Variety Show 2011

We have been so busy around here, I haven't had a chance to sit and write. When I'm not at one of the school's helping out, or acting as chauffeur, I'm throwing a load of laundry in the washer, folding it, or straightening up around the house. While I get "caught up" around here, I thought I'd share the videos of Robbie(he's the cowboy), Katie(middle pink), and Grace(middle purple) in their school's variety show. I hope you enjoy!

This Sunday, Helen has a fitting with the pattern maker. I'm hoping we brought the rise up far enough so we can move ahead with the jeans. I'm very excited!!

Until next time-

Take Care,

Sue

Always Something

I was without my computer for a couple of weeks thanks to a virus, why are people so evil!?!! I am keeping an eye on my bank account and checking my credit cards everyday....what a pain! I was using the kids computer while mine was out of commission. It was so s......l.....o......w! I'm having it looked at, just in case. It's a shame when you trust the security product you purchased and someone is able to break through it. My computer had to be reformatted, it was a mess. It is wonderful now, it's much quicker than before. I always wondered why everyone raved about their high speed Internet, now I know.

Helen has had a few issues at school. After spending time in her special education class, she leaves, on her own, and goes into her inclusion class. The special ed. class is in the front of the school and the inclusion class is in the back. It's a very long hallway she has to walk down. There is a boy in her class who leaves about five minutes before Helen in order to go to his inclusion class which is different from Helen's. The other day, I'm told, he hit Helen in the nose. One of the aides found her in the hallway crying. When she asked what was wrong, Helen told her the boy hit her in the nose. They got her calmed down and then asked her again what had happened. While telling the story she giggled a little, this put some doubt in their minds that it really happened. When going through Helen's backpack that day, I came across the note explaining what had happened. First of all, Helen very rarely cries, and if she does, something happened to her. Second of all, this is not the first time this boy has hit her. Did they really think Helen would come up with a story like that, it's really not in her to do that. She kept touching her nose and saying the boy's name to me, that was proof enough for me. I suggested they let Helen leave first from the classroom, that way, the boy can't wait for her in the hallway. I'm hoping this solves the problem, if not, I'll definitely have to go in and talk with the principal. Don't get me wrong, her teachers are wonderful, but when you hear about your child getting hit in the nose at school, it doesn't sit well, especially since it's Helen.

The other issue she had happened at the grocery store yesterday. During the winter months her class makes soup. The day before they cook, they shop. I was told she had a meltdown, she sat in the aisle and wouldn't get up. I don't know what lead up to that point, so I have no idea what triggered the behavior. Her favorite aide, Mr. Spencer, was able to talk with her and get her up and moving again. We are very lucky to have him as a part of the team. He is actually the one on one aide for another student. Thank goodness he is in the same classes as Helen. It always seems to be something...so definitely....one day at a time!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

Lunch With Helen

Excited to see me

Eating lunch


After recess

Last Wednesday Helen's school had "bring a friend to lunch" day, so I went. I reminded her in the morning, while waiting for the bus, that I would be there. I went to the kid's school to help with hot lunch, like I do every Wednesday, then headed to Helen's school right after. When I got there, I had to wait with the other parents in the hallway, lunches were running behind. While I was standing there, I saw Helen coming down the hallway, she was skipping. I didn't say anything and waited for her to see me. She's looking down while she's skipping, she stops, looks up, and sees me. "MOMMY!" she yells, and starts running. She gave me a big hug, almost knocking me over since she came at me full speed! She told me, "Come on", so I followed to her inclusion class where her coat is hanging on the wall. Her classmates are all getting their boots and coats on since they'll be going outside right after they're done eating. She walks up to them and says, "Guys, guys, look, it's Lolly!" They all just stare at me, they have no idea what she just said, they don't know her name for me is Lolly. I explained that to her, so she said, "Look, it's Mommy." They all said hi to me and then a few of the girls told me she was so excited about me coming, it was all she talked about that morning. I followed behind her class on the way to the lunchroom and watched my big girl get her hot lunch. We found a spot to sit at the table and were joined by one of her classmates and his aide from her special ed. class. He told me all she talked about was me coming for lunch, she was very excited. After lunch the kids lined up for recess, I was the only parent to go outside, what's up with that!?!! It was a nice day, a little gloomy, but not freezing cold! I watched her play with some of her friends, and was told by one of her classmates how she likes to push on the slide. I was a bit concerned when I saw how much supervision they have on the playground....not much. I talked to the aide and then to one of the teachers about it and found out they were lucky to have that amount. I voiced my concern for Helen's safety, especially since she's getting older. My plan is to go back when the weather gets warmer and watch what goes on. If I don't feel comfortable, I will talk with the Principal. When recess was over, it was time to line up and go inside. Helen didn't want to come off the equipment, which has always been an issue. I couldn't get to her, there was a big pile of snow and I only had on tennis shoes. Spencer, the aide, finally got her off the slide. She followed her classmates inside, took her coat and boots off, then said, "Come on Lolly, let's go." She wanted me to stay and join her for the rest of the day. I told her I had to get home to let Toby out. She was fine with that, said bye and disappeared into her classroom. Walking down the hallway I thought to myself, "That was the best hour and a half I've had in a long time!"

