Katy

I would be so very appreciative if you could tell me if there was a recipe for something called Quick Energy Pick-Me-Ups (or the like). In my memory, that was the name for these peanut butter, chocolate chip, condensed milk snack balls that my brother and I called “quick energy puke me ups.” I have wanted to make them as a surprise for him to share with his kids. Now that your blog informed me of the book’s name, I can search for a used copy but I want to makes sure it is in there!

Thank you so much for helping me with this favor. I am most appreciative! And that you and your blog for giving me that trip down memory lane!

Jennifer

I’m with you on the being angry at being hit. When Josephine does hit me, which it thankfully rare, it’s hard to control the reflex to swat back! With her, it does no good whatsoever to tell her she’s hurt you. She doesn’t seem to get the concept of causing someone else pain. But she does get making someone sad, so frequently we can get the point across that way. Like Jamie, she is quite concerned with our happiness, but she incessantly asks rather than telling. I must hear “Are you happy?” at least 10 times a day. If she is doing something to annoy me, I tell her that no, I’m not happy.

Timeouts are a mixed bag for us. Every single time, she WAILS the entire time, and then she has to “make up,” which usually involves me holding her until she calms down. For her, two timeouts in a row are worse than none, because she gets SO upset she cannot calm herself down. Plus, when she gets really, really upset, she throws up, so it’s always a fine line how far to push her. Oh, and I’m usually visibly angry when I get fed up enough to put her in time out, although I try to stay neutral.

LOVE the happy face drawing. Jamie’s way ahead of Josephine in drawing skill and knowing letter phonics (although we haven’t talked much about phonics). Can he tell “stories” yet? Most weekdays I ask Josephine what she had for lunch. Up until very recently, every day was same thing, but she has just started reporting semi-accurately. 80% of her play time is spent putting things inside other things (bags, boxes, etc.) or making pretend food and feeding it to people/animals. It’s actually pretty funny to see her make macaroni and cheese with a wrench and a frisbee.

I’m also pretty glad that people played along with my little parlor game and allowed me to boss them around unmercifully. Once I heard all of the people excitedly chattering after the first round, I figured a second round would be in order.

Earthships are fun places. I worked on one once. i didn’t pound tires, but i did work on the can walls. they’re an extremely awesome concept. i once was in one in the middle of December. it as about 15 degrees outside, but inside an unfinished one, it was about 100 degrees! That’s before they even had insulation in their ceiling! They’re cross ventilated so when the system was completely working, it rarely gets too hot or cold inside them.

“To keep him calm, I used to march around in circles with him, singing songs and bouncing him while he was either swaddled or wrapped to me (gentle rocking did nothing). We did this several times a day, to abort meltdowns or help him sleep. It went on for most of his first year, and then to a lesser extent for several more months. I know you also bounced him often but I tried to do the as much of it as I could to save your back.

“I wore him around a LOT. At some point it just became simpler and caused less strain on my arms to use the moby wrap. He got a lot of his deep sleep while attached to me. I began to refer to myself as a seahorse.

“We could not put him in the car. Everyone told us he would calm down if we drove him around, but like most advice we got, the rules did not apply to Jamieson. He didn’t just cry, he screamed nonstop almost every time we would put him in the car. He never slept in the car unless it was a long trip (hours) and then it was more like he passed out than fell asleep. It was only recently that he started drifting off comfortably in the car — but only on rare occasions.

“Speaking of his meltdowns, they happened daily or several times a day and were often frightening to the point were I would be wondering if I should call 911. In addition to screaming like he was on fire (not really an exaggeration), he would quake, turn beet red, and flail his limbs like he was having a seizure. Keep in mind I am speaking about before we knew of his food sensitivities… He was just trying to deal with his discomfort and pain the only way he could. I’m sure it must have been frightening and frustrating to him. It’s no wonder to me why he was (and still is) so demanding of us.

“The swing was less magic than you make it sound. Many times I had to sit right in front of him in case he started to wake up and I could sing, hush him, keep him tucked in, replace a binky, or push the swing harder than it would normally go. I would often spend 30-45 minutes getting him to sleep in the swing just so he would sleep for another 20-30. Also we used loud white noise with the swing for best results.”