Every Christmas since Devon was just a few weeks old I have been making an elf video of the kids. The first one was a little odd because it just didn't look right to see a tiny baby's head on an adult body dancing around. I kept putting it off this year but Bailey insisted that I get on it, so here it is. I just thought I'd go ahead and put it up for anyone that didn't see it on facebook. This one is pretty cute this year! It's a swingin' Christmas beach party!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Gain, Loss, and Confusion
Yesterday was a pretty full day as far as accomplishments and stories of the kids' shenanigans. I had my VERY last final yesterday and it was to be taken online. The only problem was that it was 90 questions with a 100 minute time limit and I knew that I would never get that much time where Devon didn't bother me or need something. I guarantee that no matter now situated I thought he was, as soon as I clicked on the "Begin Assessment" button that something major would happen that would demand my attention! He'd bang on the door saying he was poopie, or say he broke something or he was hurt or whatever, so I knew that for the one last time, I was going to need reinforcements. I called my dad and he did have something to do later in the day, but I promised him that if he would keep Devon this time it would be the very last time I would need to ask him....until I stared my Master's Degree. He readily agreed and I pounded out that exam with over 20 minutes to spare, even though the last two were complicated essays. So...I'm completely finished with school. It doesn't feel amazing like I thought it would because I need to go straight into my Master's now and this dinky little undergraduate degree doesn't change much for me. Once I'm finished with my Master's in about two and a half years THEN I'll finally be able to teach. It's just frustrating. So, yes, I'm finished, which has been a huge weight on my back for so many years, but it's just the first step.
Later that day when I picked the kids up from school, Bailey asked me if we could go to Target and get her some new erasers for her pencils because the kids around her won't let her borrow theirs when she has a mistake she needs to fix. Of course that made me so irritated that I said we'd go to Target immediately! I just can't believe how mean kids are these days! So as we were walking into Target, Landon ran way in ahead of us and was acting more hyper and full of energy than usual so I decided I wasn't going to take my eyes off of him. We grabbed the erasers and then stopped by the toy section like we always have to, and Bailey and Devon stayed together and Landon ran off around the corner. I followed him to make sure he didn't do anything...odd...or run off. After a couple of minutes Bailey came down our isle and I asked her where Devon was. She shrugged and kept looking so I told her to stay with Landon no matter where he went so that I could call for them, and I went back down the isles to look for Devon. I walked up and down and up and down the toy section and he definitely wasn't there. I grabbed Bailey and Landon and made them search for him with me so that we wouldn't lose anyone else. We walked all around the areas surrounding the toy section calling and calling him. By then I was starting to get a little frantic, so we walked faster and called him louder and went all the way to the front of the store yelling for him. One lady asked me if he had on a red shirt and I stopped and thought about it and I was ashamed to discover that I didn't remember what he was wearing! I always make sure I know what Landon is wearing just for situations like this, but I've never had to worry about Dev before! I said "I don't remember! He's blond!" She and another lady walked all over calling for him and someone said they saw a little boy go towards customer service. I pulled Bailey and Landon over there and there he was, surrounded by Target employees barking on their walkie talkies that they had a lost child. I ran over to him and grabbed him and they reported into the walkies that they had "found the mother". I was actually more mad at him than anything, because he NEVER runs away, and the last thing I need is ANOTHER kid that is always doing that to me! Landon has embarrassed me like that more than once, and he even caused the Disney Store in Phoenix to completely lock down until he was found. I am always so mortified when this kind of thing happens, which is why I always try to keep close tabs on Landon. Devon always stays with me so when he was missing I kept thinking how he must be more than "lost" because he never runs off. Plus we were WAY back at toys and he had wondered all the way to the front of the store! What was he thinking?!! I still don't know, but I put him right in the cart and bought Bailey her erasers and got out of there immediately! I have decided that I can only shop during the day when my kids are in school and I only have Devon. They take advantage of the fact that there is only one of me and three of them!
So today I took Devon with me to Toys R Us so that we could look at stuff without the other two seeing what we were looking at. I mostly wanted to find something for Devon, and I wasn't sure how to go about finding what I needed. He has shown a great fondness for doll houses and they entertain him for hours! If a store has the Calico Critters out on display he wants to play with them more than with the train set, and he loved his cousin's Littlest Pet Shop house, so I was trying to find a more little boy oriented toy that had a similar theme. I saw some castles with knights, but I thought I had found the answer when I came across a little farm that came with animals and a farmer. Isn't it cute?
The farmer is a boy and farm animals are pretty unisex, so I was going to get that, but a store employee told me he had a better idea. He took me over to a toy Bat Cave that came with a Batman, Robin, and lots of accessories. Here's what it looked like:
I didn't get either one because I'm just a little confused. Why is everyone so afraid that a little boy is going to play with a toy that was made more for a girl? Why are men so afraid that their little boys might enjoy playing with little toy animals that are purple and pink, or a toy kitchen or something that just draws and keeps their attention? Why did some stranger stop me from getting my son a farm and direct me towards a super hero lair? I don't understand why it's so important to everyone that we steer our male children in the proper direction from a young age so that they don't think that sissy toys are acceptable. They make sure they know it's for girls and that they should never go near that stuff, and that's why little boys are so rude to little girls about their "dumb dolls". It's my personal opinion that making a little boy play with a cave that two men live in alone together isn't necessarily a step in the right direction. But then again, maybe I just don't understand boy's toys. I'm sure Ben would love to play with the Bat Cave with Devon, so I may just leave the decision up to him.
When we got back from picking Ben up from work that day we had a huge styrofoam package waiting on our doorstep that we certainly weren't expecting and didn't know what it was. We looked at the label and it had been sent to us by Ben's new boss for a Christmas present! We opened it up and it was a huge assortment of different meats from Omaha Steaks! Ben has never had a boss give him a Christmas present before, and I was so excited! Look how big it was!
FUN! They are now resting comfortably in our freezer awaiting their faits.
So now that I'm finished with school for at least the next semester I don't know what to do with myself. I keep running through my head trying to make sure I'm not overlooking something that is about to be due. Bailey keeps asking me if I have homework to do and she can't believe that I'm actually finished completely. I keep telling her I'll go back again soon and she can't understand why I would want to. After being out of school for a semester I may be asking myself the same question.
