yes, this is a kid related entry, how'd you guess?
we waited until the night before to tell jewel about her upcoming psych/counseling appointment. we just aren't of a mind to put up with what we thought would be the resulting mood for much longer than one night. however, she took the announcement rather well, surprisingly enough. she was sulky the next morning, but didn't argue about it or try to make a run for it.
she almost didn't have to see said doctor because we had to update her visitor status and it looked like we weren't going to be able to do that (and $75 was a bit steep for us), but the update came in under the wire and so she was stuck.
however, i went in first to let the doctor know the situation and our concerns. she gave me some forms for saxy and i to fill out, along with a couple of forms for teachers. they apparently can't check for learning disabilities, but they can check for adhd and other possible issues. this is a good thing, and i have told the doctor that i doubt anything she has is all that serious, but that we do want to be sure that if there's something she needs to be given leeway for, we know about it and can indeed give her that leeway. jewel has always been just a touch off -- zigging instead of zagging, talking about the unrelated tea in china when we're talking about something else entirely, and so on and so forth. it's never been major, but it's always been there. and then there's the family history: adhd, autism, and paranoid schizophrenia. so, a check is a good thing.
then we sent miss jewel in, all sullen. she hasn't said much about what they talked about, but she also didn't seem too irritated about a second appointment being made. so, all in all, her day with the shrink wasn't all that bad, as far as we can tell.
i do wonder if the doctor mentioned anything about at least trying to get along. she's been comparatively mild mood-wise since. i doubt it's anything permanent, but it is interesting. granted, it's only been a few days, but a few days of peace is a blessing in the daily arguments of the last couple of months or so.
the only exception would be with the sister. she and froggy have been in a bicker-fest ever since said appointment. however, i blame this more on the vacation. the end of said vacation comes with mixed feelings for me. i'll enjoy having the kids out and a little less argumentative with each other, but mourn the time i'll no longer have for writing.
not that much of that has been going on either.
we did do a switch of the chores, handing more to froggy and giving jewel a bit more relief (froggy, it turns out, can vacuum better than anyone in the house!), and, for some reason, we've ended up with more bickering. today was a take care of the yard kind of day, and i had to break up at least 3 fights in the space of 3 hours, none of which involved taz (who did a spectacular job sweeping the front stairs).
jewel getting out of the house for a job interview (which she did not get, but she did pick up another application or two) was a relief.
something's definitely twisting in miss jewel's mind. it's probably too soon to see if it's a permanent thing, but i wish it would cross over and settle the bickering.
