months old while we were there. He is so cute and cuddly. I just wanted to squeeze him. I even got to feed and rock him to sleep. Julia has been talking about Reid for months now. She couldn't wait for him to be born and then she couldn't wait to meet him. But sadly, I think it was very anticlimactic for her. She really didn't want anything to do with him once we got there. I think she forgot that babies don't do much.

Sevina on the other hand was all over the poor kid. She kept wanting to hold and touch him. She was so sweet. She is such a Mother Hen.

Keira could take or leave him. She thought he was cute and all, but she wanted the attention back on her. LOL Luckily, she is so stinkin cute that it is easy to pay attention to her.

So we started our trip in Wimberly, TX with my SIL, Mary, her husband, Aaron and baby Reid.

This is in their amazing backyard or should I say, back acres. Julia has an obsession with Cactus Plants. So I got a shot of her with one.

Then off to the hotel in San Marcos we went. It amazes me how exciting a hotel room can be to kids. They could not wait to get there and they didn't want to leave. But they did really well all three sleeping in the same room.

Next day it was off to Austin to see Gamma Vera. This is Steve's Grandmother, the girls' Great Grandmother. She is in her mid 90's and is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. She really is. She has one of the warmest hearts a person could ever have. She took me in immediately and has treated me as one of her own since they day we met. Which, ironically, was on Mother's Day. I met my MIL and my GMIL for the first time on Mother's Day. But I digress. Vera is one of the strongest, smartest, most caring and giving woman I have met. I could brag on her forever. She has accomplished so much in her life. Things I can only dream of. She had a husband who traveled a lot and still managed to stay sane while raising her 4 kids. Who, by the way, are the most unique yet normal people, if that is even possible. Let me see if I get this right. I think Karen (my MIL) is the oldest, then Roland (oh please let it be Roland, otherwise he might disown me, LOL), then Mike and Barbee is the baby in the family. These are four very accomplished, very bright, very loving people. They all have kids of their own and you can tell that this is a very loved group of people. And it all started with Vera. I am very blessed in the In-law department.

And Keira just being silly with my glasses.

Overwhelmed

Jamie — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:15:00 GMT

Sevina had her second appt. with the therapist and I am a bit overwhelmed. She wants to have Sevi tested for her Impulse and Sensory Motor Issues. Something like that. So I called the place and they were very nice and explained so much to me. It really sounds like this is what Sevi may in fact have, but to get her tested, it will cost $750. And while she is worth every penny, we have already been paying a lot of money for this therapy stuff. None of this is officially covered under insurance, but we can submit a request for reimbursement but we don't know if they will approve it or not. It's frustrating because I feel like we might be very close to some hard answers but we just can't quiet reach them.

And then if we get her tested and they agree she has sensory issues and needs that kind of therapy, then it is $140 for each hour of therapy which she will need either 2-3 times a week. Ouch.

On a good note, we had a very good week which I need to write about when I have more time. But we had fun and she listened more and I had more patience with her. I hope to see this continue.

Getting My Groove Back

Jamie — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:32:00 GMT

I think I am finally getting my groove back. At least I am trying really hard. 3 kids does a lot to your body physically and it does a lot to your mind emotionally. I have not taken care of myself in a long time. I rarely do my make-up, dress nice or even do anything to my hair. But that is all changing.

Back up a little bit. I had my third child almost 2 years ago. I gained a ton of weight with her (as I did with all of my pregnancies). Heck, the girl weighed over 10 pounds. After she was born, I was losing the weight just like I had with the other girls. And about 4 months Post Partum I was started to see a difference. This was about September 2007. About this same time I was diagnosed with PPD. I started taking some meds to help with this and started feeling better. However, the meds had a horrible side effect. They made me SO hungry. So, I had baby weight to lose, I was still nursing, and now I was on anti-depressants. All of this was working against me. So I focused on getting the PPD under control and stopped trying to lose weight. Then I got the PPD under control and got off the meds but just got busy with life. Then the PPD started sneaking back up on me. All a vicious cycle.

