From Unicorn to Klingon

On Friday night I got home about 9:45 pm. The kids were still up and Jim mentioned that Brandon had been bit or stung on the forehead. He went up to put them to bed and yelled for me to come look at Brandon. I went up and he had a pretty good sized bump on his forehead. I went to get the Benadryl and gave him the maximum dose. I thought by morning that my little unicorn would be better. Saturday morning came and my hope for a quiet morning was blown away when Brandon got up I realized that he now looked like a Klingon. The swelling had continued down his face and know not only was his entire forehead swollen, but his eyes and upper checks were now puffy. I called the doctor and made a quick trip to his office. Brandon is know on steroids for the next 3 days. I hope it works. Right now he is with my sister. Jim and I had to go to the football game with my Dad and didn't get home till very late. I took pictures, but now I can't find the camera. Maybe later I can update the post.

Update On Arion - He Loves Me

Last night I realized something. I was talking to him on the phone and we went to end the conversation. Usually I say "I love you" and Arion says "I love you too bye" at brake neck speed. I mean even an auctioneer would have trouble understanding him. I understand, it's not cool to say I love you to your mom. Last night it was different. He said "I love you Mom" slow and meaningful. Of course I didn't say anything to him about it but after I got off the phone I realized that he really does love me and he is really growing up.

Trying Something New

As we know, I am currently having problems with Lauren and some of her school work. The agenda book is an issue and Lauren seems to forget a lot of stuff. Go figure for a kid with working memory problems, right. I tried writing the teacher and talking to the special ed teacher to see if she could intercede and explain the problem. I also sent an e-mail to the school psychologist to see if she could help or change the IEP. I was going to call the school and bitch, but I decided to try one more thing. I printed out some stuff on kids with working memory in the classroom and how best to deal with their short comings. It really was set up for teachers to understand what changes they could make for the child's benefit. Not big changes, mind you, but small things that would help cue the working memory and ease the load on the working memory itself. I thought that maybe if I could get the teacher to better understand what she was dealing with things would go better. I'll let you know. I know she has it, the trick now is if she reads it. In another week I will write her an e-mail and see if she did and what she thought. What can it hurt, right. I guess this is my softer side (not generally seen).

Very Interesting

My friend Shannon sent me an article on Hyper Sensitivity in people with ADHD. It was very cool. Although it did have a lot of stuff that we see in Brandon, what I found very interesting was the things that I deal with that I never thought of being a ADD issue. You can read it here http://www.add.org/articles/hypersen.html. The whole web site is very cool. If anyone is looking for info on ADHD or ADD, this is a great site.

Life and Lauren

Things have been kind of crazy (imagine that). Working 2 jobs does really cut into my blogging time. I keep saying I will post at work and then work is crazy too. I barely have time to e-mail.

This week I hit a road block with Lauren and school. Not sure how big a deal to make of it, but I am trying to address it before it becomes a problem. There's the deal. When we did her IEP last year, homework was identified by a paper sent home every Monday to let you know what would be due all week. This took the guess work out and you always knew what she needed to do. This year they have switched her to a agenda book. In this book she must write down any homework and tests she has coming up. About Tuesday, she got upset that there was homework she hadn't done, and she couldn't remember what it was. I checked her book and nothing was listed. I wrote a note to the teacher asking her what it might have been and if she could insure that Lauren writes down all her homework. I didn't think this would be a big deal because she checks it every day to make sure WE sign the book. The response I got was that it was Lauren responsibility and not hers. OK . . . not the response I had hoped for. I sent an e-mail to the school psychologist regarding the problem and that it will be OK if Lauren is coping the information from the board, but not if the teacher is telling her what to write. You see, children with working memory problems have a terrible time taking notes. To the point that they can't do it. It requires them to hear, use the memory to spit it back on to the paper. This action requires working memory. I really don't think it's that big of deal to ask a teacher that is already looking at the book everyday to initial it and make sure she has everything written. I mean really. As of this point I have received no reply to my e-mail. I will give it a week and then continue on with the e-mails and send another note to the teacher. I think I might also send in a copy of one of the paper I read this summer to help the teacher better understand the problems working memory deficiencies cause. We'll see.

Update On Bath

In keeping with the "get the bathroom done" line, I purchased the border tile on Wednesday and did the tile last night. Now all I have to do this those 2 stupid tiles around the soap dispenser and I can grout on Sunday. I also have decided that I will be putting up weins coat. I bought some with the tile to see how it looked and I like it. I think it is the little extra I was looking for. I will take pictures after the grout.

