Heading out soon

Well, I leave for my business trip in just under 12 hours. I am really looking forward to it - even though I will be required to have quite a few meetings during our time away. I am sure we will have a great time - even though I am officially working.

The A-man has finished his project, and his lab, and he even took the necessary time to catch up on the work he missed yesterday during his outdoor's club gathering. Maybe, just maybe he is truly getting it.

S 'forgot' his math homework, but there is very little I can actually do about it at this point in time.

I won't be writing on this blog for a little while - since I won't be home to discuss the day to day things I do with my kids. If you are interested in my photo journal blog while I am away, please feel free to stop by and follow us in our journey. If you don't have that blog's link, just leave me a comment - along with your email - and I will send you the other link!

Talk to y'all in November!

Time Management Skills

How does one go about teaching their child the necessity of time-management skills? I am so frustrated with explaining over and over again about the reasons WHY I remind the A-man of his homework and projects. Should I just let it go - let it become his problem and concern? Should I risk him just being a miserable crank prior to going to bed the night before something is due? Normally I wouldn't be as worried about this as I am tonight, but I am trying to get myself ready to go away, and I know my parents won't 'remind' him of his project and homework deadlines.


The A-man went on a fishing trip today - with the Outdoors club. He has a Science lab due on Wednesday, and a project due on Thursday. He has Air Cadets tomorrow night, and I am leaving first thing Wednesday morning, therefore will be rushing around trying to finalize all that I need for work, for the trip from work, plus the other things I will need to finalize for all of them. Argggh. And he gets angry with ME telling me that he needs some 'alone' time. Apparently playing with my parent's puppy while hubby fixed the satellite wasn't considered 'alone' time. He will be required to catch up on the work that he missed today. (sigh)


Oh well - I can only do so much.


My trip has been extended one day - I will now be getting home on Halloween. S is not happy about this. He does not want me to go in the first place, and now he's all worried that Hubby won't get the costumes done. I have already bought the necessary things - I'm not sure why he is concerned about this. I think he may have a bit of an outburst tomorrow. I will warn the EA and SERT, again.



Okay - off to pack.

Update

This morning I did a bit more updating on my other 'new' blog - the photo journal of my upcoming trip. Then I went and picked the A-man up from his safe boaters course - which he passed. Dropped him off at our friend's house where hubby was helping with the building of their new home. I went in to work for a little while to talk to Boss about the events of Friday. Long and short of it - I prepared Assistant's final pay cheque.

Anyway, S had a friend over this afternoon to finalize the Abba project, and then my parents came over for dinner. Yesterday was my dad's 58th birthday. Made a nice salad to start the dinner, then we had a roast beef dinner, with roast potatoes, mushrooms, and steamed asparagus. Dessert was a Boston creme cake. I am very full. We had my favourite red wine with dinner, too. I am feeling very sleepy now after such a yummy dinner.

The A-man did a bit more work last night on his Science project, which is very good. I want to be sure it is finished before I leave on Wednesday because I know my mom won't be as diligent about making sure he does what he needs to do. A-man and my Dad are going to have a 'boy's night' on Wednesday because my Mom has a meeting that evening. I'm not sure who is more excited about that - Dad or the A-man.

Why do weekends pass so quickly? I have not started to pack yet, but I did pick up a couple of new tops, plus a new wig that I think may join me on our travels. Soon, very soon...

Success!

This is Hubby's closet

<-----Before and After ----->

I made him 'help' me with his stuff, too. I did the closet, then we went through the armoire and purged a bunch of things from there, too. I don't think he has purged his drawers or closest since we moved here 8 years ago. 2 more bags to be taken to the drop box...

I did my closet and dresser, too, but for some reason I am not able to upload the other two pictures right now...I keep getting an error. I will put them up whenever that has been fixed. But, I do not have to come back to my blog shamed-faced. It is done. And three more bags of clothing, plus another bag of garbage will leave the house!

Okay - was finally able upload the other two photos. My closet - before and after...

Wet miserable Saturday

When Hubby and I woke up this morning, the sun was almost rude in it's intrusion in to the bedroom windows. Now, just a few short hours later, it's grey, miserable, and raining. The wind has really picked up, and it just does not seem like a day to be doing much outdoors. See - this is why Fall is not one of my favourites.

Hubby and the A-man have an outdoor task today that has to be completed. We have noticed that our front ditches have way more water in them than they normally do, but we weren't really sure of the cause. Now we know. A beaver has built a dam in the culvert just south of our property. Hubby and I went to look at it last night, and the whole culvert is jammed full of twigs and sticks. It actually looks like trees are growing out of the area! Just noticed Hubby walking down the driveway with a big rake. I guess the eviction of the beaver has begun...

The A-man has his "Safe Boater's" course tomorrow morning, and we are going to invite my parents for dinner tomorrow night, so I reminded him that he did need to work on both his project and his Science lab today. Well, you would have thought I'd asked him to donate a kidney without anesthetic from the reaction I got! Apparently there was a 'new show' on at noon that he has been looking forward to all week, and he just knew I was going to find a way to 'ruin' that for him. (See, I must spend time just thinking of ways to tick this child off...) Anyway, I told him to relax - he could take that half hour to watch some TV - and he just had to be aware that the afternoon would have to be spent on some school work. He did spend some time working on the project prior to the start of the show.

I sent a letter to S's SERT yesterday outlining some of the concerns/errors I noted on the IEP and indicated that if these could be changed, I would sign off on it. Although it isn't totally without some problems, this has to be the best IEP I have ever seen from this school. The one thing I have to keep in mind is that this is a 'working document' that can be revisited time and time again, if necessary. I believe the necessary accommodations are in place, and that is the main concern I have.

