He Said What?

Our family is one of the dying breeds of families that eat each breakfast and dinner together at the diningroom table. Many families will do family devotions at this time, but we save ours for bedtime. David’s mind tends to be too active at dinnertime for concentrating on God’s Word. So at dinner we use the time to have family discussions and this has lead to some funny moments recently.

Following a bite, David recently began to sputter and cough. Once he was able to talk again he told us the food went down his “sarcophagus” the wrong way. Maybe this is a result of our bedtime devotions of Romans 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; With their tongues they have used deceit: The poison of asps is under their lips, but it brought gales of laughs to the table that night.

Just this weekend David went to play with a friend and at dinner that night Rich asked a very manly question, “what does his father do?” Of course, Rich’s question was meant to find out what job the other father had. But, David—in true kid fashion—responded with, “He smokes.” You guessed it, another round of laughter.

I treasure these moments since I know that they will not last forever. I also feel sorry for families that are not able or willing to come together for these moments.

I thought I would share David’s school picture with all of you. The tie was his idea. But, in true David fashion, he was all excited to have picture day, but when it was time to take the pictures he decided he wasn’t going to have his taken. Luckily, I was there and told him he had no choice, he was going to get his taken.

As a photographer I am very concerned about the copyrights of photographs. Many of my own photographs and Rich’s have been used without permission or credit for the purpose the image was intended for. So, let me state: I do have copyright permission from Lifetouch Studios to reproduce this school image and use the image on my blog.

Bite Size S’mores

This morning we are heading for David’s school to watch his class perform a play for the little children in the Child Development Center attached to the school. I had never heard of a Child Development Center in a high school until I was photographing preschoolers for a living. Basically, it is a class that is more vocational in nature. The high school students have this class for multiple years and are taught the stages and care for young children. I have been very impressed with the Centers that I was involved with during my photography days.

But, this is a very big event for us since the last play David took part in was nine years ago. His history in The Theater was one that could best be premiered on America’s Funniest Videos. In preschool, the entire four-year class dressed up as little angels. David looked so sweet and innocent in his halo, clutching his beloved teddy.

It went downhill from there. The class got up to sing as the older classes were telling the birth of Jesus and our little “angel” began his death scene. Now, this scene will always be considered as one of the most dramatic in the history of all school plays—even though it was not part of the script. And in case you didn’t catch his first death he continued to replay it through out the entire pageant. When we asked him why he did it we got a four-year-old’s response of “I didn’t want people watching me.”

That sure did the trick.

The next year the casting of the pageant was done to better suit David. Instead of performing the poem with his class he was given the part of “little boy on Christmas morning.” He played this part very well, since the part was for him to play with toys under the Christmas tree during the entire play. He didn’t play one death scene!

So, when we got our invitation to this play—that David forgot to tell us about—we jumped at the chance. It is about five little pumpkins and David is the narrator and will be behind the curtain.

The teacher has also invited the parents to a time of refreshments following the program. Since I have been without my college kids that I used to cook for I decided to make some treats to take with us. I was trying to come up with an unusual finger food dessert and came up with hand held s’mores. It was so easy and required little clean up and would be great to make with even little children.

I took a large marshmallow, dipped into heated up Baker’s dipping chocolate and then into graham cracker crumbs. After putting them on a plate to dry I took a spoon and drizzled chocolate over the tops of them. To add a twist I decided to make caramel ones. I dipped a marshmallow in caramel, then Heath toffee bits and then drizzled the caramel over the tops. I loved the autumn colors of the finished dessert and the fact that there is little clean up! The only thing I had to keep an eye on was keeping my fingers clean of the chocolate or caramel when moving the marshmallows around since I didn’t want the smudged prints to get on the marshmallows.



Since this is David’s first year of not going out to get candy on Halloween we have made little goodie boxes of candy for the students in his class.

The Foolish Little Man

Last week I shared how David was having to write sentences in order to get him to listen better. His listening has gotten a bit better, but his behavior is still not up to what it should be.

