As most of you know, I have a special needs child. I came into her life at age 3 and she was unable to talk clearly at all and not potty trained. Compared to my daughter who was only 5 months older, she was very delayed. Once I felt comfortable to say, Hey she needs help, I started fighting for her. And I have still been fighting for a diagnosis. In an earlier post, I wrote about my frustration with getting an answer, which you can read here. Well since then we got a new doctor who really listens to me and my concerns and who actually wanted to see the results of the outside test I got done on her. Since then the word Autism has been used here and there. But nothing definite. Finally I said what is her diagnosis. I just want an answer. As of right now, she has Asperger’s Syndrome with PDD. Now he did say this will change next year because the guidelines and titles are changing. So she will be considered under the Autism Spectrum. But I feel finally on a path to answers. And with this doctor, instead of making me feel stupid for saying I don’t think she is maturing like she should, he has told me that we won’t know what the bar limit will be for her because everyone is different. I always been made to feel like a terrible parent for not having confidence in my child that she will live a normal life but that was not reality in what I was seeing at home. I didn’t want blinders on. I wanted to know why and what to do next. And now I feel we have finally gotten the right doctor for us. It may have taken 11 years but we are at a turning point.
Author: Jeanette
Here we go again! Throwing out the plans Part 2!
Yes, that is right. I am revamping our homeschool schedule again! This is what I love about homeschooling. The fact that I can stop and change directions on a whim is empowering.
So this what we were doing in the beginning.
I was trying to fit every subject into everyday. I was also trying to do preschool like I did it back 10 years ago in a daycare center. And I was trying to follow the Florida school calendar.
This didn’t work at all!
Then I began:
Doing split scheduling like I did last year. We also started 6 weeks on and 2 weeks off, except preschool. And mostly book work.
Forget about it. With 4 kids that have dentist appointments, doctor appointments, sick days and the everyday household running, I felt like I was flying through the 6 weeks, but not accomplishing anything and rushing my kids through. I would leave out the “fun” part of homeschooling~ all the hands on stuff. And I still had a preschooler who hated school. He woke up twice and told me my school sucked and that he hated school, especially coloring. Plus with Christmas here and all the fun of that, it is hard to fit in school, fun, errands and cleaning.
So for now we are just coasting through. Working on hands on projects, finishing up books that we were reading, practicing our writing and working on Math. For Lil Man, we are making everything hands on. More learning centers, more arts and crafts, more computer and tablet time. And it has been working so far.
But beginning in 2014, we begin a whole new chapter, which the girls and I are very excited about. We are starting back to school January 6 and I will be posting more regular updates then.
Life of chaos
Well the holidays are upon us. And the reason I can tell it’s the holidays is because I can’t get a break.
First there is the Christmas shopping for the millions of family members that we have. Which I do it all. Hubby doesn’t know any other store other than Lowe’s. And he likes to pull the last minute I need a gift for so & so trick.
Then there was the fact that my car broke down on the way home from an 8 1/2 hour power shopping with my mom. And did I mention that I had groceries in the car at the moment….frozen groceries. Luckily I was 5 minutes from home so Hubby came and rescued me. Now I am without a car for a while. This is after putting it in the shop 2 weeks ago for some repairs on worn out parts on the vehicle.
Then there is the income hit that came unexpectedly. So I am having to really, really budget now and be extra frugal.
Next we move on to sickness. Of course, somebody has to be sick. My middle daughter came down with some kind of respiratory infection. Heck, even 2 out of 3 of my dogs were sick. Lysol was my best friend those 2 weeks.
Last, my youngest daughter can’t handle the holidays too well. It over stimulates her, which triggers her ticks and meltdowns. Factor in that she is a teenager and her hormones are kicking in, oh it’s been a joyous season.
Needless to say I have a love/hate relationship with the holidays:
I love the weather, but hate the chaos.
I love the decorations, but hate the amount of money I spend.
I love this season and hate to see it go.
But I also hate this season and love when it is over.