The EA, classroom teacher and SERT have been made aware of my upcoming business trip, and we are all taking the time to reassure S that all will be fine while I am away. Past experience has shown us that he is more likely to experience a few negative episodes at the school any time I have travelled away from home for work. I am going to go put notes in his agenda with respect to where he will be going on which days, and who he will be spending his time with, that sort of thing. My hope is that if he has that all clearly outlined, it will ease his anxiety about who, what, where and when. His EA will begin talking about it more with him starting Monday. I can't imagine what makes him so anxious. I'm not sure if it's the unknown about himself, or if it's because *I* am not around. He can't express it - I don't think he really knows himself. Anxiety can't be explained, I guess.

Due to Hubby's weird shift times, although he is on the 'day shift', and will be home in the evenings, he leaves at 5am, and the boys would have to get themselves off to school in the mornings. We know that wouldn't likely be very successful. So, for the morning I leave, I will get them off to school, and they will each spend that night at the Grandparent's house that is closest to their schools. The A-man will be with my parents, S will be with Hubby's parents. They will go to school from Grandparents on Thursday morning, but will return home on the bus for Thursday evening, as they have no school on Friday. They will then spend Sunday and Monday nights with Grandparents, and will return home as normal on Tuesday. That is the day I will be back home. (It always takes a fair bit of shuffling when I have a trip to take, so it's very fortunate that it's only a couple of times a year.)

My plans for the day are to purge clothes from both mine and hubby's closests. I know he has tons of sweaters and such that he never wears - they are going. I have things that I've had for too many years - they need to go, as well. Problem is - I'm such a pack rat, it's difficult for me to actually DO it. I am resolved that it will be done. I will post pictures of our nicely cleaned out and reorgainzed closets. You can all give me heck if I don't do it, okay? My next post will be before and after pictures. If I make this resolution, I will be very shamed faced if it doesn't happen!

And so I am off...

Hard to believe...

Yes, it's sometimes true. Hard fact of life, but true. Sometimes - on SOME occasions - Mom's actually DO know what they are talking about. But only sometimes.

Got out of homework duties again last night. S had a field trip to the museum, and therefore had no homework. Again, I am not sure how the A-man is able to not have any to do, but I can not push him too much considering he is doing so well.

The A-man brought home his interim marks from his Science class today. He is sitting with an 84% average right now. Class average is at 78%. He was very pleased with that overall mark - as he very well should be. I was very happy and pleased for him, too. After a little while, I started to look over the various components of the marks - you know, the mark for skills (100%) for assignments (89%) and the mark for tests (65%).

Oh - pardon me? Did I just hear you give a surprised gasp at that test score?? Yeah, I did the very same thing. Remember that test that he knew everything about and therefore didn't need to study over the weekend? Yes, well, apparently 'everything' is actually 65% in the A-man's world. I showed him that particular piece of information, and he seemed a little surprised about it. I don't think he has actually received that test back yet. I am hoping he realizes that knowing 'everything' and actually taking the time to review notes will actually be a better way to ensure a mark that is higher than 65.

S gave me a VERY hard time about getting ready for school today. Then I found out from the A-man that S had a test today and that was why he didn't want to go. It was to be a test on finding the area of a circle. Apparently what he had done the other day was "all wrong" so I had less than 7 minutes to determine where he had gone wrong, plus get his teeth brush and him dressed and out the door. Well, he was dividing the circumference of the circle by two, rather than multiplying. So, I repeated that like a mantra while he was getting his pack ready, and he seemd to calm down a fair bit.

When are they going to realize that having a test the next day is actually to be considered homework? ARGHGGGHGHGHGHH!

Still not much...

Apparently neither of the boys have homework, again. Why do I remember having WAY more homework than this 25 years ago?

No matter. It's my down night - no running!! - so if I don't have to help with that, my feeling are not going to be hurt.

Turns out assistant came in this afternoon. I think my conversation with her yesterday must have been something she considered a bit last night. Was a very different person today, and although towards the end of the afternoon she did start to get a little chatty, she did spend most of the time working diligently on the task she has to have completed for the end of the day on Friday. Time will tell.

I think I may have been a little more short fused than normal yesterday, but in all fairness, I am being pulled in many directions, which is the reason why Boss has hired an assistant. My thought process on approaching any new job is that you do it the way it has been established, and once you actually know and understand a bit more, if you have found an easier, faster, or more effective way of doing it, THAT is when you make a suggestion. Not AS the job is starting to be explained. But, again, she did seem to understand that a bit more this afternoon. I hope so - I don't want to have to go through that whole process again, but I guess we will if it's not working.

Dinner is finally ready. Yippee!

Nothing

Yeah, it's true - I've got nothing.

Had a crap day at work yesterday. Lost my temper with my assistant after about the 8th time of having her argue with me about how I wanted things done. It was not good. Boss is talking about her first paycheque being her last (sigh), but I want to give her a bit more of a chance. She just needs to STOP TALKING all the time. I'm going bonkers. Truly.

Kids didn't have homework last night, but the A-man had cadets. I charged in there last night, said "Give me a listing of the events coming up in the next 6-8 weeks. I will have a calendar here for distribution by the end of the squad parade." I got a bit of resistance at first, but when they realized I wasnt' going to leave until they gave me what I wanted, they finally provided the information, and now, we parents will know in advance of when the cadets would be needed at various locations. It was very hard to be told on a Tuesday "Oh, we have tag day on Friday" or "There is a parade on Sunday" - meanwhile, we have had plans for the last week and a half. Now, at least, I can make alternative arrangement. Other parents were very happy to get those calendars, I could tell.

The A-man has come up with a name for his Science project - "Cell-ory" and he is going to make the answers be in the form of a question - like on Jepordy. I thought that was good name, even though it wasn't the one I had come up with.

And, I'm off to work. Assistant is not in today (whew) so I should be able to rip through a fair bit of things without having to stop and explain every little thing.

Homework and the Internet

As I was helping the boys with their homework tonight, I found myself continuously wondering how on EARTH our parents ever helped us. I am being totally serious here. I guess that is why my parents spent countless amounts of money they probably could have used in other areas to buy home encyclopedia sets. We had at least 2 full sets - possibly 3. I guess my Mom knew what she was doing.

