Organizing the Disorganized Child Book Review

I went through the list of books at the library to see if there were any helpful hints or books to get my son on track of being able to find his things.  Organizing the Disorganized Child: Simple Strategies to Succeed in School by Martin L. Kutscher was one of the suggestions so I reserved it.  It came in on the shelf and since it was a shorter book, I decided to read it right away.

"You can imagine what my child′s room looked like: clothes on the floor, dresser draws open with clothes half hanging out of them, and toys spread all over the floor."
"Jill is given an assignment on Monday that is due on Friday. The problem is that despite repeated nagging, she won′t start it until Thursday night."
Organizing Ther Disorganized Child finally answers the parents′ question, "How can I help my child get organized without waging a battle?" This essential toolkit for parents and educators factors organizational styles into the equation, and offers effective strategies that deliver amazing long-term results.
Renowned ADHD expert Dr. Martin Kutscher and coach Marcella Moran explain the roots of our children′s organizational problems, and the parents′ role in fixing them. They outline different organizational styles used by different students. (Not all kids organize the same way!) Kutscher and Moran outline exactly what school materials to buy, and how to set up the study area. They provide a step-by-step plan for an organizational system including:
o Refining morning and nighttime routines
o Getting the correct work home
o Planning the work, and getting it back to where it belongs
o Tips for reading and note taking
o Study and test taking skills
o Learning how to ask the right questions
Organizing the Disorganized Child is an essential toolkit that belongs on every parent′s shelf.
Early Praise for Organizing the Disorganized Child
"A superb book! Blessedly brief, pointedly practical, and clear as glass, this book will help any child, parent, or teacher who reads it. Step by step, the authors, who truly know their subject, lead the reader through a method that can′t help but succeed. This book meets an urgent need. I will be referring my patients to it."
- Edward Hallowell, M.D., co-author of Driven to Distraction and Superparenting for ADD
"Organizing the Disorganized Child is a long overdue manual that strives to make life easier on families with children with ADHD. Unlike other books that offer a menu of one-size-fits-all strategies, this book digs deeper and helps parents to understand the root causes of their particular child′s disorganization...This book is a MUST HAVE for all parents of children with or without ADHD!"
- Nancy A. Ratey, author of The Disorganized Mind
"Organizing the Disorganized Child is a breath of fresh air. Straightforward, practical, and most important, providing strategies and ideas that any parent - even the disorganized - can easily implement. Rather than wait till some children struggle I suggest that Organizing the Disorganized Child be essential reading for parents of all entering first graders."
- Sam Goldstein, Ph.D., Co-author of Raising a Self-disciplined Child

I thought that it was a good read and had some helpful hints although I think that we are doing most of the things already like packing our bag the night before and having a pocket for homework and a pocket for going back to school.  Luckily our school already has a folder to send home paperwork once a week and parents to send back paperwork so that it doesn't get lost too.  We have checklists and allow for extra time to get ready because we know there will be stopping to play and other things too.  There is a special section in the back with the difference between being disorganized and having ADD/ADHD.  This helps to see how children are different and I thought that the book was an easy and quick read that was well worth it if you are trying to get a child organized and ready to learn.

The Story of Arthur Truluv Book Review

I didn't know anything about this book but it was on the list of new releases and I like the author a lot!  The Story of Arthur Truluv: A Novel by Elizabeth Berg was a mystery to me and I was super excited when it came in at the library.  I had to put it off with a few other books that needed to be read and returned but I was so happy when I finally got to it!!

For the past six months, Arthur Moses’s days have looked the same: He tends to his rose garden and to Gordon, his cat, then rides the bus to the cemetery to visit his beloved late wife for lunch. The last thing Arthur would imagine is for one unlikely encounter to utterly transform his life.  Eighteen-year-old Maddy Harris is an introspective girl who visits the cemetery to escape the other kids at school. One afternoon she joins Arthur—a gesture that begins a surprising friendship between two lonely souls. Moved by Arthur’s kindness and devotion, Maddy gives him the nickname “Truluv.” As Arthur’s neighbor Lucille moves into their orbit, the unlikely trio band together and, through heartache and hardships, help one another rediscover their own potential to start anew.

