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Tuesday, September 16, 2008

An abundance of time

This is something I never seem to have, until today. Apparently after complaining all summer about how it was so hard to get anything done when all the kids were home, today, with 2 of the 3 girls home sick, is when I have updated this blog about 5 times. Not to mention actually getting some housework done, as well. Who'da thunk it?

So here I am again, with another amusing anecdote. This morning when I called Sarah's school to let them know that ugly green snot monster had overtaken her, I got into polite conversation with one of the Para's in her class. She told me all about how Sarah's speech had become very intelligible (relatively speaking) and seemed to have purpose. She's been making all sorts of word approximations, and responding appropriately to questions and actions (i.e. actually saying "Thank you" after being helped or given something). She's apparently become so adept at it that on Friday, when her new student Speech teacher came to meet her during class, Sarah decided that she just wasn't going to talk. She only used sign the ENTIRE CLASS. That takes determination. And a bit of an attitude.

I'm just so proud of her. She's getting glowing reports from school about how she is the "little teacher" and seeing how she's 1 of only 2 class veterans (all of the other kids are new to this class) she's become a little mentor for the new kids. I really think that if she keeps up this pace, that she'll be more than ready to try out the all day Kindergarten Readiness class next year.

Signing Time fiends

That would aptly describe my 2 little ones. ST holds their attention like no other DVD we own, and it's usually the only one they specifically ask for (either in sign or words).
I felt the need to expound on my Twitter from a few minutes ago. Sarah had woken up from her nap right about the time I'd finished straightening up/vacuuming the basement playroom. She wanted a snack and ST, so I happily obliged since I wanted to get a bit more housework done before Emma got home from school. I heard Katie talking in her room, after waking up from her nap, so I opened to the door to let her out. I said, "Morning Katie!"even though it's 4pm, lol. She still looked a bit groggy, but she heard ST on in the living room, gasped, and ran full out down the hall, yelling, "Bye Mom!!" She then said hello to Sarah (which is more than I got) and now they're happily sharing their bowl of plain tortilla chips and watching Rachel, Alex & Leah. Sarah chose "My Favorite Things" to watch, which is funny, cause I would have to guess that is her FAVORITE ST of all time. It's the one that has all the colors and veggies and fruits. "Leah's Farm" is probably a very close second.
The new volumes of Baby Signing Time are coming out next month (I think) and you can bet that those plus Volumes 10-13 of regular Signing Time will be on their Christmas lists.

Get out yer eye patches

Friday, September 19th, is International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Aside from the obvious fact that it's freakin' cool there IS such a thing, I also find it ironic that I found out about this the day after I decided to have Sarah be a pirate for Halloween. I'm sure no one but me will find that interesting. But, we have an affinity for pirate stuff - the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney has always been our favorite and we have a Jolly Roger decal on our van, no joke.

And I MIGHT just have to order this, just because it's awesome.

http://www.cafepress.com/talklikeapirate.12901607

:D

Sicky day

Both little girls have come down with their first school year sniffles. Green snot and raspy breathing FTL. So Sarah stayed home from school this morning, and we're all still in our pj's watching some "Backyardigans". (I could watch that show without kids around, it's such a cool show.) I'm debating whether to call in sick to work since I think my daycare provider would have a fit if I showed up with 2 sick kids, even for an hour & a half. The girls still have plenty of energy, in fact, they're rolling all over the floor with each other as I type this.

Ok, problem solved, I just called in. The person I would be working with is comfortable with working alone for that hour and a half. Still doesn't make me happy I have to miss work, but hey, what are you going to do? Both girls are definitely getting naps and meds today. Clear snot is fine, green snot is not.

Thankfully Emma has escaped the first of the year sniffles so far. I may have to spend today Lysol-ing the whole house so make sure that stays that way. Especially with Jeff gone, I can't afford to get sick. Purell and constant hand washing for all. :)

Monday, September 15, 2008

Ok, it's official...