Tonight, I 'helped' the A-man with his Science project - "Create a game that will help the player learn the differences between mitosis and meiosis." Sure - a simple project, really. Pffftt... "Mitosis and meiosis - geesh, we did that back in Grade 4 - I can't believe you haven't started to learn about that until Grade 9," I said to him this evening. (yeah, and then three purple pigs flew right by my kitchen window.)

So, basically, my 'help' involved showing him the best way to google stuff. We googled our little hearts out. (I love using 'to google' as a verb. Would have been unheard of 10 years ago, yet now it just makes total sense...) The first thing I suggested was wikepida, but that was FAR too scientific, and I started to develop a rash. After we googled a bit more, we were actually able to find a couple of interactive-type sites that really explained these two forms of cell division at a level a 'real' person would be able to understand. Gee - could you imagine how dry that would have been from a book? Yikes.

So, after we found these interactive sites, I showed him how he should start making some notes - on the computer, of course - and then suddenly the "question" section of his board game started to fall in to place for him. He came up with a total of 11 questions so far - easy ones like "How many stages are there in meiosis? Answer: 12" and "What is the divided cell called in mitosis? Answer: diploid." See what I mean? Easy peasy.

He has decided that he's going to make a total of 25 or 30 question cards, and has asked if he can used the business card templates we have in the one home office to make the questions on. He's starting to get the creative juices flowing now that he actually knows what these things are. (I'm still confused, but at least he is getting excited about it.) I helped, though: I suggested he call the game "Sex Cells" (ha ha - a play on words, get it?) He didn't see the humour in it, and actually was quite serious when he said, "Uh, yeah, Mom, except Mitosis isn't about sex cell division." And then he rolled his eyes like I was totally off the wall for suggesting such a dumb name. !! (Little brat)

Meanwhile, as I am overseeing the googling in the dining room, S is in the kitchen, working on determining the radius of various sized circles. The A-man almost seemed disgusted that the whole "divide the circumference in half and multiply by pi" didn't just come to S, but he quickly shushed when I reminded him that it is only easy when you know how, and then asked him to go back to reading about meiosis. Again - just every day stuff that the average Canadian encounters at least 15 times a day...

I think I am doomed. Pretty soon I WON'T be able to help them with homework, because I won't know what they are doing or what any of it means. At least I will always be able to help them get it organized, and how to best approach applying the newly-learned information. I guess I should just keep that silver lining for myself.

After the homework session, the A-man and I were having a hot tub, watching the stray kittens trying to come to the food dishes without actually getting too close to us, and he told me that he doesn't like going to Air Cadets because his squadron leader has been yelling at him for coughing while doing drill. A dry 'cough' and a knuckle popping/cracking thing have been his newest tics. I explained to him that he could take the leader aside and explain that in private, but he said that he doesn't mind telling people about his tourettes, and he actually would rather inform people than having them think it "all about those stupid swearing jokes you see on TV." I was a little surprised at his view on it, and way more proud than I could ever tell him. What a great young man he is turning in to! I'm feeling a little bit of pride forming here...

Houswork and Silly Cats

I have had quite a bit going on for the last number of weekends, and as a result, I have felt that I have not been able to get as much housework done as I would like. Today was the day I felt the need (and desire, truth be told) to tackle it. I was able to get S to help me in his room - yes, he also has a floor. I will be taking a full garbage bag full of clothing to the nearest drop off bin. He didn't want me to donate a number of his jeans, but he has grown a lot more over the summer than I realized. (Good thing I kept some of his brother's cast offs.)

After tackling S's bedroom, I decided I needed to do something with the antique tea service given to me by my sister-in-law. I had an idea that would allow me to show off some of my unique tea pots, and I think it turned out well. My thought is that when I am going to use it for tea, I will just take the tea pots off and leave them in the dining room until I am done with the tray.

I think it turned out nicely, and now I will be able to actually see the unique features of each tea pot. Which is something I wasn't able to do when they were on the shelves in the kitchen. What do you think?

When I was putting away the groceries, our one kitten (Lily) was being as blonde as she truly is. We had a number of laughs over her antics, but she just didn't seem to care.

She actually spent a long period of time, just laying in this box. And, no, it's not that big. You wouldn't even think she could fold herself in to this thing. Silly girl - she is pretty much folded in half to make herself fit. (I tried to upload a video of her folding herself in to this thing, but I think the file was too big to load up... Look at me go now - uploading videos...)

Of course, Abby is always a responsible kitten - I'm pretty sure she was the one that got in to the pies - but while Lily had the household laughing, Abby was catching some Fall sunbeams in my bedroom. She is a pretty girl, even though she doesn't have the same siamese markings as her sister.

Homework was pretty much a non-enity today. The A-man did a big of research this afternoon for his next Science project (after I bugged him about doing it), and he claims to know all that he needs to know for the test tomorrow, and therefore has not studied. I guess we will see what the final results are before I say much else.

Rainy wet weekend

As I was logging on here to update my blog, I received an instant message from Cuz, commenting that the novelty of daily blogging must have worn off since I haven't written anything for the last couple of days. That's not really the case - I just didn't really have much to report in the whole homework/school/kids aspect, and yesterday I was totally lazy and spent all but two hours in my jammies! (Had to get dressed to go for manicure and pedicure.)

Okay - let's get back up to speed on things. Picked S up on Thursday afternoon for his doctor's appointment. When we were leaving, his EA commented that S had a minor outburst following lunch recess, but she was able to get him redirected with relative ease. Apparently he became agitated because it was an indoor break, and he was annoyed that he didn't get a chance to have some fresh air. At that time, I looked at him, and said "S - these things happen, buddy. You can't be getting upset about things you can't control - like the weather."

