May 5, 2009

Geez, it seems like I'd be able to do this more often, lol. I could, but sometimes I just don't feel like it. But I do want to keep this going because I want the girls to be able to look at it someday and remember "stuff".

This morning was a nice one; I only had Sydney and Quinn. Sometimes I like the smaller groups because then they get more one-on-one attention. I got to play and bond with the 2 of them and do some teaching, and it comes to me a little bit more as I progress through school. I know that going to school and learning new things does wonderful things for me, and I'm hoping that it shows through the children that I provide childcare through. I love the teaching aspect of what I do; it's so amazing to watch these little one's do things or say things that I don't quite think they get, but then they prove me wrong, which is ok with me!! I can remember when I didn't think that Darrin was "getting it" when it came to learning shapes. Then one day his Mom came to pick him up, and he looked at a poster that I had on the wall and started naming those shapes that I had been trying so hard to teach him. He just stood there and rambled the shapes off, as I stood there with my mouth gaping open!! I learned that it wasn't about what I was teaching him, but about what he was learning!! And that was much more than I had hoped for.

So I had a pretty relaxing morning. Katie got here at 11 and took over for me, which was nice. I've been throwing myself at the books for the last couple of weeks. The first couple of weeks of school I was seriously slacking, and it showed on my first test of Psychology. Seriously, who gets a D in a Psychology 101 test????? There was a lot of biology in that first test (which I stink at), but I still could have tried harder. So now I'm gonna bring that grade up!!!!

Heather had an appointment with her counselor. We started doing Neurofeedback a last week. What an AMAZING process!!! OMG, I cannot describe how cool this technology is!!!! But I'll try, lol...... Basically, the counselor (Marcia) did an extensive questionnaire with Heather and I about what we thought her problems were (mainly ADHD, OCD, ODD, and daytime and night-time bed wetting). The questions lasted one whole session (an hour). Heather is hooked up to electrodes that go to certain parts of her brain, depending on where the questionnaire said to, and she is hooked up to a monitor, which is hooked up to a laptop. That laptop is hooked up to the counselor's laptop, and the counselor can program what to do with Heather. Heather is given appx. 10 games to choose from. For instance, one of the first one's that she chose was a Pac-Man type game. But instead of being played with a controller in her hand, she USED HER BRAIN WAVES!!!! What an amazing thing to watch!!!

In another game, there are 3 boats. Each boat represents the 3 sections of the brain. The goal is to make the middle boat stay in the winning position, while the 2 boats on either side stay a little bit behind, but also have to stay up somewhat near the middle boat. What this does is teach the sections of her brain to work together. Absolutely amazing to watch her play a video game on a computer with her BRAIN, not a controller that's in her hands!! A little creepy, but I cannot imagine why more doctors don't use this treatment. It seems to have great results, and there haven't been any downside to it in it's history.

After her session, we went to her dentist appointment in Whitehall. Ok, so I flew, otherwise we would have been late. She had a cavity to fill. I have a case of that bad Mom syndrome because my kid had a cavity, but here's a couple of reasons:

Of course, tooth brushing. Yeah, she can suck at it. It can be one of those battles that every parent goes through, but with the ODD (oppositional defiance disorder), that's one of the things that I tell her to re-do and she flat out refuses. Short of physically holding her down by sitting on her and brushing them myself, there's not a whole lot that I can do. Bad parenting? You decide. But, come on over and be with my hard-headed ODD kid for a day and I'll prove to you that it may not be bad parenting after all.....

So anyways, we got done there at the dentist and came home. Katie, Judy, and the kids were outside, and we chatted for a bit. Judy was up for another job, but it doesn't look like it's gonna pan out for her. They didn't want to give her a schedule; just basically wanted her on call. I'm sorry, but no. And she agreed, I think. Seriously, retired or not, everybody has a life and things to do!!

Katie came in and made supper. Judy went home.... I was supposed to have an interview at 6:00 tonight, but it was another no-show. I'm SSSSSOOOOOO sick of those. I don't really prepare for interviews anymore, except some cleaning (thank you, Katie!!!), just because so many people don't bother to show up or even call to cancel/reschedule. Unreal that they don't even have that common courtesy......

So I spent a little extra time with my friends and my kids, and that's good, too. Since putting the girls to bed I've got a lot of studying for Psychology done. And I'm getting tired; so I guess I'll think about going to bed........let's just see if I can stay asleep for a change.......

April 16, 2009

Yesterday was full of errands and running around. There was no school because of conferences, but daycare wasn't busy; I only had 3 for lunch. Judy came over at 1 so I could leave. Heather & Taylor ran around with me; kind of nice to have a girls day.

We first drove to the mall. Sort of. We got to Airline Drive when I realized that I left my wallet at home. Nice. My clip for my cell phone broke and I was hoping it would still be under warranty, but it wasn't. I have a $25 gift card for JC Penney so I was going to get new shoes, but with no wallet that wasn't happening......

