Re: Son woke up in bad mood--keeping him home today from school

March 16, 2009

Don't feel bad. Mine is at home refusing to do school work unless I drive him to an electronic parts store. Screaming, sobbing, hysterical. At least he isn't physically aggressive like he used to be....

Oh, the joys of parenthood.....

"First you do your math, THEN we go to the store." Noooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

( ) Son woke up in bad mood--keeping him home today from school

He has a field trip and I think he would end up getting in trouble or getting into some altercation with another child (verbally). He got great sleep but he got all bent out of shape that his little brother wanted to watch a show. This is odd for the mornings, so I don't know what exactly is going on. Today is going to be hard with 3 kids home at once--all wanting my attention. I have 2 non-school aged kids as well.I told my 8 year old he's doing homeschool today. He wasn't happy, but I made a really good attempt to help get him out of it. I talked to him and told him he is in charge of his attitude. He just brought it back to the fact he didn't want to watch his brother's show. He was crying and angry and said he didn't want to watch the show. He didn't want to go in the other room--he wanted to cry right in the middle of everyone. I tried to do some PT with him to snap him out of it. He did about 2 minutes with me and that was it. He's in some pissy funk still after all my attempts. Oh, I need strength today!

March 16, 2009

My son wakes up every morning in a bad mood! And, Debra, it is nice to know I am not the only one battling with my son to do homework with him screaming and crying because he wants to go to the mall or whatever. Thanks it gave me a little chuckle....not that it is funny but to know we are in the same boat...

Now, as to your son waking up in a bad mood....remember...he was to go on a field trip...that in itself is enough for them to wake in a bad mood. Think about it...think how stressful that is to them...most kids are excited and full of anticipation going on a field trip. But it can be nerve wracking for ours. Nothing is structures, nothing is routine...the day is all mess up, the bus ride, noise, who will sit with him, what will they see, how long will it be, etc. etc. etc. It can be just too much for them. My son usually does not go on field trips. And, if he does go, he wants his father there. In fact, he is going on one in May to the Philadelphia Zoo and Camden Aquarium...at first he said no...then he said yes if his father could go. I got the okay from school and then he said he didn't want to go. But he just found out that his girl friend is going plus they are going to the aquarium (he loves

aquariums)...so now he is going but his Dad is going too!!! And, my son is 13 and in 7th grade and he still wants his dad. I think because he will feel safer and secure knowing he is there.

So, it was good you kept him home. And, if he wants to cry and melt down...let him...just let him do it in his bedroom. It is okay. I think he needs to release his anxiety. He might even fall asleep after. That is what my son does.

Jan

Janice Rushen

"I will try to be open to all avenues of wisdom and hope"

From: Debra Balke <dlbalke@...>Subject: Re: ( ) Son woke up in bad mood--keeping him home today from school Date: Monday, March 16, 2009, 1:02 PM

Don't feel bad. Mine is at home refusing to do school work unless I drive him to an electronic parts store. Screaming, sobbing, hysterical. At least he isn't physically aggressive like he used to be....

Oh, the joys of parenthood.. ...

"First you do your math, THEN we go to the store." Noooooooooooooooooo oo!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!

( ) Son woke up in bad mood--keeping him home today from school

He has a field trip and I think he would end up getting in trouble or getting into some altercation with another child (verbally). He got great sleep but he got all bent out of shape that his little brother wanted to watch a show. This is odd for the mornings, so I don't know what exactly is going on. Today is going to be hard with 3 kids home at once--all wanting my attention. I have 2 non-school aged kids as well.I told my 8 year old he's doing homeschool today. He wasn't happy, but I made a really good attempt to help get him out of it. I talked to him and told him he is in charge of his attitude. He just brought it back to the fact he didn't want to watch his brother's show. He was crying and angry and said he didn't want to watch the show. He didn't want to go in the other room--he wanted to cry right in the middle of everyone. I tried to do some PT with him to snap him out of it. He did about 2 minutes with me and that was it. He's in

some pissy funk still after all my attempts. Oh, I need strength today!

March 16, 2009

Ahhhhh, to know I’m not alone!

