solutions to slip-n-slide concrete

Our landlord just had the stamped concrete around our house resealed. It's treacherous when wet. But as we slip and maime ourselves on it, we find comfort knowing it's protected from the elements.

Anne and Damon were outside playing on it today after a rainstorm today. The water had beaded into puddles all over.

"Mom!" called Damon. "Anne's naked!"

Sure enough, there she was in the front yard, stark naked. You really shouldn't take your eyes off your kids for a second; that's all the time it takes for them to strip in front of the neighbors.

I took her in the house. "Anne, why did you take your clothes off?"

"Because I would slip and have to change my clothes and slip and have to change my clothes and slip and have to change my clothes..."

So it was easier just to be naked than to have to take wet clothes off over and over again, or find somewhere else to play. Wearing wet clothes was apparently not an option, either.

Fortunately we discovered that if she wore rubber-soled shoes, she wouldn't slip, and therefore could wear clothing.

What the...

Why can't I put paragraphs in my blog posts lately? See below. Very annoying.

blah blah blah blah blah

Last I wrote, Claire had support at school three days a week: me on Mondays while Anne went to my neighbor's house, and Jessie (one of her three tutors) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It wasn't enough. On Wednesdays and Fridays Claire spent most of her time at school zoned out, so we put Anne in the local Montessori pre-school on Mondays and Wednesdays so I could go to school with Claire both those days. On Fridays, Anne and I go to her class for ten minutes. During that time, Anne plays quietly in the back of the classroom (bless her!) playing with toys while I sit by Claire and let her earn as many stickers as she can in 10 minutes. To earn a sticker she: follows directions as well as her classmates, raises her hand to answer questions, and participates in group singing/counting, etc. After I leave, her teacher takes away a sticker whenever Claire is zoning out. If Claire comes home with three stickers, then she gets a reward. It's going well so far, exept it wears me out. Drum roll please....Claire is back on gluten!!! A wise woman (Catherine) suggested maybe we had re-introduced gluten too much too fast, and that could have been what caused the bloating. So, we tried again more slowly, and Claire did fine! Hurray! We can eat good things again! She's still off dairy, mostly: last weekend Anne secretly slipped her Reese's peanut butter cups and Claire belched continuously for the next four days. Dairy is much easier to live without than wheat, though, so we're not complaining. Anne is doing okay in pre-school. To quote one of her teachers, "She was made for Montessori." And for the first week or so, Anne loved it. But then the newness wore off. When I would pick her up those first few days, she would be sitting in isolation at a table eating her lunch while all the other kids sat with each other at the other tables. It was pretty sad. Then I guess the teachers noticed the horrified look on my face, and they started making the other kids leave room for her at their tables. I hoped she'd be happier after that, but she cries most mornings as Jake takes her. On the bright side, she seems like she's had fun by the time I pick her up, and one of the teachers said she's made a bosom friend. Damon took Jr. Jazz basketball last month (I think. The days and months all run together). Now he's taking soccer. And guess who got roped into being his soccer coach? Me, the person who didn't know there were no time-outs in soccer. The rec center lady who gave me this sob story about nobody else being able to coach was clearly lying: it's astonishing how many parents sit around and gab while I'm holding practice. Oh, well. I'm better at yelling at kids than anyone I know, so I might as well put my talents to use. Back to ABA program news: one of our tutors is going on a mission [I think her true mission should be helping our child], so we've got to hire a new one. College undergrads looking for work aren't hard to find, but it's a pain to have to train someone new. Not to be ungrateful. Claire has made great progress, and we're grateful to have found good people to help her. Time to sign off and see if the kiddos brushed teeth and used the potty so they can have a bedtime story.