We got to the appointment a bit late - road construction frustrates me - but once we arrived, we got right down to things. S hasn't been to see this doctor in quite a while, but I have been keeping him up to date via a paid email subscriber service. S conveyed to the doctor that all is going well, and actually appeared very happy and more open with the doctor than I have ever seen. He was sitting in the chair closest to the doctor, in a very comfortable position. (Normally he either sits in a chair in the far back corner of the room, or sits with his feet up on the chair so that he is balled up.)

Anyway, after a bit of conversation, we got down to talking about any problems that have occurred at the school. We talked about the whole "naming of the group" incident, and the doctor asked him a number of questions that I could see were making S think. I then brought up the topic of the event that had happened earlier that day. At this point, S got up from the chair he was in, and moved to one behind it. He raised his feet up on to the seat, and took on a balled position.

As the conversation progressed, it became very apparent that it wasn't really the lack of lunch recess that had upset him. He was upset about an incident that occurred during the morning recess, and it was simply the lack of lunch-time recess that brought out his negative thoughts and feelings. Turns out his 'tribe' was responsible for collecting the Breakfast for Learning bins from each of the classrooms, and he was on collection duty with two other students. (The bins are collected during morning recess, filled by another tribe at lunchtime, then delivered at afternoon recess by another tribe.) Anyway, he started collecting bins during the recess, and realized the other tribe members were not there helping, and he spent his entire recess inside completing this task, and therefore he didn't get any "fun time" during recess, and, understandably so, resented the other two tribe members that did go outside. I guess he figured he would get to blow off steam at lunchtime, and when that didn't go as planned - kaboom!

I think I have mentioned in past posts that talking with S, and actually figuring out what the true problem is, is like having to peel back layers to actually get to the root of the problem, and this is a perfect example. The doctor worked on explaining to S that rather than dwelling on the negative (didn't get to go outside) it would be more effective for S to focus on the positive (tribe gained a point because of S's diligence.) Yeah, he wasn't open to that right then. As we continued to discuss it, the doctor suddenly said it was very apparent S was 'stuck' and continuing the conversation was not going to help. He then turned to me to discuss how we should best approach this "stuck thought process." One suggestion he made was that he increase S's anxiety medication, but I quickly said that I didn't think that would be most effective in the long run - we needed to work on a more active cognitive-adjusting approach, and the doctor smiled. (I think he was testing me.)

He told me he would prefer to not increase medication as well, and offered to prepare a report for the school to explain the whole 'focus on positive' approach. I told him I would share that with the school once it was prepared. He suggested we see how that works, and if necessary, he will phone the school during an appointment to discuss this method of cognitive readjustment in further detail with the EA.

The appointment ended, as as we were leaving encountered a little girl that S goes to school with. S said "Hey, K. Why are you here?" I quickly told him to stop being nosey, get his shoes on and get outside. The drive home was a discussion about privacy and inappropriate questions.

Thursday evening was karate for S. The A-man had finished his homework during his learning strategies course, so he didn't have anything to complete at home. S had to put together a collage for his Abba project, and he put that together on the computer once he got home from karate.

Friday morning I put sent an email to the SERT sharing with her the details of the previous day, and the summary from the doctor. I called her later in the day to confirm she had received the information, she confirmed that she had printed it to share with the EA, the classroom teacher and the principal.

On the work front, I am still training my assistant. There are a few issues we are going to have to work through, and I told hubby yesterday that I think I am going to have to do this early this week, as the following week is my business trip to Mississippi, and I know there could be problems between Boss and her if I don't deal with it right now. She just doesn't seem to realize that when I ask her to approach a task in a certain manner, there is a reason for it. Well, Friday afternoon she realized it when something that should have been a very quick fix took much longer because she had approached it in her manner rather than the format I had explained. I feel like I am falling farther behind because of her, but I know this is just due to the training process. I may end up putting in a bit of O/T next week.

The A-man has a test tomorrow, but has informed hubby and I that having to study isn't really 'homework.' Yeah, right. I am going to tackle housework for the remainder of the day, I guess. I really do have to do this as I did have such a lazy day yesterday.

Look at me go!

Thank you, again, dear Singapore Connection, for teaching me how to add links to my blog site! I appreciate your help. I guess if I had actually taken the time to look at the various elements...

Having a good morning, for the most part. Have to run the A-man in to school as he and I didn't get out of bed until 7:30. I had been up late last night doing some reading...

S was a bit silly this morning, but that is par for the course. He has his doctor's appointment this afternoon, and I will update on that later tonight.

Have a great day.

I'm afraid to say it out loud...

...in fact, I just can't do it because I think it will jinx things.

Tonight, after dinner, both boys got right to their homework, with no arguments, with no tears, and with no problems what so ever. Do you know why I can't say it out loud yet?

While we were having dinner, I mentioned that I had to leave around 7pm for an ADHD meeting, and asked what homework had been assigned. S volunteered that he had both Math and Geography homework, and the A-man told me they did a Science lab today, and he needed to complete the report for a hand in tomorrow. I suggested they keep in mind that I was only going to be available for 'homework duty' until 7.

Right after they finished clearing the supper dishes, S pulled out his Math homework while I was loading up the Science lab template we had created when the A-man completed his last lab. While I was doing that, I could hear the A-man explaining to S about how to go about calculating the area of certain shapes, etc. (!!) The A-man has never helped his brother with homework, and he told me that he was missing doing math, so he was happy to help. (Okay...sounds good to me...)

I was able to download my email, then even go down to my office to print some information for my meeting, and both boys continued on with their homework. I am so amazed. S was finished before I left for my meeting, and the A-man was happily typing away on the computer. When I returned, he explained to me that he didn't complete the lab because he had deleted some columns from the table on the template, then tried to centre the table, and ran in to some difficulties. I adjusted it as best I could - basically just did a cut and paste to another template - and then he sat down right away and finished putting in the information! Yes, I am in shock.

