Smiley Faces

At Helen's school they use a smiley face system when rewarding her with good behavior. They have a chart with all her subjects on it, when she has made it through one of them with no issues, she receives her smiley face. If she receives all smiley faces at the end of the day, she gets to pick from the candy bucket, something that makes Helen very happy! As she is running from the school bus she is yelling to me, "Mommy, I pick from candy bucket!" When she gets into the house, after stopping by the mailbox to see if we have mail, I ask her if she received all smiley faces at school. She is always excited when she has because she knows that means she will get her favorite snack...pretzels and marshmallows. It has taken awhile, but I think she finally understands this system. Yesterday she came flying off the bus yelling about the candy bucket so I asked if she received all smiley faces. First she said yes, but then she got a look on her face and changed her answer to no. I said, "Did you get a sad face?" "Yes, in art I push Alisha to ground." I didn't even have to ask what she did, she shared the information right away. I told her it's mean to push, and she could have hurt Alisha. I then asked her why she did it, "I don't know", she said. While I was waiting for my other kids in the school parking lot I kept thinking about how far Helen has come with sharing information about school. I wanted to check and see if this incident happened the way Helen said it did, so I called her teacher. I was disappointed to hear that it did happen, but thrilled at the same time to hear it did. This meant that Helen had communicated an actual event from school, her teacher was so proud. I hope Helen keeps moving forward, it's so frustrating knowing she has the potential but doesn't use it. I also hope she will stop being physical with her friends at school, something else we are working on.

Tonight is the big Pinewood Derby race for the boys, they are so excited. At hot lunch yesterday I stopped by Robbie's table, at his request, and the boys were talking about it. My father-in-law stopped by the other night for a visit, while he was here Robbie asked me to ask him to come and stay with the girls while we go to the race. Robbie didn't want the girls to come, I'm thinking it's because I would be distracted from him. He worked very hard on his pencil shaped derby car (I'll have to post a picture of it). If the girls went, they would be interested for the first few races, but then I'd be watching them to make sure they didn't get into mischief. So, Papou is coming tonight to stay with the girls. Noah will be coming with us, this is right up his alley, he loves cars! This should be an interesting night, sometimes the dad's get into it more than the boys. This race tonight will decide who moves forward to the district race at the end of the month. Ted made it there a few years ago, wish us luck.

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue







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Our Week's Activities

Helen had a great time at the circus, that is all she has been talking about. She told me she saw tigers, clowns, and elephantses! I am thankful for field trips, I don't have the money to take the kids to most of the places they go.

We picked up the Girl Scout cookies Katie sold from the cookie mom on Saturday. I am proud to say, we delivered all but 2 orders by Sunday evening (she had 16 orders, 71 boxes). Some of her orders were from family in Illinois, so we spent Sunday afternoon on a car ride. It was nice to get out of the house for the day and see family and friends. Their favorite delivery was to my friend Carmen, she has a guinea pig. I bet you can imagine what I have been hearing lately..."Mom, can we have a guinea pig?" When I tell them, "No way!", they then ask, "When are we going back to Carmen's, can we go today?" Carmen lives in a one bedroom apartment, she has no kids, so my kids get all of her attention. To say my kids love it is an understatement. You would have to meet my friend Carmen to fully understand. She has so much energy, she makes every single one of them feel very special. She is very generous with them, she gave them the last of her juice boxes and M&M granola bars! She doesn't show favoritism to any one of them, even though Noah is her Godson. She has been there for me since Peter died, when most of my other friends disappeared. We're lucky to have her.

Robbie has had quite the social calendar lately, he does more than I do! He has been to a Monster Truck Jam, a Bucks game, a hotel with a water park, and many sleep overs. He is going to another indoor water park this week-end, and because we already committed to that, he will be missing a Marquette basketball game. Out of all my kids, Robbie's friend's and their parents include him (and sometimes all of us) in a lot of their activities. I think it's wonderful, he is doing things that I would love to do with all of the kids, but just don't have the money. He is very fortunate to have a great group of friends. I am fortunate too, the parents have helped me in so many ways. I am grateful.

Ted was an alter server for the first time on Saturday, he carried the cross. I think he did a good job, it helped that he served with a very nice girl from school who helped him when he needed it. The family room(cry room) is directly across from where the servers sit. I asked Ted how his family looks from there. He told me, "Fine, except when Robbie opened his mouth very wide at me and Grace was waving her arms!" I was sitting right next to them, and never saw it happen. Helen was sitting on my lap, and she was quite a handful that day, so that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!

That's about all that's been going on around here, not much else to talk about. I enjoy the quiet weeks, and now having said that...I just jinxed myself!!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

PS- jmckaye- I am sorry to say that I have been unable to locate any information for you regarding those bike shorts. I looked through Helen's keepsake box and didn't find the sheet I thought I had. I'm sorry, I hope you were able to find the information without me.