My granddaughter (hubby and I are raising her) is absolutely terrible

every school morning! I try to wake

her up enough to get her ADHD med (Vyvanse) down her,

and they go away for about 20 minutes or so before approaching her again. Often, she yells, snarls, growls (like

an angry dog), flails her arms and legs all around, kicks her bedding off, and

even occasionally throws a stuffed animal against her wall—complaining all

the time. If she doesn’t do

that when I give her her pill, I’m not out of

the woods yet—she often does it when I have to get her up to get dressed

and ready for school 20-30 minutes later.

(Occasionally she doesn’t do it at all—and gets up without a

fight—I can’t find a pattern, though.) Once she’s out of bed, she retires

to the bathroom, where she wants us to believe she’s spending 15-30

minutes on the toilet—but we all know she’s playing with something

in there. She’ll run water in

the sink (with the drain closed) and then dunk things in the water—one time

she even dunked her Brain IQ game cards, one at a time.) After the argument to get her out of the

bathroom, it’s off to her room to dress. I’ve taken every toys out of her

room to eliminate distractions, but that doesn’t matter, because

everything distracts her and makes great entertainment—even a piece of thread

of off clothing, for example.

Finally, after the battle to get dressed, the breakfast battle

begins. She picks what she wants, then takes forever to eat it, all the while being distracted

by antying in sight—she even loves to read in

detail the receipt from the grocery store the day before. Or, she’ll find a scrap of paper

and a pencil and write her name (or a brief message) over and over and over,

filling the page. Then, when it’s

almost time for the bus, she still is eating (even though I’ve come in

several times to hurry her up) she wanders back to the bathroom to comb her hair,

brush her teeth, and put on shoes, as well as make sure everything’s in

her backpack. By then, we are lucky

to get to the bus stop on time—and Grandma (that’s me—at age

55) is frazzled and frustrated. The

battle resumes after school. Then,

she has to eat the lunch she never eats at school—she starts eating about

3 pm (after a good half hour of stalling on that) and usually finishes her

school lunch just about dinner time (where she spenda

an hour or more on that meal!) In

the meantime, I’m trying to get hours of homework out of her (she’s

very bright and it wouldn’t take long to do—if she wasn’t

stalling) and have her do her daily reading (30 minutes required by the state—on

top of homework) as she stalls

around doing that. By then, it’s

time for a bath and bed—and it’s usually at least 9:00 before we accomplish tucking her in. She won’t go to sleep for awhile

though, since she would never sleep at all without the Clonidine she takes at

dinner time. (Before she lived with

up she was up until 3 AM each day of the week and

then up for school.) It’s not

the meds that keep her awake (I didn’t mention that she takes Vyvanse at 5:50 each morning, again at noon at school and now Abilify around

dinnertime—they work great but don’t last as long as they should

for her. She has no appetite so we

fight to get food in her. If she

does eat, she wants sweet food, so the doctor finally said to give her Ensure

Plus with each meal, which we do—she’ll only drink the chocolate

flavor. She’s only a bit over

50 pounds at age 8-1/2. She doesn’t

drink much either (except Ensure, chocolate soy milk, and a

sometimes chocolate or white milk.)

If asked to do a chore she doesn’t want to do or even something as

simple as take her clothes she wore that day to the laundry basket (about 20

steps away), we can usually count on stomping, snarling, growling, and more. Need I add that she has no real friends—she

bosses the kids around, will only play what she wants, and is always telling

them what the rules for everything are and how they should obey them. Or, she talks about the clouds in the sky

and the upcoming weather. (Yes, I know that’s Aspie!)

She is diagnosed both ADHD and (recently)

Asperger’s. All most all the things I’m

describing Asperger’s? I’m so mystified by a lot of her behavior—some

of you out there have kids who are both ADHD and Asperger’s. Does all of this sounds

familiar?

I should add that she’s a great

student (the teacher doesn’t get all the garbage we get at home) but is

totally distractible. She’s

also diagnosed with sensory issues—one of the biggest being she can’t

take loud noises—e.g. flushing toilets and others.

Got to stop now and get this one to

religion class, but would love some input (and maybe encouragement) from anyone

out there. Is all this typical?

Thanks!

in Calif

Re: ( ) Son woke up in bad mood--keeping him home

today from school

Date: Monday, March 16, 2009, 1:02 PM

Don't feel bad. Mine is at home refusing to do

school work unless I drive him to an electronic parts store. Screaming,

sobbing, hysterical. At least he isn't physically aggressive like he

used to be....

