In addition to the whole losing-multiple-jobs-in-eight-short-weeks-fiasco,   we've been struggling with another issue.  Well, really it's been me, because I tend to worry a whole lot more than Steve about things like this.  Gracie has been having a bit of trouble at school.  Mostly, she's having difficulty focusing when she's supposed to and staying on task when she's assigned work.  I know that she gets this tendency from me - I tend to flit from one task to another, which explains why I usually have ten almost-finished projects on my to-do list.  At her five-year-appointment, Gracie was wound up more than usual, jumping from the exam table to my arms and talking in her usual non-stop way.  The pediatrician, almost casually, mentioned attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.  He tempered that bombshell with his affirmation that she is bright.  His biggest concern was that we might overlook something because of her intelligence that might actually help to make her school experience better.  I asked what I should do and he said at this point:  nothing.  He said to wait and see how she does in a formal school setting next year and if she has trouble adjusting, then we'll talk about evaluating her.  I, of course, don't want to wait another year if there's something I can do to help her now.  So, I scheduled a meeting with her preschool teacher.  I voiced my concerns and they (the school director was there, too) told me that generally, evaluating for AD/HD isn't done until the child is at least six, so there's no real point in even worrying about it now.  Her teacher said that Gracie does have trouble focusing and staying on task, but she's within what the teachers feels are normal limits for a kid her age.  They also said that Gracie does seem to be a little socially immature for her age.  This did not come as a shock to me.  For the first three years of her life, she really didn't seem to be social at all.  She was talkative and playful with us and people she was familiar with, but if you put her in a situation where she didn't know people, she completely melted down.  So, it's only been in the last two years that her social skills have blossomed and I think she's just still playing catch-up at this point.  I'm not really worried about the social skills, at least not too much .  So, her teacher gave me some handouts with things that I can do to help her with her focusing skills and I read through them.  I'm trying to help her with this each day (well, when I'm not hollering at her to get dressed or to stop pestering her baby sister or to brush her teach, and on and on and on).  I don't know if these things are working, but I have added something else into the mix that seems to be a smashing success.

I decided that if Gracie is having trouble staying on task, we needed to find something that she would enjoy that would require her to focus.  So, we've instituted Sunday night dinners with Chef Gracie.  She gets to pick the meal that we cook and then she prepares the whole meal (with help and guidance from Mommy).  It has been an amazing experience for me and I hope for her.  She is a joy to have in the kitchen.  The first week, we made lasagna (I found a kid-friendly recipe at FamilyFun), garlic bread, salad, and brownies with pink frosting.  The dinner was delicious and Gracie stayed on task the entire time.  Last week, we made Breakfast for Dinner (sausage, eggs, and biscuits).  The only thing negative that happened that week was her spilling two cups of whipping cream on my camera.  My heart stopped for fifteen seconds until I realized it was fine.  And the accident was totally my fault - I never should have left my camera on the table in the vicinity of a 5-year-old chef!  .  Tonight, we are making Chicken Club Pizza and we made chocolate chip cookies earlier this afternoon.  I am finding myself looking forward to this cooking sessions with delight.  I hope that we can continue them for a long time to come.  I hope and pray that as she matures, her trouble paying attention will improve.  But most of all, I hope she knows that whatever struggles she has, I will be here to help her in any way I can.

Here she is the first week, mixing up the lasagna cheese mixture.



And last week, cracking the eggs.  That is her only request each week - she wants to make something that has eggs (Now, she won't eat eggs, but she absolutely loves cracking them )