See you on the other side!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Friday, August 06, 2010
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
The Summer As We Saw It.
"Joey did great! He's had a great time! He's really adjusting! He's going to be fine."
You'd think these words would be comforting. I honestly believe they were intended as comforting. We sent my child to four weeks of summer programming- an excellent summer enrichment program, by the way- to try to transition him to a new school and new people. We knew it wasn't going to be a waltz through the tulips. However, what I saw was not encouraging.
What I usually see is a happy Joey pitching in and hamming it up, grinning to be in front of people and showing off, or at least showing off for Mommy. You get used to seeing Joey having fun doing stuff, even when he isn't the most perfect or graceful about it (well, to other people. To me, he looks absolutely wonderful.)
I am not used to seeing this:
He then had to have the teacher come get him from my arms, and go for a walk with the special ed teacher. Oh, he had earplugs in; but it was all too much. Too many people, too much noise, too much to try to coordinate and do. The other child you see the teacher working with? He didn't get ESY services in his IEP, he's there as a "regular" attendee. I could rant on about that from several different angles. Let's just stick to noting that Joey is unhappy, and bolting- something that occurred all of twice at school all of the previous school year, but was apparently a regular occurrence during the summer program, and certainly has become a regular enough occurrence here that we are considering upping the security on our doors (he's figured out the keys, and soon will figure out how to reach them). I had been thinking our parking hangtag was going to be obsolete by renewal time, now I'm thinking, no, we'll be renewing it- and that is still two years away. About the time we will be transitioning to the next new school.
I love hearing that Joey is doing great and fine and having fun. But it would sure be more convincing if we saw some evidence of truth in it.
You'd think these words would be comforting. I honestly believe they were intended as comforting. We sent my child to four weeks of summer programming- an excellent summer enrichment program, by the way- to try to transition him to a new school and new people. We knew it wasn't going to be a waltz through the tulips. However, what I saw was not encouraging.
What I usually see is a happy Joey pitching in and hamming it up, grinning to be in front of people and showing off, or at least showing off for Mommy. You get used to seeing Joey having fun doing stuff, even when he isn't the most perfect or graceful about it (well, to other people. To me, he looks absolutely wonderful.)
I am not used to seeing this:
He then had to have the teacher come get him from my arms, and go for a walk with the special ed teacher. Oh, he had earplugs in; but it was all too much. Too many people, too much noise, too much to try to coordinate and do. The other child you see the teacher working with? He didn't get ESY services in his IEP, he's there as a "regular" attendee. I could rant on about that from several different angles. Let's just stick to noting that Joey is unhappy, and bolting- something that occurred all of twice at school all of the previous school year, but was apparently a regular occurrence during the summer program, and certainly has become a regular enough occurrence here that we are considering upping the security on our doors (he's figured out the keys, and soon will figure out how to reach them). I had been thinking our parking hangtag was going to be obsolete by renewal time, now I'm thinking, no, we'll be renewing it- and that is still two years away. About the time we will be transitioning to the next new school.
I love hearing that Joey is doing great and fine and having fun. But it would sure be more convincing if we saw some evidence of truth in it.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Beach Camp Week: In Preparation for the Real Thing
This week, I am thinking of doing a Beach Camp with the boys, since next week, we will be At the Beach. This might be tricky, since Joey has been something of a lump of anxious nerves since summer started, and part of the idea is to give him some structure. On the other hand, I need to limit expenses, as we need every dime we can put hands on to spend at the beach, since we will be there a whole week.
I thought the highlight of the week should be the Aquarium in Baltimore, but there are few roadblocks to this. For one, Joey has not been riding well in the car, and to ad to his anxiety, my van died. We're in a small neon right now. Two hours in a neon might not be good for the child's nerves. I also must consider he is facing a 4-hour trek to the beach in a week. For two, the aquarium is something of a love-hate thing for Joey. He loves the dolphins, the fish, the mirrors. He hates the dark and crowded parts. Do I risk adding anxiety in hopes that he will have a good time, in face of lots of new and exciting things in a week's time? On the other hand, it may be our chance for the summer to get up there. After we get back from the beach, Joey starts OT camp, and shortly thereafter my classes start. He has been saying he is interested in being a lifeguard, and he loves the dolphin show, and catching his interest might be worth the risk.
I also want to set up a schedule for the day, something I can put on paper and stick to. This is very difficult for us, as life is in constant flux, and things change quickly. I'd like for the days to go something like this:
7-8am: Rise and shine, get dressed and ready for the day.
8-9am: Breakfast
9-10:30 am: Mom works with grandma at the office. Boys get playtime or work on worksheets and reading.
10:30-10:45- Snacktime.
10:45-12:45: Pooltime. (Joey has swimming lesson at 11 on Fridays, so that would be covered).
12:45-2:00: lunch.
2:00-4:00 Camp Time!. (On Tuesdays, we have Speech Therapy at 2, and OT at 3-4, so this would be covered)
*** 2:00-2:30 Science Activity 1
***2:30-3:00 Craft Activity
***3:00-3:30 Science Activity 2
***3:30-4:00 Snack Activity
4:00-5:45- Pool Time.
5:45-6:30- Dinner
6:30-7:30- Boy Relaxation.
7:30- Time to start bedtime routines.
Now I just have to come up with all those activity things. I have some awesome science kits that Mom got for us, so if we don't have to stay too focused on a theme, we should do OK. I also have this odd feeling that I may need to clean my house- space and organization might be helpful. Fortunately, my summer classes are done, so I have a few minutes. After I set up the fall classes, of course, Yeeps. Oh, and Monday I have to stop by my college and turn in some paperwork. And then... and then...
Have activity suggestions? I'd love 'em! :)
I thought the highlight of the week should be the Aquarium in Baltimore, but there are few roadblocks to this. For one, Joey has not been riding well in the car, and to ad to his anxiety, my van died. We're in a small neon right now. Two hours in a neon might not be good for the child's nerves. I also must consider he is facing a 4-hour trek to the beach in a week. For two, the aquarium is something of a love-hate thing for Joey. He loves the dolphins, the fish, the mirrors. He hates the dark and crowded parts. Do I risk adding anxiety in hopes that he will have a good time, in face of lots of new and exciting things in a week's time? On the other hand, it may be our chance for the summer to get up there. After we get back from the beach, Joey starts OT camp, and shortly thereafter my classes start. He has been saying he is interested in being a lifeguard, and he loves the dolphin show, and catching his interest might be worth the risk.
I also want to set up a schedule for the day, something I can put on paper and stick to. This is very difficult for us, as life is in constant flux, and things change quickly. I'd like for the days to go something like this:
7-8am: Rise and shine, get dressed and ready for the day.
8-9am: Breakfast
9-10:30 am: Mom works with grandma at the office. Boys get playtime or work on worksheets and reading.
10:30-10:45- Snacktime.
10:45-12:45: Pooltime. (Joey has swimming lesson at 11 on Fridays, so that would be covered).
12:45-2:00: lunch.
2:00-4:00 Camp Time!. (On Tuesdays, we have Speech Therapy at 2, and OT at 3-4, so this would be covered)
*** 2:00-2:30 Science Activity 1
***2:30-3:00 Craft Activity
***3:00-3:30 Science Activity 2
***3:30-4:00 Snack Activity
4:00-5:45- Pool Time.
5:45-6:30- Dinner
6:30-7:30- Boy Relaxation.
7:30- Time to start bedtime routines.
Now I just have to come up with all those activity things. I have some awesome science kits that Mom got for us, so if we don't have to stay too focused on a theme, we should do OK. I also have this odd feeling that I may need to clean my house- space and organization might be helpful. Fortunately, my summer classes are done, so I have a few minutes. After I set up the fall classes, of course, Yeeps. Oh, and Monday I have to stop by my college and turn in some paperwork. And then... and then...
Have activity suggestions? I'd love 'em! :)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
When Summer Ends, Yet Isn't Over
Tomorrow is Joey's last day at his school program. The rest of ESY for him will be two weeks of OT in two weeks. It's been a wild month. Joey's been a real roller-coaster, with a lot of anxiety, a lot more stimming and acting out, and not a lot of talking about his day at school. None of these are good signs. Since these new folks don't know what Joey can do, I am very concerned that they think this has gone well because he has been "managed" and gotten through the program. From what I see here, we have a huge problem, and it is not likely to get better before the fall.
On another front, Andy's last T-Ball game was (finally) today. He wants me to sign him up for soccer in the fall. I think I will only put my money down if they can tell me who the coaches are. I don't really care who they are, as long as I am not one of them. I didn't know anything about T-Ball, and I doubt any of my players will be interested in playing this coming spring. I know even less about soccer.
So here we are, at the end of summer, and yet we still have five weeks before school gets going. Well, until the boys' school gets going. Mine starts Aug 19, provided I can get my classes back into the system!
On another front, Andy's last T-Ball game was (finally) today. He wants me to sign him up for soccer in the fall. I think I will only put my money down if they can tell me who the coaches are. I don't really care who they are, as long as I am not one of them. I didn't know anything about T-Ball, and I doubt any of my players will be interested in playing this coming spring. I know even less about soccer.
So here we are, at the end of summer, and yet we still have five weeks before school gets going. Well, until the boys' school gets going. Mine starts Aug 19, provided I can get my classes back into the system!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Moments to Blush
You know, life happens. And sometimes you wonder if you're being a little selfish about it. I had two moments today with that oddish feeling that the world is staring at me, and perhaps I was feeling a bit selfish about it.
This morning, we chugged through our routine- take Dad to work because we're down to one working car, get Joey bundled off to ESY, take Andy to his beloved nature camp. I signed Andy up for three sessions of said camp, and last week folks looked surprised and explained that it was the exact same camp. That doesn't bother us. In fact, that's a good thing for us, because then Andy knows what to expect. And he's superlatively happy at the camp. He was so happy, he put on his camp t-shirt proudly to go to camp, chattering happily about playing in the creek and which footprint cast he was going to make this week.
