Ifferjenn Independent

So while I think I could do this in Photoshop, I like getting pictures like this with just the camera! For this one, Ethan was running in front of me. I didn’t aim or anything, so that was luck. It was also dusk, with the sun having just gone behind the trees, so the exposure was a couple seconds.

(Ethan is starting at me, just inches away from my head.)

It’s okay. I’m just looking at your hair.

Why we shouldn’t give Ethan coffee…

This one should really be on a t-shirt. And I will hunt you down for the royalties if I see it…

Make housework into a game…then your kids will do it for you!

In related news, Ethan loves drying dishes! He actually complained when I didn’t give him enough.

I love that Ethan is turning into a little readaholic!

So John showed me a neat trick with Photoshop on how to take pictures and make them look like there’s a toy something in them. My problem is that I don’t have lots of narrow focus pictures, since I’m a big fill-the-frame photographer.

Roughly a month ago, Ethan went to visit his pediatrician, and we had him diagnosed with ADHD. To start, we got a prescription for 10 mg of extended release Adderall, and an appointment to come back in a month to check his weight.

Well.

Being an amphetamine, Adderall can suppress hunger, hence it made a great diet drug. Unfortunately, it also means that it did the same to Ethan, who really does not need to be losing weight. Which is what he did, losing 4 pounds in a month. It’s also apparently lasting longer in him than it usually lasts in kids. For him, it wears off around bedtime, though he’s also been waking up during the night, which he’s rarely done since he started sleeping through the night. But, it’s also definitely helping him at school.

Apparently, Ethan takes after his mom a lot. As a comparison, I’m on 5 mg of Lexapro regularly. Whenever I tell a doctor that, they always look at me and say, “Really?! And that helps?!” Well, yes, it does. But I’m apparently really sensitive to medications. So is Ethan, as we’re finding out. But we don’t want to abandon the Adderall altogether, so we’re going to switch him over to 5 mg as well. We’re also going to switch to traditional release, as opposed to the extended release kind. For average kids, it’ll wear off around lunch time, so hopefully his will take him through the end of the school day.

Ethan’s been visiting his dad this week, as it’s his February Vacation. This is now the longest time it’s been since I’ve seen him…ever. I miss my Monkey.

This is one of those pictures you probably want to click on and see the big version. I likes it!

Since we got this game of Trouble for Yule/Christmas, I’ve won one game. ONE. Okay, I’ll admit I let him win a couple after the first game (the only one I won), but now… Now it’s personal.