Later that day when I picked the kids up from school, Bailey asked me if we could go to Target and get her some new erasers for her pencils because the kids around her won't let her borrow theirs when she has a mistake she needs to fix. Of course that made me so irritated that I said we'd go to Target immediately! I just can't believe how mean kids are these days! So as we were walking into Target, Landon ran way in ahead of us and was acting more hyper and full of energy than usual so I decided I wasn't going to take my eyes off of him. We grabbed the erasers and then stopped by the toy section like we always have to, and Bailey and Devon stayed together and Landon ran off around the corner. I followed him to make sure he didn't do anything...odd...or run off. After a couple of minutes Bailey came down our isle and I asked her where Devon was. She shrugged and kept looking so I told her to stay with Landon no matter where he went so that I could call for them, and I went back down the isles to look for Devon. I walked up and down and up and down the toy section and he definitely wasn't there. I grabbed Bailey and Landon and made them search for him with me so that we wouldn't lose anyone else. We walked all around the areas surrounding the toy section calling and calling him. By then I was starting to get a little frantic, so we walked faster and called him louder and went all the way to the front of the store yelling for him. One lady asked me if he had on a red shirt and I stopped and thought about it and I was ashamed to discover that I didn't remember what he was wearing! I always make sure I know what Landon is wearing just for situations like this, but I've never had to worry about Dev before! I said "I don't remember! He's blond!" She and another lady walked all over calling for him and someone said they saw a little boy go towards customer service. I pulled Bailey and Landon over there and there he was, surrounded by Target employees barking on their walkie talkies that they had a lost child. I ran over to him and grabbed him and they reported into the walkies that they had "found the mother". I was actually more mad at him than anything, because he NEVER runs away, and the last thing I need is ANOTHER kid that is always doing that to me! Landon has embarrassed me like that more than once, and he even caused the Disney Store in Phoenix to completely lock down until he was found. I am always so mortified when this kind of thing happens, which is why I always try to keep close tabs on Landon. Devon always stays with me so when he was missing I kept thinking how he must be more than "lost" because he never runs off. Plus we were WAY back at toys and he had wondered all the way to the front of the store! What was he thinking?!! I still don't know, but I put him right in the cart and bought Bailey her erasers and got out of there immediately! I have decided that I can only shop during the day when my kids are in school and I only have Devon. They take advantage of the fact that there is only one of me and three of them!
So today I took Devon with me to Toys R Us so that we could look at stuff without the other two seeing what we were looking at. I mostly wanted to find something for Devon, and I wasn't sure how to go about finding what I needed. He has shown a great fondness for doll houses and they entertain him for hours! If a store has the Calico Critters out on display he wants to play with them more than with the train set, and he loved his cousin's Littlest Pet Shop house, so I was trying to find a more little boy oriented toy that had a similar theme. I saw some castles with knights, but I thought I had found the answer when I came across a little farm that came with animals and a farmer. Isn't it cute?
The farmer is a boy and farm animals are pretty unisex, so I was going to get that, but a store employee told me he had a better idea. He took me over to a toy Bat Cave that came with a Batman, Robin, and lots of accessories. Here's what it looked like:
I didn't get either one because I'm just a little confused. Why is everyone so afraid that a little boy is going to play with a toy that was made more for a girl? Why are men so afraid that their little boys might enjoy playing with little toy animals that are purple and pink, or a toy kitchen or something that just draws and keeps their attention? Why did some stranger stop me from getting my son a farm and direct me towards a super hero lair? I don't understand why it's so important to everyone that we steer our male children in the proper direction from a young age so that they don't think that sissy toys are acceptable. They make sure they know it's for girls and that they should never go near that stuff, and that's why little boys are so rude to little girls about their "dumb dolls". It's my personal opinion that making a little boy play with a cave that two men live in alone together isn't necessarily a step in the right direction. But then again, maybe I just don't understand boy's toys. I'm sure Ben would love to play with the Bat Cave with Devon, so I may just leave the decision up to him.
When we got back from picking Ben up from work that day we had a huge styrofoam package waiting on our doorstep that we certainly weren't expecting and didn't know what it was. We looked at the label and it had been sent to us by Ben's new boss for a Christmas present! We opened it up and it was a huge assortment of different meats from Omaha Steaks! Ben has never had a boss give him a Christmas present before, and I was so excited! Look how big it was!
FUN! They are now resting comfortably in our freezer awaiting their faits.
So now that I'm finished with school for at least the next semester I don't know what to do with myself. I keep running through my head trying to make sure I'm not overlooking something that is about to be due. Bailey keeps asking me if I have homework to do and she can't believe that I'm actually finished completely. I keep telling her I'll go back again soon and she can't understand why I would want to. After being out of school for a semester I may be asking myself the same question.
Monday, November 8, 2010
This and that
Well, it's been a while since I blogged which means that nothing crazy has happened in a long time. There definitely have been some incidents but I didn't know if they were worthy of their own post, so I decided to make a "mix tape" of sorts, a montage if you will, of some things that have happened here and there that have made our days a little more interesting. A lot of this stuff was put up on Facebook so I apologize if you have already seen and heard all that follows. I do hate to repeat myself. These are in no particular order, just as they come to me.
First of all, there was a day where Landon did a few things here and there that made me wonder if he was trying to see how much I could take before I lost it. We had dropped Bailey off at her dance class and so I took the boys to Chic fil A to eat and play on the playground until she was finished. When we got there the boys ran to the playground and I got in line to order. As I was standing there reading the menu I saw a streak of red go by (which could only be Landon in his Murray Wiggles shirt, which is all he wears now) and I saw that the red shirt was all he had on! He was wearing his underwear but for some reason he had stripped off his pants and shoes inside the playground and decided to run around the restaurant. He is just so tall that it looks like a third grader is running around with no pants on and it just looks odd. There was a large group of high school girls right behind me and I was sure they were going to get loud and laugh and make a big deal about it, which would call attention to him more. I went ahead and yelled at him to get his pants on, and he turned around and ran back to the playground and I braced myself for the backlash that always comes from the people around me, but no one said anything! The high school girls barely looked at him or acted like he was strange and didn't even look at each other like "What's wrong with that kid?" I greatly appreciated it! So because no one freaked out and he got his pants right back on it turned out to be very minimal compared to how it could have been. I even tried to get a picture of him putting his pants on in the playground but he was too fast for me.