The last 4 weeks
The last 4 weeks have been a nightmare around here. It was bad enough that I was struggling with getting in the groove of back to “school”. But then Hubby just up and decided that he needed a vacation! He needed to get away from life, his responsibilities, stress, me, the kids….I don’t know. But he up and left for 2 weeks to Alabama and South Carolina to see family members.
In a way this was good and bad for me. One I don’t have to fight over the TV remote or listen to him bitch and complain about something not being done. I was also able to relax; I have to admit he was stressing me out for a bit. I also got down and dirty and cleaned out some areas of the house that needed to be sort through without him coming in and saying I need your help in the shop.
The bad part was now I had to get my high schooler to the bus stop by 6:20am and hope Lil man didn’t come looking for me. Because no matter what anybody told Hubby, when he left, they did NOT get up and help at all! I was also left to deal with the attitudes and the discipline instead of having moments where I pushed it off on him. The last bad part is I know this is only a one way road. There will be no vacation for momma by herself because the kids always have to come with me. Hell I can’t even go to the bathroom, let alone vacation by myself.
Then he came back home and 3 days later gets Pneumonia! REALLY?!? Can it get any worse? Yes! He got it from being stupid and fixing up an old barn and not wearing a mask. So he was down and out for a week and a half with it. During that week and a half, our septic pump and our hot water heater elements went out!
And now beginning our 5th week, I am sick. Not with pneumonia (I hope) but with some kind of sinus/ upper respiratory thing! But is anyone taking care of Momma?
I think all the stay at home whatever you are should start lobbying for hazard pay or something! This job is hard work!
Throwing out all my planning and winging it!
We are 2 weeks in to homeschooling and I haven’t found what will work for us. It is so much harder than any of those blogs, the ones that make you feel like your not doing enough, let on. I can’t seem to balance everything. So we are trying last years schedule with some adjustments and additions.
Preschool seems to be the hardest because he wants nothing to do with it or he wants all of my attention. I can’t win really. And trying to get a 4 year old to wait is impossible.
Hopefully next week I can post how everything has worked itself out and is going smoothly.
HOPEFULLY!
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
I had all these light hearted, funny blog post ready to go last week and then I just couldn’t. The news that I have been dreading for months now finally came true. My oldest daughter came home shattered because her friend who is fighting neuroblastoma is terminal. My first post can be read here. I knew it would come to this but I hoped and prayed that his future would be different than all of those before him.
I was already stressed out because my grandmother was in a car accident and I was awaiting her and the tow trucks arrival. But when I looked up and heard the single word Mommy, which she hasn’t called me in forever. I knew it wasn’t good. She cried and I held her. Later in the day, I explained that childhood cancer is what my Rockstar Ronan shirt stood for and I handed her some bracelets to pass out in support of the charity. I told her it sucks and it’s not fair, but that life will go on and that you need to honor him in some way. And I did that whole supportive mom thing but you know what it’s BULL SPIT!
These kids should not be dying with no known treatment, cure or even recognition of the disease. I can tell you that before Taylor Swift made a song and I read a blog, I had no idea that this many kids were dying from a disease that only adults get. I had blinders on. And it is sad. We have a huge to do for breast cancer which no child should lose their mom at a young age, but what about the kids who don’t have a chance to even live. If I had to choose between me getting cancer and my child getting cancer, sign me up. I have lived enough to be satisfied but these don’t have a chance from the minute of diagnosis.
All myself and thousands of other parents want is for there to be some awareness and some funding for future research.
Please check out Maya’s blog Rockstar Ronan. She is fighting with all her might to move mountains and get the funds that is needed to save these kids.
And if you can’t afford to financially help by spreading the word, wearing gold (childhood cancer color) or writing a blog post.
Our family grew over the summer
And no I didn’t give birth or adopt, my 18-year-old brother moved in.
This is the first time in his 18 years that we have ever lived together. By the time he was born, I was permanently living with my grandparents because it was easier that way. So we would see each other during the day and then I would leave or he would leave something. But let me tell this 24/7 thing is tough.