This morning, we had a different set of ladies running said camp than we have had for the last two sessions. This time, the lady comes down the walk, calling "Are you Andy's mom?" Startled, I responded to the affirmative; and was promptly treated to a lecture about how the director of summer activities had been trying to call us all weekend and we were not supposed to sign up for more than one session because there was a waiting list and other kids didn't get a chance to come to the camp at all and...
... and I took Andy's hand, turned to the car, with a comment to the effect of, "Well, we certainly do not want to be someplace we are not welcome." It was not the gracious thing to say; saying nothing would probably have been far better. We went down to the parks and rec office and pulled Andy from the remaining summer activities, and demanded refunds; and the ladies there were gracious (and intelligent) enough to comply immediately and without comment. There was a note there from the director of summer activities, too, so they were kind of expecting us; probably helped. And I must say, Mama Bear is a rather large, imposing woman with a face like thunder when she is Unhappy, which probably also helped.
But the result is that Andy cannot go to his beloved camp. Now, when we got home some hours later, there was a handwritten note from the director of summer activities stuck in my door with some nonsense about how she wanted to just refund the first day and he was welcome to go the rest of the week, but I have no interest in leaving my child with that lady who felt it appropriate to berate me in front of not only my own child, but the other parents and children who were arriving for the camp. It was not only mortifying, but I have a few questions about judgment, there. And how will these people feel about my child now? No, I'm not taking a chance on that. Camp Andy shall be hastily gathered together and implemented. It shall involve fun things like wading in Grandma's river, going to the Bug Box (which we did today), and making bean mosaics (I happened to pick up some beans on the reduced rack just last week for the purpose of making mosaics...) If I am feeling really chipper, I might even get out stuff to make chocolate mold casts (I don't have footprint molds, but I have plenty of rabbits and Santas!). Maybe we'll use plaster- or maybe we'll use chocolate. ;) And next week? JoeyAndy Camp commences! I am considering a trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, as a replacement for "Under the Sea" and a prelude to our week at the beach.
Such were my cranking gears and thoughts as Joey came home and it was time for lunch. I decided to take them to their favorite Monday restaurant (it serves mac and cheese on Mondays, so Joey is all about it; and Andy likes the toy machines, where he can get mini glow sticks for a quarter). It's a lovely little place, very homey, been going there since I was a nipper myself. It has all-you-can-eat veggies and salad and stuff, and AYCE ice cream in the bargain, so I usually have happy boys getting their own food and feeling that modicum of control over their lives that young boys like.
But today, I accidentally spilled my drink onto one of Joey's Zhu Zhu Pets (the pet is fine, all dry, no worries). Joey has been very out-of-sorts this summer. I don't think he's doing that well with his ESY program- too many kids and too many field trips, not enough normalcy and routine that he needs- and the insanity of summer just gets to him. He gets a little hair-triggery, and this didn't even need a hair trigger, it was a perfectly obvious trigger. He did a lap around the restaurant, screaming "He's ruined! My Zhu Zhu Pet is ruined!" at the top of his lungs.
The moment of deafening silence in the restaurant as I caught the upset child and hugged him nearly broke my heart. So often, we are mostly invisible in public, and especially in familiar settings such as this restaurant. He had been overwhelmed by an avalanche of small things: a morning at busy ESY, the hub-bub of the public space with his growing sound sensitivity, the fact that we left immediately for lunch, so he didn't get his few minutes of computer time, Andy demanding his attention and barraging him with questions and instructions for playing, and then the drink spilled upon his beloved toy... and these are the things I can immediately report.
"You're OK," I said to calm him, "Look, I have the Zhu Zhu all dry, its OK, I am so sorry. You're OK."
"She says that kid is OK," I heard the lady in the next booth say quite clearly, "but clearly he's not OK." Perhaps I am a little sensitive or paranoid, but the way this was said, and the fact that she was speaking to the person next to her, yet looking straight at us, I'm sure this was meant for us. The waitress thought so, too, because she said something I didn't catch, very quietly, to the lady. I decided to simply ignore it at the moment, and get Joey to his seat and finishing his lunch. Our waitress fussed over him a little, making sure his drink was filled, asking if he needed anything, directing her attention to him, which also distracted him and got him re-settled.
We went out to see my mom after, and the boys were raising a rumpus (did I mention they are a little out of sorts?), and I told her about it, including the moment of silence. She immediately changed the subject. Again, talking about it in front of him was not a moment of good grace. So what if I felt all those eyes upon us? Life isn't all about me; the important thing is to get Joey calm and help him cope with being overwhelmed. How does he feel to hear his mommy talk about a moment he, too, may have found embarrassing?
I wish I could now write a paragraph as I did about Andy's situation, with all the creative and constructive things I will be doing to make this right. But I just don't see a lot I can do to make embarrassing my child in front of his grandmother right. We will talk about it some, I will ask the OT what I can do, we will try to assess situations faster and avoid the overwhelm better. And talking about my own feelings of such moments with mom? I'll wait until he's in bed asleep. It will keep (and if it doesn't, perhaps that's for the best, too).
This morning, we chugged through our routine- take Dad to work because we're down to one working car, get Joey bundled off to ESY, take Andy to his beloved nature camp. I signed Andy up for three sessions of said camp, and last week folks looked surprised and explained that it was the exact same camp. That doesn't bother us. In fact, that's a good thing for us, because then Andy knows what to expect. And he's superlatively happy at the camp. He was so happy, he put on his camp t-shirt proudly to go to camp, chattering happily about playing in the creek and which footprint cast he was going to make this week.
This morning, we had a different set of ladies running said camp than we have had for the last two sessions. This time, the lady comes down the walk, calling "Are you Andy's mom?" Startled, I responded to the affirmative; and was promptly treated to a lecture about how the director of summer activities had been trying to call us all weekend and we were not supposed to sign up for more than one session because there was a waiting list and other kids didn't get a chance to come to the camp at all and...
... and I took Andy's hand, turned to the car, with a comment to the effect of, "Well, we certainly do not want to be someplace we are not welcome." It was not the gracious thing to say; saying nothing would probably have been far better. We went down to the parks and rec office and pulled Andy from the remaining summer activities, and demanded refunds; and the ladies there were gracious (and intelligent) enough to comply immediately and without comment. There was a note there from the director of summer activities, too, so they were kind of expecting us; probably helped. And I must say, Mama Bear is a rather large, imposing woman with a face like thunder when she is Unhappy, which probably also helped.
But the result is that Andy cannot go to his beloved camp. Now, when we got home some hours later, there was a handwritten note from the director of summer activities stuck in my door with some nonsense about how she wanted to just refund the first day and he was welcome to go the rest of the week, but I have no interest in leaving my child with that lady who felt it appropriate to berate me in front of not only my own child, but the other parents and children who were arriving for the camp. It was not only mortifying, but I have a few questions about judgment, there. And how will these people feel about my child now? No, I'm not taking a chance on that. Camp Andy shall be hastily gathered together and implemented. It shall involve fun things like wading in Grandma's river, going to the Bug Box (which we did today), and making bean mosaics (I happened to pick up some beans on the reduced rack just last week for the purpose of making mosaics...) If I am feeling really chipper, I might even get out stuff to make chocolate mold casts (I don't have footprint molds, but I have plenty of rabbits and Santas!). Maybe we'll use plaster- or maybe we'll use chocolate. ;) And next week? JoeyAndy Camp commences! I am considering a trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, as a replacement for "Under the Sea" and a prelude to our week at the beach.
Such were my cranking gears and thoughts as Joey came home and it was time for lunch. I decided to take them to their favorite Monday restaurant (it serves mac and cheese on Mondays, so Joey is all about it; and Andy likes the toy machines, where he can get mini glow sticks for a quarter). It's a lovely little place, very homey, been going there since I was a nipper myself. It has all-you-can-eat veggies and salad and stuff, and AYCE ice cream in the bargain, so I usually have happy boys getting their own food and feeling that modicum of control over their lives that young boys like.
But today, I accidentally spilled my drink onto one of Joey's Zhu Zhu Pets (the pet is fine, all dry, no worries). Joey has been very out-of-sorts this summer. I don't think he's doing that well with his ESY program- too many kids and too many field trips, not enough normalcy and routine that he needs- and the insanity of summer just gets to him. He gets a little hair-triggery, and this didn't even need a hair trigger, it was a perfectly obvious trigger. He did a lap around the restaurant, screaming "He's ruined! My Zhu Zhu Pet is ruined!" at the top of his lungs.
The moment of deafening silence in the restaurant as I caught the upset child and hugged him nearly broke my heart. So often, we are mostly invisible in public, and especially in familiar settings such as this restaurant. He had been overwhelmed by an avalanche of small things: a morning at busy ESY, the hub-bub of the public space with his growing sound sensitivity, the fact that we left immediately for lunch, so he didn't get his few minutes of computer time, Andy demanding his attention and barraging him with questions and instructions for playing, and then the drink spilled upon his beloved toy... and these are the things I can immediately report.
"You're OK," I said to calm him, "Look, I have the Zhu Zhu all dry, its OK, I am so sorry. You're OK."
"She says that kid is OK," I heard the lady in the next booth say quite clearly, "but clearly he's not OK." Perhaps I am a little sensitive or paranoid, but the way this was said, and the fact that she was speaking to the person next to her, yet looking straight at us, I'm sure this was meant for us. The waitress thought so, too, because she said something I didn't catch, very quietly, to the lady. I decided to simply ignore it at the moment, and get Joey to his seat and finishing his lunch. Our waitress fussed over him a little, making sure his drink was filled, asking if he needed anything, directing her attention to him, which also distracted him and got him re-settled.
We went out to see my mom after, and the boys were raising a rumpus (did I mention they are a little out of sorts?), and I told her about it, including the moment of silence. She immediately changed the subject. Again, talking about it in front of him was not a moment of good grace. So what if I felt all those eyes upon us? Life isn't all about me; the important thing is to get Joey calm and help him cope with being overwhelmed. How does he feel to hear his mommy talk about a moment he, too, may have found embarrassing?
