Sorry guys!  I have found a new love in my life.

Yes, that is a Memory Foam mattress.   Yes, it is just that awesome.   I finally broke down and bought the 4 inch memory foam topper.  I figured what the heck, live a little.   For a year now, I have woke up to bad back aches.  I thought I was just getting old, which is probably mostly true.   After sleeping at several high dollar hotels, (Peabody and the Churchhill in DC) I would wake up energetic and not hurting.   So I told my husband I want to do this.   He finally gave in and bought one.   It is great.  My back no longer hurts in the morning.   The mattress basically makes a mold of your body as you sleep.  You really don’t even know someone is sleeping beside you unless they are touching you.   Normal mattress you know when someone turns over, but not with the memory foam mattress pad.    You go to sleep at night and don’t wake up until morning. 

I would recommend buying this.   We bought a full size memory foam pad for our bed at Wal-Mart for about $100.  It was well worth the money.  

Blogs from the Past

1 year ago:  Jonesboro Trip

3 years ago:  I Peter 5:8

4 years ago:  I Don’t Know

What a frustrating world to live with someone with ADD.   It pretty much sucks.   A person with ADD has severe deficits in what a lot of us take for granted.  They lack in the ability to think ahead, make decisions, organize and even complete tasks.   Sometimes you have to take over as the chief decision maker.  This in turn can affect your child from gaining these skills.   So now you ask, well what do I do?  Good questions.   I have thought this for many years.  How can I help my husband gain these skills so I don’t have to do everything for him?  I now have to look at my son, who I am pretty sure as the same problem.  What do I do?  Sometimes, it seems like it is easier just to do the things for yourself and not bother them. 

Below are a few steps that could help you and your child with ADD.

1. Don’t sweat the small stuff.   This means basically to chill out.   So what your child didn’t complete one of the three task you ask for him to do.   You must be positive and praise him for the two he did finish.
2. Believe in your child.   Your child can do it, even though it doesn’t seem like he can.   You have to trust and have faith. 
3. Take breaks.   If someone ask to babysit you kids so you can have some time to yourself, do it.   Don’t feel guilty.    You need time to re-energize.
4. Follow a routine.  I know that this can get kind of boring to do the same thing all the time, but this is what a child with ADD needs.  The more of a routine, the less his brain will wander, because he knows what to expect.
5. Keep a clock or timer around.   Keeping a timer around will keep a child with ADD focused on completely a set task.  They realized they have a time limit and can look at the timer and realize they have to get back on track.  I have noticed that the kitchen timers that make clicking noise works best. 
6. Create a quiet place.   Your child needs a place to go an relax.  You have to realize that their brain is working over time.   (Their hamsters wheel moves 90 to nothing.)
7. Rewards and Consequences.   You must have these.   You can reward your child with privileges, praises, or extra fun activities.  You must keep in mind that the rewards must change.   A child with ADD can get bored very quickly if they are the same.   Sticker charts are great for rewards.  Fill up a row and get a reward.  I know these are used in school, but will also work in the home.   Consequences are the hardest to do.  Sometimes, we get tired of dealing with the child and push them to the side.  This is the worst thing that could happen.  Consequences should be spelled out in the beginning and should occur immediately after the child has disobeyed.   Time-outs or removing them from an activity work the best.    You must follow through with these consequences each and every time.
8. Physical Activity.  You must keep your child active.  Children with ADD have more energy to burn than children without.   This physical activity helps to improve their consequences, decrease depression and anxiety. 
9. Better sleep.  Make sure your child gets to sleep on time.   Not enough sleep can make your child less attentive.  Lack of sleep can lead to overstimulation and less concentration.

There are many other things that can be used to help your child with ADD.   Basically, you just need to set boundaries and be patient with them.   Don’t give up on them.  

From a teacher stand point, make sure your teacher understands that your child as ADD and you have boundaries that you are working on at home.   You may even give them suggestions for the classrooms.  A lot of times (I hate to say this), but children with ADD are often looked upon as bad and their parents don’t care.  So please keep in contact with your child’s teacher on a regular basis.  The more you stay involved the more the teacher will know that you are doing everything possible to help your child.   I hate to see children pushed to the side because the ADD or ADHD.  It is a sad situation.

I absolutely love my new workout gear. I bought it for a toy, but I do believe that it is more than a toy. For only $90, I have purchased the best fitness companion ever.

To start off with things, it calculates your weight and BMI. Then it lets you set goals for what you need to do acheive your ideal weight and/or BMI. You can also choose how long you want to take to get there (two weeks, 6 months, or 1 year). After all of this you pick your fitness trainer, a male or a female.

The first workout you can do is Yoga. I never understood why people get sore from Yoga. I now know. You fitness trainer explains how to do each pose. The balance board that you are standing on checks to make sure you are doing it right. It will let you know if you have no balance, believe me.

The next workout out section is strengthening. You can do lunges, situps, pushups and more. You first start out with 6 reps per leg. The better you get and the more you workout, you unlock extra reps, difficulties, and new strengthening skills.

Aerobics is another workout on the WiiFit. You will get a workout here. Right now, I have hula hooping, running, and dancing. As I get better or the more I do it, the more I can unlock.

Finally you have balance games. You can dodge soccer balls, walk a tightrope, or ski. This is where I have to work at.

After each workout, it ranks you. The more people that you have working out with you means more competition. This is the part I like. I can’t stand when Michael passes or beats me in a game.

With the Wii Fit, I do every workout once. I start with Yoga for warm up, then strengthening and on to aerobics. I use the balance games for a cool down. So far it takes me 50 minutes to workout. I usually can’t do this long, because I get board, but the Wii Fit makes it fun. I am so glad that I purchased this. I would encourage anyone to buy. The age doesn’t matter. Ashton loves it and he is 5. Kaylee also likes it, even though she doesn’t really do it.

Blogs from the past

2 years ago—Mad Cow Disease

3 years ago—Workshopping Today