Can I just say that I LOVE Jack's 3rd grade teacher??

Look at this email that I got today. This is the FIRST day of school and she's already emailing me. I just love her. And I told Don that this is just more reassurance that we need to stay in this school - Don wants to move and so do I but I want to stay in our school as I really think it's the best thing for Jackson. Anyway, here is the email.

Mila and Don,
I just LOVE Jackson! He's MY kind of person! He's had a great first day and has already earned 3 tickets (good job in group work especially). I'm wanting to know, in addition to velcro strips, what works for Jackson with the sensory issues. Does he have a sensory diet? I can get him "stress" balls, lap bands for the legs of his desk so he can push on it with his feet, etc... To give you a piece of where I'm coming from, I too have a "sensory child". I know how difficult it can be if my son doesn't get the input he needs.
Please let me know what works or if you are willing to allow me to try new things. I want his year to be as successful as possible with the sensory issues being secondary for him.
I am excited to get to know him and the both of you this year!!!
Thanks so much!
Mia

I replied to her saying that he has never really been diagnosed with sensory issues, but that his teacher and the counselor last year suggested the velcro strip in his desk to sort of give him something to do with his hands. I told her that Jack is a great child and WANTS to do well, but that sometimes his impulse control issues get the best of him. I also told her that she is welcome to try anything she thinks would be good for him and that we are here to support her and Jack this year in every way. Here is her reply to me.


Well, I play trial and error. I have several books about sensory kids. You may have read them all. If not, let me know and I can "check" them out to you. It's obvious Jackson has a heart of gold (and he's pretty darn cute too). That's why I instantly fell in love with him! Let me do some thinking and gathering of various items. I can talk to him, too, about what he thinks.
My son, Aidan, has similar issues with impulse control as well and I have seen how frustrated he can get. I think these kids will grow up to be "go getters" and great problem solvers!
Off to get the kids from Spanish...I'll let you know what I come up with.
:)
Mia

Isn't that so cool - to have a teacher, on the FIRST day of school, already thinking of how to better your child's year? I think it's awesome! I'm hoping this is a wonderful year for Jack - he deserves it!

My house is so......

QUIET!!! I don't know whether to laugh or cry! For the first time in 7 years - I have an empty house. What am I going to do with myself for the next 13 years?? Ok, so I know what I'll be doing - and I'm sure I won't really be bored but it's so weird just sitting here in a quiet house.

The morning went great! We were all up, showered, dressed, fed and ready to leave by 7am! We don't have to leave until 7:20, so it was nice not to be rushed like we usually are on the first day of school. The kids were all so excited! Macy got up at 4 AM and got into our bed and never went back to sleep - she is going to be WORN OUT later today! She is either very excited or very nervous, I'm betting it's a little of both. But we got to the school, did the picture in front of the school like we always do - went to each classroom and said our goodbyes. I didn't even cry (when I dropped Jack off at Kinder - I was fine until I walked away from his class, then I cried!) but the stupid poem that the Kinder teachers give to the parents as they walk out the door made me tear up. I had to stop reading it - and I've read the same poem for all three kids now - you would think it wouldn't get to me anymore. Here's the dumb poem... :)

The First Day
I gave you a little wink and smile
As you entered my room today.
For I know how hard it is to leave
And know your child must stay.
You've been with him for five years now
And have been a loving guide,
But now, alas, the time has come
To leave him at my side.
Just know that as you drive away
And tears down your cheeks may flow
I'll love him as I would my own
And help him learn and grow.
For as a parent, I too know
How quickly the years do pass
And that one day soon it will be my turn
To take my child to class.
So please put your mind at ease
And cry those tears no more
For I will love him and take him in
When you leave him at my door.

Need a tissue?

So, now I'm going to go run some errands with Don. It will be nice to be able to do some work with him again. We used to work together before kids, so we're going to start that again. It should be fun to be adults again!

Here are some pics from today. I can't believe how grown up they look in these pictures!

Macy and Elle walking up to the school.


All three.


Again...


Me, Don and our "baby" who is no longer a baby at all!


Elle giving Macy a hug goodbye. So sweet!


One more pic of the girls...


Jack giving some love to Macy...


Elle with her BFF


Me and my big 3rd Grader!!


And a walk down memory lane...
2005 first day of school


2006 first day of school


2007 first day of school


Have a great day!!

My kids are facinated with the Michael Jackson news coverage....

never have they sat so long for the news! They've never even heard of him before today but they love him. I showed them the thriller video on the internet and they were mesmerized. Why haven't I ever shown them his stuff before? It's cute listening to them discuss him... "why isn't he still brown? he looks like a girl.. he sounds like a girl... he is handsome (from Elle) I wonder if he believed in Jesus (also from Elle) to which Jack replied, yes, he did and then Elle said "good, then he made it to Heaven." :D Then they showed a segment from tomorrow saying they would have full coverage on MJ and Elle asked, can we watch that tomorrow? Funny how they are so interested in this.....