We later got back in the car and went to pick up Bailey and we ended up being pretty early. She and her class were learning a little dance number and Landon stood with his face pressed against the glass door watching every bit of it. Later they asked all the parents to come in and watch them all do their dance so we went in to see it. The girls lined up and the music started and Landon decided that he knew the dance as well as they did so he jumped up, got in line and danced with them! I was going to grab him but Bailey's teacher didn't act like she cared at all and he was doing a pretty good job so I just let him stay up there. Here is the video of some of it. It was the class before Halloween which is why they are wearing costumes.
Last night, though, Ben came upstairs to get back to work on his homework and he found that someone had written in his notebook. He said "Bailey, did you write 'cats' in my notebook?" She was confused and said she didn't do it. That made us even more confused. We looked at it and it was obviously a kid's hand writing. Ben asked her again if she did it, and said she wasn't in trouble, but we needed to know if she really did do it. She insisted she hadn't done it. Then Landon came in, walked right over to the notebook and pointed at the writing and said "cats" and then walked out again. I had no idea that he could read the word "cats" let alone write it. I was especially impressed with his "s" because that's tricky for anyone. Here's what it looked like.
It looks pretty good for someone having Occupational Therapy to teach him how to hold his pencil the right way.
Bailey had lost her two front teeth and it was exciting for her because everyone else lost theirs a long time ago. The only problem is that she has my tiny mouth and her permanent teeth had nowhere to come in. The little gap that was left from her baby teeth was nowhere near big enough for her new teeth so they ended up being partially behind her baby teeth that are next to the gap and they pushed them up and out and made her look like she has two rows of teeth! You can see it a little bit in this picture but it wasn't that bad yet here.
She called them her snaggle teeth and we had to take her to the dentist to get them pulled. They discovered some cavities while they were in there so she had a pretty big ordeal going on in her mouth that day. They wouldn't let me go back for some reason and I knew she wouldn't like that so I went to the front and pretty much demanded to go back. I found her with the laughing gas over her nose and watching the Chipmunk movie on a TV on the ceiling and she didn't act like she cared that I was there. I went back out and left them to it and when she was finished she came out with cotton in her mouth and she was mad! She didn't like it that I left her in there alone and she didn't like it that she couldn't feel her mouth and she was just miserable! What's funny (well not really funny but more almost sad) is that they mentioned that her lower jaw isn't growing as fast as the rest of her mouth and I just hung my head and sighed. I had noticed it but I was hoping she wouldn't be as bad as I was. It looks like she may have it worse because mine wasn't showing up when I was as young as she is. It looks like she may have to have my jaw surgery one day too. *sigh*
She also woke up on Halloween morning really sick and I had to take her to the Minute Clinic where she turned up positive for strep throat. She got some antibiotics and slept most of the day, but she was too miserable to go trick or treating. She got dressed and tried but after three houses she just couldn't take it and I took her home. She had to stay home sick on her birthday one year too, and she just thinks she has the worse luck with holidays! Devon was really charming and brought home more candy than Landon so we had more than enough candy to share with her.
I'm looking at my post for this time and I hate it that I don't have more pictures, but the sad thing is that I just lost my phone on Friday and it had all my pictures in it! I had pictures of them on Halloween and Bailey getting her teeth done and all kinds of fun stuff. I had it in the pocket of my jacket when we dropped Bailey off at a Brownie camp out, and then when we drove off in the golf cart, Landon got in my lap and started bouncing around. When we got home it wasn't in my pocket anymore and I went back looking for it and calling it but I never did find it. I should be getting a new one in the mail today, but in the mean time my blog has very few pictures in it.
I did take some of Landon playing basketball in the parking lot of the church while we waited for Bailey to be finished with her choir rehearsals. Bailey is going to be in a Christmas program sometime in December so I'll be sure to get some shots of that for later. Anyway, after Landon's incident in PE his teacher lets him do what the class is doing or just play basketball, and I hear that he chooses basketball every time. He's getting pretty good at it. I say we mold this skill since he's already super tall and we may be looking at a boy that's going to get up to 6 foot 5 someday. Ben's brothers are about that height, so I say let him play basketball all his wants!
Here are some pictures that I took with my phone that I did get uploaded before I lost my phone. I did post most of these on Facebook but I'm going to go ahead and post them here too because I really love them!
This is Devon running in this shot
I'll be taking more pictures as soon as I get my new phone in the mail. This blog post was a litte disorganized but I didn't have one specific story that I wanted to tell. I am truthfully stalling and doing whatever I can to keep from doing to work that I need to do. This is the last month of my last semester and I have tons of projects, papers, case studies, observation reports, and exams coming up in the next few weeks. I may end up posting more now that I'm super busy just because I need to take breaks now and then. I'll try to make my next post more interesting, but for now, lets all be appreciative that my post was fairly tame. I know I am!
First of all, there was a day where Landon did a few things here and there that made me wonder if he was trying to see how much I could take before I lost it. We had dropped Bailey off at her dance class and so I took the boys to Chic fil A to eat and play on the playground until she was finished. When we got there the boys ran to the playground and I got in line to order. As I was standing there reading the menu I saw a streak of red go by (which could only be Landon in his Murray Wiggles shirt, which is all he wears now) and I saw that the red shirt was all he had on! He was wearing his underwear but for some reason he had stripped off his pants and shoes inside the playground and decided to run around the restaurant. He is just so tall that it looks like a third grader is running around with no pants on and it just looks odd. There was a large group of high school girls right behind me and I was sure they were going to get loud and laugh and make a big deal about it, which would call attention to him more. I went ahead and yelled at him to get his pants on, and he turned around and ran back to the playground and I braced myself for the backlash that always comes from the people around me, but no one said anything! The high school girls barely looked at him or acted like he was strange and didn't even look at each other like "What's wrong with that kid?" I greatly appreciated it! So because no one freaked out and he got his pants right back on it turned out to be very minimal compared to how it could have been. I even tried to get a picture of him putting his pants on in the playground but he was too fast for me.
We later got back in the car and went to pick up Bailey and we ended up being pretty early. She and her class were learning a little dance number and Landon stood with his face pressed against the glass door watching every bit of it. Later they asked all the parents to come in and watch them all do their dance so we went in to see it. The girls lined up and the music started and Landon decided that he knew the dance as well as they did so he jumped up, got in line and danced with them! I was going to grab him but Bailey's teacher didn't act like she cared at all and he was doing a pretty good job so I just let him stay up there. Here is the video of some of it. It was the class before Halloween which is why they are wearing costumes.