I thought this was great writing and a wonderful heartwarming story!  I was immediately in love with all of the characters.  Arthur was going to the cemetery every day to visit his dead wife.  He felt that it was going to have lunch with her and felt at peace when he was there.  He also stopped to talk to the other people and started to feel a real connection to all of them.  One day he meets Maddy who is sitting under a tree in the cemetery instead of being in school.  They become friends and are linked by their losses and tough things going on in their life.  The amazing things happen when they support each other and become better friends but you have to pick up the book and see what happens for yourself.  I promise you will love this heartwarming story!!!  It was wonderful to read and sad when it was over.

February Month End Reading Review

I didn't track the books that I read this month so at the end of the month I was going back to see what I read.  I was surprised that I got so many read in a short month because I wasn't really sure what I had read.  It was even more then I read in January which I thought was surprisingly low.  I know that I am enjoying all the time that I have spent reading this month but sadly I think that it was mostly more because I was sick and didn't feel good so I wasn't getting other things done.  I guess that is what happens sometimes!!

If you are interested in learning more about a book or missed my summary and review, please click on the title and it will bring you back to the original post.  I hope that a few of these make it on to your reading list because I enjoyed many of them.

The Beloved Christmas Quilt

by Wanda, Jean and Brunstetter

Summer House

by Nancy Thayer

Last Chance Book Club

by Hope Ramsay

Last Chance Knit and Stitch

by Hope Ramsay

Inn at Last Chance

by Hope Ramsay

Hardcore Twenty-Four

by Janet Evanovich

Amish Cooking Series: The Celebration

by Wanda Brunstetter

The Last Chance Family

by Hope Ramsay

The Last Chance Hero

by Hope Ramsay

Solving Executive Function Challenges

by Lauren Kenworthy

Total Books 2018

January   8
February  10

Total Read   18

Currently Reading:

Menu Plan Monday 3/5

Monday- Chicken fries, Buffalo Chicken Wraps and homemade fries
Tuesday- Pasta
Wednesday- Salsa Sloppy Joes with mac and cheese
Thursday- Chicken
Friday- Family Fun Night
Saturday- Philly Cheese Steak Pasta
Sunday- ??

I hope that you had a great week last week.  We did okay with having Monday night's dinner and my son was happy because it is his favorite.  Tuesday we did meat ravioli for us and spaghetti for my son.  Wednesday was tacos and Thursday was House Autry Chicken with mac and cheese.  Friday ended up being leftovers instead of anything super fun because the power had been out all day so we ate all the food in the house that didn't get thrown away.  It was super boring but I don't like food waste.  Saturday was confusing because the power was back on but really felt like it should be Sunday because of the day off on Friday.  Luckily, we had the deep freezer that I still haven't defrosted so there was tons of ice to keep everything cold and frozen.  We didn't open at all except to throw everything in from the freezer upstairs.  The stuff from the fridge went into the freezer upstairs with ice packs like a cooler. We ate the planned meal but then Sunday got a little away from us and I had to go to work before I fixed dinner so the boys at on their own by the time that I got home and I ate leftovers.  Hoping to be a little better this week but who knows what the week with bring. 

Solving Executive Function Challenges Book Review

I was looking for some books about Executive Functioning and how I could help my son improve his organization and get him unstuck.  We have been having a tough year this year so I was hoping that

Solving Executive Function Challenges: Simple Ways to Get Kids with Autism Unstuck and on Target by Lauren Kenworthy Ph.D.was going to have those answers.  The beginning quickly jumped into examples of different children doing the same actions of getting ready for school or doing things in school which was interesting.

