It's Not All Bad

I'm happy to say that the last two nights have been so good in our house! Gavin has behaved so well. I think when things are right, he is aware that his behavior isn't acceptable. He asked me the other night: "Have I been good tonight? I haven't yelled at Sam, have I?".

It's a little heartbreaking - he's such a great kid. A really wonderfully, sensitive, loving kid. When he gets so upset and aggressive, that's not who he wants to be. To me, it's almost like there's times when everything is working well inside him, and other times when he's off.

The key is to figure out what throws him off. Here's what has been working this week:

 - taking sack lunches (no preservative filled, processed school lunches)
 - vitamins every night (Omega 3, multi, vitamin D)
 - drinking lots of water
 - fairly consistent bed time routine
 - eating a lot. Man, has he been eating a lot, but he recognizes when he's hungry before he gets to the melting point and has been making good food choices
 - time spent snuggling in bed sans Sam when doing homework.

Here's where I think the issue lies:

http://www.child-behavior-guide.com/sensory-seeking.html

I really looked into this back when he was 4 yrs old, but there seems to be little support or resources for sensory issues around here. We were able to employ some things that I read about and they seemed to work at the time. I know resources exist, I just need to keep digging. His teacher and I discussed fidget toys, etc at his conferences, she suggested he might be a kid that benefits from such a thing, but at this age they can be distracting in the classroom. So I need to find someone that can suggest something that is effective and not distracting.

In other news, it's official. I've thrown in the towel.

I am driving a mini-van.



This is our new ride. The kids love it. I have always been so anti-van, and I just need to get over it. It's a very nice vehicle, and thanks to the hubs for driving to MN to pick it up.