Whatever you feel about Michael Jackson, he was a pop icon and a world famous superstar. Very few people ever reach his status and not many are near as talented as he. The world will mourn his passing...

Shocking that he and Farrah died on the same day. Two very famous pop icons are gone. Our hearts and prayers go out to their families...

Macy's 5 yr check up....

and a student doctor comes in first. He examines Macy, asks her some standard questions - can you skip, do you know your colors, can you draw a person, etc. Macy answers him and does well. He asked me if we've talked to her about strangers. I told him that yes, we have the Stranger Danger video but it's been a while and we probably need to go over it again. So he finishes, says our doctor will be right in and leaves.

Macy and I are talking and I start asking her about strangers. I ask her "Do you know what to do if someone comes up to you and says Come with me little girl, I have some candy for you." I ask her "what would you say?" She looks up at me and promptly says "Thank you." I burst out laughing (probably not a good response, but it completely caught me off guard) and then she shrugs and says "sure?" Like - ok, I have no idea what you want me to say! Hmmm, think it's time to watch the Stranger Danger video again??

On another note - the check-up went great. Great vision, hearing - 90% for height and 90% for weight.

Oh and she got two shots. So, before the appt she asked if she would be getting shots. I said I don't know, we'll have to ask the doctor. So, after the student doctor leaves and says the doctor will be in to see you in a moment - Macy says to me "she is going to bring in shots." I told her that the doctor doesn't give the shots, the nurse did. Ok - then our doctor comes in, checks her out then says "the nurse will be in to see you in a moment." Macy looks at me and says "now SHE is bringing in shots." So I told her yes, the nurse is going to give her two shots. I said "do you want to know what I told Jack to make shots better?" When Jack was little I remember telling him that when the nurse gets the needle out to take a deep breath and when she puts the needle in you to start blowing out REAL hard. It worked for him. He, to this day, is not afraid of shots now. He says it really works to blow big breaths out during the shot. So Macy likes this and is prepared. The nurse comes in and asks Macy to sit in my lap. I remind her to take a deep breath. She does. Then the nurse gives the shot in her arm - Macy starts blowing and blowing and she's not crying. YAY! The nurse is done with the first shot and Macy says "that hurt a little bit" So the nurse grabs her other arm for the second shot. Macy asks the nurse to give her a second but the nurse just sticks the shot in her and Macy LOOSES IT! Screaming, crying, kicking, you name it! I felt so bad for her, she did so well for the first shot. I know why they hurry through them but it was upsetting since Macy asked her to just give her one second. When we got to the car Macy said she hated all nurses and when she's a doctor she is going to give EVERYONE a shot! :lol: I told her I'm sorry that nurse didn't wait and explained she was just trying to get it done quickly. Macy said "I was just trying to catch my breath and wanted her to wait one second!!" :shock:

And while I'm giving updates - today was Elle's Kindergarten graduation! :( I can't believe it - one is graduating Kinder and I have one going into Kinder. It seems like just yesterday I was walking Jack into Kinder. It goes by so fast! I'll post pics later - right now Macy is begging me for lunch!! :P

504 Meeting with the school....

Today we had a meeting at Jack's school to discuss putting a 504 plan in place. The meeting went very well I think. It was the principal (she is never in our meetings, it's usually the vp whom I don't particularly care for but am learning to deal with - but the VP wasn't there this time for some reason) the counselor (she is wonderful!) and Jack's teacher (also wonderful!) So we meet, discuss some issues. The teacher started implementing a plan of having only one math problem viewable at a time (she covers the rest of the problems up) and she has seen tremendous improvement with this already! She gave Jack the first part of a test before our last meeting and he scored a 36 on it - out of 100! Then she gave the second part of the same test after we had our meeting and she covered up the problems so he could only see one problem at a time and he scored a 75 - again, out of 100! HUGE improvement! He brought his report card home yesterday and it's all A's with one B and that B is in his advanced math class. If he was in regular math, he would be straight A's - so to see him score 36 on a test, well, something's just not right.

Anyway, the plan we came up with for Jack is this.

They will cover his work so that only one problem is showing at a time on the paper. He gets too overwhelmed/distracted with all the problems on the page and he rushes so hopefully this will help - which she has been doing for the past week or so anyway and she is seeing a big improvement.

He will get "movement time" to get up and move around after 30-45 minutes of sitting. Which she said she pretty much does already with Jack and that in 2nd grade, they aren't really ever sitting that long anyway, but it will help him when he gets into older grades and they expect them to sit still longer.

And they are going to offer him a piece of velcro that he can put on the inside of his desk or underneath - anywhere that he thinks is best - and he can "fidget" with it while he's sitting there. Something to help with sensory issues - I've never seen any sensory issues with him but he does have a hard time staying still and likes to fidget, so hopefully this will help him. This was the principal's idea - she said she used to do that for some of her students when she was a teacher. The reason that it's velcro under his desk is that she said that she didn't want Jack to feel embarrassed by having something like that and that as kids get older they worry about what their peers think and she doesn't want him singled out. This will just be something for him that no one needs to know about but might help him to have something to do with his hands.