I wish I could now write a paragraph as I did about Andy's situation, with all the creative and constructive things I will be doing to make this right. But I just don't see a lot I can do to make embarrassing my child in front of his grandmother right. We will talk about it some, I will ask the OT what I can do, we will try to assess situations faster and avoid the overwhelm better. And talking about my own feelings of such moments with mom? I'll wait until he's in bed asleep. It will keep (and if it doesn't, perhaps that's for the best, too).
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Glimpses of a Week In My World
Some weeks make you want to jump up and down screaming excitedly. And some make you want to run screaming into the night. Most weeks end up with a little of both. So, let's not talk about the blown head gasket in the car I just put the transmission into. Or the broken AC and needed timing belt in the other car. The meltdown moments of heat and frustration. The bout of heat exhaustion because I was stupid enough to try to cut a path down to the river at mom's house in a 120 degree heat index. Andy's erratic behavior all week. Not shall we mention the fact that my courses for the fall disappeared from the college computer system and my department chair is out of town with a family emergency (and for a harrowing night, I thought I had been fired). No, let's set the screaming-into-the-night bits aside.
********
This week in nature camp, Andy made a deer footprint and a boat, and re-connected with his classmate, S. Now, S's mom is one of those totally rockin' moms that steps right in to the thick of things and pitches. When the school had Math and Science night, and decided to send second graders in one direction and kindergardeners in another, she stepped right up and went with Andy and S while I had Joey and her second-grader son, M. I promptly lost M (we managed to track him down, but... how embarrassing!) but she was cool enough to not get bent out of shape. As far as I know. To continue to prove how rockin' she is, she actually came over one morning when we were picking up from camp and said, "hey, I'm sorry, I forgot your name, but I know you."
I have a lot of respect for people who do that, because I have a heck of a time remembering names. So I told her I was Joeymom, and then noted that I had no idea what her name was, either, and she told me it was Smom, and then said, "I've heard that you remember people's names better if you keep saying it. So, Hi Joeymom! How are you, Joeymom? We're so glad to see you, Joeymom!" And we spent the rest of the week calling each other by name every sentence. Guess what? It works!
********
I signed Joey up for another round of swimming lessons. He has expressed interest in being a lifeguard and joining the swim team, and all the lifeguards now know him, so I cornered the one that gives lessons and got her to agree. For ten dollars, Joey get a half-hour of Red Cross-based swimming instruction and I get to write my silly little stories in my spiral-bound notebooks and not have to worry about him drowning or anything or half an hour. That's ten bucks well spent, I tell you. (I ravage Walmart this time of year for those 15-cent notebooks. The year they were five cents? I went CRAZY. And still ran out.) It went a lot better than I was expecting. The young lady, Miss K, did a great job holding his focus to the task and making her expectations clear, and demonstrating what she wanted him to do. I think a lot of folks have their kids do a couple of lessons and leave it; I've let Miss K know we're here for a while. My original thought was that it might take longer for him to process the lessons and b able to perform. Now Im just thinking he's loving the lesson and might get his form together enough to be on the swim team next year if he is so inclined. That rocks.
********
We've seen a lot of our across-the-street-neighbor this week. We've had a lot of fun spoiling him- taking him to lunches, letting him jabber about anything he likes, dunking him the pool, and buying him Zhu Zhu pets. He's a funny little guy, hyper and bouncy like Andy. This has been a little bit on Joey's nerves, truth be told, because Joey doesn't handle lightning-fast play and bouncing very well. However, Andy is thrilled- mostly- to have a friend over so much. What a threesome!
*********
I have my fabric sorted into the quilt projects I want to work on. There's only... 8 of them. Not too bad. I do very utilitarian quilts- 6", 8", or 10" squares of fabrics, quilted down the gutters on my machine. By just doing big patches, I get to enjoy the fabrics, and have a lot less cutting and piecing to do. When I get a chance to do it at all. Um, I'll keep you posted.
********
With it being 103 degrees and 120 heat index, I've been doing a lot of watering in the morning and the evening in the garden. My tomatoes have understandably stopped producing, and the lawn is crunchy. I got Grandmother's Rose mulched in today, in case we get any water falling form the sky or anything like that. ITs a great opportunity to mulch, because all the weeds I usually have got whacked down when I had the yard worked on, and its been too hot for them to grow in again. Of course, the problem is that it is also 103 degrees and 120 heat index. Not conducive to gardenwork.
********
I have the room reserved. I have Luna's week at the Cat Spa (aka the Vet's Office) arranged. I am starting my lists of Things To Pack. This is Finals Week, so I won't have any grading to do, grades will be all turned in. Yes, it is time to start prepping for The Beach! Two weeks and counting down! (Um, how do I keep the fish alive for a week while we're gone?) I can hardly wait for a week of sand, sea, and boy squishing!
********
This week in nature camp, Andy made a deer footprint and a boat, and re-connected with his classmate, S. Now, S's mom is one of those totally rockin' moms that steps right in to the thick of things and pitches. When the school had Math and Science night, and decided to send second graders in one direction and kindergardeners in another, she stepped right up and went with Andy and S while I had Joey and her second-grader son, M. I promptly lost M (we managed to track him down, but... how embarrassing!) but she was cool enough to not get bent out of shape. As far as I know. To continue to prove how rockin' she is, she actually came over one morning when we were picking up from camp and said, "hey, I'm sorry, I forgot your name, but I know you."
I have a lot of respect for people who do that, because I have a heck of a time remembering names. So I told her I was Joeymom, and then noted that I had no idea what her name was, either, and she told me it was Smom, and then said, "I've heard that you remember people's names better if you keep saying it. So, Hi Joeymom! How are you, Joeymom? We're so glad to see you, Joeymom!" And we spent the rest of the week calling each other by name every sentence. Guess what? It works!
********
I signed Joey up for another round of swimming lessons. He has expressed interest in being a lifeguard and joining the swim team, and all the lifeguards now know him, so I cornered the one that gives lessons and got her to agree. For ten dollars, Joey get a half-hour of Red Cross-based swimming instruction and I get to write my silly little stories in my spiral-bound notebooks and not have to worry about him drowning or anything or half an hour. That's ten bucks well spent, I tell you. (I ravage Walmart this time of year for those 15-cent notebooks. The year they were five cents? I went CRAZY. And still ran out.) It went a lot better than I was expecting. The young lady, Miss K, did a great job holding his focus to the task and making her expectations clear, and demonstrating what she wanted him to do. I think a lot of folks have their kids do a couple of lessons and leave it; I've let Miss K know we're here for a while. My original thought was that it might take longer for him to process the lessons and b able to perform. Now Im just thinking he's loving the lesson and might get his form together enough to be on the swim team next year if he is so inclined. That rocks.
********
We've seen a lot of our across-the-street-neighbor this week. We've had a lot of fun spoiling him- taking him to lunches, letting him jabber about anything he likes, dunking him the pool, and buying him Zhu Zhu pets. He's a funny little guy, hyper and bouncy like Andy. This has been a little bit on Joey's nerves, truth be told, because Joey doesn't handle lightning-fast play and bouncing very well. However, Andy is thrilled- mostly- to have a friend over so much. What a threesome!
*********
I have my fabric sorted into the quilt projects I want to work on. There's only... 8 of them. Not too bad. I do very utilitarian quilts- 6", 8", or 10" squares of fabrics, quilted down the gutters on my machine. By just doing big patches, I get to enjoy the fabrics, and have a lot less cutting and piecing to do. When I get a chance to do it at all. Um, I'll keep you posted.
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With it being 103 degrees and 120 heat index, I've been doing a lot of watering in the morning and the evening in the garden. My tomatoes have understandably stopped producing, and the lawn is crunchy. I got Grandmother's Rose mulched in today, in case we get any water falling form the sky or anything like that. ITs a great opportunity to mulch, because all the weeds I usually have got whacked down when I had the yard worked on, and its been too hot for them to grow in again. Of course, the problem is that it is also 103 degrees and 120 heat index. Not conducive to gardenwork.
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I have the room reserved. I have Luna's week at the Cat Spa (aka the Vet's Office) arranged. I am starting my lists of Things To Pack. This is Finals Week, so I won't have any grading to do, grades will be all turned in. Yes, it is time to start prepping for The Beach! Two weeks and counting down! (Um, how do I keep the fish alive for a week while we're gone?) I can hardly wait for a week of sand, sea, and boy squishing!
When I Win The Lottery
1. No one I know will have a mortgage. Just sayin'.
2. We're going to buy one of these big empty box stores and renovate it into a therapy center. Special needs services and a school will be there- as well as a beauty salon that offers 20-minute and 30-minute treatments and haircuts for $20-$30, a nice coffeeshop and lunch counter, and lots of recliners.
3. I'm going to buy one of the last remaining stretches of trees and land in town, maybe that farm in the middle of Central Park, and build a nature center, with plenty of space and activities inside as well as outside. Oh, and have some big fiberglass dinosaurs and stuff outside. All fenced in, safe and sound.
4. I'm buying one of those million-dollar condos on the Ocean City boardwalk. You're all invited.
5. All those special devices that would be awesome for our kids to have to support them? All taken care of.
6. And those 1:1 aides they could all use in school? Done.
2. We're going to buy one of these big empty box stores and renovate it into a therapy center. Special needs services and a school will be there- as well as a beauty salon that offers 20-minute and 30-minute treatments and haircuts for $20-$30, a nice coffeeshop and lunch counter, and lots of recliners.
3. I'm going to buy one of the last remaining stretches of trees and land in town, maybe that farm in the middle of Central Park, and build a nature center, with plenty of space and activities inside as well as outside. Oh, and have some big fiberglass dinosaurs and stuff outside. All fenced in, safe and sound.
4. I'm buying one of those million-dollar condos on the Ocean City boardwalk. You're all invited.
5. All those special devices that would be awesome for our kids to have to support them? All taken care of.
6. And those 1:1 aides they could all use in school? Done.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
So, how's your week going?
My car is dead. Blew the head gasket.
The spare car sprung a leak in the cooling system and needs a new timing belt.
Joey had a hard time with his field trip to the museum today- hard enough for me to even get a note from the new aide (who is here just for the summer... but we may discuss some of these issues in a start-of-year IEP).
Andy had a hard enough day that he lost two stars.
My poor mom was in the hospital for almost 2 days to do a test that came up... nothing.
