Bad Blogger!

Yep, that's me. I don't feel like I have much to say lately. My days come and go at the hectic pace that three kids will give you. We are busy, but not much noteworthy happens. Emmett and Charlotte get chauffered to school and dance class, Matthew packed along for the ride.

Our wedding anniversary came and went. We saw Elton John play for three hours. Fantastic concert. Richard was a good sport despite the overly enthusiastic woman sitting beside him. She got more and more enthusiastic as the concert went on and she drank more and more beer.

Emmett is adjusting to a new school routine and new therapy routine. I got a note home yesterday saying how he broke down in therapy trying to explain something to the therapist that she couldn't understand. My stomach twisted. I am reading the Well Trained Mind and several books a kind homeschooler sent me (Emmett LOVES the games you sent, Wendy!) and as I am learning more about apraxia, homeschooling is sounding better and better. As it turns out, a classroom may not be the best place for a kid with apraxia to be. When you put a child like that in a group of kids it is too easy for him to get overwhelmed and not be allowed the extra time it takes to formulate sentences and then speak. So far we are fortunate that his class is very small and he has an aid with him. I just feel in my heart that at some point I will be bringing my boy home so I can help him the way he needs to be helped. Maybe I just have a fundamental mistrust of the school system??

I am finding time to knit. I am finding I need to read again. So far there are two books I am working my way through and one on standby and a new project on my needles. (The Well Trained Mind, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Twilight on standby and a helmet liner for my little brother so he stays warm on the oil rig this winter)

So there you go. I am still here.

Goofing around.

A nerd is born.

A new computer arrived on our doorstep yesterday. Emmett waited all day for Richard to get home and open the box. Richard wasn't even allowed to eat dinner. The computer had to come out. The box was opened, the new computer was unpacked. The phone rang. I answered it and Richard went outside for a moment. When we both got back to the dining room, the new computer was set up and running.

Richard had to take it apart and install a couple of things, but Emmett wasn't upset. He watched very closely and Richard started teaching him the names of everything inside the tower. Emmett was then allowed to play with the carcass of the old computer. He was in heaven. Who needs toys when you have a dead computer and a screwdriver????

I don't know if I should be impressed or scared.

Emmett's first week of school.

We did it. We survived the first week of school. There are some bad rumors circulating about Emm's school because it is located in the core area of our city. I am now it's biggest fan. I can't say enough good things about his teachers and support people.

His teacher and he have bonded. We had one bad day this week where Emmett had an accident in his pants, but they handled it quickly and as far as I can tell, discreetly. I talked to his resource teacher afterward because she phoned me to follow up. The way she was talking reassured me that we are all on the same page with regards to our expectations of Emmett. No one thought Emmett needed to be banished to diapers because of one slip up. The principal even realized that it would cause a regression if we did that because he is the father of small children himself. I feel like I am part of a team. The staff seem really motivated to help Emmett. I spoke to his Speech Language Pathologist today (SLP) and gave her his history. She described the curriculum she will follow and told me how she is going to train the TA to help. The school has decided to add a monthly visit to the Occupational Therapist to his regime as well, on the advice of our neurologist. There is a notebook in Emmett's backpack that gets sent home every day where the teacher or TA scribbles a little line or two about his day to keep me informed.

Emmett has made a friend.

So far, so good!

We might be a little nerdy......

Emmett got this book for Christmas a couple of years ago. Whenever Richard and I read it to the kids we automatically change the repeating chorus through the book so it is gramatically correct. I cannot read the book the way it is written. That particular sentence makes my teeth itch.

What are we going to do when the kids learn to read????


One more thing. File this under "Out of the mouths of babes."
Emmett was looking for something today. He said "Where the hell is it?"

We went from no speech to cursing in a matter of weeks. Richard and I are trying to figure out where he picked that particular phrase up. Neither one of us use it. We blame Knight Rider. (The original series. We kick it old school here.)

Mother Nature is changing her clothes.

A little boy is excited and nervous.

Today is his first day of school.

Party Paralysis

Confession time: I hate planning/throwing birthday parties.

When it comes to birthdays, planning, inviting, baking, gift bag making.....it all makes me want to lock myself in my bedroom and suck my thumb for days on end. I never know who to invite, what to serve, I worry that no one will show up or that that if they do no one will have fun.

I am a big dork. But now you know.

If you don't get invited to a birthday party here, don't feel bad. It's not that I don't like you, it is probably that I forgot to plan something and we ended up eating birthday cake at Grandma's house instead.

A year ago today........

I held this little bundle in my arms.


Today I am lucky if I can catch him long enough for a quick hug.

Happy birthday, Little Man. Why did you have to grow so fast???

My week by pluses and minuses.

There are a lot of jumbled thoughts swirling around in my brain. Here are some bullet points to highlight the past week.

• +Charlotte started preschool this week. Parents are allowed to stay for the first week to help their little students get acclimated. I did not have to. She saw toys. She saw kids. I didn't even get a wave goodbye.
• +The teachers at preschool were so happy to hear about Emmett's breakthrough they shed happy tears for him. I am going to try to drag him in to say hi when we drop Char off tomorrow. He didn't want to go in on Tuesday. He said "That is my old school. I go to my new school now."
• +We met Emmett's new teacher and EA today. They are very sweet and very enthusiastic about helping Emmett be the best he can be. They copied a few things from preschool that worked for him there. When Emmett saw his visual schedule in place he relaxed noticbly. He will be ok.
• -The Resource teacher informed me that they only have funding for Emmett's helper for 21 days. I have to go to another meeting to plead his case and get the funding extended. (insert expletive here)
• -My respite worker lost her temper at me and yelled at me in front of my kids about my lax housekeeping skills. She came into the house after two days of constant rain. We were ankle deep in toys. The table was piled high with various art projects. I called the co-ordinator today. She will not be returning to our messy house again.