All in all - I liked it. I think the school is doing an excellent job in trying to work what's best for Jack. This is all extra stuff that they have to do and I like that they are willing to go the extra mile for him.

We will meet annually for the 504 to make necessary adjustments - or anytime they or we feel the need. We will meet sometime mid-year next year to discuss if everything is working and getting ready for the state standardized testing to make sure Jack is on track. They really impressed upon having this done before he got to 3rd grade and the testing starts. Even though he is an A-B student and very bright - they are worried about his testing. He rushes through and doesn't pay enough attention. I'm hoping this 504 will help him with that.

He already is doing so much better with his math, and the teacher and counselor both said that his attitude is so much more upbeat - even though he's a happy kid anyway, they said he appears more confident this past week. He even comes home telling me that he's doing so well in math - he is clearly proud. And that makes me happy. He's so sweet, funny and SO SMART - I don't want his confidence shaken because of this.

So - that was our meeting. I will keep you all posted on the results over time. Thanks for your support!

Roller Skating!

Ok - I know, I don't blog for a while and then BAM - I blog several times in one night. Well, that's the only way I get to these days! And truthfully, I'm so exhausted tonight and would like to go watch tv and then crash - but I really wanted to share this. So - here goes! :))

We took the kids skating this weekend. Jack had a classmate's birthday party at the skating rink, so Don and I took the girls too and we all skated. Elle and I went skating back in January with her girl scout troop, so this wasn't her first time. Jack had been skating before but it's been a LONG time! And this was Macy's first time on skates.

Jack tried out the inline skates - it was a little difficult at first but Jack is very talented when it comes to anything like this so we knew he would get it quickly. He did! By the end of the night he was jumping up in the air on those things! I would have broken every bone in my body had I tried what he was doing.

Here's Jack on his skates. I don't have many pictures of him because he was off with his friends most of the night.



Elle did good on her skates too! Especially given the fact that I had to HOLD her up the ENTIRE time we went skating a few short months ago. She was like Bambi on ice last time! She didn't need me at all this time! Elle always has her own way of doing things though, and skating didn't prove to be any different. She doesn't really "skate" she just kind of RUNS on wheels. I don't think the wheels ever turned, she just ran around the rink on her skates. Again, I don't know how she does it and again, I would probably break every bone in my body if I tried to run in skates! Elle has gotten the skating bug though - she wants to go EVERY DAY!! She loved it and has requested a skating party for her 6th birthday! We already have it planned! Here are a few pics of my little Bambi on ice...

This pic is a little blurry but I still love it. Notice how she is "flapping" her arms?


"running" on skates...


She was watching the races and I called her name.


And then there was Macy. It was her first time but like Jack, she takes to stuff like this pretty quickly. Although she is much more cautious than either her big brother or sister and does NOT like to fall down! I mean, who does, but it really makes Macy mad to fall! Elle falls a million times and just gets right back up - it really ticks Macy off to fall so she tries very hard NOT to fall. She did a great job. She held my hand at first but was quick to figure it out and she just went around and around the rink (staying close to the railing, of course) at least a hundred times! She loves skating too! Here are a few pics of Macy's first time skating...

WHOA!!


Slow and proud...


This is what Macy looks like when she almost falls - you should see the face she makes when she DOES fall.


YAY - she's skating!!!


A rare pic of us all together! Well, almost all of us - Don had to take the picture!


Here is Don - with his phone, of course! ;-)


All in all it was a great night! Skating really takes a lot out of you and we were all worn out by the time we left the rink. But I think we'll be going back very soon! If you are like me and Don and haven't skated in 20+ years, you should try it! It's a lot of fun and it's great exercise! Oh - and your kids will sleep SO HARD that night! :)

Baseball Season is here!!!

I love baseball season! I think it has a lot to do with Spring time - I've always loved Spring! The sun it out (mostly!) and the days are longer (I also love daylight savings time!) The winter blues fade and everything is new again. What's not to love?

Then when you have kids, it's even better! I love going to my kids games - any sports really, but there is something really special to me about baseball! Maybe it's because that's the sport I played as a kid. Maybe because my brother has played all his life so we've spent a lot of time watching him. Maybe it's just because it's a GREAT sport! Whatever the reason - I'm happy that Jack loves playing baseball.

Today was our third game - and it was a nail-biter of a game but I am happy to say that we are still UNDEFEATED!!! Yep, we're 3-0! The kids made a heck of a comeback tonight - after being down 5-13 we came back and WON at 16-14!
W-H-A-T A G-A-M-E!!!!

It was awesome!!! Here are some pics from our season so far. Hope you all are enjoying the wonderful weather!!

SWING!


RUN!


A TRIPLE - YAY!!!


GOING HOME!!!


My handsome boy!




And of course, I can't leave out my girls! They make great cheerleaders!!


Macy and her thumb.