Errand number 1 a waste of time. Stopped and got the Durango washed. I was at the bank the day before and was opening the door to get in. A bird shit just as I was doing so, and I counted my lucky stars that it had missed me. It had, however, hit not only the mirror on the way down, but the inside of the door as well. Of course I didn't notice that at first. I was driving down the road and noticed white on the tan interior of the door and thought, "WTH is that????". I'm REALLY glad I didn't touch it or try to get it off before I realized that it was bird crap.

So anyways, after washing the truck we dropped some paperwork off to Heather's new counselor. I wanted to give her a bit more history on Heather, so I gave her copies of school progress reports, report cards, etc.

We then ran home to pick up my wallet. And something to eat; the girls were hungry. We then went to the library. After seeing that I have over $5 in fees due because the books were late again, I told the librarian that I needed to schedule Katie or Judy for one afternoon per week to just run errands. I usually try to get them done whenever I can throughout the week, but that's not going so well; there's things being done late or too quickly, which frustrates me, so maybe if I have them work on a Friday morning where I can just go do what I need to do it would reduce that little stresser or mine.....

Went to conferences after that. Taylor's were first. Mrs. Snell said that Taylor is (as usual) doing very well. Academically and socially. She's my little social butterfly, and always helping out in the classroom. If she's not helping another student she's helping Mrs. Snell with things around the classroom. She tends to get her work done and almost never has homework, so I knew she does well with that. And her grades are awesome. They're not all A's, but she only has one B right now. Her MEAP scores came out very well, with her being proficient in science, reading, and writing, and advanced in math. Don't know where she get's those math smarts from, lol. When asked the other day, she said that Science was her favorite subject. I wanted to note that, because I'm really curious as to if that stays true. It was cute, in a note that she left for me to read for conferences, the first sentence told me that what Mrs. Snell had to say was important, so to pay attention. LOL That's my Tay!!

Heather's conferences were good, too. She is still very disorganized and her handwriting is horrible at times, but her work has improved and I think her teacher's are more aware of what she is capable of. She excels in math, and the MEAP scores showed just that. She was also found proficient in science, reading, and writing, and I'm happy with that. I just don't know what to do with her next year. I've asked for extra help through an hour of just study time at the end of the day for her, but if she does that she'll miss either science or social studies. I don't want her missing a whole class for up to a whole year for the extra help. I think the middle school teacher's do more when it comes to posting assignments online, so I guess I just need to find that out. Mary (her teacher) said that frienship-wise, Heather is doing ok. She never comes home and talks about friends, and when I ask her who she hangs out with during lunch, recess, free time, etc., she usually says no-one or an adult. So I worry about her making and maintaining friendships, but maybe that's just the Mom in me. Her grades could be better, but she needs to turn in the homework that she's given. Nine times out of ten the work is done, she just doesn't turn it in. Who knows why...... But I'm proud of her either way.

April 15, 2009

Another day almost down…… I've been sick for the past couple of days. We got together at Mom & Tom's for Easter dinner on Sunday and Justin and Mom ended up sick, too. I've had body aches, nasal discharge (isn't it amazing how much snot one can produce???), had a 101* temp last night, and I just wanted to scratch my sinuses right out!! But I'm better today. Really tired and snotty, but I think it's on it's way out since there's no more fever or chills.

Heather & I were supposed to go camping with her Girl Scout troop this week-end. It was a service week-end, and we were going to help do spring cleaning at the GS camp. But then Connie (troop leader) learned that we weren't staying in cabins after all, they were called "tent cabins". I'm thinking like a big tee-pee or something. But they're un-heated. Ummmm, no thank you!! It's been 30*-35* at night. I'm sure not all of the girls even have decent enough sleeping bags for that kind of weather. So we bailed out. We are going to Mackinac Island in June, though, so that will be fun.

I had classes today. They're going pretty well. I'm really learning a lot in the Comp 2 class, and liking it, too. My instructor is very clear and gives great instructions. Our first paper is due next week, so we'll see. All of the papers are argumentative and are in APA format. Last quarter's paper's were in MLA format. Figures, lol. Now I have to learn a new writing style. Evidently more and more schools are going with the APA format, and just not using the MLA much anymore. So at least I have the basics of MLA down; I won't be totally in the clouds if assigned that writing style again.

I really like the psychology class, too. I've always had an interest in human/social services. I could switch my major, but am not ready to. Haven't decided, I guess. I would love to teach preschool age; we'll see. Since I'm only taking a couple of classes per quarter I'll be 90 before I get a degree, lol. That's ok, I really like going to school.

Ewwwww, I'm watching CSI New York right now, and the M.E. pulled out a dead person's stomach, emptied the liquid green stuff, then smelled it. Lol

After school I stopped at Walgreens & picked up Heather's scripts. Then I went to Whitehall to pick Heather up from Girl Scouts. Came home and ate, then packed up Heather, Taylor, and Brianna and took Heather to softball practice. She did pretty well, and didn't lose much ability since last year. Taylor had fun; I finally let her go over to the playground. It's scary to let her go play on her own. I mean, she was with a friend, but it was one of those times where you hope (as a parent) that you've taught your kids what to be leery of and how to be careful and safe when not right in front of you…….