Everyone seems to bouncing off the walls here!
It could be worse, but its not conducive to blog writing. Be back when I have a minute to think.
The spare car sprung a leak in the cooling system and needs a new timing belt.
Joey had a hard time with his field trip to the museum today- hard enough for me to even get a note from the new aide (who is here just for the summer... but we may discuss some of these issues in a start-of-year IEP).
Andy had a hard enough day that he lost two stars.
My poor mom was in the hospital for almost 2 days to do a test that came up... nothing.
Everyone seems to bouncing off the walls here!
It could be worse, but its not conducive to blog writing. Be back when I have a minute to think.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Stepping Forward, Stepping Out
Joey did some pretty amazing things this week.
He looked forward and anticipated both joy and discomfort.
He knew he was anxious, and knew exactly what he was anxious about.
He communicated that anxiety to others- us, Grandma, Ms. Macy.
He helped think up solutions for situations that he anticipated would be uncomfortable.
When he became uncomfortable, he communicated his discomfort to others.
He voiced ideas for relieving his anxiety and discomfort, and communicated what he needed effectively.
When an attempted solution didn't work, he communicated his continued discomfort.
He independently attempted calming techniques to try to alleviate his own discomfort and anxiety.
Can we all hear a collective, "WOW!!!"?
Joey and I were at the pool yesterday, as we so often are. The pool was closing at 4 for a swim meet, but that suited us fine- we had to go home and get ready to get Andy. Joey and our Awesome Neighbor jumped off the diving board a few times when we first arrived, then they headed for the shallower water as they got tired.
To my surprise, about 3:30, as I was gathering up our stuff to make room for the folks starting to arrive for the swim meet, I noticed Joey padding his way to the diving board. That's odd, I thought. He doesn't usually like to jump in the deep water when we've been here this long already.
As I set my armful of towels down, I watched him step out from the diving board, and thought, Oh, good job, jumping out instead of just stepping off.
I heard the splash. I heard the cry in his unmistakeable little voice: "Oh! Help! I'm stuck!" He was treading the water fine, but not going anywhere, and he was already tired.
Before I could set my legs in motion, the lifeguard was already leaping into the water from his high chair (did I mention how dramatic it is when the lifeguard leaps into the pool from his chair?). As I reached the edge of the pool, Joey was already holding on to the float and almost to the ladder. He climbed out as I profusely thanked the guard.
Then he turned himself, saying, "Thank you for helping me!" and he scuttled back to the shallow end and jumped in. The guard laughed.
As Joey leaps out from the safety of the board into the pool of sensory overload and input, I still get that leap of the heart until his head breaks the water again and I watch with amazement as he swims, a beginner paddle and awkward stroke, to the safety of the ladder. Yet sometimes, it's still good to have a lifeguard close by, just in case we get "stuck."
Thank you, Ms. Macy. We love you. We will miss you.
He looked forward and anticipated both joy and discomfort.
He knew he was anxious, and knew exactly what he was anxious about.
He communicated that anxiety to others- us, Grandma, Ms. Macy.
He helped think up solutions for situations that he anticipated would be uncomfortable.
When he became uncomfortable, he communicated his discomfort to others.
He voiced ideas for relieving his anxiety and discomfort, and communicated what he needed effectively.
When an attempted solution didn't work, he communicated his continued discomfort.
He independently attempted calming techniques to try to alleviate his own discomfort and anxiety.
Can we all hear a collective, "WOW!!!"?
Joey and I were at the pool yesterday, as we so often are. The pool was closing at 4 for a swim meet, but that suited us fine- we had to go home and get ready to get Andy. Joey and our Awesome Neighbor jumped off the diving board a few times when we first arrived, then they headed for the shallower water as they got tired.
To my surprise, about 3:30, as I was gathering up our stuff to make room for the folks starting to arrive for the swim meet, I noticed Joey padding his way to the diving board. That's odd, I thought. He doesn't usually like to jump in the deep water when we've been here this long already.
As I set my armful of towels down, I watched him step out from the diving board, and thought, Oh, good job, jumping out instead of just stepping off.
I heard the splash. I heard the cry in his unmistakeable little voice: "Oh! Help! I'm stuck!" He was treading the water fine, but not going anywhere, and he was already tired.
Before I could set my legs in motion, the lifeguard was already leaping into the water from his high chair (did I mention how dramatic it is when the lifeguard leaps into the pool from his chair?). As I reached the edge of the pool, Joey was already holding on to the float and almost to the ladder. He climbed out as I profusely thanked the guard.
Then he turned himself, saying, "Thank you for helping me!" and he scuttled back to the shallow end and jumped in. The guard laughed.
As Joey leaps out from the safety of the board into the pool of sensory overload and input, I still get that leap of the heart until his head breaks the water again and I watch with amazement as he swims, a beginner paddle and awkward stroke, to the safety of the ladder. Yet sometimes, it's still good to have a lifeguard close by, just in case we get "stuck."
Thank you, Ms. Macy. We love you. We will miss you.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Anxiety and the World of the Bus
I was in the middle reading Andy a bedtime story, when he carefully opened the screen door and crept in. At first I thought he was coming in for a bedtime hug from brother, but then I looked at those red eyes and knew there was more. I hugged him, and all he could do was sob. Daddy called Andy into another room to read, and I hugged my baby tight, covering him in kisses, and began the Guessing Game.
"What's wrong, baby?" I cooed, giving him more kisses as he leaned his little red face on my chest and sobbed.
"I was in the bathtub alone." I frowned. To be honest, this made no sense to me at all; he's been insisting on privacy in the bathroom for over a year.
"Were you scared?" I prompted, "We're right here."
"I'm scared." Part of speaking Joey is trying to untangle the words that make sense from the words that don't, and figure out what are words he is attaching to feelings, and what are words trying to communicate like other people, providing clear information. This is even harder when the words are between sobs and sniffles.
"What are you afraid of, buddy?"
"My brain is hot. It's burning."
"Are you sick?" I feel his forehead, but there is no fever. The words mean something else, then.
"Your brain is burning? What is making your brain hot?"
"It's too long."
"What's too long?"
"The ride! It will take a hundred million years!" Ride. Ride. Long ride. Ah-hah! Field trip tomorrow!
"You have a field trip tomorrow," I nod. "Don't you want to go to the museum?"
"No!" Unfortunately, my wording of that question makes me wonder if I was clear.
"Do you want to go tomorrow?"
"No!" Well, that was clear.
"Are you worried about the field trip?"
"The ride is Too. Long."
"Yes, it's about an hour to Richmond, and then you will go to the museum- the science museum! You love science! What do you think they will have there?"
"I'm afraid of the sharks!"
"Well, they won't have live ones, maybe pictures."
"I don't like sharks."
"You can see other things. Maybe they'll have something about the weather! Or volcanoes!"
"It takes too long!"
"Do you know where the museum is? Do you remember when we go to Maymont? Those big buildings we pass when we get to Richmond? The museum is one of those. So it isn't even as far as Maymont. Just about an hour."
"It is farther than Maymont! It will take a hundred hours!" He breaks into sobs again. "Its too many!"
"Joey, are you worried about the museum, or the ride to the museum."
"The ride!" he wails, but clear as a bell. Ok, now we're getting somewhere.
"You like riding the bus, don't you? You'll be on the bus with Ms. Macy, and all your friends..."
"Too many!"
"You think there are too many people on the bus? Are you worried about the people, or that it will be loud?"
"Too loud!" More sobbing. My brain goes into hyperdrive.
"Well, how about your earphones? Does Ms. Macy have your phones?"
"No!" He's getting a little frantic now; time for a solution.
"Well, how about earplugs? Would you like earplugs?" The "yes" is reluctant, yet he is calming down; he wants to reduce the noise, but this is not the ideal solution for him. He knows he hates having the plugs in his ears.
"How about a music player, with headphones?" I'm thinking out loud. Mom got them headphones for Christmas. We haven't really used them, and they were originally for Andy; but this spike in noise sensitivity in Joey brings them instantly to mind- and besides, they are sitting right next to me. The phones would block out the other noise, and the music fill his ears with something rhythmic and familiar.
"I can listen to my favorite songs!" he almost sings, smiles busting out all over that little red face.
"Yes! Let's go make a CD!"
So I have let him pick out the tunes, have loaded it into the CD player, and emailed the teachers. I'm also sending a note. Let's just hope they have sense enough to let him have it for the ride!
"What's wrong, baby?" I cooed, giving him more kisses as he leaned his little red face on my chest and sobbed.
"I was in the bathtub alone." I frowned. To be honest, this made no sense to me at all; he's been insisting on privacy in the bathroom for over a year.
"Were you scared?" I prompted, "We're right here."
"I'm scared." Part of speaking Joey is trying to untangle the words that make sense from the words that don't, and figure out what are words he is attaching to feelings, and what are words trying to communicate like other people, providing clear information. This is even harder when the words are between sobs and sniffles.
"What are you afraid of, buddy?"
"My brain is hot. It's burning."
"Are you sick?" I feel his forehead, but there is no fever. The words mean something else, then.
"Your brain is burning? What is making your brain hot?"
"It's too long."
"What's too long?"
"The ride! It will take a hundred million years!" Ride. Ride. Long ride. Ah-hah! Field trip tomorrow!
"You have a field trip tomorrow," I nod. "Don't you want to go to the museum?"
"No!" Unfortunately, my wording of that question makes me wonder if I was clear.
"Do you want to go tomorrow?"
"No!" Well, that was clear.
"Are you worried about the field trip?"
"The ride is Too. Long."
"Yes, it's about an hour to Richmond, and then you will go to the museum- the science museum! You love science! What do you think they will have there?"
"I'm afraid of the sharks!"
"Well, they won't have live ones, maybe pictures."
"I don't like sharks."
"You can see other things. Maybe they'll have something about the weather! Or volcanoes!"
"It takes too long!"
"Do you know where the museum is? Do you remember when we go to Maymont? Those big buildings we pass when we get to Richmond? The museum is one of those. So it isn't even as far as Maymont. Just about an hour."