While the A-man was printing his lab, I noticed that his Science book has a lot of loose papers not put in the right places, so I think he is going to need a bit more help with keeping his notes organized. I might send an email to his Learning Strategies teacher about that tomorrow... mmm, maybe not. I think I will recommend he work on getting that put away during his lunch break, and if it doesn't come home tomorrow night in a more organized fashion, I will take the next step.

Went over S's safe plan and IEP last night. For the most part, I am happy with both documents, and I am willing to sign the Safe Plan as it is currently written. The IEP still has a number of vague statements that I would like to see tightened up and clarified, but even if that is done, it doesn't mean the teacher is going to follow it, does it? But, my hope is now that S has an EA we will see a bit more of the IEP being followed.

We have a specialist appointment tomorrow. I actually sent him an email this afternoon letting him know about the Team Meeting that was held last week, and what sorts of details the school is requesting. Just received a reply email from him telling me that he will have the documentation ready when we arrive for the meeting. I must say, this online subscription for this doctor is worth the monthly fee. I will be stopping the service after S has his fMRI, but until then, I like knowing that I can post my concerns on a secure, password protected forum and the doctor will reply within a day or two.

He also indicated that he would have some details about the changes that often occur when children start to enter puberty. Of course, we all know what happens, but when you have a child with a very delicate mental state, I'm sure there will be many things to keep in mind. I know the doctor is wanting to start to reduce the anxiety medication S is taking, and that will probably be the number one agenda item tomorrow afternoon.

The weather has started to become more Fall-like. I am not happy about the cool, damp days that we have had the last two days. It's very hard getting out of bed when the sky is still so dark. From the forecast, it doesn't appear to be ready to let up, either. Ugh...soon they will be calling for snow.

I've been linked!

The Internet is such an amazing device. In a couple of my past blogs, I have mentioned that I follow the blog of a lady from Singapore, and when I was looking at her blog yesterday, I noticed that she has a link to my blog on her's! I've been linked...how amazing is that? I feel special. (Thank you!!)

I don't know if anybody that reads her blog actually comes to read mine, but still, it's so amazing to think that someone I don't know, that lives on the other side of the world, is reading about my day to day struggles! I love reading her blog because she cooks such amazing meals for her daughter, and puts up pictures of the meals she makes. My meals never stick around long enough for me to ever think about taking a picture! It inspires me to want to cook with a more Asian flair, that's for sure.

Anyway, that is all for now. Just had to have a moment to brag. ;o)

Once I figure out how to do it, I'm going to put a link to the blogs I follow... (yes, I am aware of the fact that I am not too bright...)

A free night - and my pie drama

The A-man claimed he was 'too ill' to go to Air Cadets tonight, and I just didn't quite have it in me to argue this evening. So, we had a nice dinner of homemade Turkey Pot Pie - love turkey leftovers... and then the boys had a relatively easy evening. No homework for either of them! Both, however, were very good to come up and do the dishes when I asked, so that was very nice. Kitchen table even got cleared off without reminders. (wow)

This evening, I was able to get some things done for the ADHD association, and for the past little while, I have been playing on my Facebook account. I have reaquainted myself with people I haven't seen in 20 years for some, maybe 25 for a few others. (Which in itself is amazing, considering I'm only 21...)

I have been given IEP homework by S's SERT, and I think I may begin to tackle that in a few minutes. You can only look at other's pictures for so long, even though it is very interesting to see how people's kids look like siblings, etc.

Hubby is back on nights, so it will be solo for the next couple of weeks, and in two weeks from tomorrow, I will be leaving for my Mississippi trip - which is starting to come together nicely. I will have a few different meetings established, but Boss is making sure I will also have plenty of fun time, also. Assistant is starting to adapt to the job, but I know there will be many more learning experiences for her in the next little while.

Oh, and I need to share a funny story about the pies I made on Saturday. At the time, it wasn't all that funny, but I am over that now. When we got back from errands on Saturday afternoon, I got down to the messy business of making pie dough. Got the dough all made, and put it in the fridge to chill. Peel a million apples, and made the base for an apple/raspberry crisp for that night's dinner. Also combined everthing for the apple pie. I was out of walnuts, so I used almonds - it was still good.

Put the chicken in the oven to roast, and also peeled the carrots for the dinner too. Put the apple crisp in the oven, and started rolling out the pie dough. Made the apple pie, then rolled out the dough for the lemon and the pumpkin pies. As dinner was finishing, I did a blind bake of the crust for the lemon, then made the filling and the meringue. We had dinner, I cleaned up from that, then got started on the pumpkin pie. (For the record, I do not eat pumpkin pie - it was simply because this is my brother's and my mother's favourite type of pie.) Finally finished all the pies, clean up, etc., after many hours in the kitchen. Snuggled with hubby, then went to bed. Left the pies on the table to complete the cooling - can't put them in container when they are still warm because they get too mushy.

Well, Sunday morning, when I wake up, Hubby is standing in the bedroom door with a big smile on his face. "Well," he says, "it would appear the pumpkin was the favourite!" I'm still waking up, so I have no idea what he is talking about. Then, suddenly it dawns on me! "Oh, no," I moan..."Did the kittens get in to the pies??" Oh yes, they did. Our kittens are 7 months old, and I am not used to having kittens that do these sorts of things. My other cat was 16 when she died in March, and she never went on tables or counters. Apparently Abby and Lily (our kittens) do not have that same fear of me.

The pumpkin pie looked like it had about 2 or 3 paw swipes out of it, the meringue was missing in one little area on the lemon pie, and it appears the crust was too much of a challenge for them to get in to the apple pie. I stood there, feeling the aches in my feet and calves, and just said "I don't have the time or energy to make new ones," and I took the pies as they were to the cottage! Yes, I did. The pumpkin had two pieces taken out of the 'non-paw side' (as we dubbed it) and the A-man and I said we didn't mind sharing our lemon pie with the kittens - but we still took from the non-affected side.

