Catching Up In Photos
Last week was a bust. It was long, exhausting and overwhelming - mostly from an emotional standpoint, although there were plenty of scheduled events filling in the gaps. Cumulatively, I probably slept for about 6 hours. Needless to say, blogging was the last thing I could muster the energy for, dinner being a close second. There are days where it feels like I am sitting in the carnival dunk tank and everyone with a ticket has impeccable aim. There's hardly time to take a breath before you're in the water again.
This week will be better. It will.
First up:
Larissa started preschool, but by "started" I mean she went for one hour with me on Tuesday and then one hour by herself on Thursday. Things seemed promising at the start:
ABC: Always Be Clowning!
She was super-excited about starting school and had watched with great longing every single school bus that picked up her siblings at the corner for the past 2 weeks. I thought I had this one in the bag.
Ha! The minute we went through the door it was as if we both became magnetized - she clung to me like grim death. Although she had momentary lapses of independence, she would suddenly snap into a mad panic until she secured my location.
I am sitting 6 inches away from her which is the only reason why she looks so engaged.
On Thursday I totally blew it. I thought we had another parent/child day, so imagine the drama that ensued when we arrived and they told me, "See you in an hour!!" UGH. There's really nowhere to go around here in an hour, especially because our town currently looks like this:
This isn't even the half of it.
I sat in my car in the parking lot and read a book. The director came out to tell me that although she was "sad", she wasn't inconsolable, so I could "relax." Yeah, right.
Since then, Larissa has not allowed me to leave her sight for more than .00001 seconds. Literally. Friday I put her in the car and then walked to the rear to load something into the back and she started screaming and crying as if she'd been abandoned in some dirty, downtown ghetto. Tomorrow and Thursday we have another round of 1-hour drop-offs, but she's already telling me she's decided that she doesn't "need" school anymore. Fantastic.
I'm hoping that her newly decorated school bag might help. She gave me about two billion suggestions before I convinced her that "Hello Kitty" would be the best (read: easiest).
School is fun - Meow!
Speaking of school, Kellan is off to a rough start. Last year I agonized over my decision to send him to our local public school because his preschool teachers made it sound like he was never going to make it. I had him tested through the district where he impressed everyone with how smart and mature he is. I consulted extensively with school administrators. I watched him closely over the summer for signs that something was wrong. You know what's "wrong" with Kellan? He's bright, he's independent, and he has 3 older siblings. I sent him to kindergarten.
Every day he'd been coming home happy - full of stories, excited about what he'd learned that day, talking about his new friends by name. I was so relieved as this was a complete 180 from how he reacted to preschool. But then his teacher called me after Day 3 to tell me she was "concerned". Apparently Kellan had a couple negative reactions to being told what to do. I did my best to listen calmly and appreciatively, especially when she pretty much shot down all of my suggestions and opinions and proceded to give me the rundown of her educational credentials. After the 3-day weekend (Day 4 of school), she told me that Kellan was sent to the office because he "refused" to stop crying when he got hurt in gym class. Then, he added insult to injury by putting his feet on the rungs of another child's chair during writing!! It's terrible that I've unleashed such a demon on our educational system. I drafted a firm, yet diplomatic email back (after deleting about 400 nasty ones) suggesting that perhaps we could start taking a more positive approach to this situation - one that doesn't included setting a negative precendence less than one week into school.
Kellan came home with this drawing on Friday. When he grows up he wants to be a movie star (who plays guitar!)
Perhaps he's practicing for the remake of "Jailhouse Rock"?
On Saturday Kellan started rookie league baseball. Cutest. League. EVER. EVER. Even though he's a reputed delinquent, he listened, participated, and had a ball the entire time. Gosh, I think this kid might have a fighting chance. (insert sarcasm).
Tiny baseball players are the best kind.
Hayden is doing well in high school - from what I can tell. He's completely disinterested in Spirit Days and homecoming, but still earning high marks in the smarty-pants teen-ager department. For example:
The poor kid did have a run-in with needles of a different sort this weekend. Over the past 2 years we've noticed that Hayden becomes physically miserable each Spring and Fall. While he'd never hinted at having an allergic reaction in his life, since entering adolescence it's been pure misery. I took him to be allergy tested on Saturday and within seconds of receiving the 40 scratch tests, his arms lit up in aggressive welts.
This was exactly 5 seconds after application. It just got worse.