"It is farther than Maymont! It will take a hundred hours!" He breaks into sobs again. "Its too many!"
"Joey, are you worried about the museum, or the ride to the museum."
"The ride!" he wails, but clear as a bell. Ok, now we're getting somewhere.
"You like riding the bus, don't you? You'll be on the bus with Ms. Macy, and all your friends..."
"Too many!"
"You think there are too many people on the bus? Are you worried about the people, or that it will be loud?"
"Too loud!" More sobbing. My brain goes into hyperdrive.
"Well, how about your earphones? Does Ms. Macy have your phones?"
"No!" He's getting a little frantic now; time for a solution.
"Well, how about earplugs? Would you like earplugs?" The "yes" is reluctant, yet he is calming down; he wants to reduce the noise, but this is not the ideal solution for him. He knows he hates having the plugs in his ears.
"How about a music player, with headphones?" I'm thinking out loud. Mom got them headphones for Christmas. We haven't really used them, and they were originally for Andy; but this spike in noise sensitivity in Joey brings them instantly to mind- and besides, they are sitting right next to me. The phones would block out the other noise, and the music fill his ears with something rhythmic and familiar.
"I can listen to my favorite songs!" he almost sings, smiles busting out all over that little red face.
"Yes! Let's go make a CD!"
So I have let him pick out the tunes, have loaded it into the CD player, and emailed the teachers. I'm also sending a note. Let's just hope they have sense enough to let him have it for the ride!
Friday, July 09, 2010
How many Heart Attacks Can You Have in an Hour?
Answer: How many times can your baby jump off a diving board for the first time without floaties? Joey has been padding out to the end of the board most times we've been to the pool, but then backing off. Today, he was jumping into the deep end from the poolside, giving me plenty of skipped heartbeats thankyouverymuch. Then I told him, "honey, just push back up when you reach the bottom!"
Ah hah! Mom had given him the secret! He was on that diving board so fast my head spun and my heart flipped a full somersault. On it, off it, into the water... and back to the surface, like he had been doing it all his life, and giggling like a madman. Wow.
In other news, we have been thoroughly invaded by Zhu Zhu Pets. In fact, I think they are planning a mutiny to take over the house and install Pinkie as Queen of the Universe. I'll keep you posted.Check out the front garden if you have a minute. The back is being cleaned up and I'll have pictures of it when the work is done. Don't panic when you see it, stuff will grow back, and pruning was much needed.
Monday, July 05, 2010
A Weekend of Fun
Ah, the Fourth of July Spectacular! We had a lovely time going to fairs and setting off fireworks and relaxing by the pool!
We got to pet animals at the Spotsy Stars and Stripes Spectacular, including cool alpacas!
We got to feed goats, too, though they weren't very hungry. The best part was that the petting zoo was in the shade- woo-hoo!
Joey got to ride a horse! He liked being on it, but getting on and off was a challenge. Horses are big!
The boys toured an ambulance, and Joey got to tell the rescue squad folks that he took a ride on one when he was four because he was broken.
Most of the afternoon involved waiting in very long lines with no shade. Look in the background, see that tent? That's a mister. I would send them over there to cool off while I held their place.
They got to have some fun all the same. Joey likes barrel rides!
And they had lots of big bouncers again, though we didn't get to get in most of them- long lines in the sun=tired boys.
Andy does love bouncing, though.
After being hot and tired, we decided to sit in the shade with lemonade and cotton candy.
Sunday was the big event- fireworks! Woo-hoo!
We picked out fireworks without whistles, because the boys hate the noise. So we had a great show!
(Yes, I know he's sunburned. that's with SPF 50 sunblock! Yipes! the poor child has inherited my skin!)
Andy liked the colored sparks best, and Joey liked sparkly ones.
Happy Fourth of July!
Friday, July 02, 2010
Boy Camp
So, if you had a whole day with your Momma all to yourself, to do anything you want, what would you choose to do?
My little guy chose to:
Have breakfast at his favorite diner.
Take his brother to camp.
Have Color Camp (which involved getting paint, mixing paints to make more colors, and painting a really big picture of a road).
Get a Zhu Zhu Pet. Yes, another one. Eep.
Hug Grandma.
Have lunch at Chuck E. Cheese.
Go to the pool. Have Momma get into the pool and play.
Get ice cream at the pool. And a Cow Tale.
Go get brother.
Go back to the pool.
Eat dinner (he wanted hot dogs at the pool, but we ended up with Long John Silvers at home).
Watch Looney Tunes with brother.
Go to bed.
That, my friends, is Boy Camp, a la Joey.
My little guy chose to:
Have breakfast at his favorite diner.
Take his brother to camp.
Have Color Camp (which involved getting paint, mixing paints to make more colors, and painting a really big picture of a road).
Get a Zhu Zhu Pet. Yes, another one. Eep.
Hug Grandma.
Have lunch at Chuck E. Cheese.
Go to the pool. Have Momma get into the pool and play.
Get ice cream at the pool. And a Cow Tale.
Go get brother.
Go back to the pool.
Eat dinner (he wanted hot dogs at the pool, but we ended up with Long John Silvers at home).
Watch Looney Tunes with brother.
Go to bed.
That, my friends, is Boy Camp, a la Joey.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Pot Luck Magazine: Call for Submissions
One of my bestest friends has started a magazine, Pot Luck Magazine. I'm helping with layout and stuff. We're looking for folks to send in stuff for us to include in it! Right now, we're looking for a variety of views, ideas, items... anything you'd like to submit, we'll be happy to look at and consider.
For consideration for the Fall, we need your contribution by August 30. Just send it to potluckmagazine@gmail.com. I'd love to do some spreads about special needs, disability rights, and services. Anything else you want to talk about, or take pictures of/about, or anything we can print, we'd love to take a gander! Thanks!
For consideration for the Fall, we need your contribution by August 30. Just send it to potluckmagazine@gmail.com. I'd love to do some spreads about special needs, disability rights, and services. Anything else you want to talk about, or take pictures of/about, or anything we can print, we'd love to take a gander! Thanks!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
This is more like it
We managed an experiment today: the volcano eruption! Joey got to pour vinegar into a bottle and watch it bubble up! He thought it was awesome! So we did it again! We talked about vinegar and baking soda combining to fuzz, and volcanos, and how there are volcanos in the ocean. We looked at a piece of pumice that came with our volcano kit, and talked about magma and lava and how it cools super fast into rock, and that pumice is the magma full of air bubbles.
I have no idea how much he understood, but it all got talked about, so he can now work on processing it. He hears so much more that you think.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Not Exactly What I Had in Mind
Day Two: Ocean Camp.
Well, my Jacques Cousteau DVD didn't catch his interest, but dressing up Scoodles as an oceanographer was right up his alley.
Tomorrow, I may try space camp. Zhu Zhu Pets haven't put out an astronaut outfit yet.
Note the "yet."
Well, my Jacques Cousteau DVD didn't catch his interest, but dressing up Scoodles as an oceanographer was right up his alley.
Tomorrow, I may try space camp. Zhu Zhu Pets haven't put out an astronaut outfit yet.
Note the "yet."
Monday, June 28, 2010
Summer Camp Begins
The boys started their real summer schedules today. Well, Andy did. Joey got stuck with Mom all day.
Andy went to Hazelwild. He's been anticipating Hazelwild Summer Camp for weeks now, ever since I asked him if it would be OK to sign him up. Extra bonus, Grandma paid for another week of it in July, so I was pleased to find he enjoys it. The doubt wasn't that he doesn't luv him some Hazelwild, but that he has to be there from 8:45 am to 5pm. That's a long camp day. Fortunately, he's still very happy, and had a great day. They couldn't go out for their nature program today (it was 100 FREAKIN' DEGREES, with a heat index of ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEEN DEGREES) so the camp watched a movie- one that Andy is afraid of, so his counselor kindly wandered about with him and chatted for the hour and a half. How cool is that? They did allow the kids to get in the pool, so all was good. Oh, and he made some kind of bead thing-a-ma-bob, with a few beads on a very long string. He's very happy about it.
Joey got stuck with Mom. He decided he wanted to learn about the ocean this week (decided Sunday night, no less), so i have lots of ocean stuff planned. We kinda didn't get to any of it today. I had to run in to the office to do some stuff, and one thing lead to another, and in the end we celebrated our first Ocean Camp Day by studying water. As in, we went to the pool and swam together. He was excited that Mom got in the pool, so all was good. We practiced our swimming. That counts, right?
Tomorrow I am hoping to pull out some Jacques Cousteau films and books and stuff, maybe talk about fish, and curl up in the heat of the day on the couch together with my computer and have a "let's research and find out" segment. Maybe look up currents or different ocean levels or something. I'll see if he has a question he can come up with himself. Oh, and we have speech at 2. Maybe I'll let Ms. Leslie in on Ocean Camp, too. ;)
Happy Summer!
Andy went to Hazelwild. He's been anticipating Hazelwild Summer Camp for weeks now, ever since I asked him if it would be OK to sign him up. Extra bonus, Grandma paid for another week of it in July, so I was pleased to find he enjoys it. The doubt wasn't that he doesn't luv him some Hazelwild, but that he has to be there from 8:45 am to 5pm. That's a long camp day. Fortunately, he's still very happy, and had a great day. They couldn't go out for their nature program today (it was 100 FREAKIN' DEGREES, with a heat index of ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEEN DEGREES) so the camp watched a movie- one that Andy is afraid of, so his counselor kindly wandered about with him and chatted for the hour and a half. How cool is that? They did allow the kids to get in the pool, so all was good. Oh, and he made some kind of bead thing-a-ma-bob, with a few beads on a very long string. He's very happy about it.
Joey got stuck with Mom. He decided he wanted to learn about the ocean this week (decided Sunday night, no less), so i have lots of ocean stuff planned. We kinda didn't get to any of it today. I had to run in to the office to do some stuff, and one thing lead to another, and in the end we celebrated our first Ocean Camp Day by studying water. As in, we went to the pool and swam together. He was excited that Mom got in the pool, so all was good. We practiced our swimming. That counts, right?