Maybe not the most hygenic, but it was a great cause for some laughter over the Thanksgiving table. And, really, isn't that what Thankgiving is all about? We were thankful for the food we were eating, and the family we were sharing it with, and I'm sure that if asked, Abby and Lily would be thankful for the sampling of human food they got to have! I will also chalk that up to a learning experience, and will be sure to cover future baking items that require cooling.

Holiday Mondays

I think I am completely and totally in love with holiday Mondays. You get to sleep in, you get to just take it easy and get things done. I wish we could have a holiday Monday at least once a month.

Both boys have stripped their beds, and since the sun in shining, I think we will all go to bed tonight with our linens smelling of fresh air and sunshine. Hubby is currently taking down all of the trim in the foyer, and I guess we will get the steamer going before too long. We were hoping to be able to not have to remove the trim - it's oak, and very dear - but the previous owner hung the wallpaper and then put the trim up, and it's been far too difficult to try and get the paper off. I hate wallpaper. Soon we will have it all removed in this house, and that makes me very happy.

S completed his geography homework with a bit of fuss and tears, but after he realized that he was not going to win that battle, he was able to get down to business and complete it. I think it's the lead up to getting the work done that stresses me out the most. I realize that it is the weekend, and he wants to just play games and be a kid, but it is so important for them to realize that some work still needs to be done.

While S was doing his homework, I had put the A-man on to the task of finding his bedroom floor. You would have thought the world was coming to an end when I told him it was going to be done today, and that was it. Either he did it, or I was going to do it - didn't matter to me. He does not like me cleaning his room, because apparently I throw too many 'good things' away. You know, important things - like his bubble gum wrapper collection, and the 'twigs and sticks' collection from the back yard. Yeah, I'm a bit mean that way.

He was able to find his floor, and even get one of his dressers dusted off. I will be going in to tackle the closet in a little while, but I have to build up my courage for that. He wasn't very happy when I opened the closet doors to discover all of his clean clothes on the floor. That meant he was really going to have to put them away. Poor wee guy. It's so hard having to put away clean laundry, I know.

We are going to be celebrating Thanksgiving with hubby's parents this afternoon. Since his sister is now living in England, and his brother will be coming this way next weekend, it will just be us. That will be fine, actually. Should be a nice quiet dinner.

Well, I'm off to hang out laundry!

Team Meeting

Had our 'team meeting' yesterday at S's school. Apparently 'the team' is made up of myself, his classroom teacher, his EA and his SERT.

The teacher began the meeting by indicating that she had been through S's permanent record, and commented that it was obvious I have spend a lot of time and efforts trying to ensure he has received the help and support he needs. (gee, ya think?)

Anyway, the meeting went well. We were able to determine what the plan will be if he should become a flight risk, how we will approach certain things, and a few questions were raised. The SERT really wants some clarification about how hormone levels may affect the life of S. I actually have a number of questions I will have to raise to his specialist at our appointment next week.

The main goal for this semester on his IEP will be to help raise S's social skills and understanding. I didn't realize he was taking this certain toy to school, and the EA has told him he is not to bring it anymore. The focus will be on encouraging more socially acceptable behaviour, and toys such as this one are not what the typical Grade 7 would bring to school.

I'm feeling that I am at a difficult point here. I realize that S is socially immature, and he needs to learn what is more socially acceptable, but I also realize that his brain simply isn't ready to behave like a 12 year old. However, at this age, any sort of 'difference' can really make or break a child, so I understand where the teachers are coming from. I have assured them that both hubby and I want to help with S's low self-esteem, and we will agree to working with the school to teach him more age-appropriate actions.

We are heading up to the cottage tomorrow for our family Thanksgiving, and I am going to be making some pumpkin pie, an apple pie, and I think I will also make a lemon meringue for the A-man since that is his favourite. Then, hubby and I are going to spend the evening cuddled on the couch drinking red wine and watching a movie, I think.

I'm also looking forward to the extra sleep on Monday.

Little Black Rain Cloud

Whew - S was in one terrible mood when I got home from work tonight. He was not going to karate, he would not do this, that or anything else. He hated the world, and everyone in it. And, me being the mean and cruel mother that I am, told him to get his geh on, and get in the car. Such sympathy I show.

Turns out he was caught red-handed doing something in the A-man's room, and he was annoyed that he got in trouble. The A-man now has a lock on his bedroom door because this was the second day in a row that he has suspected S was in there. I am not a big fan of locks on bedroom doors, but for this, I will adjust.

En route to karate class, S was bemoaning the fact that he was supposed to be doing his homework. He needed to get this MAJOR project done...and on and on he went. I asked him about it, and it turns out that he needs the lyrics to an Abba song. Gee...I tell him "The Internet will have that, buddy. What song do you need?" Here's the kicker - "I don't know the name of the song Mom. My partner really likes the tune, it goes like this (he do-wop-diddies a tune). Do you think you can find those words, Mom?"

Sure, I think - "Abba only had about 100 songs - should be a snap!" Turns out it wasn't all that difficult. Stopped by a friend's place while S was in karate class, and happened to mention that I was going home to review the A-man Abba DVD to see if we could find a certain song. Of course, she thought if S could sing her a few words she would know the song. I explained that I had tried that. She lent me a CD, and as we were driving home, it was song #14! "Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimme (a man after midnight)" Hmm...should I be worried that this is a favourite song of a 12 year girl?? lol

So we were able to pull the lyrics off the Internet, and all is right in S's world once again. He even phoned this little girl to play her the song to make sure it was the right one. Apparently she is "greatly relieved" that S was able to find the song.

The A-man didn't have any homework again tonight. This is odd. Well, maybe not. When I had my meeting with his resource teacher the day, she did tell me that they are given class time to work on assignments/homework, so I guess that is when he is doing his work.