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Helen...Drums and Basketball

Helen is at the circus today, it's all she has been talking about for the past two days. She has really started to share her day with me, I may hear about it constantly, but at least she is trying to have a conversation. She shared with me yesterday that she had music and played the drums, she loved it. On Tuesday she had gym and played basketball with her friends, and she named all of them. I can see that she is starting to take an interest in sharing with us the day she had. Helen has always showed progress here at home before showing it at school, I hope she starts sharing soon, it would make her teachers so happy. In the evening I lay out the kid's clothes for school the next day, last night, Helen didn't like what I had chosen. It was a blue light weight sweater, I thought it would be perfect for the circus, not too heavy, yet warm enough. She came in my room holding a shirt and pointing at it, "Mommy, this one, look, basketball!" She had picked a long sleeve shirt with a basketball pictured on it, I guess she's liking basketball these days! I wish I had a good spot to put a basketball hoop, not only for her but Robbie as well.

Ted and Robbie have been working on their Pinewood Derby cars for Cub Scouts. Ted made a silver pick up truck, like the one his dad used to have. Robbie made a pencil. I haven't seen Robbie's yet, it's still at his friend's house where he made it. I was told by the dad that Robbie originally wanted to make a monster truck, his new obsession since going to a monster jam program with a friend. There is a website they went to that has patterns for these cars. As soon as Robbie saw the pattern for the pencil, he had to do it. He told the dad, "This is going to be awesome, everyone is going to laugh, this is great!" I can't wait to see the finished product, the race is in a few weeks.

We are starting to get ready for Robbie to make his first communion, we have meetings to attend. It's always an exciting time for the kids, they finally get to participate by taking the bread and wine. I think Helen will be another year or so, she is just now starting to pray at bedtime. Her religion class teacher has taught her how to sign two prayers. I love watching her sign the Hail Mary, and that's the one she prefers. At the beginning of the week, the kids were talking about what they were going to give up for lent. As of yesterday, no one had given anything up, they didn't like my suggestions! Video games, computer time, candy, ice cream, chocolate, TV shows...

I hope everyone that celebrates, has a nice Lenten season.

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue





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Shoes and Pancakes

Today would have been my mom's 75th birthday...Happy Birthday Mom. I know she is on the mind's of many people today, especially my siblings. It will be two years in June that she passed away. I still have her birthday written on my calendar, and when I got a new cell phone last year, I listed her in my contact list. Isn't it funny that those two little things make it seem as though she is not completely gone to me. It is hard to let go 100%. I'm sure she will be with each of us today, her perfect four.

This morning I received a call from Helen's teacher, she had forgotten her tennis shoes and needed them for gym. It was that phone call that reinforced what I was already feeling...Helen needs to be at a school close to home. If she goes to a school far from home, it won't be as easy to swing by and drop things off for her. It will happen, I would be stupid to think it wouldn't. I handed her the shoes and told her to put them in her backpack this morning. She told me she wanted to wear them instead of her boots. We had rain, then a rain/snow mix, and then snow last night, it was very slippery outside, she needed to wear her boots. She gave me her angry grunt while putting them on. I was distracted by Katie coughing and needing medicine. While I was at it, I gave Ted his medicine for strep throat. I forgot all about Helen's shoes, otherwise I would have checked her backpack to make sure she packed them. So, it happens, we forget stuff, the schools call me, and I drop it off. I wouldn't be as able if Helen were farther away. While the teacher had me on the phone she told me, "Great job with the pancakes!" I thought she was talking to someone else, I said, "What pancakes?" "The ones you made this morning for breakfast," she said. "Helen told me all about how you made pancakes and they were very good." "HA," I said "I didn't make pancakes this morning." She turned to Helen and said, "Your mom didn't make pancakes this morning!" I could hear Helen in the background laugh. When I dropped off her shoes, the assistant came to the office to get them. I explained how I had handed them to her to put in her backpack. When I went to get them from the closet, you could tell that she had thrown them in there, she was probably frustrated with me! Then I told her, "Pancakes in the morning, I barely have enough time to get them all ready and out the door!" We had a good chuckle.

Helen was named after my mom, how appropriate I started this day with a good laugh because of her!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

PS-jmckayc, I haven't heard from my friend about those bike shorts. I searched all over the web for them, and googled every name I could think of for them. My next step is to look in Helen's keepsake box for the information I had on them, I may have saved it, I don't remember. I'm sorry it has taken so long, I will let you know if I'm successful.