How can you help kids with autism be flexible, get organized, and work toward goals—not just in school but in everyday life? It's all about executive function, and this quick problem-solving guide helps you explicitly teach these critical skills to high-functioning children with autism (Grades K-8). Used on its own or in tandem with the popular Unstuck and On Target! classroom curriculum, this practical guide shows how to embed executive function instruction in dozens of everyday scenarios, from morning routines to getting homework done. Designed for therapists, teachers, and parents, these highly effective techniques give children the skills they need to navigate each day, reach their goals, and succeed inside and outside the classroom.
THIS BOOK HELPS YOU:

• Understand executive function—why it's important and why it's challenging for children with autism
• Teach three skills critical to success: flexibility, goal setting, and organization
• Use consistent scripts and key words to help children process your message
• Model desired behaviors —and fade your guidance as children generalize skills
• Provide simple, effective visual cues that keep kids unstuck and on target
• Keep it fun and positive, with tips on creative, playful ways to teach executive function skills

PRACTICAL MATERIALS: Dozens of specific, easy-to-do examples; "Goal, Plan, Do, Check" scripts and worksheets that break down tasks into small, achievable chunks; key words and phrases that help kids stay on target; reproducible visual aids; sample IEP goals.
Help children with autism

• Compromise with family and friends
• Turn "big deals" into "little deals"
• Move on to Plan B when Plan A doesn't work
• Make plans and carry them out
• Solve problems independently
• Be a good friend
• Handle disappointments and unexpected events
• Avoid "whims" that get them off track

I hope that you check out this book with great examples and information on how to improve situations with kids with executive functioning problems.  I learned a lot in this book and really think that it was easy to read and quick with still being helpful.  The hardest thing about non-fiction texts are that they sometimes get bogged down with details and make them hard to read.  This book mixed charts, lists and examples well to illustrate points.  The most helpful part for me was the list of the strengths of ASD which includes a long list including behaving with honesty and integrity, being genuine and open, willing to follow clear rules and schedules, charming innocence and great sense of humor.  It helps to look at the positive features and not just the negative features but there are negatives to each set of positives.  The thinking portion was very interesting because it includes memorizing information easily, unusually strong long term memory, attention to details, perfectionist, thinks and solves problems logically, and able to main focus on interesting activities well.  Though the wording doesn't always work for us because I tried trying to turn big deals into little deals and just the words were something my son got stuck on because everything is the end of the world when it is happening so how could it possibly be made smaller.  I think that there are a lot things including a concrete list of items to add to a 504 or IEP for special help.  I am glad that I read it and I think that this book was really helpful with advice throughout each section.

Homemade Bread Machine Bagels

I have had bagels on my list for a long time of things that I should make and still don't.  I am from New York and I have always liked a good bagel but sometimes in the South, there are bagel shaped things that just taste like bread but don't have the great bite to the outside.  I have been intimidated by making them thinking that I wouldn't be able to get good bite at home. 

I found a recipe to try that used the bread machine here so I added it to my to do list for this week.  I set aside a day that had the least other things to do because I thought it would be labor intensive.  I put the ingredients in the bread machine and watched a movie...really not labor intensive!  I got the dough out to rest while I picked up my son at school.  I came home and was talking to a friend in the kitchen while tossing and turning in the water and buttering and sticking in the oven.  I swear it was the easiest recipe without too much actual work involved.

I am now wondering what took so long!!  They are amazing and easy!!

I put the warm water and sugar and salt in the bread machine although it just looks like water because they dissolved quickly.

I was out of bread flour so I used my regular flour and vital wheat gluten instead.  I added the rest of the ingredients and put it on the dough cycle in the bread machine.  It did a pretty good job of mixing and not sticking to the side but I did scrape the sides just in case after it was mostly mixed.

When the dough cycle was done, it was a small amount of dough that was done so I was a little worried.

I put it on a floured cutting board and separated the dough into 8 rounds.

I pushed a hole in the middle of each of the dough balls so that they looked like a bagel. Not all of them were pretty.

I had to stretch the hole a little bigger because I was afraid that it was going to expand when resting.