Last night, though, Ben came upstairs to get back to work on his homework and he found that someone had written in his notebook. He said "Bailey, did you write 'cats' in my notebook?" She was confused and said she didn't do it. That made us even more confused. We looked at it and it was obviously a kid's hand writing. Ben asked her again if she did it, and said she wasn't in trouble, but we needed to know if she really did do it. She insisted she hadn't done it. Then Landon came in, walked right over to the notebook and pointed at the writing and said "cats" and then walked out again. I had no idea that he could read the word "cats" let alone write it. I was especially impressed with his "s" because that's tricky for anyone. Here's what it looked like.
It looks pretty good for someone having Occupational Therapy to teach him how to hold his pencil the right way.
Bailey had lost her two front teeth and it was exciting for her because everyone else lost theirs a long time ago. The only problem is that she has my tiny mouth and her permanent teeth had nowhere to come in. The little gap that was left from her baby teeth was nowhere near big enough for her new teeth so they ended up being partially behind her baby teeth that are next to the gap and they pushed them up and out and made her look like she has two rows of teeth! You can see it a little bit in this picture but it wasn't that bad yet here.
She called them her snaggle teeth and we had to take her to the dentist to get them pulled. They discovered some cavities while they were in there so she had a pretty big ordeal going on in her mouth that day. They wouldn't let me go back for some reason and I knew she wouldn't like that so I went to the front and pretty much demanded to go back. I found her with the laughing gas over her nose and watching the Chipmunk movie on a TV on the ceiling and she didn't act like she cared that I was there. I went back out and left them to it and when she was finished she came out with cotton in her mouth and she was mad! She didn't like it that I left her in there alone and she didn't like it that she couldn't feel her mouth and she was just miserable! What's funny (well not really funny but more almost sad) is that they mentioned that her lower jaw isn't growing as fast as the rest of her mouth and I just hung my head and sighed. I had noticed it but I was hoping she wouldn't be as bad as I was. It looks like she may have it worse because mine wasn't showing up when I was as young as she is. It looks like she may have to have my jaw surgery one day too. *sigh*
She also woke up on Halloween morning really sick and I had to take her to the Minute Clinic where she turned up positive for strep throat. She got some antibiotics and slept most of the day, but she was too miserable to go trick or treating. She got dressed and tried but after three houses she just couldn't take it and I took her home. She had to stay home sick on her birthday one year too, and she just thinks she has the worse luck with holidays! Devon was really charming and brought home more candy than Landon so we had more than enough candy to share with her.
I'm looking at my post for this time and I hate it that I don't have more pictures, but the sad thing is that I just lost my phone on Friday and it had all my pictures in it! I had pictures of them on Halloween and Bailey getting her teeth done and all kinds of fun stuff. I had it in the pocket of my jacket when we dropped Bailey off at a Brownie camp out, and then when we drove off in the golf cart, Landon got in my lap and started bouncing around. When we got home it wasn't in my pocket anymore and I went back looking for it and calling it but I never did find it. I should be getting a new one in the mail today, but in the mean time my blog has very few pictures in it.
I did take some of Landon playing basketball in the parking lot of the church while we waited for Bailey to be finished with her choir rehearsals. Bailey is going to be in a Christmas program sometime in December so I'll be sure to get some shots of that for later. Anyway, after Landon's incident in PE his teacher lets him do what the class is doing or just play basketball, and I hear that he chooses basketball every time. He's getting pretty good at it. I say we mold this skill since he's already super tall and we may be looking at a boy that's going to get up to 6 foot 5 someday. Ben's brothers are about that height, so I say let him play basketball all his wants!
Here are some pictures that I took with my phone that I did get uploaded before I lost my phone. I did post most of these on Facebook but I'm going to go ahead and post them here too because I really love them!
This is Devon running in this shot
I'll be taking more pictures as soon as I get my new phone in the mail. This blog post was a litte disorganized but I didn't have one specific story that I wanted to tell. I am truthfully stalling and doing whatever I can to keep from doing to work that I need to do. This is the last month of my last semester and I have tons of projects, papers, case studies, observation reports, and exams coming up in the next few weeks. I may end up posting more now that I'm super busy just because I need to take breaks now and then. I'll try to make my next post more interesting, but for now, lets all be appreciative that my post was fairly tame. I know I am!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
The Adventures of Landon in PE
It's been quite a while since I've had an instalment of "The McArthur Tales" that was an actual story of a crazy situation that one of the kids has thrown us into. It's been quite pleasant to have some slow blog days, but alas, I now have new blog material. I am calm enough now to be able to blog about it without taking on an angry tone, and I can even see a bit of humor in it now that it's resolved.
As we know, Landon is in a regular kindergarten classroom this year, and he has lots of help and even his own special ed parapro in the room that is specially assigned to him. They all love him and think he's really sweet, and he's had next to no problems at all so far. Our problems originate from the fact that once a day Landon goes to specials, like music, PE, or art, and no parapro or anyone accompanies him. Despite this fact, he has had no issues up until now.
Our story begins on August 31st, yes, Bailey's birthday. I pulled up and picked the kids up from school and we happily chatted all the way home about all the fun birthday things that Bailey did that day. I was blissfully ignorant of the note in Landon's backpack that would bring my good mood to a screeching halt and throw the next two days into almost constant worry and stress.
When we got home I pulled out the kids' folders that have their "choice cards" that report their behavior for the day, and I got a pen out to initial them so I could put them away and start making them a snack. When I pulled out Landon's choice card, I saw that an extra note was included in the folder that appeared to be from his PE teacher. As I pulled it out and read it, my eyes got bigger and my mouth fell open as my eyes went down the page. To make a relatively long and silly story short, the kids had been playing on scooter boards in PE that day. I wasn't quite sure what exactly one was, so here is a picture of some just so that you get the idea.
The kids sit on them and push themselves around the room with their feet. Apparently they were playing some kind of game on them that day, and during a pause in the game, Landon decided to pick his up and throw it in the air! It came down and hit another kid in the head and that kid had to be taken to the clinic and put under watch in case they needed to call 911 for a concussion. The PE teacher was nearly irate and this is part of the note that he sent home in Landon's backpack.
If you want to read it, it should get bigger when you click on it.