Mad Mondays

Mondays are never easy. The kids hate getting up early to get ready for school. Today was no exception. Brandon was very tired and just wanted to go watch TV. When I told him he couldn't until he was ready for school, it set him off into a mood. When Brandon gets mad, he generally just grunts and won't talk. The challenge is the "change the channel". This means to distract him long enough (sometimes only a few second) and then he forgets that's he mad. I was able to accomplish it this morning by going through his backpack and finding a picture he colored at school and complimenting him on the colors and how he stayed in the lines. In 2 seconds he forgot the TV and started eating his breakfast. I later realized that it just isn't the kids that have trouble on Mondays. While getting ready this morning I sprayed hair spray under my arms. NICE.

Plum Line . . . Why Do You Mock Me So

OK, I know I have been putting off finishing the hall bath, but in my defence, I have really been busy. I got tired of looking at it half done and put it on my "Almighty List". You see, I'm a list person. My life revolves around lists that I make and need to get done. If a project gets put on my weekend list, there is a good chance it will get done. The bath room tile was on the top for this weekend. I started where I got pissed off, the cuts on the edges. Me and the cutter don't always get along and I start breaking tiles in the wrong spot. After so many I have to walk away. Of course, to make things worse, there really is not a plum line or wall in my house. This makes the cuts that more difficult. I must report that I have all the tile except for the boarder (which I haven't bought yet and the two hardest cuts. The best part was when I ask Brandon to hand me a tile and he ended up learning and trying to do all kinds of stuff. There was a problem in the end. When I came to the last corner, it didn't match. I was 1/4 inch off. It doesn't seem like much, but it really looks bad. Oh well, if the next people don't like it, they can ripe it out and try there luck with these walls. So what do you think???

Height, Weight, and Age - What a Concept

This concept is one Brandon is still working on. Try as I might I can't get him to understand the difference. This morning was no different. As soon as we came down stairs, this was what he said.

Brandon: "How old are I, measure me".

Me: " You mean How tall am I"

Brandon: "Measure me"

I measure him on the wall.

Brandon: "look, I'm a 40 pounder"

Our First Comment

I'm sorry for not posting in a while. Things have been crazy around here. Seems like there just isn't time. Yesterday Lauren got her first note in her communication book. Not much, but it was a start. I did like Mama Rose's comment that I should make up sheets. That way I find out about what I need to know. Maybe if I make a check box section and then a comment section I will find out more. If I have time today I will make one up.

It's Just Sad

I know you all are waiting with baited breath to find out if we got a communication book. Well the answer is yes, but the story doesn't end there. First, we got the book on Thursday night. It was empty. The was a general note that stated that she would be writing in it once a week. OK . . . The good part was it was in a marked folder. There was a sticker on the front that was SUPPOSED to have Lauren's name on it. The last name was spelled WRONG. If you remember, she had her last year. Even if she didn't remember her from last year OR summer school, didn't she have a list. I told Lauren to point it out to her and she corrected it. I check and she didn't even bother to remove the old tag, she just put the new one on top. NICE. CLASSY. Of course I checked the book Friday night and it still was empty. So much for good communication skills. I don't mean to be really mean, but Brandon has had his communication book since day one and it has been written in EVERY day. So now I wait to see if she will write next week.

Should I Get Pissy Yet

So the question of the day is how long do I wait before I call the school to bitch. Subtle right?? You see Lauren has been in school for 2-3 days and I see no communication book in her backpack. OK, day 1 she didn't go to the special ed class for language. I'll give them day 2 because I'm trying to be nice. If I don't see one by tomorrow I think I will start my e-mail campaign for the year. You see last year she had one and I couldn't get anyone to write in it. The IEP says I'm to have "daily" communication. I am going to start this year off right if it kills them. The new regular teacher seems nice. She answered my e-mail before school even started and said that not only had she read Lauren's IEP, but had discussed it with the special ed teacher. I'll let you know how it goes.

First Day of School

Yesterday was the kids first day of school. It seemed to go well. Both kids were excited and made new friends. Lauren will go to her special ed class today. Brandon was disappointed that one of his good friends moved on, but seems to be making friends with some of the new kids. There are one or two that are there from last year. After school Lauren had a dentist appointment, so she really didn't have a good night. Here are pictures.

A Day at The Farm

About once a year we try to go to this farm run by the parks service. The kids love to see the animals and the small pond is always good for fishing. This year they also added a butterfly house. It was really cool and Lauren really loved it. Jim was even excited that the pig had about 13 piglets running around. Jim loves the pigs. After the farm we stopped for ice cream and then went swimming. It really was a fun day. Since it was my I day off I really enjoyed all we managed to do.

