ADHD and the FierceFamily

I know Jamama thinks she’s the only one for whom the perfect calendar is some sort of holy grail.  Not so!  I too am constantly looking for a calendar that will seamlessly address the following needs:

1. Free (or incredibly cheap)
2. Supports multiple calendars (Tim, Family, Work, etc.)
3. Calendar stored locally
4. Syncs with Windows Mobile Handheld
5. Syncs with Google Calendar
6. Supports category synchronization between local, Google, and Handheld

The closest I’ve managed to come is Sunbird - from Mozilla the makers of the Firefox browser and the Thunderbird email client.  It’s what I’m using right now, but it fails on two items in the list above.

1. While it is able to sync with both my handheld and Google calendar (using third party plugins) it erases my categories.
2. The calendar is not actually stored locally.

GCalDaemon is the application that allows me to set the location of my .ics file (open source calendar file) to point at my Google calendar.  The drawback is that there is no local calendar and if the GCalDaemon is not running, or I have no internet connection, my calendar will be empty.  The other plugin I use is called BirdieSync, which allows Sunbird to sinc with a variety of handheld devices.  It works great but costs $20.

At work I use Microsoft Outlook because that’s just the way it is.  While I am really quite pleased with the newest version (2007), it won’t sync with my Google calendar.  Plus, it is neither free nor cheap.  Thats said, there is a fairly decent way to sync Outlook with a Google calendar.

The search continues.  Anyone out there have any great ideas?

Ask Tim. I have invented no less than 20 versions of a “chore chart” for each of us. I’ve tried this software, laminated picture charts, flat-out bribes, point systems, a game called “Chore Chore Revolution” and more. For example, here’s a picture of the sticker chore game-board we used to use. The goal was to cover as much of the board as possible. The more squares covered with stickers, the better the prize.

But here’s my (current) favorite. I printed out the chores on my labeler. Then I printed out little symbols that Row picked.

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To me, the very worst place in the whole wide world is the grocery store. I hate it almost as much as laundry. First, there’s the trying to figure out what we’ll eat for the week.

Jamama: What do you want to eat this week?
Tim: I dunno. What do you want to eat this week?
Jamama: I dunno.

And then there’s the endless making of the grocery lists. Continue Reading »

I can’t help it. I really love my labeler.

I read that statement and think, “Criminy - get a LIFE!” But I have a life, and that is precisely why I love my labeler. When you can’t keep things in your head, you have to write them down somewhere, right? So, we made this huge calendar to keep track of all of the crazy daily stuff we need to know. For example, is it P.E. day (in which case, one must wear gym shoes) or “media” day (in which case, one must frantically ransack the house seeking the missing library book)? Or, is the school lunch both vegetarian and edible today or must we pack a lunch? And, who, exactly, is taking care of Non and Row today?

So, we got this white board, drew six weeks worth of squares on it (in permanent ink), and were ready to rock and roll (or, at least, to show up most places we’re supposed to be). But it’s overwhelming. Plus, dry erase markers actually erase permanent marker on white boards. You also have to re-write all of the regularly occurring stuff (e.g., Row buys pizza every Friday). Continue Reading »

I had a teen experience that embraced a lot of things. Let’s just say I did not behave responsibly. Maybe I was self-medicating, maybe not. I am self aware enough to not blame everything on my ADD and maybe I just made bad choices with my health and safety because I didn’t have any sense. I don’t regret it, but I sure do fear the thought of my kids (whom I happen to love more than myself), trying the same kinds of things.

Eventually I stopped doing all that. Not because I decided it was wrong, dangerous, or a waste of money. Mostly it was because I just didn’t have the time, and I stopped being around other people who were still doing it. I guess I grew up. And had the good fortune to be able to walk away from things that others had more trouble with.

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I should be doing laundry. Or making entries in our checkbook. (Wait, scratch that, we don’t even have a checkbook anymore. I guess I should be developing a checkbook.) I could be cleaning out the scary “catch-all” laundry basket sitting next to my desk. Instead, I’ve taken up sock knitting (I use this program to make some of the patterns).

All in all, it’s a very bizarre enterprise. The needles look crazy. And, what is the benefit of a hand-knitted sock, anyway? I’m quite sure they won’t last as long as a machine-made and reinforced sock. If they aren’t lost first.

Nonetheless, I knitted some for Tim , Non, and Row.

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