its a new day

instead of weekly therapy sessions provided by the county, this fall alexander heads to preschool where he receives therapy, music, and audiologist support. he loves being surrounded by other boys and girls his age who also have hearing loss.

as it turns out, the little class is so dynamic and chatty the teacher is pulling out activities that she would normally do with older children just to challenge the new group of little ones. hooray for their awesome listening and talking!

this video was shot the 2nd day of preschool while we were waiting for the bus….

as for me it was exciting for the first few days.

now i miss having him home in the mornings with his brother and me.

{may} be a performance.

the circus came to town last week!

dallin found himself on center stage as the lion in his first grade play, circus, circus.

earlier in the week our conversation went like this,

“dallin, would you like help going over your lines?”

“no, thanks. i have them down. mom, i think i will be nervous the night of the show because my music teacher told me i will”.

“dallin, do you REALLY believe you will be nervous?”

“no, but i might pretend i am because everyone else already is.”

of course he forgot about our conversation and there was no sign of nervousness in his body.

he loves the stage.

our ferocious lion in his serious acting mode.

men from mars, women from venus, my son is from saturn

today i wondered about you.

why are you like you are?

sometimes most of the time you’re intense.

you challenge me. all the time.

i complain, but i know deep down it makes me a better person.

you’re brilliant, there is no doubt about that.

that comes from your questioning, getting out there and being who you are.

that doesn’t mean i ever wonder what gene pool or planet you’re from.

later today you arrived home from school.

with your dramatic reading voice you shared your beautiful poem.

then you pulled from your backpack an intense and colorful picture that was quickly pushed into my face.

in that moment i loved it all, and that included you

and the planet you’re from.

shadow

i walked with my shadow,

i ran with my shadow,

i danced with my shadow,

i did.

then a cloud came over,

and the sun went under,

and my shadow stopped playing,

and hid.

by dallin

{no} school

school, what is school? 

two weeks have passed since the kids have walked through the doors of that blessed place. it is a child’s dream come true.  unfortunately along with school closing; libraries, church, stores and museums have been closed and mail has not been delivered.

we’re pretty much dressed up ready to go,  with no where to go! 

neighborhood parking. 

an attempt to stay clear of the snow plow.

mi casa is somewhere in there.

 

how have we lasted this long? 

my keep calm and carry on sane savers:

the boys are given chores, math and a suduko  everyday. 

(click on the hyperlinks if you want to print out your own).

i print them out the night before and set them on their breakfast plate. 

they also have a daily writing assignment or challenge.

their own Bob Book Series has been published,

space comics and birthday letters for friends and relatives have been written. 

sometimes they are given lego building challenges which this little man loves.

 

the enjoyment of no school has long past.

it is time to go back to school. i crave a normal schedule again.

as i type this there is an unbelievable sight out the window. 

it is seriously snowing again. 

i laugh, but want to cry. 

my hubby just flew out and will be gone for the next two weeks. 

this storm may give the kids and i another long week together. 

it could be worse, right?

Speechless

So I got the call.

The call from each of my boys teachers.

They both began by saying they "were concerned for ____(child's name)."

Then there was a conversation A and a conversation B that followed.

Conversation A:

"He seemed a little off at school. He needed more hugs and was even a little sensative when he participated in group activities. Please give him a hug and let him know I hope he feels better when he comes back tomorrow."

Conversation B:

"I realize that you have much going on with your youngest son; however, I do want you to know that we are seeing a marked change in ____(child's name) school behavior. He talks a great deal when he is not supposed to and generally seems to think that the rules are not for him. He had a great deal of trouble following the directions in ART today and a note also went home about that.
Please speak to him so that we can get these behavior issues under control."

Same family.

Same house.

Same situation.

It is amazing how each of us deal with stress, concern, and change.

Any suggestions?

Dear Kindergarten

Dear Kindergarten,


Where have you been all of my life?


Your New Friend,


Monica




Here is Dallin as we were leaving the apartment.



Dallin had his first day of school today. He gets on the bus at 8:00am and he is back by 12:00 noon. After racing from our apartment by the airport we showed up at the bus stop right as it was leaving. (That is such a typical thing for me to do to my oldest child on his first day of school). The bus driver so kindly stopped and let him on as i kissed him on the run and helped him up the huge steps. (That was not how I envisioned the morning). We left 20 minutes before the bus stop departure time. I crawled through town in the 8:00am traffic. We will leave earlier tomorrow. Another reason I look forward to getting settled into our house.

All smiles when he arrived home!
This is a little girl that lives on our street and she and Dallin are in the same class. I think she is checking out his skills.
CAUGHT YOU! Alexander was caught trying to escape the stroller. He is getting really good at getting out of his straps.
After school we went and played in the pool with some other estranged young kids that are living a temporary lifestyle like us. It is 88 degrees with no humidity, how often is the weather like that around here?

All in all it was a wonderful day. Dallin does have to admit he enjoyed preschool more. I would have to agree with him that his teacher is much more strict and serious than I imagined a kindergarten teacher to be. Let's hope kindergarten gets even better tomorrow.