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sigh...IEP

Why do IEP's get harder as the years go by? It is do difficult to sit there and listen to how far behind your child is compared to others their age. I had Helen's meeting a few weeks ago, during my time of strep throat. I don't know if recovering from it, and having an allergic reaction to the medication made me more emotional, but I'd like to think so. I was so sad after I met with her teachers, I have never felt that way before. Helen seems to be at a stand still, she really hasn't advanced very much this school year. Her teacher suggested we look into a different program for her, one that would work better for her. I agree, it was just hard to hear. I really like the school she is at, it is just 2 minutes from home, and the staff have been wonderful to her. A new program would mean a move to a new school, change is always difficult. It is all just rumors for now, but the best program for her is located at a school about 20-30 minutes from home. Our school district just announced a plan to lessen bus routes in order to save money. I don't know if they would provide bus service for her if there is a compatible program for her closer to home. I don't want her on a bus for a long time, I can't put into words why, it's just a gut feeling. Her teacher is going to take me to the different schools that have the program we are looking for and help me with the decision, something she doesn't have to do. She told me she has a lot invested in Helen and she wants to make sure she is placed in the right spot, she is not going to fall through the cracks. The last time I had to make a decision like this, Peter was still here, and he helped a lot. He went to the schools to see the classrooms and meet with the teachers, I was taking care of Robbie, Katie, Grace, and baby Noah, so I didn't go. He was the one that made the decision that Helen would go to the school she is at. I have been so pleased with that decision, it's too bad he was never able to see that he made the right choice. I will miss the school she is at, I'm sure she will too, but we have to do what is best for her. She needs a program that is going to make her blossom and show just how intelligent she is. Please keep us in your prayers.

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue







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Reaction

I have had a rough couple of weeks, yesterday I had an allergic reaction to the medication I was on for strep throat. I actually started having the reaction days ago, but didn't realize what was going on until yesterday when I became very ill. My legs and ankles were swollen and I was getting bad headaches. My mom's legs and ankles used to swell up when she was on them all day, so I just thought I inherited that trait from her. I figured the headaches were stress related so I took Advil and went on with my days. Yesterday when I woke up I felt as though I had gained 50 pounds, I was swollen everywhere. I had another headache so I took some more Advil then headed off to the kid's school. I felt okay, just bloated, so I didn't see any harm in staying and helping with hot lunch. I really look forward to Wednesdays, I have made some wonderful friends. After lunch was served to all the students, my head started pounding. I ate something thinking it could have been from not eating all morning. I helped with the clean up and then grabbed some more to eat and finally sat down. That's when it hit me hard, I felt so sick, I couldn't eat. I used what strength I had in me to get Grace, Noah and myself home. I didn't even take my coat off, I went straight to bed, my head felt like it was going to burst open. I got physically sick at one point and realized there was no way I was going to be able to pick the kids up from school. I called a friend who usually helps me with rides but she wasn't home, I left a message. I called my father-in-law, thank goodness he was around and could help me. He went and picked the kids up and brought them home. He stayed and helped until I was feeling better. I did start feeling better in the evening, it was just my head that still had a bit of a throb to it. I am happy to say I'm feeling much better this morning. I can't believe the effects medication can have on your body, I was very sick. My kids have been wonderful during all of this, Ted has taken charge. He was helping my father-in-law make sandwiches for dinner last night, and I heard him telling the other kids to be quiet because I was resting. Katie has been helping by trying to keep the house clean, not an easy job!

I have a lot to do around here, I also need to get to the grocery store. I was going to shop on Monday but then Grace didn't feel good and stayed home from school. There just isn't enough time in a day!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue







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Strep Throat

This is going to be a quick post today, I am taking Helen to the dentist and need to leave in twenty minutes. I am recovering from strep throat, it started last Friday and got progressively worse over the week-end. I ended up at the emergency room on Sunday night with the help of Sherry and my oldest brother Rick. I couldn't take it anymore, I kept getting fevers and breaking them, I was hot and then extremely cold, my whole body ached, and my throat kept getting worse and worse with each swallow. I knew if I waited the next day to go to the doctor I would have to do it by myself, that wasn't going to happen. I didn't think I had the strength to walk to the car to go to the hospital, let alone drive myself to the doctor. There I was, in all my glory at the ER...pajamas, stinky, hair tangled and matted down in the back, and sweaty from the start of yet another fever break. I didn't care, that's how sick I was. When I looked up from the chair I was sitting in at registration, there was a parent from the kid's school. I thought, gosh, maybe I should have at least brushed my hair, or put clothes on. That thought was then replaced with, you know what...I don't care, I'm sick! I'm feeling better from the strep throat, but now I'm fighting off a cold, when it rains, it pours. The good thing is, I don't have mono, which they tested for in the hospital. My goal is to get my house back in order by Monday, you wouldn't believe the mess! I'm still taking it easy, otherwise the goal would have been by the end of the day. Well, I'm off. I hope everyone is staying well, it's not fun being sick!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

PS- a special thanks to Rick and Sherry for all their help, love you guys!




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