I boiled 3 quarts of water with 3 tbsp of sugar and put in four at a time.  I flipped at about 30 seconds and then took them out with the metal spider strainer.

I put the bagels on the cornmeal coated baking sheet.

I did the second batch exactly the same way and put them all on the same baking sheet.

I brushed with melted butter and at the last minute decided to stop two of the bagels with cinnamon and sugar because everything is better with cinnamon and sugar.  Also, this one was pretty ugly so it covered it up.

I baked them for 20 minutes until golden brown.  They were evenly cooked.

The inside of the bagel was nice and airy.  It was soft with a nice bite around the outside.

I enjoyed one hot out of the oven and later split one toasted with butter for my husband and strawberry cream cheese for me.  They were all really good and I am excited by my newest recipe!!

There were a few left that we will get to enjoy them for the coming day but they were super amazing the night that I made them and I will totally make them again soon!!

Homemade Bread Machine Bagels

Ingredients

• 1 cup Warm Water
• 1½ teaspoon Salt
• 2 Tablespoons White Sugar
• 3 cups Bread Flour (or Regular Flour and 3 tsp Vital Wheat Gluten)
• 2¼ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
• 3 quarts Boiling Water
• 3 Tablespoons White Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Cornmeal
• 2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
• Your Choice Of Toppings- I used cinnamon and sugar

Preparation

1. Place water, salt, sugar, flour and yeast in the bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough setting.

2. When cycle is complete, let dough rest on a lightly floured surface.

3. Cut dough into 8 equal pieces, and roll each piece into a small ball. Flatten balls. Poke a hole in the middle of each with your finger. Twirl the dough on your finger or thumb to enlarge the hole, and to even out the dough around the hole. Cover bagels with a clean cloth, and let rest for 10 minutes. 

4. Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Stir in 3 tablespoons of sugar.

5. Sprinkle an ungreased baking sheet with cornmeal. Carefully transfer bagels to boiling water. Boil for 1 minute, turning halfway through. Drain with wire strainer or rest on towel. Arrange boiled bagels on the baking sheet. brush tops with butter, and sprinkle with your choice of toppings.

6. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until well browned.

February Month End Budget Update for Groceries and Eating Out

February is the shortest month which should mean that it is a great month but it is often that idea that gets me into trouble.  I shop for my family of three on $160 per month budget to include all household products including groceries, paper goods and cleaning products.  I shop sales, use coupons and do as much as possible to save as much money and spend the money wisely to feed our family for the whole month and months to come with the items that I buy at rock bottom prices.  We spend $40 per month on eating out so that both budgets come to $200 total.

Before couponing and budgeting, I could have easily spent this on what trip to Target so don't think that I am any different but I make choices to make meals from scratch, meal plan, save on groceries and more so that our family can do other things to have fun as a family.  This month we decided that we would have fun going snow tubing and in March we are going to the local college basketball game and a trip to see family far away.  We get to look forward to our fun family outings.

The month started off with the great super doubles which had me spending a little early in the month. If you want to see the break down of my different shopping trips for the first half of the month, here are all of the trips that I made then.  I got some great deals and stocked up on hot sauce, crackers, more spaghetti, rice, sugar, oil and Finish dishwasher detergent.  These are all staples that we use a lot and will go to great use over the next few months.  We got some fun things with the Pringles, Pop Tarts and soda which were some rare treats that we are enjoying a lot.

All of my trips are pictured below with the amount spent but breakdowns are only included for the second half of the month trips so that you aren't reading all day.  If you want to see the breakdowns of the other trips check out my first half of the month shopping trip post.