Even though this is spring break we can't let this area slide and let him just have fun so I have changed what he is to write. Last week it was directions, but this week I began him at Proverbs 1:2. He must listen then write down what I say. I am quoting just a section of the verse, but at the end of the passage he must read back to me what he wrote. This has caused him some concern as he can't always read what he wrote. If it is wrong he must rewrite the verse.

Since so much of Proverbs deals with the wise versus the foolish man I thought that would be the perfect place to begin. As we are going along I am explaining what the verse means so that he also gets the concept.

It is not the spring break that I had envisioned. I had planned on taking him to the Y's pool but since he busted his knee I can't do that. It has been rainy and not so nice outside, but since we do need the rain I'm not complaining.

A Lesson in Listening

David is in trouble at school again! He has a three-day suspension. I could almost see it coming, but it wasn’t until today (the second day of the suspension) that I think I know why he’s having such a problem. He isn’t listening. I gave him several easy chores with one- or two-step directives to complete. However, I found that either the steps were not followed in the order I gave them or they were skipped altogether.

So we went over the chore directives and I explained what he didn’t do correctly. David thinks that when he is told that he is to clean out the grill he knows how, because he wants to do it his way. The problem is that when he is finished, his way is not correct. A case in point is when he was to clean out the grill and cover it from our weekend barbecue. He cleaned it out and left the bag of ashes on the grill, the lid left up and the cover on the ground. All these issues had been addressed with the directions. But his mind shuts off after he gets the general concept. This is happening in the classroom when he is given work and then doesn’t listen to hear what the directions are. He then gets upset and angry when the adult tells him he hasn’t gotten it right.

Even though many tell me this is a normal stage in a teen’s life David takes everything to extreme. So I usually have to take my correction to the extreme also to get the point across. After verbally talking to him about the issue and what needs to be done, it has continued. I am now having him sit down every hour with a notebook and I will give him 10 directives. David will have to write exactly what I say without me repeating it. If he missed it, I will say it one more time and he must rewrite it. David really doesn’t like to write so this is also helping with his handwriting skills. I have explained that this exercise in listening will continue until he can consistantly follow the directions we give him the very first time.

This will seriously cut into his fun time until he begins to listen.

Where Did My Time Go?

First let me thank everyone for their prayers. David is doing pretty well. Tomorrow is his orthopedic appointment and we will see how well he is healing. Rich plays doctor every night and changes David's bandage while I play surgical nurse and prepare all the needed supplies and pass them to him during the procedure.

David has used this situation to his full advantage. His "invalid" status is pulled out whenever he wants to get away with something—"I can't pick up my dirty clothes because of my crutches." Of course, his crutches weren't a problem when he wanted to pick up a toy just a minute before. Yesterday as he was ready to go to school I caught him carrying his crutches while running trying to get a toy out of the house before I caught him. I caught him and made him put it away.

I am amazed at how much time is taken up with caring for him. I drive him to and from school everyday. Going to get his medicine and bandages and cleaning the wound every night takes up more of our day. Then there are the added chores like taking out the trash that must be done.

David tried to do a lot more playing tonight and is feeling the effects. His knee is not doing as well tonight. This is a lesson I knew he would need to learn by experience.

I am hoping that tomorrow the doctor will say he is progressing well since his field trip is at the end of next week. After all the fighting with the school I am hoping he can still go. Next week will be very busy for us—two doctors appointments, the ladies Bible study, the kids coming over on Wednesday and the field trip so we will need strength to get through it.

The Perfect Weekend

I had it all planned. Rich and I were sitting by the firepit and getting ready to throw some steaks on the grill while David was riding his bike. The temperature was a bit on the chilly side so the pit was a welcome addition to our enjoyment.

Then it happened&emdash;we watched as David took a corner too sharply and CRASH. He looked down at his knee and the screaming started. Rich ran for David while I ran into the house to get a towel to wrap up his leg. Before I made it outside I heard Rich say "It's real bad. We need to go to the hospital." Not what any parent wants to hear. Then the screaming really began. David was pleading and begging with us not to take him to the hospital. When we explained we had to, he asked that we make sure they didn't give him stitches.