Tomorrow I am hoping to pull out some Jacques Cousteau films and books and stuff, maybe talk about fish, and curl up in the heat of the day on the couch together with my computer and have a "let's research and find out" segment. Maybe look up currents or different ocean levels or something. I'll see if he has a question he can come up with himself. Oh, and we have speech at 2. Maybe I'll let Ms. Leslie in on Ocean Camp, too. ;)
Happy Summer!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
At Maymont
We took our totally awesome across-the-street neighbor on an adventure with us! We went to Maymont, where we could pet the goats and stay in the shade. We actually had a harder time with the heat than we had at Jamestown, partly because they guy who usually sells water in the gardens didn't show.
Joey took his Zhu Zhu Pet, to make sure they got to pet the goats and stuff.
So we did some goat petting, and some looking at the peacock and the chickens and the pigs. Then we wandered into the zoo, to see the bears and stroll through the gardens.
We stopped at the pavilions along the way to stay rested and cool. We also joined up with another little family who was equally disappointed by the lack of water in the garden. Fortunately, the stand in the zoo opened up.
Joey got hot the quickest, as he is heavier and doesn't like heat at all in the first place. He actually handled things very well.
We did enjoy the Japanese garden, which has a waterfall and lots of shade to keep things cool. When Joey tripped, the other mom got to him even faster than I did (that's saying something!) to help him, and all was well, no melting. Thank you, other mom!
Andy and our neighbor enjoying running about the rocks and over the stepping stones in the pond, though we had no cracker to feed the fish and the ducks. Most of the ducks were wisely sleeping, anyway.
After the hot walk, even with snowcones, we cooled off at the nature center and watched the otters play for a while.
Maymont is unfortunately no longer free. This isn't a big deal for us, as we are members, but it was sad to see admission, and that the nice gift shop had been dismantled. Another casualty of the recession. But they had done a lot of upgrading in the nature center, lots of maintenance, and things were looking good. It was also quieter than usual, which makes a big difference for my little guys.
And so our summer has begun. Next week: Andy heads to Hazelwild, and Joey and I have Science Camp! Stay tuned!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Joining Camp Stimey in Jamestowne
So the gracious Stimey came and picked up the JoeyAndy Clan, and we were off to Jamestowne! Woo-hoo!We picked the hottest day of the summer, of course. And Stimey lives over an hour north of me, and Jamestowne is almost two hours south of me. So we were already kinda hot and tired when we got there. Well, I was good, because Stimey didn't let me drive, and I had her to chat with. And the Zhu Zhu Pets. My kids insisted on bringing theirs, so we thought it would a good idea for Camp Stimey to include a general and complete round of Zhu Zhu Sidekicks, and then Andy had to bring two, so we had six Zhu Zhu Pets cooing and squeaking all the way up and down the road. Whee!
(By the way, Stimey has an awesome car. I recommend roadtrips with her. In her car.)
The only real hiccup we had was when we initially arrived, and Joey's Zhu Zhu Pet fell out of the car, and onto the pavement. This really gets Joey upset when his toys touch the road and get "dirty". However, we assured him that the Zhu Zhu was fine, and could come with him into Jamestowne (because he's hurt and needs to be cuddled!), and the world righted itself. So we were off and running! 
We decided to head straight down to the boats, which is the farthest point, and thus be there with the least amount of heat. It almost worked. We wandered through the Powhatan Village first. The boys liked ducking into the huts and seeing how Native Americans lived and where they slept. We soon also had a running theme of "where's Jack?" Jack is such a wonderful little guy, so quiet, so patient, and so very curious. He has a mind that is turning a mile a minute, and he wants to go see what this is, or what caught his eye there. Because he is so quiet, he is easy to lose- the other guys, you just take a listen and you know where they are without even seeing them. Even Joey is motor-mouthing, especially with the heat. With Jack, visual contact is must. Stimey and I spend a good deal of time making sure one of us had visual contact.
Then we made it down to the boats. They have three replicas of boats the original Jamestown settlers crossed the ocean on. They are very small, especially considering there were some 40-50 people on them for four months solid. You can go on the boats and have people in costume telling you about the boats and the crossing and that sort of thing. I stationed myself at the only on/off ramp to ensure we had no escapees while running about the decks and cabins. 
The boys bobbed and ducked all over the boats, down in the hold, through the cabins, onto the decks. The decks weren't too bad, but the lower hold, with none of the deck breezes, was pretty stifling. Joey liked the cabins, he came in and out of this door a few times. It was also pretty shady on the middle deck, they had canvas stretched over it like a tent, which made it more inviting. 
Here's Quinn on the boat. Kind looks like Peter Pan to me, complete with Zhu Zhu Pet. To keep folks cool, I brought along drinks in ice in a cooler, and dipped washcloths in the cold water. By the end of the day, Quinn was running around with one on his head, then around his Zhu Zhu Pet. Absolutely precious. Those boys take good care of their Zhu Zhus. 
Andy was having a grand time running about the boats. There is something about boys and the call of the sea, swinging about the rigging and running up and down the decks of ships. Pirates, ahoy!
Andy and Sam were, as usual, mostly inseparable. Andy luvs him some Sam. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more letters and pictures exchanged between them this week. The heat was coming on fast, and we kind of had to hurry the boys along instead of letting them run about in complete happiness.
Joey and I share sun sensitivity, so I surrendered my hat to a hot and tired boy as we headed up to the fort. We weren't there long before I started giving the signals of Joey being done with the heat (something to the effect of, "Eep, Stimey, Joey's done! Where's Jack?")
We did discover the good-sized and airy church structure, which I found architecturally fascinating, but will have to spend time going over the quick snaps I took rather than being able to wander at my leisure to admire the wood work. This was a reproduction, mind, but it was still lovely. Andy liked the pews. Even my bouncy one needed a break. 
Yes, Andy and Sam definitely had a good day. They got to see a musket fired, they got to play on three boats, any one of which could have been directly out of any pirate tale you like, they got to pretend to be Powhatan Indians and even try out the beds, and they got to be with each other! Total WIN! 
WE then strolled back up to the museum, where you aren't allowed to take photos, and found some places to stretch out, watch educational films, and play with our Zhu Zhus while we cooled off. And as we drove off into the sunset, we saw the thunderstorms building and ready to strike, so our timing was fabulous. Being with Team Stimey is always a pleasure. We should do it more often. And when it's cooler, so we can make it together longer.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Then The Morning Comes
My good buddy Stimey and I are going to Jamestowne tomorrow. And she isn't going to read this post, because she is WAY too busy packing stuff for her kids to eat and stuff, and getting ready, so she's going to just mosey on along to maybe NIksmom's site, or Xtreme Parenthood, or somewhere else cool supermoms hang out, she's not reading this one here.
Is she gone?
OK, I'm a little anxious about tomorrow. I mean, if you knew one of the super-coolest, most awesomely awesome jazzy wonderful fabulous people on Earth was coming to your house, even for just a minute, you'd do some prep for that, right? Maybe clean, get some wine, put up decorations, something. I've done nothing at all. Poor Stimey is going to get hit full in the face with my glorious lack of housekeeping skills. And all sorts of other skills. I don't usually have folks over to my house, especially this time of year. Christmas is better- the house is cleaned and decorated and sparkling, literally. But the beginning of summer? Not a chance. I'm lucky to see my livingroom floor. Except that I think it has playdough smeared on it right now. Oops.
My plan for prep is to take a shower. That's a rare thing here, a real shower in the middle of the week! At least she won't know I'm normally stinky on top of being messy.
I know it is going to be a rockin' day, even if our plans get turned up-side down by the heat- because we'll be in Camp Stimey. And if you are still here reading, Stimey, I can hardly wait- this is better than Christmas!
Is she gone?
OK, I'm a little anxious about tomorrow. I mean, if you knew one of the super-coolest, most awesomely awesome jazzy wonderful fabulous people on Earth was coming to your house, even for just a minute, you'd do some prep for that, right? Maybe clean, get some wine, put up decorations, something. I've done nothing at all. Poor Stimey is going to get hit full in the face with my glorious lack of housekeeping skills. And all sorts of other skills. I don't usually have folks over to my house, especially this time of year. Christmas is better- the house is cleaned and decorated and sparkling, literally. But the beginning of summer? Not a chance. I'm lucky to see my livingroom floor. Except that I think it has playdough smeared on it right now. Oops.
My plan for prep is to take a shower. That's a rare thing here, a real shower in the middle of the week! At least she won't know I'm normally stinky on top of being messy.
I know it is going to be a rockin' day, even if our plans get turned up-side down by the heat- because we'll be in Camp Stimey. And if you are still here reading, Stimey, I can hardly wait- this is better than Christmas!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Weekend Endeavor: Win and Fail
Happy summer, everybody! School's out, and it is time to celebrate! We kicked off our summer season with a trip to the pool with our across-the-street-neighbor we adore, a rousing success. Then we got to stay up to watch a few extra Looney Tunes, before bouncing to bed. They were so excited, it was well after 9 before they dropped off.
Then we had Andy's game this morning. Coaching the T-Ball has been an adventure. The other team look snappy, but they are handling things in ways I just think aren't good for 6-year-olds. Encouraging base-stealing in T-Ball? Trying to play through a thunderstorm? Seriously, there are ways of teaching competition without teaching to put others down or that you're so-all-that and better than the other. Our team is learning about respect, teamwork, and having fun. We're working on hitting the ball and what the different positions are. We change up and let kids try different things, and rotate who is in the busier parts of the field so everybody gets a chance to make a play.
"You need somebody else on first base!" the volunteer-parent-umpire pulled me aside to whisper. Yes, we have a kid who is a great first base player. We decided to put him back on first base for the third inning, but let a couple other kids try it out for the first two innings. And yeah, they needed help and work and instruction and practice. So we gave them some. It isn't like we're keeping score, people!
Then there was the irate parent who had a kid who was supposed to be on the other team, but was then told they had moved him to our team, but the wasn't on our roster, he was on the other team's roster, and naturally the parents were upset. I solved that one quickly. "Thank you, Ma'm; he's now on the Red Team, and we're happy to have him. Here, dear, put on this shirt. You're number 6. Go Red!" Yes, the kid needed lots of extra help today. He actually hit the ball on his second at-bat, and was so proud. In the third inning, he made it all the way to homeplate. He was almost as proud of himself as I was of him!