Well thanks to some friends who have believed in me and been patient with me, I am finally on the right track. I have been working out everyday (even if just a tiny bit). My food portions have decreased significantly. They had gotten out of control when I was on the PPD meds. I am looking at calories and how much I consume. Not necessarily counting them, but being much more aware of how many calories are in everything. I have given up Starbuck's.

And I have to admit, this past weekend I went out of town with some girlfriends. We stayed in a hotel. Well I currently am Wedding Ringless because I had to have it cut off (see previous post). I got hit on/checked out twice and that was most definitely a motivator to keep going. LOL

All of this to say, I have lost 10.5 pounds and have dropped to pants sizes. I am feeling so much better about myself. Most of my life I have been skinny or just right. So this has been a hard journey for me, but I am losing it and getting back down to a healthy weight.

A lot of things have happened the past two weeks that have been real motivators to make me keep pushing. And the past week I have just started feeling so much better about my outward appearance. I am more confident and I am putting more effort in the way I look. All of that is making me feel better inside as well.

So baby, Mama is getting her groove back and it feels great. So now I am ready to post my weight loss blog. I have been ashamed to post this. It has a lot of personal info about my weight, but by sharing it, I think that will be an even better motivator for me to keep going. So here it is, my weight loss blog that I am doing with my girlfriend, Angie.

Losin' Ladies

Hopefully I will have more and more positive info to post about my goals to a healthier, more fit me.

Shaving Cream Sevina

Jamie — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:06:00 GMT

So in an effort to let Sevi have some "controlled chaos", I gave her a can of shaving cream and let her go to town in the shower.

The Thinking Doctor

Jamie — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:58:00 GMT

Sevi has her first appt. with a Behavioral Psychologist today and I LOVED her. She is exactly what we are looking for and was great with Sevi. Sevi calls her the "Thinking Doctor".

Steve and I went in knowing we did not want any labels put on Sevi nor did we want any mention of meds right off bat.

She did neither.

Half way through, she had already mentioned two new ideas for us to try with Sevi and THAT is what we were wanting. She is perfect. She sounded very excited to be working with her and can't wait for our next appt. She said she had so many things going through her mind. Questions she wanted to think about, ideas she wanted to research, etc. And she will work with all off us, not just Steve, Sevi and I. She wants the other girls to come on occasion. She even wants to see me by myself to help me with all of this. Sometimes she will only want Sevi, but for the most part she will want Sevi and a parent since our goal is to learn how to work with her and not about trying to "fix" her. Which she agreed with 100% and was so happy to hear how we were explaining what we wanted out of this and not trying to change Sevina.

So, for now we will go every Friday.
I have to set aside some time for some "Controlled Chaos". She thinks Sevi HAS to make messes, be creative. It is just who she is. And I can't stand messes, so I have never been big on playdoh, etc. So during Keira's naptime, Sevi and I will work on "crafts". Things she can be creative with and make a little mess. (I totally need ideas for this)
We have to set one day aside every week for "Sevi Dresses Herself" day. On this day, she will get to dress herself all by herself and we will get to fawn all over her. She will get to change as many times as she wants, etc. Just once a week to let her get that control and get the clothes thing out of her system (we hope). She is going to research the 6 layers of clothes though to see how it relates to sensory issues.
She wants us to use time-out more and she has gone over how she wants us to use it. We have always used it, but it is not affective anymore. She gave us new things to try to see if it will work.
She has assigned Steve and I to date nights. She wants us to get out, relax, bond again so that we can affectively work better at doing all of the above with Sevi.
Next appt. she is going to teach me a 10 second time out for me to do to help me calm down and approach Sevi in a calmer manner.

Steve and I were very happy with her. She seems to be exactly what we were hoping for and of the same thought process we are in wanting to learn more about Sevina.

Six Shirts

Jamie — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 03:11:00 GMT

I am trying to make light of this or else I will get frustrated. Sevina has a clothes issue these days. Heck, these months. It has become a major issue in our house that is requiring locked rooms. Anyway, I'll go more into that when I am not so tired. Today she came downstairs to take a bath. And this is what I found. Now mind you, these are her older sister's clothes because Julia's room is the only room that doesn't have a lock. At least it was until I went to Lowes today.

Shirt #1

Shirt #2

Shirt #3

Shirt #4

Shirt #5

Shirt #6