Abigail, dressing David's wound

The staff at the hospital was wonderful, even with a full waiting room. It seemed like everyone in town had gone out for enjoyment and came back with an injury. They talked calmly, but honestly with David. When we finally got to see a nurse and she saw the injury, she explained she thought there wasn't enough skin left to sew up the wound. But that would be decided by the doctor. David was very happy!


Before he would let the doctor see his wound he said "In my opinion there isn't enough to sew up. There isn't any flap to pull together. In my opinion it just needs to be cleaned." The doctor took this in good humor since she was so sure David had spoken out his years of medical school training. She agreed there wasn't a need for stitches, but that she wanted X-rays taken to make sure there wasn't a fracture. She was right since he chipped off a piece of his knee. This along with the open wound makes an infection a major concern. So David is supposed to stay off his leg and rest for a week. We are to change the bandages every 24 hours and see the orthopedic doctor at the end of the week.

After just under eight hours we finally made it home and crawled into bed around 2:00 am. We did head out to the local coffee shop on Saturday morning and read while we relaxed.

We called our dear friend Abigail, who is a Registered Nurse, to change his bandage on Sunday. She has graciously offered to come over and change them for us, but we are going to try to take care of it ourselves (O.K. Rich will). It will be a tough week as we try to keep David content and off his leg. But, we are very thankful it wasn't worse.

An Abuse of Power?

Yesterday at breakfast David was very ornery. Nothing was going to make him happy—not even homemade blueberry muffins. So at the breakfast table I tried to explain that his attitude wasn’t going to make for a great day at school. He then told me that he was mad at me because I was mean to him, just because I was the parent and was allowed to.

Hmmm, now what was this about? So after asking him about his statement I found out he felt that I was abusing my power because I made him clean his room, hang up his coat after coming back in and take off his tennis shoes when he came in from playing in the mud. I have no idea how he can imagine these common courtesies of life could ever be considered abusive.

So, I decided to teach him a little lesson about what Mom really does. I explained that he would have to plan, make, and clean up his own meal last night. I would cook the meal I had already planned and take care of Rich’s and my meal, but he was on his own. I also explained that since his room is a mess with K'Nex and Legos all over the floor, I would not be putting his laundry away. So if he wanted warm cloths in the morning he would need to put them away himself.

David began his meal prep as for an adventure, “I don’t mind, this will be fun.” It only became an issue when the food was cooking and I made him clean the items he had used in preparing his meal. The cleaning wasn’t any fun.

During the meal Rich told David he needed to eat with his fork, since David was using his fingers instead of the fork. That’'s when David whined, "then I’ll have to wash the fork!" This from the same child that in the last week had to change from using a fork to using a spoon and then back to a new fork—all duringone meal.

Following the meal he was not a happy son as he was made to clean up the pan, cup, plate and fork he used.

I am happy to say this morning’s breakfast was a much happier event for us. When we talked about the situation from yesterday I explained that he only had to take care of himself for one meal on one day. Think about what I must do when I cook for three people, three times a day and it’s every day. He looked shocked as I said this and asked “three meals?” Since he is at school he never thought about the fact that Mom and Dad still eat lunch even when he’s not here.

The room is still not clean, but the cooking, cleaning and taking trash out took a lot of his time last evening, more then he ever thought it would.

A Failure to Communicate

Sunday night when David was putting his toys away (O.K. throwing his toys into a container in the closet) the bucket broke. This resulted in the cry "I can't finish my room because the bucket is broken." Oh so very convenient.

Yesterday morning I went out to Target to get more containers in different sizes for his toys. So last night I made David clean out his entire closet and place the different toys in their own containers with lids. So all the Legos went in one container, the K'Nex in another, and so it went. This made him overjoyed. (Ok, I'm being a bit sarcastic.) The job he got out of the day before because of the abuse in putting his things away resulted in an entire evening of cleaning. After two and a half hours he called to me “Mom, I'm finally finished.”