Until next time-

Take Care,

Sue

Go Pack Go

Last week we had the blizzard and this week we have frigid temperatures....BRRRRR!! Helen turned eleven on Sunday, she was very happy when the Packers won the Super Bowl on her birthday! One of her teachers must be a die hard Packer fan, he taught her to say, "GO PACKERS!!" Robbie kept trying to get her to say, "Go Pack Go", but she stuck to her guns. Robbie and I watched the game, I enjoyed the commercials, he enjoyed the game. It was so cute watching him get so excited, he was such a guy.

Katie finished her basketball season with only one loss! The team they lost to, they beat last week. In Katie's eyes, they didn't loose any games, they cancelled each other out. If only it worked that way!

I am looking forward to this week-end, it's the first in a very long time that we have nothing planned, well, except for church. It's going to be nice to sleep in and just hang out. Of course I'll be doing laundry and some housework, that's a given. The kids will be able to stay in their jammies, they love doing that. Last Sunday was Scout Sunday at church. Ted was an altar server and Robbie took up gifts, they enjoy participating. This was the first year I took all the kids, they usually stay home with Sherry. We sat in the main part of church with the other scout families. I wasn't sure if we would make it through the whole mass, Helen sometimes gets the giggles. She did giggle a few times, but it didn't get out of control. We tried one other time to sit in the main part instead of the cry room, it wasn't successful. Helen was making gas sounds, some were for real, some she made with her mouth. She was laughing so much that I had to take her into the cry room while the other kids stayed put. Robbie's big buddy from school went and sat with them to keep an eye on them. Robbie met his big buddy when he was in kindergarten. The school pairs up seventh graders with kindergartners so they have a buddy to hang out with at some of the school functions. Robbie was very lucky, his big buddy was awesome, and still is! Robbie started kindergarten right after Peter passed away, so his buddy sort of filled in for Peter. They have a special friendship. Noah has a girl as his big buddy this year, he seems to enjoy it. I wanted him to have a boy, since it was such a great experience for Robbie. I spoke with the teacher and found out they needed the boys in seventh grade to double team with some of the more misbehaved kindergartners. It's all good!!!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

Blizzard of 2011

Looking North

Looking South

View from our backdoor, had to shovel a path for Toby

The past couple of days have been crazy around here...The Blizzard of 2011! We started hearing the possibility of snow over the week-end. We then started hearing how much snow we were going to get. Growing up in Illinois, I was used to the idea of being hit hard with snow, so I just rolled with the information. After Helen left for school Monday morning I ran to the grocery store to pick up bread, milk, and eggs. That afternoon I received a text from my neighbor asking if my cabinets were stocked with food, and if I had enough milk to last a couple of days. That was the first I had heard of a blizzard heading our way. I made sure we had what we needed and then got the house cleaned up knowing most of my time would be spent outside getting the snow taken care of. Monday afternoon and Tuesday we went about the day as usual. It is Catholic Schools week at the kid's school so there were events planned for everyday. Tuesday morning was a carnival that I helped at, and then in the afternoon the whole school went roller skating. It was there that I received the call from Helen's teacher, they would be getting out of school an hour early due to the weather changing. Once school was let out, I called the place where Ted has swimming lessons to see if they were still having them, yes, he still had class. He was the only one out of eight kids that showed up. He had a private lesson, with two teachers that night. The club is right on Lake Michigan, so when we left, we were almost blown away! The blizzard was at the beginning stages, windy, snowy, and cold. We snuggled in for the night, watched movies, and watched the storm. We could not see the houses across the street from us, it was very creepy. We woke up to white...everywhere! I got a text from my neighbor telling me to meet them outside, it was time to shovel everyone out. Thank God for great neighbors, we worked together as a team and got everyone shoveled out. I can't believe all the snow, it was a bit overwhelming at first. It took us about five hours to get all the work done. It would have been much quicker if my riding snow blower would have worked. We put chains on the tires, but come to find out, I need to put snow tires on the beast! It kept getting stuck, the tires would just spin, regardless of how much weight was on the machine. One of these days I'll get it working.