How Much Is A Kid Worth

This is an interesting question. Apparently, in Georgia they are worth $1,700. Let me explain. I have a good friend Shannon that lives in Georgia with her husband Tim. Except Tim is now in Iraq. They have one child together (Danny-2) and three others by other people. Shannon has Emory (15) and Tim has Justin (17) and a little girl (about 4) that I can't remember her name. Last year Justin came to live with them because his mother is a BI*CH. I met this woman once and decided that she was in line for the worst parent award or hall of fame. She's a high school drop out, very selfish, does nothing for Justin's self esteem and constantly berates him. Things were going OK, but with Tim going to Iraq, Justin's Mom decided that Justin needed to come back and live with them. You see, Shannon is only a step parent and they did not file for legal custody and child support. Shannon and Tim were trying to work it out without going to court and things getting ugly. After Justin went back he started calling Shannon and asking if he could come back. Shannon has no problem with this, but his Mother won't allow it. Last week Justin called very upset and begged Shannon to come get him. In the background Shannon could hear his Mother, cusing and screaming at him. She was also calling Shannon every name in the book and saying that Shannon couldn't help him. At the end of the phone call, Shannon called the police and asked if there was anything she could do. The officer told her that at 17 he could leave and she could pick him up. Trusting this man, Shannon made plans to pick up Justin, when the crazies weren't there, and off they went. Pickup went fine. Shannon told Justin to call his Mom and let her know he was OK. He didn't. Next thing Shannon knows there is a cop on the phone telling her she was miss informed and could be arrested for kidnapping. Shannon now has no money or gas to take the boy home. The cop works out that he can stay the night and they will work something out in the morning. Next morning Justin's step father calls and says that she can keep him if she pays for all the stuff they just bought him. The total $1,700. They even have a way for her to pay it off. Just continue to pay child support. All she has to do is sign a paper and the kid is hers. NICE. What loving parents. Let's look at the stuff she needed to pay for. Glasses, she would have had to pay for half anyway; dental work, same thing; clothes; a new bed, of course Shannon doesn't get the bed, just gets to pay for it. So Shannon signed the paper and will be getting a lawyer. She still has to get him registered at school. They had blocked that before and now need to undo that. Shannon has found cases were custody was given to a non-parent. Shannon you are a great person. Justin is much better off with you.

Getting Ready for School

So now I have the other two to get ready for school. I have already e-mailed Lauren's new teacher. I am really hoping that this year goes good for Lauren. We really didn't make much progress last year. She did get the teacher I requested. I just hope she's as good as everyone has said.

I still need to e-mail Brandon's teacher, but it's the same teacher he had last year, so she has an advantage. She does need to know about the lying. He's been doing it more and more.

We have Brandon set to pick-up and get off the bus at the sitters and Lauren will go to a neighbors after school. The child care bill will be back. Not quite as bad, but still more than when Arion was here to watch everyone. Jim and I are still trying to work out how things will go with the kids and us. I have started my part-time job and I hope it helps with saving for Arion's tuition and the extra child care. Of course this leaves Jim with more work at home. I hope he gets it. I will really need the extra help. I guess only time will tell.

Unable to Post

Sorry for the long delay in posting. I have been unable to post due to a virus on my computer and it is driving me crazy. It won't let me log in. I have found that if I leave a comment on someone else's blog that it will then let me in. If anyone gets a unnecessary comment on your blog, it may be why.

It has been a crazy week. I drove Arion to college on Friday. We left at 4:30 am in able to get there on time. Once we got there it was check in, unpack, ID, books, eat and I was off while he when to the first meeting. I could tell the whole time he was very uneasy. Really not like Arion. There were some funny moments. While Arion was waiting in line to get his ID, I saw all these parents going and getting the pre-ordered books for their kids. I thought "I could do that". No Biggy Right??? So I tell Arion to give me his room key and I will get the books while he waits in line. OK, back up. All the other parents were walking away with a box that was about 6 inches tall and 18 inches long. None of them looked to be straining. I walk over and tell them whose books I need and after the guy looks him up, he tells me to wait, "That's a big one". CRAP. . . The next thing I know, he comes out with 2 boxes. The 2 must have weighed 50 pounds. So I hitch them on my belt and take the trek over to Arion's room. Not a short walk. Boy does he owe me.

On Saturday I was up at about 6:15 am. I can't stand it. I can't sleep late anymore. I take my time and shower, pack, go eat the hotels breakfast and still it's way to early to do anything. So I went to Walmart to pick up some stuff for Arion that he needed. After I was done and had wasted about as much time as I could I started over to the college. I called on the phone and then waited 5 minutes for him to call me back. At his apartment, he was the only one up. It was 10:00 am. We sat in the living room and talked. After a short time I left for home. He did give me his first real hug in years. I didn't cry, but I think we were both a little choked up.

I have talked to him several times since them. Once was me checking on him and the rest were him calling me. He has had a couple of things to work out, but I think things are going better. On Wednesday I talked to him and he told me he was going to spend the long weekend at a friend house. He sounded like the old Arion again. At that point I relaxed.