Came home and got the kids snack, Taylor took a shower, and got the kids to bed. Now it's time to play catch-up. Honestly, I don't know where the time goes….. Oh wait, I'm blogging, lol. I know that I have a lot on my plate, but it's how I live and I'm really happy with (the majority of) my life. I get over-whelmed about once a week, but "this too shall pass". And I know in my heart that I'm doing what's best for my kids. For the most part I can be there for their extra-curricular activities and school stuff. I do get busy with daycare, but I have 2 amazing assistants who help me out where/whenever I need it, and for that, I am grateful.

Ok, rambling done….. gotta get to my to-do pile and back to my popcorn. Hey, I have my priorities, ya know….. J

Wow, I suck, lol

I just got busy. That's all. I finished my college classes at the beginning of December. I got an A in ECE and a B+ in Sociology. I was pretty happy with that.

In my sociology class I had to do a 5 page paper on ADHD - Medication vs. Non-Medication. Then I had to do a power point presentation on the same topic. I had never used power point before & really enjoyed it. So much so that I ended up using it on the big project that I did in my ECE class. Got an A on both presentations, lol.

Jon got laid off. Sucks donkey balls, it does. They usually have a 2 week shut-down during the weeks of Christmas and New Year's, so we were expecting that. But not a longer one, that's for sure. The shop that he works for (Shape Corp) makes auto parts, if that tells you anything. So hopefully we'll be fine on his unemployment.....

Heather is doing ok, but could be better I think. We took her off of the Prozac a couple of weeks ago, and since then she's been soooooo, well, bitchy. Yeah, she's 10, lol. Bitchy and frickin' MEAN. I ask her to do something around the house and she flies off the handle. I don't know if it's the Prozac withdrawl, hormones, or both, but it's gotta change.....

Taylor's doing very well. She's such a good kid. I hate to compare my kids and make one sound bad and the other good, but it is what it is, I guess. Heather has good moment's/times, too, but I guess the bad overtakes the good, and that's sad. Anyways, Taylor is getting all A's in school. She seems to be bored with it at times, but we'll see how she does. She's one of the youngest of the 3rd graders, so I don't want to push her anymore than what she can handle.

And I'm doing good. I had a hysterectomy last Tuesday. I've had frequent and painful periods since forever. The only time that it was ok was when I was on the pill. I had my tubes tied after having Taylor, so I wanted to be done with the pill. I had an ablation done, where they scrape the cervix to try and start my periods all over again, and hopefully regulate them. As it turns out, I was in the 3% that it doesn't work. Figures.

So I've been trying to take it easy. Katie and Judy have been my LIFESAVERS!!! They're my assistants and have taken over for me and kept me in line, lol. I have restrictions, no lifting, rest all the time, etc., and they're making sure that I'm sticking to it! It's a pain in the ass, but I have to stay healthy, so I appreciate their mother hen status right now.

But it is amazing at how tired, worn out, and sore one can get after surgery. Katie took me grocery shopping at Meijer the other day, and OMG, I was SOOO tired after that. But I'll live...

Ok, I'm going to stop now. Damn, I could type forever; it's been so long since I've blogged. But I feel that my life is getting back into a mode where I can slow down a little, so hopefully I'll be back soon!!

Monday, Oct. 20, 2008

Today was a busier day than usual. The a.m. kindergartners had no school and the rest had a half day. So we served 11 at lunchtime and were very productive, lol.

Taylor had a pizza party for cheer leading (end of season). It was at Goodrich Park in Whitehall. It's such a nice park, right on the lake with some new play structures. Of course the girls ended up playing football with the boys. Taylor got tackled pretty good, but came out fighting!! While she was there I went to the gym. Only got 25 min. on the treadmill, but it's better than nothing! I then stopped at Plumb's for milk & pop. (Katie doesn't have to call me and moo into the phone now..... That's either her way of calling me fat or telling me that we need milk, lmfao. I know, it's the milk, but I still think it's funny.

Came home and Judy was telling me how good Ethan was at cleaning up. He usually gives her a hard time, so that was nice to hear. But just as she was telling me, I looked over to see Bretten BITING Ethan on the arm; I mean RIPPING into the boy!!! If it weren't for Ethan's long sleeves, I'm sure Bretten would have drawn blood. As it was, he broke the skin AND left scrape marks. I have NEVER had such a bad bite in my daycare!! I felt sorry for Ethan, that had to of hurt like hell!! We put an ice pack on it and he had a pop tart for snack, so it was all good for him then, lol. His mom was ok with it; Ethan's 2 year old little brother is a biter, too, so she was understanding. Bretten is 4, and should be over that stage, but he's only been here for a couple of weeks, and he hadn't been here in 4-5 days because he had been sick. He's never been in daycare before, so it's been a bit of a tough transition. He'll be fine, though, as long as he keeps his fangs to himself. :)

I guess I'll go lay down, maybe I'll be sleeping by 1 if I go now......