His drama teacher apparently praised him the other day for being very brave to wear certain pants for drama class. Monday night, the A-man is searching the house high and low for his certain sleep pants. They have bright green and yellow "Sponge Bob" faces on them - and they are flannel. Anyway, he wanted them to take to school the next day. In drama they were told to bring 'comfortable pants' to change in to for the dance segment on the class. The A-man feels that these are the most comfortable pair of bottoms he has, so he took them. She praised him for being willing to take such a risk. See, I didn't think of it as a risk - I thought kids wore those sorts of things all the time! I know I've seen lots of girls wearing flannel sleep pants for outwear.

I'm all prepared for my 'team meeting' tomorrow. I have pages of information printed, and I am ready to go!

On a work note - I have started to train my new assistant. She seems to be very efficient, but she doesn't quite seem to realize that when I am in the middle of something is NOT the best time for endless chatter. I am hoping I will be able to get that across to her without having to come right out and say it. I've never been 'the boss' before, and I'm really not sure of how to proceed with this. Right now my thought is to just let her get used to the job, and I will be putting so much on her desk she will be just too busy to spend time chatting! Don't take me wrong, I like to chat at work too, but it's so important the realize the time/place factor, and I don't think she is quite there yet. Which is funny because she is my age. Oh well, we will manage, I'm sure.

Mornings are NOT my favourite times

For the past few days, getting the boys up and moving has not been fun. This morning, S did not get himself out of bed until 15 minutes before his bus was to arrive! The A-man had already gone out to catch his bus. THEN, he was rude to me and was calling me "Master" whenever I told him to do something. (!!??)

My children have ZERO concept of time, or of the effects of time passing. They totally live in the "here and now" and do not seem capable of thinking beyond that. Drives me insane.

I am glad we are having a long weekend. I need an extra day of sleeping in a bit, plus I need to do some major overhauling of the house. The A-man did NOT tidy his room, and it is just far too scary to contemplate tackling at 9pm. Saturday will be the day.

Going to go to the cottage on Sunday. My brother is going to be visiting, and this will be the first time we see him since he came back from Afghanistan. We are only going to stay for the day, however, because both Hubby and I want to get a number of things done around the house and yard to prepare for the winter!

Another Lazy night

Tonight, during homework time, rather than actually helping with the homework, I sat outside and slowly inched my way forward toward the family of stray kittens that were born in my compost bin during Labour Day weekend. Let hubby to help S with both Math and Geography.

I got right up close to one of the kittens - a black one - and just as I tried to pet it's ear, it clawed my finger. Didn't really hurt - startled me more than anything. The momma cat is very friendly, and I was even able to hold her for a long time while I watched the sun going down. She had four kittens in total - two black ones (momma is black, long haired), one grey and black tabby, and one white and orange tabby. I was able to get close to them when they were days old, but I guess the momma didn't think that was too safe, and moved them. This is the first time I have seen them since they were born. At that time, I thought there were only three.

We have been feeding the momma for about two months now. She is so pretty, and so well-mannered. I don't think she was abandoned though - I hope not. Anyway, she sort of adopted our deck, and since we have our two kittens, we just started putting food out for her. Now we have two bowls of food outside - one up on the table for the momma, and one on the ground half way between the bush area and where the momma comes to eat. My hope is that the kittens will get used to seeing us, and will let us get close enough to pet, etc., and then I want to find homes for them. I just can't imagine those poor wee babies out in the cold of winter. Hubby has actually said he would build a little shelter for them, with straw, etc., in the boy's tree house, but I hope that we don't need to do that. It breaks my heart to see such beautiful animals just abandoned like that.

Contacted the SERT today to ask about the team meeting on Friday, and a copy of the agenda. Will be the SERT, myself, the classroom teacher and the EA. No principal - which is totally fine by me. We will review his safe plan, his IEP, the first month of school, that sort of thing. The SERT did make a comment that she would present me with an IEP, then take it back to the office with lots of sticky notes on it, and then will re-do it to my satisfaction. I laughed when I read that. I think she just expects me to find fault with something in the initial IEP. If it's well-planned, I will be happy to sign off on it right away.

So, the A-man has no homework tonight, and I think I am about to go and attempt to straighten up his room a wee bit. He is SUCH a pack-rat. He claims he did 'clean' it after dinner...we shall see. If you don't hear from me in the next 24 hours, send a search party!

Educating the educators

...(sigh)....and so it begins again...

I can tell that I am going to have to spend a bunch of time educating the teachers about non-verbal disabilities AND the disorder known as ADHD. I am getting very tired of having to do this year after year, after year. And yet, here we go again.

S had a note in his agenda today explaining how he got very upset during phys-ed. Apparently he was needing to work in a group in developing a game "cooperatively." When are these teachers going to realize that ADHD students are not able to do things "cooperatively"? Being rigid and regimented is part and parcel with this freaking disorder, yet, every single year, I have to mention this about 15 times before it starts to sink in. (Either it sinks in, or they just stop bringing it my attention. I'm not sure.)

Then, just to make things fun, let's throw a group of kids together, and then tell them that they all must agree in order for it to be 'fair'. Yeah, that is going over like a lead balloon. Social skills - or rather lack thereof - is a defining feature of an NLD, and yet the teachers feel S is being unreasonable. Hmm...let's see...would this same teacher expect a child in a wheel-chair to get out of the chair and walk across the room because "it's part of the learning curve"? What? What do you mean, "That is ridiculous!"?? But, if you expect a child with ADHD and a non-verbal learning disability to do that, why on earth wouldn't a wheel-chair bound student be expected to do something outside the realm of reality??

See, if we could only make these disorders show in some physical way, neither of my son's would have a problem. But, because they are both well-spoken, and visually 'fine', it seems I have to explain the same things, time and time again. I'm tired of this.

I have reviewed my copious notes and books, and I will (again) make photocopies for the teacher (and now) the EA. I will have to highlight the parts that pertain to S's particular learning abilities, and try to let them realize that although he does not have a physical disability, he does still have a disability, and accommodations must be made for him. Now, I'm not saying that he can be a total brat and get away with it, but when it comes to social expectations, the teacher is going to need to incorporate a 3/4ths rule.