Anyway, it pretty much says that Landon's behavior was dangerous and unacceptable and he was not sure if Landon would be able to come back to PE. He says he can't risk the safety of the other students whether Landon intentionally hurt someone or not. He says he even called the principal down to deal with Landon.
I have to say that I was so mad that I about hit the roof! Yes, it was dangerous, and no he shouldn't have done it, and it's terrible that another kid got hurt, but this guy totally overreacted and handled this all wrong. Landon has an IEP that says that he is unpredictable and tends to do things like this, which is why he has a special parapro in his room with him. He doesn't have one during PE because the teachers all take a break while the kids are in specials. If Landon is in a big room with two or three other kindergarten classes, and he ends up doing one of the silly things that he tends to do, I do NOT want him getting into that kind of trouble and then having a scathing, almost threatening note sent home about it! If you have a problem with him, you call his special ed teacher who knows him and knows how to handle him. You do NOT yell at him and then call the principal down to yell at him some more like he's a normal kid that's just misbehaving! Landon really didn't know he was being dangerous and probably didn't even know why everyone was yelling at him.
So, I spent the rest of Bailey's birthday writing emails and making phone calls to get this addressed. His teacher said she understood why I was so upset, and she forwarded my letter to the principal who promptly called me the next morning. She was VERY sweet about it and said that Landon will not be taken out of PE. She had ideas about how to modify the activities for him so that he was still included but didn't have anything in his hands that could potentially hurt someone if thrown. I asked her if the PE teacher even knew if Landon was Autistic because the letter was worded so strongly that I thought he must now know. She said she hadn't seen the note and wasn't sure what it said, so I read it to her. She was apologetic and sweet and assured me it would all be taken care of with no problem and that he would be most welcome back to PE on Thursday.
So Thursday he had PE again, and I was really nervous that something would go wrong! I could just see Landon acting up because he had a bad experience there the last time, and I wouldn't have put it past the PE teacher to find an excuse to send Landon out of the class.
I picked them up from school and I went straight for Landon's backpack as soon as we walked in the door. He had a note from his teacher that said that he'd had a great day in PE that day, but also I had this note from his PE teacher.
I just started to laugh when I saw this! All I could think was that this guy was suddenly backpedaling pretty fast and trying to kiss by butt. I wondered if after I read his letter to the principal she went down and jumped onto him for shooting off a letter like that to the parent of a special needs child. The truth is that he didn't follow proper protocol for dealing with an autistic student, and I bet the principal was angry that she was having to clean up his mess, because truthfully, if I was that kind of parent, I could have made a pretty big deal out of this. I do appreciate him giving Landon a chance to still play and have a good time, and I like that he was willing to turn around and say how well Landon did right after he had been so mean.
And so, as night fell on the land, the angry mother was appeased, the little prince was happy, and all was forgiven. A lesson was learned by the new PE teacher, and the school's principal became intimately acquainted with little prince Landon and would be on the lookout for him for the rest of his days at the school. A trying experience turned out to be a learning experience for all, and they felt better prepared for whatever might lie ahead.
Stay tuned for the next installment of many to come.
As we know, Landon is in a regular kindergarten classroom this year, and he has lots of help and even his own special ed parapro in the room that is specially assigned to him. They all love him and think he's really sweet, and he's had next to no problems at all so far. Our problems originate from the fact that once a day Landon goes to specials, like music, PE, or art, and no parapro or anyone accompanies him. Despite this fact, he has had no issues up until now.
Our story begins on August 31st, yes, Bailey's birthday. I pulled up and picked the kids up from school and we happily chatted all the way home about all the fun birthday things that Bailey did that day. I was blissfully ignorant of the note in Landon's backpack that would bring my good mood to a screeching halt and throw the next two days into almost constant worry and stress.
When we got home I pulled out the kids' folders that have their "choice cards" that report their behavior for the day, and I got a pen out to initial them so I could put them away and start making them a snack. When I pulled out Landon's choice card, I saw that an extra note was included in the folder that appeared to be from his PE teacher. As I pulled it out and read it, my eyes got bigger and my mouth fell open as my eyes went down the page. To make a relatively long and silly story short, the kids had been playing on scooter boards in PE that day. I wasn't quite sure what exactly one was, so here is a picture of some just so that you get the idea.
The kids sit on them and push themselves around the room with their feet. Apparently they were playing some kind of game on them that day, and during a pause in the game, Landon decided to pick his up and throw it in the air! It came down and hit another kid in the head and that kid had to be taken to the clinic and put under watch in case they needed to call 911 for a concussion. The PE teacher was nearly irate and this is part of the note that he sent home in Landon's backpack.
If you want to read it, it should get bigger when you click on it.
Anyway, it pretty much says that Landon's behavior was dangerous and unacceptable and he was not sure if Landon would be able to come back to PE. He says he can't risk the safety of the other students whether Landon intentionally hurt someone or not. He says he even called the principal down to deal with Landon.
I have to say that I was so mad that I about hit the roof! Yes, it was dangerous, and no he shouldn't have done it, and it's terrible that another kid got hurt, but this guy totally overreacted and handled this all wrong. Landon has an IEP that says that he is unpredictable and tends to do things like this, which is why he has a special parapro in his room with him. He doesn't have one during PE because the teachers all take a break while the kids are in specials. If Landon is in a big room with two or three other kindergarten classes, and he ends up doing one of the silly things that he tends to do, I do NOT want him getting into that kind of trouble and then having a scathing, almost threatening note sent home about it! If you have a problem with him, you call his special ed teacher who knows him and knows how to handle him. You do NOT yell at him and then call the principal down to yell at him some more like he's a normal kid that's just misbehaving! Landon really didn't know he was being dangerous and probably didn't even know why everyone was yelling at him.
So, I spent the rest of Bailey's birthday writing emails and making phone calls to get this addressed. His teacher said she understood why I was so upset, and she forwarded my letter to the principal who promptly called me the next morning. She was VERY sweet about it and said that Landon will not be taken out of PE. She had ideas about how to modify the activities for him so that he was still included but didn't have anything in his hands that could potentially hurt someone if thrown. I asked her if the PE teacher even knew if Landon was Autistic because the letter was worded so strongly that I thought he must now know. She said she hadn't seen the note and wasn't sure what it said, so I read it to her. She was apologetic and sweet and assured me it would all be taken care of with no problem and that he would be most welcome back to PE on Thursday.
