Video

Annie was trying to blow raspberries and . . . 

There are more videos coming but iMovie crashed and I lost all the video I imported.  I'll post it again later.

Dante's Inferno

I'm teaching Inferno, which I absolutely adore, and found this quiz online. Here are my results: 

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very High
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Moderate
Level 2 (Lustful)	Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Low
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Very Low

Take the Dante Inferno Hell Test

Busted

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have so many reasons to be thankful.  Annie is making wonderful progress over the last two weeks.  She is trying to make raspberries, saying "Geee," and "Mmmmmmmm," and trying to imitate some large motor movements.  She's also into banging her toys on anything she can and yelling . . . quite loudly.  I'm so ecstatic that she's progressing so quickly.  She's trying to sit but that only lasts for a couple of seconds.  Because she's crawling, the sibling rivalry is really kicking in.  Emma yells at Annie the same way she yells at the cats, "ANNE MARY, NO!".  We're working on that.  

Emma is doing well also.  We've been going through a manipulative phase but we've got a hold on that.  Daddy was beyond being wrapped around her little finger.  I know she's three and she's going to push as far as she can but she was heading into brat-land.  She'll tell us, "I going to go to sleep and not going to cry or fuss".  It sounds like I'm an angry parent in telling this story but it really bothers me that Emma was using Kurt to get what she wanted.  She knew Kurt felt bad about being at work in the evening and became very adept at knowing which buttons to push and how.  I'm just not going to have that kind of behavior.  I don't want Emma thinking that she can cry or whine to get what she wants, or that no is a negotiation.  

Miss Annie is getting herself caught up so I'm going to run.   

I love YouTube

It's an oldie but I still love it.  I guess some people are just meant to be cheerleaders (or coaches).

ENGLISH . . . Got it.

I miss the Osbornes . . .

What's going on at our house?

Well, after many months of wonder, we finally have an answer for Miss Annie - Sensory Processing Dysfunction.  It explains all of the issues.  Occupational therapy and continued speech therapy are the best treatments for Annie.  Essentially, Annie is able to take in information but has difficult or an inability to process what the information.  SPD is a neurological disorder; however, because we've caught it early enough, Annie's central nervous system is still "pliable" enough that we can teach her how to overcome this.  SPD is often a precursor to ADHD, anxiety disorders, etc. so it's imperative that we work with Annie now.  SPD is on the autism spectrum but Annie does not have autism.  Annie's ST, Teresa, feels that Annie is some issue where she is over-responsive to stimuli and other times when she is under-responsive to stimuli.  After looking at some material about SPD, I tend to believe that it explains why I struggled so much as a kid, even into high school.  Kids with SPD tend to also have issues with reflux, allergies, and asthma.  I know it serves no purpose to beat myself up over something I had no choice about but I really hate that idea that Annie got this from me, and I'm really hoping that she's not going to have allergies and asthma like I do.  In short, the plan is to bombard Annie with as much stimulation as possible and teach her how to respond to it.  We're looking into putting her in a Music Together class.  Emma took a class when she was little and she loved.  I'm just hoping that it doesn't over-stimulate Annie.  It's expensive but if it helps . . .  I'm sure this whole paragraph seems disjointed but I'm seriously on overload about this whole thing.

On a happier note, we are all very excited about Emma's first dance performance on December 12, 13, and 14th.  She is in the ice skater dance and mommy (and daddy) could not be more proud.  I get all emotional about my little girl performing but I can't wait to see her.  More information coming soon!

We're finally ALL healthy.  It's a bizarre concept at our house but it's actually come to fruition.  I can't believe it.  

It has been cold and snowy here.  We've not had any accumulation (or delays) but I'm sure that will change in time.  Emma gets really excited about the snow.  I can't wait until we have enough to take her out and play in it.  

Emma's also very excited about Santa Claus coming.  Every commercial we hear, "MOMMY, DADDY, I WANT THAT!!!!!!!" or "Maybe Santa Claus can bring me that".  I cannot wait until Christmas morning.  

We have a busy day tomorrow and a busy week coming up so I need to head to bed.  

More later. . .