Katie is definitely going to be a cowgirl for Halloween. I just bought the cutest pair of girls' pink cowboy boots on eBay...for $2.50! Seriously, I just couldn't pass them up. :D

Thoughts of Halloween

Over the weekend, Sarah had drug out a plain white dishtowel from the drawer and I decided to tie it around her head. Jeff and I instantly told her to say,"Arrrrr" like a pirate. Which she did, and it sounded so cute! Voila, we have her Halloween costume. We're thinking of having Katie be a cowgirl (they each have pink cowgirl hats). And Emma swears she wants to be "Katara" from "Avatar: The Last Airbender". Oy.

BTW: what is it with little girl's costumes looking like they belong in a saloon?



http://www.brandsonsale.com/ca-012968.html

Seriously? I may not be a teeny-bopper,nor an old fuddy-duddy, but please. This is ridiculous.

Wonderful way to start the morning

I woke up this morning and checked my e-mail. My English professor sent us back our first in-class writing essay. This is one where we're given an article to read beforehand and then have to answer questions we're not given until class time, in essay form. I didn't think I did very well at all, but she said that it was the best one she'd read and gave me an A! Guess I'm not doing so bad with English even after being out of school for 12 years. :)

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Lord give me strength

It's 10pm, all of the children are asleep...finally. It's day 1 of Jeff being gone. I know I've done this plenty of times before...don't know why this trip is starting out so hard. Could be the flood watch we were under for most of the day, and the non-stop 60 hour rainstorm, or the fact that my house is a disaster and I don't have time to clean it. Things sticking to my feet bug me to no end. I have officially squandered my daily use of the words,"No", "Stop", "Don't", "Get off", and "Time-out". It's times like these that make me really pissed that Jeff gets to go on these fabulous trips and I get to stay home and change poopy diapers. Yes, I know that's irrational and selfish, but I don't care.

And yes, I know Jeff reads this blog, but I also know he feels guilty about this, too.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Blog? What blog?

Yeah, so I haven't updated in a bit. Might have something to do with me working and going to school. I'm still trying to get into the swing of things. The kids have fallen back into their routines: Emma is loving school, Sarah's the queen of her classroom and bus, and Katie isn't crying every time I pull up to the daycare.

Life hasn't been all that exciting so I haven't felt the "need" to blog. But, maybe I'll have some good stories in the next few weeks. Jeff's going out of town starting tomorrow, which always brings it's own fun, Emma's in swim lessons instead of soccer, and between Sarah and Katie being my "twin dynamos", well I'm sure I'll have something to blog about soon.

ETA: I apparently spoke too soon: just tonight Sarah snuck into our bathroom and stole a box of my tampons. She proceeded to empty half of the box and open them. Oy vey.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

A new school year begins

Emma started 3rd grade on Tuesday. Ack! I can't believe how grown up she's getting. I actually did take a few pictures before we rushed out the door the first day, but I haven't had time to download them to my computer. She only had a halfday the first day, but full days the last 2.

Today was her first day on the school bus. She rode the ICTC public bus during Kindergarten to Morey but the last 2 years we've carpooled. Morey doesn't have a typical "yellow bus" so this was her first real trip on a school bus. I walked her to the bus stop and we were met there by a couple boys from her school. She was very excited. Thankfully her school doesn't start until 8:40am, which means she doesn't have to catch the bus until 8am, which translates to more sleep for us all. :D

Sarah started school yesterday. Katie and I took her to school, but I had class and work immediately afterward so she took the bus to daycare. But she caught the bus this morning, and was very excited, too. I told her the bus was coming soon and she got her coat and backpack on and practically paced in front of the door. Once the bus showed up she bolted out front, with me barely holding on to her hand. This is old hat to her, lol. She knows the bus driver and the aid, and has "graduated" to a different seat. She no longer has to sit directly behind the driver, she gets to sit a couple of rows back. She has to take off her backpack and coat in order to be comfortable, and then she climbs up into the seat and helps the aid put on her 5 point seat belt. This child LOVES school. Just like Emma. :)

Tonight was Emma's Open House. It was meant only for parents (which I didn't know until the last minute), so Jeff & I did "Rock, Paper, Scissors" to see who would go.