The kids had another day off from school because it took so long for the plows to clean up the streets. The school district also needed an extra day to get the parking lots and front walks at the schools cleared. The kids missed trivia day today at school, they were looking forward to that. Tomorrow is the eighth grade vs. faculty basketball game, they will be at school for that one. Then it's already the week-end. I'm having Helen's birthday party Saturday, her actual birthday is Sunday. She will be eleven...where does the time go? Since it's the Super Bowl, I decided to have the party the day before. She is already excited and keeps asking me who is going to come to her party. I told her we would have to wait and see since the weather has been so bad. I don't know who will make the drive, and who won't.

Until next time-

Take Care,

Sue

Basketball

Robbie's basketball team has yet to win a game in the regular season, they did win one in a tournament over the holidays. Saturday is the last game, we're hoping for a win. This will be the last game with the team that has played together for the past three years. He has been playing through our city program, but next year he gets to play for his school. Luckily, seven of his classmates have been on the team with him. Another player attends our church and religious education program, so he'll be able to be a part of the team. On Saturday, Robbie will be saying good-bye to the other two players. According to Robbie, one of the boys is a really good player, the other one, not so much. He doesn't like to pass the ball, and when he runs to the basket, rarely makes it.

Katie, on the other hand, has won all the games except one. She has two more games left because they had such a good season. I agreed to let her miss the next two weeks of Greek school so she can make it to practice. Her Greek school is from 5:00pm - 7:00pm, and her practice is 5:15pm - 6:15pm, they are on opposite sides of town. It would have been a lot of running around on my part, which means using a lot of gas. I would have to drop the kids off at Greek school, then race to drop Katie off at practice, go home for about thirty minutes and then drop Helen off at religious ed., then go pick Katie up and drop her off at Greek school, go back to pick up Helen and then back to Greek school to pick them all up. There is no other way to do it, that's going by their schedules and what time they get out of the activities. YIKES! She has done a good job understanding the plays so far, but did have a few games where she felt overwhelmed. I don't want her to end the season feeling that way, so might as well let her miss a couple weeks of Greek school. We're hoping to end the season with only one loss, I think the girls can do it.

I'm off to work my usual Wednesday hot lunch at the school. One day I'll no longer be able to do this, so I'm enjoying it while I can.

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

Fighting A Cold

Last week I was trying to fight off a cold, it won! By the end of the week, I was miserable. I can't get sick, there is too much to be done and no one to pick up the slack. Helen has been sniffing a lot the past couple of days, I hope she doesn't get it. Since her nasal passages are thin, it doesn't take much for her to catch colds. I tried my best to stay a good distance from her, but she's a hugger, and there was no getting away from that. I tried turning my head away from her, but she loves to get right in my face and talk to me. I guess she figures that's the only way she will get my undivided attention! Ted's home sick with a sore throat today, hopefully it won't get worse, he's prone to strep. I'm hoping to get caught up with things around here, it doesn't take much to fall behind.

Robbie placed fourth in the Pinewood Derby race with the Cub Scouts. He will be going to the district race, his first time. His car is a slice of pepperoni pizza, it looks so cool. Ted went to the district twice, and Robbie's best friend has gone the past couple of years, so it was a great night when he realized he was going. The district race is crazy...lots of people, mostly excited boys, their energy could power the city! It gets so loud, I would guess there to be around seventy-five Scouts racing. There are four heats to sit through, it makes for a very long day!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue