A Quiet Little Meow

We are 3 weeks into the school year AND we are all still alive.  Not only are we alive but we are actually doing well minus the driving to 2 different schools on opposite sides of the county twice daily to take and pick up the kids.  The schools are 26 minutes apart.  They both start at 8.  One ends at 3 and the other at 3:30.  I don't like it.  At all.  But I will keep on keeping on because it is the best for the kids who will some day decide which nursing home to put me in.  Hopefully they will look back and see my struggles and have mercy on me.  Carly is doing exceptionally well (with the re addition of her ADHD meds) and at mid 6 weeks has all As on her progress report.  This is a first.  I think one of her teachers looks down on the fact that I pulled her out to homeschool her last year but I think the fact that her grades are better than they have ever been says I must have done something right.  Yes, she is a bit behind in her multiplication facts BUT when I pulled her out in 3rd grade we had to go back and redo 2nd grade math because it was obvious she had gotten by but had not really learned.  So the fact we did almost 2 years work in less than a year makes me ok with the fact that she needs a little more time to memorize her facts.  I didn't send her with ADHD meds on the first day and she came home asking me to please restart them.  I think most kids resist the meds so the fact that she requested them spoke volumes.  I'm glad we went almost a year without them but I'm ok with her being back on them also as long as she clearly needs them.  Ideal?  No.  Reality?  Yes.  On to Anna.  She is still only having about 1 accident a day in panties.  It is awesome.  The accidents are usually in the evening when she gets tired except there was that one night when I forgot to put her in a Pull Up for bedtime.  Oops.  She is loving her school too.  I had a near breakdown thinking again maybe she wasn't in the right place.  It went something like this- I asked her teacher if she thought this was the appropriate placement for Anna.  She said if it were her kid she would put her in "regular" kindergarten.  So then I freak out thinking I've done the wrong thing, scarred her for life...  So I call and talk to the special Ed coop head lady who reminds me that special Ed teachers have difficulty discerning what is "normal/typical" because they are rarely around it.  Basically, yes, my kid may be the valedictorian of her PPCD class but that doesn't mean she is academically ready for the other Kindergarten class.  We are going to discuss this further at her next iEP meeting which will take place fairly soon.  I will hold off on details until after the meeting because honestly if I start typing then I start thinking then I start over thinking and then I want to drink a 12 pack of Straw Beer Ritas.  None of this is healthy.   In the midst of all of this my great grandmother died at 99 years of age.  I was sad for my grandmother that she lost her mother because there isn't really an age where it's ok to lose your parent but I felt happy for my great grandmother who finally got to go reap the rewards of a life spent teaching others.  She started teaching Sunday School at 11 years old and did so until 80 something years of age.  I bet her treasures in Heaven are amazing.  I took Anna and Carly to the visitation at the funeral home but not to the funeral itself.  Carly did well.  Anna wanted to know when that lady was going to wake up, why there were roses on that lady's box, and she also informed me that heaven is full of dead people.  The next day Carly asked how the funeral went.  I said it was nice.  Anna said,"Was that dead lady there?"  I'm glad I didn't take her but I'm glad she got a little exposure to death.  There is never a good age to do that but I think all In all it went well.  Kenneth is finally done with physical therapy and back on his regular shifts at work.  Thank God!  I love him so much but when he has been gone every third night for 11 years it is a hard adjustment to have him home every single night for 6 weeks.  My hats off to you ladies who have your husband home every night- I'm not cut out for that.  I need my time.  Yes, the kids are here but when they go to bed it's just me and I love it- like right now.  I think I posted what happened to him but just in case I forgot- he tripped over the cat getting out of the shower and dislocated his shoulder which was I guess pretty bad because it took 2 hospitals, 1 ambulance ride, and an unprecedented amount of narcotics before they could finally get it back in place.  I want to thank the lady who would let out a soft "meow" every time he walked into physical therapy.  She's my hero and doesn't even know it.  Well, I suppose I must get to bed.  Gabe is in the midst of an ear infection and sleeping like a newborn so I had better get an hour of zzz zzz while I can.  Night.

First Day Of School