I'm kidding.

I ended up going because Jeff had about 500 pages to read for his class.

Plus he knows I take better notes. :D

It was nice. I'd met Emma's teacher the first day, and I knew a little bit about her (she'd been a Special Ed/Resource Room teacher for 16 years) but I'm SO glad Emma's in her class. This woman just seems awesome. Sarah's teacher's daughter also goes to this school (also in 3rd grade, but a different class), as well as her niece who IS in Emma's class. Both girls had been on Emma's spring soccer team, which is why I specifically put her on that team, so she could meet some girls who would be going to her new school (the decision to switch schools had been made right after we signed the purchase agreement on the house). I'm really really hoping Emma's able to make some good friends, who actually call and want to spend time outside of school with her. In the 3 years Emma went to Morey, she had maybe 3 invitations to go to someone's house (birthday parties not included, but I could count those on 1 hand as well). And while I understand that people have busy lives, try explaining that to a sad elementary school student whose friends don't want to spend time with her. Add to that the fact that Emma's best friend for 2 of those 3 years was a boy, who played with other boys, who didn't want to play with a girl. She was ostracized from the girls because she played with the boys, but the boys didn't want her to play with them.

Playground politics aside, I'm really hoping for a fantastic year for both girls. I saw Sarah's teacher tonight, as well. She was just gushing over how much Sarah has blossomed over the summer. She's still the "little teacher" and now she has some younger classmates who apparently look up to her. She loves the routine and loves being at school. I finally voiced to her my idea of having Sarah go to the Kindergarten Readiness Preschool next year at the Human Growth and Development Lab. I'm 90% sure I want her to have an extra year of preschool, even though technically she's eligible to go next fall. I've been toying with the idea of having Sarah go to the all day K Readiness and have Katie go to the 3 year old program. We'd have to pay for Katie, but I think we'd get a multi-child discount or something. But, that's not really something I have to deal with for a few months at least. I don't foresee Sarah being in a self-contained classroom in school, so I think a year with typical peers (but still getting all her therapies) will help prepare her for public school.

Anyhow, I'm just glad the school year has started, as the girls have been antsy (to say the least) for the last month since Speech Camp ended. I hope the girls will always have this love for school. :D

Monday, September 01, 2008

First week down

Wow, I am almost too exhausted to be awake. This week kicked my butt. It isn't really school or work that's been hard: it's been childcare. Emma doesn't start school until tomorrow, so I needed someone to watch her all last week while I was gone. Sarah & Katie's sitter didn't have room, so I was scrambling last Sunday night, calling everyone I knew. I ended up doing a combo of 2 people. Emma had fun at both places, so it worked out. Now I have a new dilemma: Emma starts school tomorrow, but only has a half day. WTH is with that?? What's the point? :sigh: Anyhow, I'm probably going to have to skip work, which I've already talked about with my supervisor. The person I would be working with is cool with being by herself, working both desks. I hate doing it, but I also hate having to keep calling on favors from people I know.

I'm still working on getting the front bathroom ready to paint. I've been taking down the awful wallpaper for a couple weeks now. 80% of it came down with no issues, just removed the top layer and sprayed the brown paper bag looking underlayer with water and gently scraped off using a putty knife. But some of it looks like it was glued to the wall with something other than the regular adhesive. And it's not been fun trying to get it all off. So my plan to have it done by the time school started isn't going to be realized but hey, what can you do? I took down the gigantic and extremely heavy mirror in order to get the wallpaper off underneath. I may have to rethink putting that thing back up there. Or I may end up framing it in wood. I think it would make it look a lot nicer. Once everything is finished I'll finally take some pics to post. When the bathroom doesn't look like it's a warzone.