Dean....

So we are working with a new therapist with Dean to help him get through life, I guess you would say. He has been really struggling for the last few weeks. Especially as it gets closer to Gerry's deployment. The list that he made up has worked wonders so far, but he still has his moments. Last week we had a great week, no real outbursts and he did not lose his temper like normal. This week has been more of a struggle but I think I have found another way to help him. Every night at bed time he starts to come up with excuses to not go to bed, he is hungry, or wants a hot bath to help him relax. To combat these excuses, he has to eat dinner with us, which he has been making excuses not to, and if he is still hungry he can have a snack about eight- eight thirty. The bath thing, he takes that around seven o'clock to seven thirty. Then we will go to his room and I will read to him out of the book of choice, which is currently the second book in the Inheritance Series. He loved the Eragon movie and I bought him both books in paperback when they finally came out in paperback. So far so good. The punishment that his therapist came up with is working really good. He gets his lizards taken away if he loses his temper and hits dad or myself. Now if I can just get him to do all his homework and behave at school. He has started to struggle there. I am hoping this is just a reaction to the upcoming deployment and that he will do better, but we will have to wait and see. I am signing him up for wrestling this month, which will make uncles and one cousin very happy, not to mention grandpa. We will see if that will help him with some of his problems. He is very active otherwise, but I am hoping that learning the focus of wrestling will help him more. Cooking lessons are going great, he loves his new cookbook and I have found a great recipe for sherbert on the Relief Society blog that I think he will like since he loves sherbert.