Oh, the joys of parenthood.. ...

" First you do your math, THEN we go to the store. "

Noooooooooooooooooo oo!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!

( ) Son woke up in bad mood--keeping him home today from

school

He has a field trip and

I think he would end up getting in trouble or getting into some altercation

with another child (verbally). He got great sleep but he got all bent out of

shape that his little brother wanted to watch a show. This is odd for the mornings,

so I don't know what exactly is going on. Today is going to be hard with 3

kids home at once--all wanting my attention. I have 2 non-school aged kids as

well.

I told my 8 year old he's doing homeschool today. He wasn't happy, but I made

a really good attempt to help get him out of it. I talked to him and told him

he is in charge of his attitude. He just brought it back to the fact he

didn't want to watch his brother's show. He was crying and angry and said he

didn't want to watch the show. He didn't want to go in the other room--he

wanted to cry right in the middle of everyone. I tried to do some PT with him

to snap him out of it. He did about 2 minutes with me and that was it. He's

in some pissy funk still after all my attempts. Oh, I need strength today!

March 16, 2009

My son wanted to go to the field trip very badly! Now, in retrospect, I think my son got overly upset by his father sternly telling him to change the channel to his brother's show. I realize that most of the time my son will over react big time if you ever so slightly raise your voice in response to something he's done.

From: rushen janice <jrushen@...> Sent: Monday, March 16, 2009 5:42:42 PMSubject: Re: ( ) Son woke up in bad mood--keeping him home today from school

My son wakes up every morning in a bad mood! And, Debra, it is nice to know I am not the only one battling with my son to do homework with him screaming and crying because he wants to go to the mall or whatever. Thanks it gave me a little chuckle.....not that it is funny but to know we are in the same boat...

Now, as to your son waking up in a bad mood....remember. ..he was to go on a field trip...that in itself is enough for them to wake in a bad mood. Think about it...think how stressful that is to them...most kids are excited and full of anticipation going on a field trip. But it can be nerve wracking for ours. Nothing is structures, nothing is routine...the day is all mess up, the bus ride, noise, who will sit with him, what will they see, how long will it be, etc. etc. etc. It can be just too much for them. My son usually does not go on field trips. And, if he does go, he wants his father there. In fact, he is going on one in May to the Philadelphia Zoo and Camden Aquarium...at first he said no...then he said yes if his father could go. I got the okay from school and then he said he didn't want to go. But he just found out that his girl friend is going plus they are going to the aquarium (he loves

aquariums).. .so now he is going but his Dad is going too!!! And, my son is 13 and in 7th grade and he still wants his dad. I think because he will feel safer and secure knowing he is there.

So, it was good you kept him home. And, if he wants to cry and melt down...let him...just let him do it in his bedroom. It is okay. I think he needs to release his anxiety. He might even fall asleep after. That is what my son does.

Jan

Janice Rushen

"I will try to be open to all avenues of wisdom and hope"

From: Debra Balke <dlbalkecharter (DOT) net>Subject: Re: ( ) Son woke up in bad mood--keeping him home today from school Date: Monday, March 16, 2009, 1:02 PM

Don't feel bad. Mine is at home refusing to do school work unless I drive him to an electronic parts store. Screaming, sobbing, hysterical. At least he isn't physically aggressive like he used to be....

Oh, the joys of parenthood.. ...

"First you do your math, THEN we go to the store." Noooooooooooooooooo oo!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!

( ) Son woke up in bad mood--keeping him home today from school

He has a field trip and I think he would end up getting in trouble or getting into some altercation with another child (verbally). He got great sleep but he got all bent out of shape that his little brother wanted to watch a show. This is odd for the mornings, so I don't know what exactly is going on. Today is going to be hard with 3 kids home at once--all wanting my attention. I have 2 non-school aged kids as well.I told my 8 year old he's doing homeschool today. He wasn't happy, but I made a really good attempt to help get him out of it. I talked to him and told him he is in charge of his attitude. He just brought it back to the fact he didn't want to watch his brother's show. He was crying and angry and said he didn't want to watch the show. He didn't want to go in the other room--he wanted to cry right in the middle of everyone. I tried to do some PT with him to snap him out of it. He did about 2 minutes with me and that was it. He's in

some pissy funk still after all my attempts. Oh, I need strength today!

