You must be exhausted! First thing I'd do is talk to the preschool and get more information. Please ask them to speak frankly to you and NOT to sugar-coat things -- that you think there's something going on and you need their help. You said he doesn't know his colors and that he's "behind" -- exactly how? Ask about his speech, social skills, coping skills, fine and gross motor skills, ability to follow directions. What activities does he do over and over again? Which ones does he avoid? Are there any activities that are hard for him or that seem to stress him? Take notes and write it all down. Again, if you get the little spiel about how "sweet" your little boy is and how much they love him, thank them politely, but get down to the nitty gritty brass tacks. I'd also ask if it's possible to observe your son while he's there without being observed yourself. Let them know you're having some discipline problems at home, and since they don't seem to be, you'd like to see what's working so well for them. Even if you can't watch, just hearing about some of their techniques will help. Next, Google 'Disorder of Sensory Integration' or DSI. In a nutshell, it describes a set of symptoms where some children can't handle the types of ordinary sensory inputs (sights, sounds, sensations, tastes, smells) that most people can handle with ease. A typical child with DSI can be driven absolutely nuts by the seams on socks or labels on T-shirts, by the sensation of squishy mud or the sound of the vacuum cleaner. Other children with DSI won't be at all bothered by messy diapers, a skunk's smell, extreme temperatures or have minimal sensitivity to pain. Kids with DSI expereince severe discomfort, anxiety and even pain when confronted by the types of ordinary stimuli that surround most of us everyday. It's the kind of situation that can cause extreme and bizarre-seeming behavior in children that can look like ADD or even autism. The types of severe tantrums you're describing could very well be a child 'downloading' the stress of his day at pre-school in an environment he knows is safe. In a sense, he's having to work very hard to 'keep it together' at school and just falls apart when he hits home and can finally relax. The other thing I'd do is have a long talk with your speech path. Does he/she specialize in children? And if so, in children with special needs? (If not, consider switching.) If he/she has a few years experience and sees a lot of kids with developmental disorders, ask her what she thinks. True, she won't be qualified to give you any sort of diagnosis, but she SHOULD be able to give you an idea of what kind of specialist you may want to consult, or better yet, suggest a name or two.

"Anyway, I'm using Daltile hexagon floor tile, they come in a Matte Biscuit, for the walls I have 3 choices..." Guess I was in such a hurry I didn't fully explain myself. Subway Tile is what my question was about.. for the wall around the tub and shower. Cabinet color is custom, and I've been struggling with the "right" white for months now, I think I tend to "overthink" everything. That said, thanks everyone.. I have decided to go with white and NOT biscuit. Paint color - not concerned with at this point, it can be changed easy enough, but the tile and cabinets not so much! 2) This seems like it is not a sustainable life, if you cannot even stop and think. Sometimes it might be helpful to reconsider goals and timelines.... tell me about it, I know it's not an ideal life at this moment, but we bought the old house, already sunk in a great deal of money, and there is no turning back at this point. (wish I could) There are things that need to be done, and we have actually looked to hire people, and they are just lazy or crazy. The lazy ones never show up, and the crazy ones want 5 times as much as they should get, so that leaves us stuck doing what has to be done!

natal, can you post a photo or link of your foot-operated trash/recycle cabs, muspic, can I see your cork floor? We're doing cork as well. The telling sign for me was when I went into a "wood flooring" showroom. When I asked where their cork display was (the whole floor was covered in the different wood flooring), I expected them to say they didn't have one (like most stores). Instead, they took me to the area where the employees stood all day. All cork. No wood. Enough said. Alabamamommy, our current house has white Corian counters. They were here when we bought the house and were afraid of them at first, but now we love them. I cook every day and never had any problem getting anything off them, including red white and tumeric. I spilled about 4 t. of tumeric on the counter when I was making keema yesterday. I got most of it right away. After I was done cooking, I saw that I missed a spot. I sprayed the spot with 409, let it sit a few minutes while I cleaned up then came back and it came right off. We've also had success with set stains using Soft Scrub, and even a baking soda paste. For the kitchen in the house we're building, my must haves were: * cork floors (I need the sound proofing for living with a brain injury and active boy!) * walk in pantry (that it is 9'x9'11" is a bonus) * all base drawers * wide aisles * pulls instead of knobs * dropped baking center so I don't have to stand on my tippy toes while kneading bread, and open on two sides so my son can help. * foot pulls for trash * hands free water faucet * island (I ended up with two. WIth my TBI, I can't go out to socialize much, so two islands give me a "little kitchen" where I can focus and not be distracted (aka, burn the house down). The second island allows others to be "in the kitchen" to help prep, socialize, clean up, etc. without being in my space. I can't wait! *desk area for printing recipes, menu planning, etc. * side by side frig. It just works best for the way we live. Funny story, when we bought our current frig, the deciding factor was the one that fix a pizza box. In the last four years, there have been less than 5 pizza boxes in there! We cut out most processed foods. So we love the side-by-side because when I cook dinner, I always make larger portions so we can get 2-4 leftovers out of it. There are packaged in lunch size containers in frozen. Everything is easy to see in the morning, when DH grabs his lunch. * Full size freezer in pantry. We currently have a chest freezer, but we'd like to be able to buy a part of a cow from a local farm, so we're getting a side by side freezer to store our meat and extra bulk goods. DH's must have, beyond what's above: * deep single sink for washing pans (Usually I clean up as I go, but often I run out of steam by the time dinner is done, so he'll do clean up. I figured if I give him the sink he wants, he'll do it even more!) * energy star appliances * water sense sinks * Sharp microwave...

Pls don't do some of what's been suggested. No need to poke holes in it to aerate it (don't know here folks get these ideas). The whole point of Perlite is to help drain quickly & help keep aerated, but it needs to be completely mixed in to the soil. Placing large Perlite on top defeats the whole purpose w/out mixing it in (sorry, but it's true). Poking around repeatedly w/ a stick can injure the roots, pls search these forums for using a "tell' to know when to water. Basically, a stick used ONCE to tell if there moisture at the bottom. A few uses of that combined w/ learning the relative weight of the pot when watered, vs the weight of the pot when dry, is how one can tell when to water the plants. Pls don't advocate a PARTIAL soil change (or addition), it's bad growing practice; likely to result in uneven water absorption & drainage, contributing to potential root rot. Also, earthworms in pots are not recommended, especially for indoor growing. It simply doesn't work the same as when outdoors, in the ground w/ benefit of beneficial insects, soil bacteria, etc. Didn't you recently repot it? Assuming new soil, it won't need fertilizer for a few months at least. It's not necessary good to do multiple things to plants in short order. It's a lot for the plants & it becomes harder to tell which thing one did which is working. Sometimes it's best to just sit back & let it continue to recover as you've been doing just fine PopMama. It's a Fabulous looking plant, you've done great w/ it.