Harris Teeter $9.09

Harris Teeter $6.72 - $4.59- $2.05= $0.08

Harris Teeter $3.02

Harris Teeter $2.57

Harris Teeter $2.38

Harris Teeter $2.24

Harris Teeter $2.35

Harris Teeter $14.46

Harris Teeter $7.36

Harris Teeter $0.95 

Aldi $13.48

Harris Teeter $1.05

Harris Teeter $4.05

Shoppers $0.08

Giant $0.71

 

Harris Teeter $5.80

I went to the store to get the granola bars for $0.97 which was an evic special.  They only had three boxes of the ones that my son liked and I decided to get one that I thought would be a treat.  He doesn't like them so I probably should have just gotten one for my husband.  I got three boxes of free tissues after sale and coupon.  I got two Clorox Wipes which were on sale and there was a coupon and then an Ibotta rebate to get them for $0.04 each

Giant $0.10

I went to Giant to get the freebies which were the Man Cave sausage and the Chobani.  The Chobani free item came off and so did the other coupon for $0.50 off so it was a money maker.  The Man Cave sausage didn't so the customer service person had to override it.  I was under because of the Chobani overage so I grabbed the Hershey's Bar which was $1.  My total was higher then I was expecting because of the unplanned overage and I changed my plan quickly.  There was a coupon to get $1 off any of the Coconut limited time items so I grabbed the seltzer which was only $0.59 so I ran and grabbed that even though the man behind me was probably irritated by me.  Customer service had to come over twice but I was happy with my total and I was glad that I stuck with the transaction even though I was a little disappointed with how difficult it is for me to check out at Giant.

Harris Teeter $1.14

I got the weekend freebies of the Wheat Thin Chips and the Chobani flips.  I also wanted to get the $0.50 Juicy Juice after sale and coupon.  I met up with a friend and she reminded me to get the Arla cream cheese because of the free evic coupon so I parked my cart behind her and ran to the dairy section to grab it and came back to check out.  My friend had gotten all of the things on belt and we were talking when another customer carrying a basket stuck her basket in between our carts and told me that she was there because me.  I told her that we were together and pulled in together so I wasn't sure how she was in between us.  She mumbled something about long lines and not enough cashiers which really wasn't true because there were plenty of registers open.  I told her that if she was in such a hurry that she could go before me.  She got upset and grabbed her stuff and made the customer service check her out.  She got her stuff bagged and left at about the same time as us so I am not sure why she couldn't just wait but I checked out and left shortly after her.

Aldi $28.66

I went to get a few things that we were out of or running out of.  This was my big Aldi run for the month with getting lots of things.  I made the oyster crackers into my husband's garlic Parmesan crackers which should probably last awhile.  We have already started using almost everything in this trip very quickly because we didn't have much backup of anything left.  I probably could have gotten a little more but I got the bare minimum because I really didn't know where I was for the month... silly me for not adding it up because there was plenty more room in the budget.  Although I did fit it in with other errands and had to keep it all in coolers until I got home anyway.

Harris Teeter $0.00

I didn't think that I would be able to go to the store over the weekend but I got to stop on Sunday evening on our way home from snow tubing and my son helped me find everything and checked out by himself.  I guess he did really well because there wasn't any tax for some reason.

Wegman's $25.54

I went to the store because I added up all my receipts and realized that I was really below budget and we needed a few more things to get us through the next month so I figured that I would jump on the chance and pick up ground beef and my son's favorite mac and cheese.  We were also low on Cran- Grape and lettuce so I grabbed them too.

Total Retail $932.59
Total Savings $682.37
Total OOP $125.11

Eating Out

We went Snow Tubing which was moved from February 11th to February 25th but I knew that we were going to be out for awhile and we would probably stop for food so I saved our eating out budget for then.  We went to a fun little restaurant on the way home and got lunch with friends.  The total was $25.65 for the restaurant.  That is all we spent for the month eating out so below the $40 budget.

Super glad to come in below budget in both groceries and eating out and not really sure how I did it.  Although I know that menu planning helps me a lot to know that I can get dinner on the table with things in the house and know that I don't have to grab anything take out if we don't already plan ahead for it.  Working on the plan for March and hoping to get lots of deals to do the same next month too.  I hope that you had a great month too!!