The 3/4th rule is simple, and actually will apply to most kids that suffer from ADHD. Typically, these kids are socially under-developed to about 75% of their true age. S is now 12, so that would mean, socially, he is 8. He will react in the way typical of an 8 year old - most of the time. There may be times that he is able to do a bit of self-talk, and role-playing, to realize how he is 'supposed' to act, and if not thrown into a heated moment, he may be able to adapt to that more conducive to a child that is 12, but only when all these other things are in place. Trust me, that does not happen all that often. So, would you take a group of 8 year olds - that's what, Grade 3? - and expect them to all cooperate and all agree on something. That just would not happen.

As it turns out, I will be attending a "team meeting" on Friday morning to review S's 'case'. This meeting was established earlier today, and is simply a formality and follow up to the whole IEP process. But, I know I will spend the meeting trying to educate the educators about these disorders. And, I'm sure, they will leave that meeting thinking I am simply making more excuses for my child's behaviour. I am not. This is a physical disorder, it has been studied and reviewed up the yahoo, yet people that don't live with the reality of ADHD really do not have a clue about what it can do to a child.

I think this is what bothers me the most about ADHD. It is a term that many people have heard before, and think they understand what it means, but knowing the difference between the acronym and the reality of the disorder are two very different things. It's like my trying to describe to you what it feels like to have lupus. I can't describe how it feels. I live with it, I feel it, and some days I feel it more than others, but describe the pain? Sure. Can you describe child-birth? Go on...try that...

I'm not really sure who will be there on Friday morning - guess I should request a list of the participants, plus a copy of the agenda, just so that I'm not thrown off. I will have to make a mental note to do that tomorrow.

I had my meeting with the A-man's resource teacher this morning. I presented my information, and although she was very receptive to the information, and willing to modify the IEP to reflect this new information, I am not holding out much hope on getting a psycho-ed test done through the school. Apparently they can only get 2 done a year. Yeah, isn't it great that the Ontario Government has just allocated those millions of dollars towards special education? Where, exactly, is that money going?? More doctors to do this testing? Sure...and where are they? I have placed a call to my MPP to ask more about this, but I know I will get no where - he is a member of the 'opposition'. What a crock. Every single school in our board only gets two tests a year? Good thing there aren't many kids with specials needs within Ontario...

Anyway, as the teacher and I were talking, the head of special ed came in, and he is willing to do these "Kauffman" tests to determine where, exactly, the A-man is with respect to his education, but I am thinking hubby and I will be forking over more cash-ola to get a formal review done. I really want this established before he goes on to secondary education because once a child reaches University or College, the resources are amazing. Of course they are - you are paying for that education. A lot different from public-funded education. Feeling a bit cynical today, can you tell?

I guess that is just the way it may have to be. Hubby and I will talk about it further - just not today. I'm too beat, and he's already been in bed since 8:30, the poor guy. Gotta go - have to make photocopies....

(sigh)

Lazy night

Just not quite up to snuff tonight. The A-man claimed he only had a little bit of homework - was done in moments. As of right now, I don't have it in me to check it over. I may just take a look at it in a little while, but since he seems to be keeping up on things, I just feel bad when I 'second guess' him.

He got his Science mark back for the project that was due last week. 24 out of 25. I'm very proud of him, but I did make a point of mentioning that he probably wouldn't have received that high a mark if the teacher hadn't given me that 'checking in' phone call. I think he is starting to realize that it does help to put in a wee bit of extra effort - he loves getting the higher marks.

He has often made the comment that I want him to get 'perfect' on everything he does, but that is not true. This is what I tell him when he says that - "I don't want it to be perfect, I simply want it to be the best you can do." He actually repeats it back to me as I am saying it - I hope this means that he is actually hearing what I am saying, and he isn't just being a smarty pants.

What is the point of doing something that isn't to the best of your ability? I mean, if you are going to do it, make sure you are happy with it - don't just do something for the sake of saying you did it. Be PROUD of what you do. I really want both of them to realize this. I truly believe this is a life lesson.

Anyway...off to bed. Been a long, long day. Start training my assistant tomorrow afternoon, so the next little while in the office should be quite unproductive, but with an end in sight, right??

Recovering...

Whew - what a weekend! I am dead-dog tired, and it took 3 snooze button pushes to coax myself out of bed this morning, but I think it was worth it! Had a great time in Montreal, and even though I was officially there to 'work', I must say, it was the best work weekend I've ever had.

A big ole "THANK YOU" to Cuz...for allowing me to stay at the B&B on Thursday evening, and again for the coffee pit stop yesterday afternoon. I needed that break - 6 hours of driving at once is too much! Was good to take that break before I did the final stretch of the drive.

The A-man did a great job with his revised Science Lab. He worked on it all by himself, and only asked Hubby for a bit of a reminder of how to insert a table in to the word document. I resisted for as long as I could, but ended up sneaking a peek at it this morning. I think this will be more in line with what the teacher was looking for. I'm proud of him for making sure he completed it without much prompting. I'm also very glad the teacher allowed the revision. I saw what he had handed in originally. It was very poorly done.

S didn't have any homework over the weekend. The Terry Fox run was on Thursday, and it sounds like the rest of the day was just a fun day for the whole school. Of course, I'm sure it would have nothing to do with the next day being a PA day...

Dropped S off at school after his doctor's appointment, and since the school was out doing the run, I was able to have a good chat with her. I think I may have to educate her a bit about the conditions that affect S, but for the most part, I think her philosophies are in line with hubby and I. This is good.

I have a meeting with the A-man's resource teacher tomorrow. Going to beg and pled for further testing. Well, no, not really - just going to fully present my case, and present the newest information. I know they don't like to do 'testing' at the highschool level, but if it needs to be done...

Maybe, just maybe we are getting there.

Oh, and a special "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to Loonie! I hope your 40th b-day is great, and I hope your first day back to work went well for you. You have a great baby - I'm sure he will do well while you go back to work. Thinking of you!