Hayden is allergic to everything: trees, weeds, dust, feathers, cats....and dogs. During the test he must have scratched his arms and then rubbed his eyes because they swelled shut for a good 20 minutes. Even the Dr. was concerned. We left the office with an armload of prescriptions and information on allergy shots, which we may have to resort to if 6 months of drug treatment doesn't take the edge off.
An hour later...still swollen. Boo.
Weston's allergies have gotten worse over the past several years as well, so he goes in for testing next week. More fun!
Speaking of Weston....school seems to be going well (for now) and he has made a new friend from his baseball team that he's been hanging out with quite consistently - all good news. The bad news is that over the summer his temper and oppositional behavior has reached an all-time high. Living with him is like being trapped in a relationship with an abusive spouse...one that you simply cannot just leave. Weston is so caustic, abrasive, dismissive, rude...it's really hard for me to remember that he's a kid and that getting angry or hurt won't help the situation at all. Since our insurance sucks, it's taken me hours of phone calls to find any place willing to see him, and even if they can do an intake, there's no guarantee on how soon a doctor will be available. Up until now we'd been paying straight out of pocket, but that's totaly out of the question these days. Unfortunately, letting him continue on unmedicated seems to be out of the question as well. Hard stuff.
It's not been completely unbearable. In better news, I finally (after 4.5 trillion frustrated attempts) succesfully performed a sock bun on myself! Sock bun. Google it.
Larissa complimented me on my "ballerina hair".
Once in a blue moon I can make this happen:
So that I can make this happen:
One issue of People Magazine is like a full dose of Prozac.
I even managed to finally watch this show:
Which I -OMG - loved!! I watched all 10 episodes of the first season this weekend. Much needed humor.
I also finished this book, which was not at all the story I expected, but which was fantastic just the same.
Funny stuff, good books...all soothe the savage breast.
Also, even though I totally missed even knowing about Parent's Night at Weston's school (oops!), I live and die by this thing:
It's called Momagenda and those spaces below the main calendar are for all of your kids and their schedules! Actually, that last small line at the bottom is for meal-planning, but I use it as Larissa's spot because honestly, the only "plan" I ever have for dinner these days is that it will be delivered or picked up from some local establishment. Honestly, if you have more than 2 kids, this planner is the best.
Speaking of which, I have date this morning with said calendar to figure out just exactly how I'll be conquering the world this week...or at the very least how much of the family fortune will be going to the babysitter.
This week will be better. It will.
First up:
Larissa started preschool, but by "started" I mean she went for one hour with me on Tuesday and then one hour by herself on Thursday. Things seemed promising at the start:
ABC: Always Be Clowning!
She was super-excited about starting school and had watched with great longing every single school bus that picked up her siblings at the corner for the past 2 weeks. I thought I had this one in the bag.
Ha! The minute we went through the door it was as if we both became magnetized - she clung to me like grim death. Although she had momentary lapses of independence, she would suddenly snap into a mad panic until she secured my location.
I am sitting 6 inches away from her which is the only reason why she looks so engaged.
On Thursday I totally blew it. I thought we had another parent/child day, so imagine the drama that ensued when we arrived and they told me, "See you in an hour!!" UGH. There's really nowhere to go around here in an hour, especially because our town currently looks like this:
This isn't even the half of it.
I sat in my car in the parking lot and read a book. The director came out to tell me that although she was "sad", she wasn't inconsolable, so I could "relax." Yeah, right.
Since then, Larissa has not allowed me to leave her sight for more than .00001 seconds. Literally. Friday I put her in the car and then walked to the rear to load something into the back and she started screaming and crying as if she'd been abandoned in some dirty, downtown ghetto. Tomorrow and Thursday we have another round of 1-hour drop-offs, but she's already telling me she's decided that she doesn't "need" school anymore. Fantastic.
I'm hoping that her newly decorated school bag might help. She gave me about two billion suggestions before I convinced her that "Hello Kitty" would be the best (read: easiest).
School is fun - Meow!
Speaking of school, Kellan is off to a rough start. Last year I agonized over my decision to send him to our local public school because his preschool teachers made it sound like he was never going to make it. I had him tested through the district where he impressed everyone with how smart and mature he is. I consulted extensively with school administrators. I watched him closely over the summer for signs that something was wrong. You know what's "wrong" with Kellan? He's bright, he's independent, and he has 3 older siblings. I sent him to kindergarten.