I mean he is a TEENAGER, for goodness sake! And a lazy one at that! For most of the summer, he sat around playing video games and not doing much of anything. But now that we gave him some chores and he is working with the hubby on jobs, it’s not so bad.
But then there was no motivation to do anything other than that. I had to keep telling him hopes and dreams don’t pay for gas in his Excursion. It took a while and there was a few arguments but he is enrolling in Culinary school and begins in a few weeks as long as financial aid comes through. Then he has a job that will hopefully start soon.
So fingers cross he is on the right path and won’t be sleeping on my couch for the next 3 years.
Here is his first day of college picture we took.
First Day of homeschool 2013
Here are my angels on their first day.
Dakota on the first day of Preschool. This was our 3rd attempt at a picture.
Brianna on her first day of 6th grade.
Cailin on her first day of her 8th grade gap year. She has a goofy smile because of her uncle standing behind me.
Here they are my 2013-2014 class!
You know I still can’t believe how fast time flies. When we started our homeschool journey Cailin was going into 3rd and Brianna was in 1st and little man was just a hope and dream!
Not Back to School weeks 2013
Well I hate to say this but the last two weeks of summer for my homeschool kids have sucked!
The weekend before my oldest was to head back to school, my homeschool kids got a really bad cold. So the first week of what was supposed to be fun and HAHA we don’t have school consist of sneezing, coughing, dirty tissues and Mucinex. My poor babies were hit hard. But they were due. Other than a few sniffles here and there, they have been extremely healthy for at least 2 years.
Once they finally got back on their feet which took about a week, it was time for our back to school shopping. No we aren’t shopping for school supplies! We are shopping to stock up the house. I do this at the beginning and end of summer. It was time for a BJ run! At the beginning of summer I took Hubby and 2 kids with me. BIG MISTAKE!! Hubby threw everything in the cart and boom $1000 before coupons! Never again, I tell ya!
This time I had 3 kids and well……….I wasn’t much better……take a look……….
That is my receipt next to my brand new table which is a 108 inches long. My receipt well over half! OOPS! But that’s what happens when you got to stock up the house after going 3 months of non-heavy duty shopping. Plus my table is now full. Yup that’s right there is a total of 8 with 4 being teenagers. Another post coming about that later.
So that being said our not back to school week wasn’t very fun. Hopefully that’s not an omen for the school year.
Why we are not homeschooling high school this year
I know just last week or so I posted that I would have a Pre-k, a middle schooler and a high schooler. After much stress and anxiety (about 5 months worth) on my part, my daughter decided she wasn’t ready. She said there were things she wanted to go over and grasp before she jumped into high school. And I was very relieve! But then stressed again because we start school in 2 weeks.
Are we saying she failed 8th grade? No! My daughter struggled in some minor areas but the majority she passed with flying colors. We are calling it a gap year. Yes all the formal paperwork says 8th grade but to us it is a catch up year. Which we knew she would have an extra year option.
Here in Florida if you turn 5 before September 1, then you start Kindergarten that year. Teachers here hate it! At least all the ones I have come across. If your birthday is after September 1, you don’t start until the following August. Even though my oldest and middle daughter are 2 years apart, school age they are only one grade apart. My middle daughter would be graduating before she is even 18. This will also happen for my son who is born in July.
My hubby and I always knew we would have a year if she felt she needed it. And I am really proud of her making the decision to take it now to prepare more knowing that high school is when it counts. Even though she feels terrible for all the money spent (that’s my frugal girl) on the curriculum for 9th grade. It’s not like it won’t get used next year. Plus my hubby was over the moon. He has had a hard time accepting it. I mean just 2 weeks ago we were talking about it and he said well she doesn’t start high school for another year. He has been in denial over the last few months. So when she asked if she could take her gap year he was quick to answer yes! Poor guy couldn’t handle his little girl growing up.
All in all my daughter may not be going into high school yet, but she showed her maturity level by making a very good decision.
Growing a Large Family 