March 16, 2009

I don't think everything you describe can be attributed to Aspergers and ADHD alone. My son (12, Aspergers and ADHD) is a sweetheart when he wakes up in the morning and rarely complains at having to help around the house (picking up his stuff, taking the garbage out, putting up the clean dishes from the dishwasher, etc...) I have to ask him to do these things oftentimes, but he normally will do what I ask the first time I ask with no complaining. My NT daughter (7) on the other hand is probably grumpy half or more of the time in the mornings and is more likely to complain about chores than my son. I think part of it is just personality (her dad has never been a morning person either) and probably some of it is that I'm a little more lax on her than I am with Dylan. I think it's symptomatic of being the baby in the family. But I'm teaching her that no amount of

pouting/whining/etc... will alleviate her from having to do whatever I've asked. And I've given her a checklist of things she needs to do in the morning so she can regulate her time herself. She likes having more control over her time/schedule so this appeals to her. Dylan used to have a checklist too (probably started around 3rd grade?) and it worked very well for him. Now he doesn't really need one anymore because he already knows the routine.

"Over-optimism is waiting for you ship to come in when you haven't sent one out."

From: mnajohnston <mnajohnston@...> Sent: Monday, March 16, 2009 6:02:47 PMSubject: RE: ( ) Son woke up in bad mood--keeping him home today from school

Ahhhhh, to know I’m not alone! My granddaughter (hubby and I are raising her) is absolutely terrible every school morning! I try to wake her up enough to get her ADHD med (Vyvanse) down her, and they go away for about 20 minutes or so before approaching her again. Often, she yells, snarls, growls (like an angry dog), flails her arms and legs all around, kicks her bedding off, and even occasionally throws a stuffed animal against her wall—complaining all the time. If she doesn’t do that when I give her her pill, I’m not out of the woods yet—she often does it when I have

to get her up to get dressed and ready for school 20-30 minutes later. (Occasionally she doesn’t do it at all—and gets up without a fight—I can’t find a pattern, though.) Once she’s out of bed, she retires to the bathroom, where she wants us to believe she’s spending 15-30 minutes on the toilet—but we all know she’s playing with something in there. She’ll run water in the sink (with the drain closed) and then dunk things in the water—one time she even dunked her Brain IQ game cards, one at a time.) After the argument to get her out of the bathroom, it’s off to her room to dress. I’ve taken every toys out of her room to eliminate distractions, but that doesn’t matter, because everything distracts her and makes great entertainment—even a piece of thread of off clothing, for example. Finally, after the battle to get

dressed, the breakfast battle begins. She picks what she wants, then takes forever to eat it, all the while being distracted by antying in sight—she even loves to read in detail the receipt from the grocery store the day before. Or, she’ll find a scrap of paper and a pencil and write her name (or a brief message) over and over and over, filling the page. Then, when it’s almost time for the bus, she still is eating (even though I’ve come in several times to hurry her up) she wanders back to the bathroom to comb her hair, brush her teeth, and put on shoes, as well as make sure everything’s in her backpack. By then, we are lucky to get to the bus stop on time—and Grandma (that’s me—at age 55) is frazzled and frustrated. The battle resumes after school. Then, she has to eat the

lunch she never eats at school—she starts eating about 3 pm (after a good half hour of stalling on that) and usually finishes her school lunch just about dinner time (where she spenda an hour or more on that meal!) In the meantime, I’m trying to get hours of homework out of her (she’s very bright and it wouldn’t take long to do—if she wasn’t stalling) and have her do her daily reading (30 minutes required by the state—on top of homework) as she stalls around doing that. By then, it’s time for a bath and bed—and it’s usually at least 9:00 before we accomplish tucking her in. She won’t go to sleep for awhile

though, since she would never sleep at all without the Clonidine she takes at dinner time. (Before she lived with up she was up until 3 AM each day of the week and then up for school.) It’s not the meds that keep her awake (I didn’t mention that she takes Vyvanse at 5:50 each morning, again at noon at school and now Abilify around dinnertime—they work great but don’t last as long as they should for her. She has no appetite so we fight to get food in her. If she does eat, she wants sweet food, so the doctor finally said to give her Ensure Plus with each meal, which we do—she’ll only drink the chocolate flavor. She’s only a bit over 50 pounds at age 8-1/2. She doesn’t drink much either (except Ensure, chocolate soy milk, and a sometimes chocolate or white milk.) If asked to do a chore she doesn’t want to do or even something as simple as take her clothes she wore that day to the laundry basket (about 20 steps away), we can usually count on stomping, snarling, growling, and more. Need I add