Respect, Teamwork. Fun. It will take them much farther in life than "screw the other team."
Then we got Joey to Toy Story 3, and I believe my son is in love. He went with his Daddy, just him and his Daddy, and saw the movie he has been waiting for... for months. Dreams can come true, people.
Andy and I went to Walmart. I am making some trellises for my morning glories and I wanted paint. He wanted Zhu Zhu Pets. He settled for a couple new beds for the new pets Grandma just got him. We will not discuss how it might take me about 15 minute to stitch one up at home, and be a tenth of the price. No, we will not. We then went home and let him play with his Zhu Zhu Pets while I made fruit salad for a picnic-party for some folks I knew in high school.
Now, I must say the point of me going to this picnic was a little complicated. For one, I had actually been invited. I was never invited to anything when I was in high school. For two, the person who invited me was not only the person setting it up, but it is a person I would actually like to see and speak to, and there aren't many of those from high school. If you remember me mentioning it before, I hated high school. There was also a possibility of there being plenty of other kids there, since most of the folks I knew who had been invited to the party has micro-blogged about having kids.
So picked the boys up from the movies, picked up JoeyAndyDad's shiny new toy (a blue Jeep!), and then after a nice spin in the new car, we were off to the party. I am sure most of you are screaming or moaning at the screen already. How much of an idiot can I be? All that in one day? And Joey at a party full of people he doesn't know, after having been to the movies? Please don't break your computer screen bonking your head against it. They're expensive to replace.
So the picnic was Epic FAIL. Joey was hot. He was tired. They had a DJ, and the volume would be normal for most of us- we were having conversations without having to raise our voices or anything- but it was too loud for Joey. Andy made a little friends, but that was the only other child there over the age of, oh, two. I tried taking him to the far side of the house, to increased shade and muffling of the music, but it was already too late. I should have known when to pack it in. Poor JOey was completely overwhelmed, and the meltdown as dramatic as I have seen in a long time. My friend who invited me kindly helped me get Joey to the car, with our chairs and cooler, and grab Andy, and everything, to facilitate our hasty retreat. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
We stopped at Grandma's for hugs and kisses and regaining our bearings before heading home for dinner and bed. The boys played with their Zhu Zhu Pets in the nice quiet, cool basement for a bit before being dunked in the bathtub and passing out. I then proceeded to read Joey's eval report that came in the mail today. Eep.
Ups and downs. And that was just the first day of summer. Whew!
Then we had Andy's game this morning. Coaching the T-Ball has been an adventure. The other team look snappy, but they are handling things in ways I just think aren't good for 6-year-olds. Encouraging base-stealing in T-Ball? Trying to play through a thunderstorm? Seriously, there are ways of teaching competition without teaching to put others down or that you're so-all-that and better than the other. Our team is learning about respect, teamwork, and having fun. We're working on hitting the ball and what the different positions are. We change up and let kids try different things, and rotate who is in the busier parts of the field so everybody gets a chance to make a play.
"You need somebody else on first base!" the volunteer-parent-umpire pulled me aside to whisper. Yes, we have a kid who is a great first base player. We decided to put him back on first base for the third inning, but let a couple other kids try it out for the first two innings. And yeah, they needed help and work and instruction and practice. So we gave them some. It isn't like we're keeping score, people!
Then there was the irate parent who had a kid who was supposed to be on the other team, but was then told they had moved him to our team, but the wasn't on our roster, he was on the other team's roster, and naturally the parents were upset. I solved that one quickly. "Thank you, Ma'm; he's now on the Red Team, and we're happy to have him. Here, dear, put on this shirt. You're number 6. Go Red!" Yes, the kid needed lots of extra help today. He actually hit the ball on his second at-bat, and was so proud. In the third inning, he made it all the way to homeplate. He was almost as proud of himself as I was of him!
Respect, Teamwork. Fun. It will take them much farther in life than "screw the other team."
Then we got Joey to Toy Story 3, and I believe my son is in love. He went with his Daddy, just him and his Daddy, and saw the movie he has been waiting for... for months. Dreams can come true, people.
Andy and I went to Walmart. I am making some trellises for my morning glories and I wanted paint. He wanted Zhu Zhu Pets. He settled for a couple new beds for the new pets Grandma just got him. We will not discuss how it might take me about 15 minute to stitch one up at home, and be a tenth of the price. No, we will not. We then went home and let him play with his Zhu Zhu Pets while I made fruit salad for a picnic-party for some folks I knew in high school.
Now, I must say the point of me going to this picnic was a little complicated. For one, I had actually been invited. I was never invited to anything when I was in high school. For two, the person who invited me was not only the person setting it up, but it is a person I would actually like to see and speak to, and there aren't many of those from high school. If you remember me mentioning it before, I hated high school. There was also a possibility of there being plenty of other kids there, since most of the folks I knew who had been invited to the party has micro-blogged about having kids.
So picked the boys up from the movies, picked up JoeyAndyDad's shiny new toy (a blue Jeep!), and then after a nice spin in the new car, we were off to the party. I am sure most of you are screaming or moaning at the screen already. How much of an idiot can I be? All that in one day? And Joey at a party full of people he doesn't know, after having been to the movies? Please don't break your computer screen bonking your head against it. They're expensive to replace.
So the picnic was Epic FAIL. Joey was hot. He was tired. They had a DJ, and the volume would be normal for most of us- we were having conversations without having to raise our voices or anything- but it was too loud for Joey. Andy made a little friends, but that was the only other child there over the age of, oh, two. I tried taking him to the far side of the house, to increased shade and muffling of the music, but it was already too late. I should have known when to pack it in. Poor JOey was completely overwhelmed, and the meltdown as dramatic as I have seen in a long time. My friend who invited me kindly helped me get Joey to the car, with our chairs and cooler, and grab Andy, and everything, to facilitate our hasty retreat. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
We stopped at Grandma's for hugs and kisses and regaining our bearings before heading home for dinner and bed. The boys played with their Zhu Zhu Pets in the nice quiet, cool basement for a bit before being dunked in the bathtub and passing out. I then proceeded to read Joey's eval report that came in the mail today. Eep.
Ups and downs. And that was just the first day of summer. Whew!
Friday, June 18, 2010
End of an Era
Joey graduated from second grade today. He will be moving on the upper elementary, that new school where the idea of teaching social skills and increasing language development seem to be alien concepts, and waxed floors trump all else. Today, Joey finished his life at the lower elementary, and we said goodbye to the team of Ms. H and Ms. Macy, who have supported him and had his back for three years.
The second graders presented what they had learned in a serious of songs, by class, to the school. Joey's class did social studies, singing about China and Egypt (Joey's half of the class did the Egypt Song, and he was so happy, he loves Egypt stuff). Then they has a slide show of their year, each class showing a few pictures and set to music; Joey had some darling pictures there. The kids got excited to see themselves on screen, and sang along with some of the songs. It was adorable.
However, you can imagine the hub-bub when the lights came on. The noise crescendoed when it was discovered one of the classes was left out, and it was announced that the missing slides would be fetched and the children all get to see them. Joey was unhappy, and came to me to sit in my lap and be hugged. The noise was too much. Ms. Macy came for him, asked if he needed a break, and he said yes; and even after more hugs, and some wistful looks in my direction, he decided he still needed to get out of the noise and be quiet for a bit. I was so proud of him when he told Ms. Macy he still needed a break, that it was too loud. As the rest of school- including his other two autistic classmates- got to their feet in an impromptu celebration dance and sing-along while waiting for the missing slides, Joey and Ms. Macy slipped quietly away from the auditorium and the din.
My baby is growing up. He's leaving second grade. He can control himself, ask for hugs and accept a break instead of melting down when overwhelmed. He can stand in front of his school and sing and sign about Egypt. He's doing so well. But he can't join into an impromptu celebration, and dance with his classmates, and squeal and wiggle with them. In the midst of such progress, there is also that reminder of the gulf that stands between my child and his ability to live in a society not made for him. Will the next set of school folks understand? How long will it take for them to understand, to pick up on the communication and cues he gives us that are not words? How much will he suffer until they do?
The second graders presented what they had learned in a serious of songs, by class, to the school. Joey's class did social studies, singing about China and Egypt (Joey's half of the class did the Egypt Song, and he was so happy, he loves Egypt stuff). Then they has a slide show of their year, each class showing a few pictures and set to music; Joey had some darling pictures there. The kids got excited to see themselves on screen, and sang along with some of the songs. It was adorable.
However, you can imagine the hub-bub when the lights came on. The noise crescendoed when it was discovered one of the classes was left out, and it was announced that the missing slides would be fetched and the children all get to see them. Joey was unhappy, and came to me to sit in my lap and be hugged. The noise was too much. Ms. Macy came for him, asked if he needed a break, and he said yes; and even after more hugs, and some wistful looks in my direction, he decided he still needed to get out of the noise and be quiet for a bit. I was so proud of him when he told Ms. Macy he still needed a break, that it was too loud. As the rest of school- including his other two autistic classmates- got to their feet in an impromptu celebration dance and sing-along while waiting for the missing slides, Joey and Ms. Macy slipped quietly away from the auditorium and the din.
My baby is growing up. He's leaving second grade. He can control himself, ask for hugs and accept a break instead of melting down when overwhelmed. He can stand in front of his school and sing and sign about Egypt. He's doing so well. But he can't join into an impromptu celebration, and dance with his classmates, and squeal and wiggle with them. In the midst of such progress, there is also that reminder of the gulf that stands between my child and his ability to live in a society not made for him. Will the next set of school folks understand? How long will it take for them to understand, to pick up on the communication and cues he gives us that are not words? How much will he suffer until they do?
Thursday, June 17, 2010
IEP Worlds: Thank You Rachel
This post should be basic reading for all educators, all congressmen, anyone who has anything to say or think or do with special needs kids, with the education system, with IEPs:
I'm Sorry, Your Child Is Stupid
The assumptions of schools and school personnel that it is acceptable to allow kids to underperform, to pigeon-hole them into programs, that they "can't make a program for just one child!" and other such nonsense must end.
