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Seriously... do you ever have one of those days where your kid just plows you over? Today, DD woke up at 6:30 am and went to bed at 10:30 pm and besides a short nap she was NON-STOP the whole day. Not so much physically but it was like she has some secret classified mission that she HAD to accomplish today.

Just some examples for today:
-She spent 2 hours coloring EVERYTHING in a new coloring book. Then she went on to color her arms, legs, hands, and my arms and hands too. Oh, and made me color quite a bit too.
-We reread the same book I don't know how many times. Then we had to go through and say what every letter was in each word, what all the punctuation marks are, how they are used, and then sound out many of the words. Then she went through and found some words that "matched".
-Before going to bed she insisted that the curtains were open so she could see the "towers" (skyscrapers) and then we had a long list of family members we had to pray for.
-She built a number of nice mega-block structures all of which are tested to perfection by her sitting on them afterward.

I don't know, it's hard to put into words but she was just so intense today. It was just like you could see all the wheel cranking in her head. I'm tired... I'm BEYOND tired! I have a feeling something new is coming, I'm just not sure what.

How does everyone else survive these days? It certainly does not help that DH is gone on a business trip!!

Hang in there. It won't be long before she's having intense, driven days without needing your constant help. Once those motor skills kick in, and/or once she's reading well, she'll be going at it while you do your own thing.

When my kids were that age my relief was the ZOO with a girlfriend who had kids. The kids got lots of exercise and had fun and I talked to an adult. This helps alot. Hang in there it gets better.

This is my life too! DH works second shift and it makes me feel like a single mother. My DS is so exhausting, if I'm not entertaining him, he sits on the couch and says, "Fine, I guess I'll just sit here and do NOTHING!". I'm running out of things to do with him! I have a zoo membership and a membership to the local science museam that helps alot but it's not so easy to be on the go all of the time with a new baby. My husband skips out the door right after lunch and I throw my head down on the table, drink a strong cup of coffee, and my head starts to spin just thinking about being alone with these two boys for the next eight hours!

Well, I took out 7 books for plane ride and ds7 read 4 over weekend ugh so today I will buy some comic books, I can get more of them and they are lighter. Time for Kindle LOL

I dk what is more tiring though because I am way tired of trying to teach my other ds3 and 1/2 letter A !

Just want to say that my daughter will watch feature length movies. I know people don't recommend them for kids under 2, but most kids under 2 wouldn't sit through a movie anyway.

She can sit and watch a whole movie, laugh at the funny parts, ask pertainant questions, and give me a summary of it when it is over. I think she is ready for TV! She really enjoys it and it gives me a break.

She does not watch children's programing yet, though. I am just not sure what I like out there yet.

While I certainly am excited for her motor skills to catch up, you know what? I'm sure I'll probably be sad then and even miss these totally intense days. That's motherhood for you...

onthegomom the zoo is wonderful! I don't always have the energy for it (and for the tantrum when we leave) but yes, two thumbs up to the zoo!


Yes, I drink coffee everyday. I'm not sure how I'd survive otherwise!

PMc/10applesupontop- yep, I have to admit we let her watch TV sometimes. She likes superwhy also but her true love is Dora. If I'd let her she could easily watch it the entire day and no matter what we always have a tantrum when it's shut off. She got to watch two episodes yesterday because I was so tired! You can always measure my energy levels by how often she gets to watch Dora. She has picked up some words from it (and even some Chinese words from Kai Lan too that she watches much less). And she'll laugh at the jokes too and dance with the songs. She's a total addict.

traceyqns- we actually have a kindle. I haven't tried getting in children'S books on there.. have you tried that? I was actually just thinking about trying that the other day. It would make it so much easier for all the traveling that we do.

Good luck on teaching your DS3 the letters!

My little girl has been in loved with the tube since she was about 9 months old. We would put on a video here and there. At 9 months old she would sit in her chair and bounce along to baby einstein. She would laugh and talk back.

My girlfriend and my step-sister would always make a big deal how their kids did not like TV. They would act like their babies had already formed this holier-than-thou opinion about the subject. Hah! Flash forward about a year, and they get put in front of the TV just as much as my daughter if not more!

Of course, now they attribute my daughter's long attention span when it comes to movies to her practicing all this time. I think they would just die if I told them she regularly watches documentaries all the way through.

I'm a big fan of enrichment outside the house. Both of my sons have been in weekly playgroups since they were infants, and it's been a HUGE lifesaver. We also do music class, library class (almost always free), field trips, etc. Since DS2 is now two, I'm also going to be co-teacihng an early preschool co-op for him in the fall.

As DH put it the other day, "Having gifted children takes a LOT of energy!" My kids really don't want to just play around the house for more than a few hours a day. They're social, and so am I. We tend to go somewhere mid-morning most days of the week, and then enjoy our afternoons at home (until DS1's schedule intervenes!). I try to have one or two "just at home" days, but they would much rather be out discovering things with other kids.

I also swear by joining a sports club. I don't go more than an hour a few times a week, but the boys love the playcenters and get lots of social interaction with different toys, art, etc., and I can work out in peace and quiet!