that she has no real friends—she bosses the kids around, will only play what she wants, and is always telling them what the rules for everything are and how they should obey them. Or, she talks about the clouds in the sky and the upcoming weather. (Yes, I know that’s Aspie!) She is diagnosed both ADHD and (recently) Asperger’s. All most all the things I’m describing Asperger’s? I’m so mystified by a lot of her behavior—some of you out there have kids who are both ADHD and Asperger’s. Does all of this sounds familiar?

I should add that she’s a great student (the teacher doesn’t get all the garbage we get at home) but is totally distractible. She’s also diagnosed with sensory issues—one of the biggest being she can’t take loud noises—e.g. flushing toilets and others.

Got to stop now and get this one to religion class, but would love some input (and maybe encouragement) from anyone out there. Is all this typical?

Thanks!

in Calif

Re: ( ) Son woke up in bad mood--keeping him home today from school Date: Monday, March 16, 2009, 1:02 PM

Don't feel bad. Mine is at home refusing to do school work unless I drive him to an electronic parts store. Screaming, sobbing, hysterical. At least he isn't physically aggressive like he used to be....

Oh, the joys of parenthood.. ...

"First you do your math, THEN we go to the store." Noooooooooooooooooo oo!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!

( ) Son woke up in bad mood--keeping him home today from school

He has a field trip and I think he would end up getting in trouble or getting into some altercation with another child (verbally). He got great sleep but he got all bent out of shape that his little brother wanted to watch a show. This is odd for the mornings, so I don't know what exactly is going on. Today is going to be hard with 3 kids home at once--all wanting my attention. I have 2 non-school aged kids as well.I told my 8 year old he's doing homeschool today. He wasn't happy, but I made a really good attempt to help get him out of it. I talked to him and told him he is in charge of his attitude. He just brought it back to the fact he didn't want to watch his brother's show. He was crying and angry and said he didn't want to watch the show. He didn't want to go in the other room--he wanted to cry right in the middle of everyone. I tried to do some PT with him

to snap him out of it. He did about 2 minutes with me and that was it. He's in some pissy funk still after all my attempts. Oh, I need strength today!

March 17, 2009

Hi!

I have not posted here in a very long time. I do read. I am very glad that you

posted this. I too, have kept my son home from school when he was in a meltdown

or having major anxiety about something at school. My son also has not been

physical in a long time. I kept hearing from my family... " he needs to be in

school " or " You can't keep him home just for that " . Especially from my sister

who is a 3rd grade teacher. She still does not understand that the meltdown or

anxiety could cause a serious problem for him at school with him being outta

hand. Heck, I can't even get him to dress himself in those moods.

Thank you again!

I feel so much better that I am not the only aspie mom who does this.

Best Wishes to all,

>

> He has a field trip and I think he would end up getting in trouble or getting

into some altercation with another child (verbally). He got great sleep but he

got all bent out of shape that his little brother wanted to watch a show. This

is odd for the mornings, so I don't know what exactly is going on. Today is

going to be hard with 3 kids home at once--all wanting my attention. I have 2

non-school aged kids as well.

>

> I told my 8 year old he's doing homeschool today. He wasn't happy, but I made

a really good attempt to help get him out of it. I talked to him and told him he

is in charge of his attitude. He just brought it back to the fact he didn't want

to watch his brother's show. He was crying and angry and said he didn't want to

watch the show. He didn't want to go in the other room--he wanted to cry right

in the middle of everyone. I tried to do some PT with him to snap him out of it.

He did about 2 minutes with me and that was it. He's in some pissy funk still

after all my attempts. Oh, I need strength today!

>

March 17, 2009

>

> I don't think everything you describe can be attributed to Aspergers and ADHD

alone. My son (12, Aspergers and ADHD) is a sweetheart when he wakes up in the

morning and rarely complains at having to help around the house (picking up his

stuff, taking the garbage out, putting up the clean dishes from the dishwasher,

etc...)