So Thursday he had PE again, and I was really nervous that something would go wrong! I could just see Landon acting up because he had a bad experience there the last time, and I wouldn't have put it past the PE teacher to find an excuse to send Landon out of the class.
I picked them up from school and I went straight for Landon's backpack as soon as we walked in the door. He had a note from his teacher that said that he'd had a great day in PE that day, but also I had this note from his PE teacher.
I just started to laugh when I saw this! All I could think was that this guy was suddenly backpedaling pretty fast and trying to kiss by butt. I wondered if after I read his letter to the principal she went down and jumped onto him for shooting off a letter like that to the parent of a special needs child. The truth is that he didn't follow proper protocol for dealing with an autistic student, and I bet the principal was angry that she was having to clean up his mess, because truthfully, if I was that kind of parent, I could have made a pretty big deal out of this. I do appreciate him giving Landon a chance to still play and have a good time, and I like that he was willing to turn around and say how well Landon did right after he had been so mean.
And so, as night fell on the land, the angry mother was appeased, the little prince was happy, and all was forgiven. A lesson was learned by the new PE teacher, and the school's principal became intimately acquainted with little prince Landon and would be on the lookout for him for the rest of his days at the school. A trying experience turned out to be a learning experience for all, and they felt better prepared for whatever might lie ahead.
Stay tuned for the next installment of many to come.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
We met the Wiggles...again!
I know, everyone was fairly excited the first time we met the Wiggles, not much noise was made the second time we met them, so I'm not sure if anyone cares anymore that we just met them a third time. The difference now is that Devon was finally old enough to come with us. I was determined to go at least one more time so that we had a picture of us with the Wiggles with Devon in it. They normally come to Atlanta in November, so when I heard they were coming in August I knew that it would be a good way to surprise Bailey. We made our shirts the night before while I pretended that we were just getting ready for the concert really early. I didn't tell them where we were going, and when we pulled up Bailey about died! She had decided that she wanted to be the fifth Wiggle, who is a different kid every day before the show, because it can be a bog or a girl. That's why she's wearing a green shirt. We showed up early for the meet and greet the kids were really excited!
They brought us out into the arena this time, and they sat us in the fold down seats. The Wiggles then came out into the arena and lined up behind our seats in the row above us for the picture. Now we finally have a picture with Devon in it!
Anthony's head was shaved and we never did learn why. Bailey said "Anthony, where's your hair?" and he said "I don't know, it's gone!" which is what he's saying here.
They always take the time to stop and talk to Landon for a minute before they move on, so this is Anthony and Murray chatting with him a little bit about his shirt.
He actually tapped them on the back and got to talk to them more than his share once they had moved on to other families, but I don't think it hurt anything. They're really nice guys and acted glad to turn around and say hello to him again.
I'm glad that Landon acted like he knew who they were, because that's the main reason I keep letting myself get drug back to these concerts. It just seems like he is more and more aware of what's really going on, and I want him to fully understand that he is really meeting the Wiggles that he watches every day. So the more aware he gets the more I want to take him. So after the Wiggles went backstage again, we moved on down to the floor of the arena to our seats. We were in the second row this time, which was neither easy or cheap to obtain, so Devon had a good view his first concert.
I kept trying to get pictures of them with the concert going on behind them, but I mostly just ended up with pictures of the back of their heads.
They all three acted like they had a great time, so I'm glad that we got to go, but honestly I'm ready to retire. I love the Wiggles and think that they're really fun and super nice guys, but going to the concerts is starting to get to be exhausting! Poor Devon has only gone once, but I can't even count how many Bailey has gone to. We'll have to see how I feel the next time they come through.
They brought us out into the arena this time, and they sat us in the fold down seats. The Wiggles then came out into the arena and lined up behind our seats in the row above us for the picture. Now we finally have a picture with Devon in it!
Anthony's head was shaved and we never did learn why. Bailey said "Anthony, where's your hair?" and he said "I don't know, it's gone!" which is what he's saying here.
They always take the time to stop and talk to Landon for a minute before they move on, so this is Anthony and Murray chatting with him a little bit about his shirt.
He actually tapped them on the back and got to talk to them more than his share once they had moved on to other families, but I don't think it hurt anything. They're really nice guys and acted glad to turn around and say hello to him again.
I'm glad that Landon acted like he knew who they were, because that's the main reason I keep letting myself get drug back to these concerts. It just seems like he is more and more aware of what's really going on, and I want him to fully understand that he is really meeting the Wiggles that he watches every day. So the more aware he gets the more I want to take him. So after the Wiggles went backstage again, we moved on down to the floor of the arena to our seats. We were in the second row this time, which was neither easy or cheap to obtain, so Devon had a good view his first concert.
I kept trying to get pictures of them with the concert going on behind them, but I mostly just ended up with pictures of the back of their heads.
They all three acted like they had a great time, so I'm glad that we got to go, but honestly I'm ready to retire. I love the Wiggles and think that they're really fun and super nice guys, but going to the concerts is starting to get to be exhausting! Poor Devon has only gone once, but I can't even count how many Bailey has gone to. We'll have to see how I feel the next time they come through.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Back to school!
Oh man, I have been so nervous about this day for a long time! I started getting really nervous Sunday night while I was getting clothes set out and prepacking the lunches. I've been letting images of all the horrible ways that Landon could react to this new school and situation, and most of them were too graphic to mention here, and they all made my stomach queazy! He has always known it as Bailey's school and I just knew that he was going to be confused and want to know why he's not riding his bus to his beloved preschool, and it could escalate to quite a scene if he got upset enough. He is in a regular kindergarten class this year, and just has an extra special ed teacher in there to watch him and help him if he needs it. I just don't want him to get upset and disrupt the whole class and make everyone think he's crazy!
Another problem is that he has been wearing the same dingy, stretched out, horrible yellow Wiggles shirt all summer, and it simply can't be worn to school!
It's been well loved, and I didn't fight him about wearing it every day over the summer because, well, I just didn't feel like it, and I didn't see the harm. He is so well behaved when he wears his shirt! We would have him take it off at night and put it in the washer, and if it wasn't moved into the drier so that he could put it on the minute he got up, well, he didn't wait for it very patiently.
This is Landon in the shirt at the beginning of the summer while Bailey was in Arizona and the boys had just had their hair cut.