Every day he'd been coming home happy - full of stories, excited about what he'd learned that day, talking about his new friends by name. I was so relieved as this was a complete 180 from how he reacted to preschool. But then his teacher called me after Day 3 to tell me she was "concerned". Apparently Kellan had a couple negative reactions to being told what to do. I did my best to listen calmly and appreciatively, especially when she pretty much shot down all of my suggestions and opinions and proceded to give me the rundown of her educational credentials. After the 3-day weekend (Day 4 of school), she told me that Kellan was sent to the office because he "refused" to stop crying when he got hurt in gym class. Then, he added insult to injury by putting his feet on the rungs of another child's chair during writing!! It's terrible that I've unleashed such a demon on our educational system. I drafted a firm, yet diplomatic email back (after deleting about 400 nasty ones) suggesting that perhaps we could start taking a more positive approach to this situation - one that doesn't included setting a negative precendence less than one week into school.
Kellan came home with this drawing on Friday. When he grows up he wants to be a movie star (who plays guitar!)
Perhaps he's practicing for the remake of "Jailhouse Rock"?
On Saturday Kellan started rookie league baseball. Cutest. League. EVER. EVER. Even though he's a reputed delinquent, he listened, participated, and had a ball the entire time. Gosh, I think this kid might have a fighting chance. (insert sarcasm).
Tiny baseball players are the best kind.
Hayden is doing well in high school - from what I can tell. He's completely disinterested in Spirit Days and homecoming, but still earning high marks in the smarty-pants teen-ager department. For example:
The poor kid did have a run-in with needles of a different sort this weekend. Over the past 2 years we've noticed that Hayden becomes physically miserable each Spring and Fall. While he'd never hinted at having an allergic reaction in his life, since entering adolescence it's been pure misery. I took him to be allergy tested on Saturday and within seconds of receiving the 40 scratch tests, his arms lit up in aggressive welts.
This was exactly 5 seconds after application. It just got worse.
Hayden is allergic to everything: trees, weeds, dust, feathers, cats....and dogs. During the test he must have scratched his arms and then rubbed his eyes because they swelled shut for a good 20 minutes. Even the Dr. was concerned. We left the office with an armload of prescriptions and information on allergy shots, which we may have to resort to if 6 months of drug treatment doesn't take the edge off.
An hour later...still swollen. Boo.
Weston's allergies have gotten worse over the past several years as well, so he goes in for testing next week. More fun!
Speaking of Weston....school seems to be going well (for now) and he has made a new friend from his baseball team that he's been hanging out with quite consistently - all good news. The bad news is that over the summer his temper and oppositional behavior has reached an all-time high. Living with him is like being trapped in a relationship with an abusive spouse...one that you simply cannot just leave. Weston is so caustic, abrasive, dismissive, rude...it's really hard for me to remember that he's a kid and that getting angry or hurt won't help the situation at all. Since our insurance sucks, it's taken me hours of phone calls to find any place willing to see him, and even if they can do an intake, there's no guarantee on how soon a doctor will be available. Up until now we'd been paying straight out of pocket, but that's totaly out of the question these days. Unfortunately, letting him continue on unmedicated seems to be out of the question as well. Hard stuff.
It's not been completely unbearable. In better news, I finally (after 4.5 trillion frustrated attempts) succesfully performed a sock bun on myself! Sock bun. Google it.
Larissa complimented me on my "ballerina hair".
Once in a blue moon I can make this happen:
So that I can make this happen:
One issue of People Magazine is like a full dose of Prozac.
I even managed to finally watch this show:
Which I -OMG - loved!! I watched all 10 episodes of the first season this weekend. Much needed humor.
I also finished this book, which was not at all the story I expected, but which was fantastic just the same.
Funny stuff, good books...all soothe the savage breast.
Also, even though I totally missed even knowing about Parent's Night at Weston's school (oops!), I live and die by this thing:
It's called Momagenda and those spaces below the main calendar are for all of your kids and their schedules! Actually, that last small line at the bottom is for meal-planning, but I use it as Larissa's spot because honestly, the only "plan" I ever have for dinner these days is that it will be delivered or picked up from some local establishment. Honestly, if you have more than 2 kids, this planner is the best.
Speaking of which, I have date this morning with said calendar to figure out just exactly how I'll be conquering the world this week...or at the very least how much of the family fortune will be going to the babysitter.