Special Exposure / Wordless Weds: Stormy Spring

The sun is shining brightly, and afternoons are rather brassy with heat held down by afternoon clouds. Grasses and flowers are rioting forth, bringing us pollen and allergies.

Time to pull focus and see where we were we've been since early March until recently:

Photo from school parking lot. Awesome.

Meanwhile, on the way home ...

Kind of parallels what I'm going through right now with the kids. Come on, good weather!


For more images from others and to share some of yours,
visit Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs.






               and ... Wordless Wednesday

SOOC Saturday: Changeable

James has been really talking socially and describing his thoughts so that even people who don't engage with him often can understand and reciprocate. This is good change! Meanwhile, we've had quite the week for weather. Even had some small earthquakes rumble and jerk their way through our home. It's been a changeable week.

We started out grey, cold, and rainy; then it began to clear and warm:

The flowers and plants loved the shift from winter gloom to hot sunshine:

And by week's end:

I'm participating in the SOOC action at Marvelous Mommy's blog. Come on over to see more or join in!

Changeable As ...

James has been having a tough week. Focusing, staying on task, and transitioning are not going as well as they usually do. He gets upset more easily. I hear him at night, more restless than usual. His nose is running and he has a cough, but no fever -- allergies? Could be -- there are vineyards on back of us, and they are busy trying to get in the crop (VERY early in the morning) after another weird summer. He is definitely more fretful than usual.

Then I looked through my camera pics over the past week and saw something else - extreme weather swings. Last week we experienced 100∘in dry heat. This is very uncomfortable for James, who runs hot in general. He literally melts down in hot temps. We made a couple of runs to the frozen yogurt place we love so much, just to feel a bit better after school. The extremes from going between a playground that melts him into the cool, air-conditioned classroom and home can't be healthy.

We had a low-pressure rain system mosey on through over last weekend, dropping temps and some precipitation. Come Monday, we were back up into the 90s with a little humidity. The grape harvest behind us swing into high gear, kicking up dust and who knows what else. Then they fertilized with something natural, or it got so hot we could smell the stables from down the lane in back of us -- either way,  it didn't smell too purdy. James had fun trying out all the shorts his cousin just handed him down. He started complaining his throat hurt as his nose ran more.

This morning, he picked out a really loud (but cheerful) pair of blue-and-green plaid shorts. This is what we saw when we looked outside:

From talking with other Moms and reading their online posts, it seems as though the weather can affect childrens' behaviour -- especially if they have sensitivity issues. Research studies do not back this up, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that there really might be a connection. I've come to view scientific discoveries as a work-in-progress ... but I digress.

We have a birthday party to attend this weekend, but then I think we're taking it easy. Happy fin de semana, regardless of the weather!