NOW.
Start with the assumption that given appropriate services, all children can excel. If the child is not thriving and progressing as any non-disabled peer would do, start thinking about whether you are providing appropriate services. Does the child have access to communication skills (not just speech skills- communication skills)? Does the child have an appropriate sensory environment? Are the methods being used to teach the child appropriate?
Only when all that is exhausted should modification to education be even dreamed of. And it should take years to get there. Just as it now often takes years to get appropriate services in place, if they ever are actually put into place and practiced.
With a proactive, positive attitude, creative solutions can be easier to find and implement. Assuming competence means you are more likely to push a child to competence. It works with non-disabled people, I assure you- if you expect them to do A, B, and C, I find the vast majority of them do. This should be no surprise to formally trained educators.
So why is it? Why is discrimination against people, simply because they have challenges, considered acceptable in our society? Are we really that stupid?
I'm Sorry, Your Child Is Stupid
The assumptions of schools and school personnel that it is acceptable to allow kids to underperform, to pigeon-hole them into programs, that they "can't make a program for just one child!" and other such nonsense must end.
NOW.
Start with the assumption that given appropriate services, all children can excel. If the child is not thriving and progressing as any non-disabled peer would do, start thinking about whether you are providing appropriate services. Does the child have access to communication skills (not just speech skills- communication skills)? Does the child have an appropriate sensory environment? Are the methods being used to teach the child appropriate?
Only when all that is exhausted should modification to education be even dreamed of. And it should take years to get there. Just as it now often takes years to get appropriate services in place, if they ever are actually put into place and practiced.
With a proactive, positive attitude, creative solutions can be easier to find and implement. Assuming competence means you are more likely to push a child to competence. It works with non-disabled people, I assure you- if you expect them to do A, B, and C, I find the vast majority of them do. This should be no surprise to formally trained educators.
So why is it? Why is discrimination against people, simply because they have challenges, considered acceptable in our society? Are we really that stupid?
Following in tiny, doomed footsteps
Andy has had a penchant for collecting ants. At the bus stop in the mornings, he has scrambled to collect ants in various containers (including a pencil eraser...) and then handing them over to me as his "ant farm" for me to watch. Every afternoon I have had to break the news that Mommy didn't keep the ants.
So today, I found an old ant farm thingee we got as a prize at the beach a few years back, put some sand in it, and shall await his return from school, triumphant. No, I am not going to order ants. I'm going to let Andy collect them and put them into the Chamber of Ant Death. See, I hate ants. I'm not into wholesale slaughter, as I know they are good for the ecosystem and stuff, but I hate ants. The least they can do to earn their keep on this planet is entertain my child.
So in the grand ant tradition, we are going to slaughter some ants today, by corking them up in a little plastic thing with some sand and seeing what happens. I plan to hide the bodies after Andy goes to bed.
So today, I found an old ant farm thingee we got as a prize at the beach a few years back, put some sand in it, and shall await his return from school, triumphant. No, I am not going to order ants. I'm going to let Andy collect them and put them into the Chamber of Ant Death. See, I hate ants. I'm not into wholesale slaughter, as I know they are good for the ecosystem and stuff, but I hate ants. The least they can do to earn their keep on this planet is entertain my child.
So in the grand ant tradition, we are going to slaughter some ants today, by corking them up in a little plastic thing with some sand and seeing what happens. I plan to hide the bodies after Andy goes to bed.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Awards Day
Today is awards day at school! Joey is getting a math award this morning! We know because the school tells us with a little note when your kid is getting something so you can show up and take pictures.
Now folks, I am a great believer in awards and that not everybody should get one. An award is recognition of outstanding achievement, special effort, and serious work. If everybody gets an award, they lose their value.
Joey earns his awards, just like everybody else. When he gets the math award, its because he's done the same work and performed at the outstanding level like everybody else who gets it.
Andy, as far as I know, is not getting an award today. I have no note. I am going anyway. He may not be getting an award from the school, but if there is any little guy who has earned one, it's Andy. He has had a brilliant year of school. He's managed to stay in there all year, not one trip to Ms. T. He's made friends and been a good friend. He's gotten through the year being able to do his work, participate in his class, and enjoy his year. For my little guy, whose ADHD has gone mostly unrecognized by his school, this is huge. Absolutely stunning.
So I'm going in to cheer for both my little dudes. They've done fabulous. They are both my heros.
Now folks, I am a great believer in awards and that not everybody should get one. An award is recognition of outstanding achievement, special effort, and serious work. If everybody gets an award, they lose their value.
Joey earns his awards, just like everybody else. When he gets the math award, its because he's done the same work and performed at the outstanding level like everybody else who gets it.
Andy, as far as I know, is not getting an award today. I have no note. I am going anyway. He may not be getting an award from the school, but if there is any little guy who has earned one, it's Andy. He has had a brilliant year of school. He's managed to stay in there all year, not one trip to Ms. T. He's made friends and been a good friend. He's gotten through the year being able to do his work, participate in his class, and enjoy his year. For my little guy, whose ADHD has gone mostly unrecognized by his school, this is huge. Absolutely stunning.
So I'm going in to cheer for both my little dudes. They've done fabulous. They are both my heros.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Too Hot Outside? Craft Time!
It was Way Too Hot today. Its only June, dangnabbit! On top of that, we had a thunderstorm about noonish, which only served to make everything steamy. Oh, and I had a flat tire. I mean, seriously flat. Like, it came off the rim flat. It was FLAT. Pancakes would do it no justice. So while we waited for JoeyAndyDad to wave his magic wand and get the tire fixed so we could go to the pool, we got out our Handy Dandy Craft Box and pulled out... paint-it-yourself clocks. I love paint-it-yourself stuff. Hand them the thing, the paint, and stand back. Woo-hoo!
We're waiting for them to dry before putting on the final touches, but they are both very happy. And when the tire got fixed, they got to go swimming, too. Win!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
And Sometimes You Feel Like You're Selling Out.
Tomorrow is ESY IEP Meeting, Part Two. The purpose of this meeting is to settle what the school intends to do about five weeks of no available programming because they have to wax their floors. And waxed floors are so much more important than educating their students, you know. Must have those floors waxed. Would I be evil if every time I went into school this year, I made a snarky comment about how beautiful the floors look?
The offer is one hour a day for four days a week for two weeks at our OT, in a social skills group. At noon.
I called other parents. I tried to get things moving. We worked to get the school to do something. But the floors won.
So the question comes down to: do I take it, or leave it?
I feel Joey loses either way.
The offer is one hour a day for four days a week for two weeks at our OT, in a social skills group. At noon.
I called other parents. I tried to get things moving. We worked to get the school to do something. But the floors won.
So the question comes down to: do I take it, or leave it?
I feel Joey loses either way.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Promises promises
This morning, Joey discovered the Zhu Zhu Pet website. He shared this information with his brother, and they began plotting together, true brothers, whispering and point, squealing, more whispering and squealing...
And then Andy announced that he wanted the Zhu Zhu pet rabbit, Fluffy. And if I procured a Fluffy, I "could have all the tummy smooches you want!" Joey concurred- all the tummy I wanted, if I could lay hands on Fluffy.
They walked to the bus stop hand-in-hand planning on how they would prepare for and care for their Fluffy.
As he got on the bus, Andy commanded, "Go get Fluffy now, Mommy. Go to the store and buy him now."
Getting off the bus, Joey had a hard day and was in tears, but didn't forget to ask, "Where's Fluffy?"
I spent the morning trying to locate one, but had to order one (two, actually). Of course they want the one that's a Hallmark Exclusive, and which no Hallmark in my town has any of.
I expect to OD on tummy smooches in 2-7 days. Stay tuned.
And then Andy announced that he wanted the Zhu Zhu pet rabbit, Fluffy. And if I procured a Fluffy, I "could have all the tummy smooches you want!" Joey concurred- all the tummy I wanted, if I could lay hands on Fluffy.
They walked to the bus stop hand-in-hand planning on how they would prepare for and care for their Fluffy.
As he got on the bus, Andy commanded, "Go get Fluffy now, Mommy. Go to the store and buy him now."
Getting off the bus, Joey had a hard day and was in tears, but didn't forget to ask, "Where's Fluffy?"
I spent the morning trying to locate one, but had to order one (two, actually). Of course they want the one that's a Hallmark Exclusive, and which no Hallmark in my town has any of.
I expect to OD on tummy smooches in 2-7 days. Stay tuned.
Monday, June 07, 2010
The Utter Chaos that is T-Ball
Yes, it was my first official practice as one of the assistant coaches of T-Ball. Here is what I learned:
1. Even if one of the other coaches says they have coached multiple levels of t-ball and baseball before, that doesn't mean they have done it in the last 20 years, or remembered what kids know. Or don't know.
2. Six-year-olds who have never played baseball or T-Ball before have no idea what the field positions are. Or what a base is.
3. 11 out of 12 six-year-olds have never played baseball or T-Ball. At least, on our team that is true.
4. The 1 child who has played before still doesn't know the field positions, or what a base is.
5. 11 out of 12 six-year-olds don't own a baseball glove or hat, and therefore must borrow the coach's.
6. Even if you have no idea what a base is, or where to stand, or how to catch, or even to run around the bases, hitting the ball is fun. So as long as everyone gets to hit the ball, we're all good.
1. Even if one of the other coaches says they have coached multiple levels of t-ball and baseball before, that doesn't mean they have done it in the last 20 years, or remembered what kids know. Or don't know.
2. Six-year-olds who have never played baseball or T-Ball before have no idea what the field positions are. Or what a base is.
3. 11 out of 12 six-year-olds have never played baseball or T-Ball. At least, on our team that is true.
4. The 1 child who has played before still doesn't know the field positions, or what a base is.
5. 11 out of 12 six-year-olds don't own a baseball glove or hat, and therefore must borrow the coach's.
6. Even if you have no idea what a base is, or where to stand, or how to catch, or even to run around the bases, hitting the ball is fun. So as long as everyone gets to hit the ball, we're all good.
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