This is Landon in the shirt in early July once Bailey had come back,
and this is the shirt in early August during Katherine's visit.
Making him wear a different shirt to school was definately going to make him mad, which I was afraid would have him give me even more of a fight about leaving him at a school he didn't know. Ben took off work that day to help out and to go to a meeting with the people at his soon to be new Peachtree City job, so Ben coaxed him out of the yellow shirt and told him he could put it right back on when he got home. We hung it on the back of the chair to wait for him, and everyone got on the golf cart to head over. We live too close to the school to have the bus come, but it's way too far to walk, so we always cart it over. When we pulled up, Landon kept saying "Bye Bailey!" and didn't want to get off. We tried to tell him it was his school now too, and one of his new teachers came over to talk to him, but he got frustrated and kicked his feet and started to cry. Then Bailey came over, put her arm around him, talked quietly and reassuring to him, and just walked him into the building. We saw through the door that she took him right to his room and handed him off to his teacher and then made her way down the hall to her own class. I'm not sure why she was the one able to calm him down, but I'm so happy he has her to help him!
I calmed down after that, but we did watch the clock all day wondering if he was being upset at school and disrupting his whole class. Everyone has been so sweet to him and about having him in the class, and I don't want them to get frustrated with him and wish he wasn't there. He's so very inteligent, and when he's cumfortable he'll show them how much he really knows, and I hope he falls into that soon. Devon and I headed over the get in the carpool line later that day, and his teachers that were out there said that he's done really well for it being his first day at a new school, and I took that to mean that he could have been better. I know he will be as soon as he learns the routine and gets familiar with everything. So I showed them my new card with both of my kids' names on it, they called them out, and they ran out together to wait for me to pull around.
Here they are climbing in after I pulled up.
Here, Bailey is holding up our new card with both of their names on it, and if you look at her front tooth, it's so loose it's sticking stright out.
This tooth has been loose for a long time but she just wasn't wanting anyone to pull it. It was sticking out at such a right angle that I really wanted it out before her first day of school, but any time we messed with it, she would yell and it would start to bleed so we left it alone. We were eating together later after school and she was complaining that it was bothering her, so I talked her into letting me give it a pull. I got a good grip on it and it came right out with a single tug!
So Bailey lost her front tooth on the first day of school, and we had a visit from the tooth fairy last night. Bailey said "I'll put the tooth over to the side so that you don't wake me up trying to find it." so I guess we're done pretending the tooth fairy is real.
We had another good morning this morning, although Landon really wanted to wear the yellow shirt, so I think that things will be fine and we'll all be back into our routines very soon!
Another problem is that he has been wearing the same dingy, stretched out, horrible yellow Wiggles shirt all summer, and it simply can't be worn to school!
It's been well loved, and I didn't fight him about wearing it every day over the summer because, well, I just didn't feel like it, and I didn't see the harm. He is so well behaved when he wears his shirt! We would have him take it off at night and put it in the washer, and if it wasn't moved into the drier so that he could put it on the minute he got up, well, he didn't wait for it very patiently.
This is Landon in the shirt at the beginning of the summer while Bailey was in Arizona and the boys had just had their hair cut.
This is Landon in the shirt in early July once Bailey had come back,
and this is the shirt in early August during Katherine's visit.
Making him wear a different shirt to school was definately going to make him mad, which I was afraid would have him give me even more of a fight about leaving him at a school he didn't know. Ben took off work that day to help out and to go to a meeting with the people at his soon to be new Peachtree City job, so Ben coaxed him out of the yellow shirt and told him he could put it right back on when he got home. We hung it on the back of the chair to wait for him, and everyone got on the golf cart to head over. We live too close to the school to have the bus come, but it's way too far to walk, so we always cart it over. When we pulled up, Landon kept saying "Bye Bailey!" and didn't want to get off. We tried to tell him it was his school now too, and one of his new teachers came over to talk to him, but he got frustrated and kicked his feet and started to cry. Then Bailey came over, put her arm around him, talked quietly and reassuring to him, and just walked him into the building. We saw through the door that she took him right to his room and handed him off to his teacher and then made her way down the hall to her own class. I'm not sure why she was the one able to calm him down, but I'm so happy he has her to help him!
I calmed down after that, but we did watch the clock all day wondering if he was being upset at school and disrupting his whole class. Everyone has been so sweet to him and about having him in the class, and I don't want them to get frustrated with him and wish he wasn't there. He's so very inteligent, and when he's cumfortable he'll show them how much he really knows, and I hope he falls into that soon. Devon and I headed over the get in the carpool line later that day, and his teachers that were out there said that he's done really well for it being his first day at a new school, and I took that to mean that he could have been better. I know he will be as soon as he learns the routine and gets familiar with everything. So I showed them my new card with both of my kids' names on it, they called them out, and they ran out together to wait for me to pull around.
Here they are climbing in after I pulled up.
Here, Bailey is holding up our new card with both of their names on it, and if you look at her front tooth, it's so loose it's sticking stright out.
This tooth has been loose for a long time but she just wasn't wanting anyone to pull it. It was sticking out at such a right angle that I really wanted it out before her first day of school, but any time we messed with it, she would yell and it would start to bleed so we left it alone. We were eating together later after school and she was complaining that it was bothering her, so I talked her into letting me give it a pull. I got a good grip on it and it came right out with a single tug!
So Bailey lost her front tooth on the first day of school, and we had a visit from the tooth fairy last night. Bailey said "I'll put the tooth over to the side so that you don't wake me up trying to find it." so I guess we're done pretending the tooth fairy is real.
We had another good morning this morning, although Landon really wanted to wear the yellow shirt, so I think that things will be fine and we'll all be back into our routines very soon!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Devon is saved!
A few days ago, one of Bailey's little friends invited her to go swimming with her, and when she came downstairs in her bathing suit, the boys went crazy and starting searching for their bathing suits, too. They weren't invited to go with her, so after she left they got pretty upset. Ben and I decided to just put them in the golf cart and drive them over to the lake here and just let them swim for a bit and it wouldn't be a big deal. Ben and I found a really nice little clearing for them to swim that was nice and shady and away from everyone launching their boats so we parked the golf cart and sat and watched them. It really is a really nice little spot and the boys had a really fun time swimming around. Landon is a good bit taller than Devon and he goes out up to his chest, so I think that it looked a little bit deceiving to Devon. In any case, Devon ended up going out a bit too deep and found himself standing next to Landon, but with his face under the water! I looked at him and all that was visable were two wide eyes staring over the top of the water. I jumped up and said "Oh, no! Get him!" more to myself than to Ben, but as soon as Ben noticed him, he streaked past me and dove straight into the lake fully clothed to retrieve Devon. He grabbed him in a matter of seconds, and Devon just coughed a little bit, and was more scared than anything.