But your son has had services and interventions since he was young. I think

this is a great example of the difference early intervention can make (along

with great parenting!). I don't think things would be like this with your aspie

otherwise.

Ruth

March 17, 2009

>

> Once she's out of bed,

> she retires to the bathroom, where she wants us to believe she's

> spending 15-30 minutes on the toilet-but we all know she's playing with

> something in there. ... Finally, after the battle

> to get dressed, the breakfast battle begins. She picks what she wants,

> then takes forever to eat it, all the while being distracted by antying

> in sight-she even loves to read in detail the receipt from the grocery

> store the day before. ... Then, when it's almost time for the bus, she still

is eating

> (even though I've come in several times to hurry her up) she wanders

> back to the bathroom to comb her hair, brush her teeth, and put on

> shoes, as well as make sure everything's in her backpack.

Yes, this sounds familiar, but there is a lot you could do to make things

better. First of all, time her and figure out how much time she really needs in

the morning and get her to bed and up in the morning at appropriate times. If

she may spend up to 30 minutes in the bathroom, you need to schedule that in.

It won't matter if she takes " forever " to eat if you've scheduled the

appropriate amount of time. Pack her backpack the night before and zip it up.

Remind her in the morning that it is all ready to go--she doesn't need to check

it. Start working on removing distractions one by one. Teach her that reading

the receipt from the grocery store when she needs to be focusing on getting to

school is a no-no. Ask her teachers at school how they are redirecting her at

school when she loses focus. Since she's already used to it, it may work at

home too. See yourself as " coach " and accept the idea that you are going to

have to stick with her mornings until she learns the routine a little better.

Don't just " hurry her up " , tell her explicitly what she needs to do. Make a

list for her of everything she needs to do in the morning, and keep re-directing

her back to it when she strays. Be firm that she has to get through her

getting-ready list before she can do other things like read grocery receipts.

Hope this helps! I know from experience that it is not easy, but she can learn

to do better. And I also know from experience that the more you put off the

agony of teaching her, the worse it will be.

Ruth

March 17, 2009

He has had help but I'll say 90% of it has been outside of school. I think one of the best things I did is get ME help to learn how to be the most effective parent to him. That was tremendous. He did have one-on-one behavior therapy once a week for a year (Kind-1st) and then every other week for about 1.5 years (1st-3rd grade). It was good. But again, all outside of school. He had one-on-one behavior therapy outside of school in 5th grade, but the ADHD specialist said "he knows all of the answers, he just has to learn how to apply them in school which of course is hard due to the ADHD". He ended the one-on-one help b/c it wasn't really necessary. It was the school environment that was the hardest. He's had accommodations in school that helped him function, but I think his IEPs were more geared to how he could exist in a mainstream classroom and not so much interventions to

help modify his behavior. He did a social skills camp 2 summers ago and a social skills day camp last summer. I think those were good. We're doing the day camp again this year. But with all of this, I really think my training from a behavioral specialist back when Dylan was in Kindgergarten-3rd grade was the best help of all.

"Over-optimism is waiting for you ship to come in when you haven't sent one out."

From: r_woman2 <me2ruth@...> Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 7:28:02 AMSubject: Re: ( ) Son woke up in bad mood--keeping him home today from school

>> I don't think everything you describe can be attributed to Aspergers and ADHD alone. My son (12, Aspergers and ADHD) is a sweetheart when he wakes up in the morning and rarely complains at having to help around the house (picking up his stuff, taking the garbage out, putting up the clean dishes from the dishwasher, etc...) But your son has had services and interventions since he was young. I think this is a great example of the difference early intervention can make (along with great parenting!). I don't think things would be like this with your aspie otherwise.Ruth

March 17, 2009

Thanks

for the good advice, Ruth. Some of this

I already do—but others are things I’ve been lax on or just plain

new ideas! I appreciate the time you

took to help! J

Re: ( )

Son woke up in bad mood--keeping him home today from school

>

> Once she's out of bed,

> she retires to the bathroom, where she wants us to believe she's

> spending 15-30 minutes on the toilet-but we all know she's playing with

> something in there. ... Finally, after the battle

> to get dressed, the breakfast battle begins. She picks what she wants,

> then takes forever to eat it, all the while being distracted by antying

> in sight-she even loves to read in detail the receipt from the grocery

> store the day before. ... Then, when it's almost time for the bus, she

still is eating