I got my phone out to take a picture of Ben "saving Devon's life" and I snapped this one just as he was realizing that his cell phone was in his pocket!
We went and got my sister's dry jar that she uses to get get water out of her hearing aid, and we took his battery out and left it in the dry jar over night. The next day, Ben called me from his cell from work! I really thought that lake water would be the death of a smart phone! So, Devon is safe, although not as relaxed around water as he used to be, but Ben realized about an hour later that he had hit his face on the bottom of the lake and his nose was sore for about a week. I pulled my phone out once the excitement was over so we could see the pictures, and we about died laughing when we saw this picture! Classic.
I got my phone out to take a picture of Ben "saving Devon's life" and I snapped this one just as he was realizing that his cell phone was in his pocket!
We went and got my sister's dry jar that she uses to get get water out of her hearing aid, and we took his battery out and left it in the dry jar over night. The next day, Ben called me from his cell from work! I really thought that lake water would be the death of a smart phone! So, Devon is safe, although not as relaxed around water as he used to be, but Ben realized about an hour later that he had hit his face on the bottom of the lake and his nose was sore for about a week. I pulled my phone out once the excitement was over so we could see the pictures, and we about died laughing when we saw this picture! Classic.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Six Flags and the log ride
It's been really hot and humid here but we got adventurous enough to try to to hit up Six Flags the other day. We were sweating by the time the tram dropped us off at the front of the park, so we went ahead and got right in line for the log ride. We were soaked with sweat by the time we got to the front! Devon got a little upset as we were getting on, and I figured he would have fun as we got going. He did calm down, but this was his face as we went over the waterfall.
He was completely fine after we got to the bottom, but it still made me feel bad. They have Wiggles dolls and toys at Six Flags there so we have to always stop and look (and buy more often than not), so when they saw these huge suckers they got really excited and wanted them. I knew they wouldn't really eat much of them so we got some just for fun. They look like the munchkins from the lolipop guild.
Landon had been wearing his yellow Wiggles shirt every day all summer so I was really excited when he picked this one out! We did end up having to leave around 11:00 because it got just unbearably hot. It was the first time we went out all together the whole summer because Bailey has been a travelor all summer long. We have just a few weeks left before the older kids go back to school so we keep trying to push through he heat and have fun! If we didn't have the golf cart we would probably go stir crazy! We definately are ready for it to start cooling down!
He was completely fine after we got to the bottom, but it still made me feel bad. They have Wiggles dolls and toys at Six Flags there so we have to always stop and look (and buy more often than not), so when they saw these huge suckers they got really excited and wanted them. I knew they wouldn't really eat much of them so we got some just for fun. They look like the munchkins from the lolipop guild.
Landon had been wearing his yellow Wiggles shirt every day all summer so I was really excited when he picked this one out! We did end up having to leave around 11:00 because it got just unbearably hot. It was the first time we went out all together the whole summer because Bailey has been a travelor all summer long. We have just a few weeks left before the older kids go back to school so we keep trying to push through he heat and have fun! If we didn't have the golf cart we would probably go stir crazy! We definately are ready for it to start cooling down!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Bailey at Disney World
Bailey has had an eventful summer so far! She just got off the plane from Arizona, but before that, she and I had a weekend away at Disney World! My friend Crystal and her boyfriend Gerome, who works in the France section at Epcot, got us some amazing deals! Bailey and I drove down together, and even though we tried to keep each other company, we were really glad to see the sign for Florida!
We spent the first night with Crystal, and the next day we met Gerome at the gates of Epcot where he walked us in and got us free park hopper passes! We spent the morning at Epcot
and met Crystal and Gerome in the French section for lunch, where Gerome got us all French food and tried to get Bailey to try it. This is her trying to decide if she likes chocolate mousse.
It got really hot so Gerome got us a super discount at a Disney resort on the Disney property, so we rode the bus over to it and went for a swim until it cooled down later in the evening.
We went to the Disney World after that and watched the night parade and rode rides until the park closed. Bailey even got some light up wings like the fairies in the parade wore!
The next day was blistering hot but Bailey toughed it out so that she could watch the shows and the day parade.
We went back to the hotel to take naps after that because that night the park was staying open until 2:00am for guests of the Disney resorts! It was nice and cool then and the lines were extremely short, so Baily pushed through and stayed all the way until 1:30am.
The next day, Gerome told me how to get into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter before it had been opened to the public, so I had to at least stop and look at it! It looked so amazing!
We drove home after that and the drive was much harder after all that we did! We were exhausted, but it was an amazing time! It certainly makes your trip a lot nicer when you know a Disney cast member! Thanks Crystal and Gerome (aka Gui Gui)!
We spent the first night with Crystal, and the next day we met Gerome at the gates of Epcot where he walked us in and got us free park hopper passes! We spent the morning at Epcot
and met Crystal and Gerome in the French section for lunch, where Gerome got us all French food and tried to get Bailey to try it. This is her trying to decide if she likes chocolate mousse.
It got really hot so Gerome got us a super discount at a Disney resort on the Disney property, so we rode the bus over to it and went for a swim until it cooled down later in the evening.
We went to the Disney World after that and watched the night parade and rode rides until the park closed. Bailey even got some light up wings like the fairies in the parade wore!
The next day was blistering hot but Bailey toughed it out so that she could watch the shows and the day parade.
We went back to the hotel to take naps after that because that night the park was staying open until 2:00am for guests of the Disney resorts! It was nice and cool then and the lines were extremely short, so Baily pushed through and stayed all the way until 1:30am.
The next day, Gerome told me how to get into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter before it had been opened to the public, so I had to at least stop and look at it! It looked so amazing!
We drove home after that and the drive was much harder after all that we did! We were exhausted, but it was an amazing time! It certainly makes your trip a lot nicer when you know a Disney cast member! Thanks Crystal and Gerome (aka Gui Gui)!
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