When I arrived in his room for the inspection you can imagine my surprise when the sight that greeted me included clothes on the floor toys stacked in the corner and papers just shoved onto his bookshelf. This is not my idea of clean, but he claims he didn't see what the problem was. When I calmly told him “Honey, this is not clean” he told Rich I was being really mean because I called him “Honey.” He even told Rich I didn't understand how hard it is because even the kitchen doesn’t get this dirty.

Rich explained the reason it doesn’t is that I am constantly working at it to prevent a massive problem for our family. I will say the toys in the containers in the closet were done very well and that was clean. But there was more work to do.

He did have to clean the rest of the room and finished just minutes before bedtime. I am hoping this process will show him he will only delay and increase his work when it’s not done correctly right away.

I Don't Like That

When David was a baby there was only one thing he wouldn't eat—pears. Everything else was devoured. As a toddler he would eat everything in sight. When we ate out with several of my cousins and their families when he was just 15 months old he ate all his food and half of everyone else’s at the table.

When he became about five years old he would go through spurts where he only wanted to eat one thing at every meal. For about a week it would be hot dogs then he would refuse to eat them because he didn't like them. Then it was scrambled eggs, then ... well you get the gist. At around this time he convinced himself he didn't like anything with barbecue sauce on it, it couldn't even touch the rest of his food or he would refuse to eat it. If I made ribs, his had to be cooked separately without any sauce.

Just a few months ago after cooking a dinner with one set of chicken with barbecue sauce it and another without he decided he wanted the chicken with the sauce—aargh! I explained that he would need to eat the chicken that was made for him. This of course only made him want the chicken with sauce even more. So I let him use the leftover sauce on his. That did it. “I love barbecue sauce,” was the new refrain. He even laughed over his long refusal to eat anything with barbecue sauce.

This past weekend I made ribs and Rich and I had to fight to get any of the ribs before David scarfed them down. He even requested that I save three of the ribs so he could take them to school the next day for lunch.

Exciting Meeting

Last night we braved the freezing weather to attend the high school guidance meeting. We were the first to arrive so I got to speak to the head of guidance from the high school. I spoke with David's current counselor about my concerns for a late-in-the-day physical education class. This was a mistake that had occured last year when P.E. was the second class of the day. They couldn't understand why after second period David was so hyper and had problems calming down. They felt maybe a change in meds was in order. But when I brought up the fact that second period was gym—that was no big surprise for me.

This year gym was scheduled for sixth period which has increased his abibly to make it through the day. The head of guidance at the high school let me know that when David receives his schedule, if I am not happy with the time that Physical Education is scheduled she will be happy to change it with just a phone call.

The meeting started a little late and I was surprised to see that only about 25 parents were in attendance. As the meeting went on more parents showed up, but still a poor showing.

My first question is "Can I go to high school too?" The programs they offer at David's future school are amazing. The school is nationally known for it's drama department with classes in acting, dance, playwriting, directing, theatre design and costuming. A large music program, architectural drawing, and auto body. Some of the more amazing courses are dental careers, medical assistant, and emergency medical technician. Two of the electives David is interested in are Culinary Arts and Video and Media Technology. Lots of AP and dual credit courses are available (credits that count for high school and college).

Most of the parents' questions dealt with how to schedule my child with the hardest classes to get them into the best college. I was happy to hear the counselors say that the students need to take the classes that will challenge the student, but it was better for them to achieve an A or B in a lower class then to receive a C or D in a higher class. They encouraged the parents to not over schedule their children. They encouraged the parents to include some enjoyment in the schedule, that colleges wanted to see a student that is well-rounded.

My concern is more about getting David into classes that earn him a diploma and grades that give him the option of getting into college. I also want him to explore in high school a class that can teach him a skill that is marketable. Many would say this is not a very high expectation but with David's issues this is more than many would expect of him.

The schools are closed today not for snow but because of the extreme cold here. I know many from the great north will laugh at this. The high today has been 21 degrees with a low of 9 degrees this morning. In our area this is unheard of so our cars and buses are not up to handling this.

High School Already?

Shortly before school broke for the Christmas break the eight grade students brought home papers preparing parents for High School. Yes, I think as David's parent I am less prepared than David is for the upcoming changes.

I think our school system is better at preparing the students for their futures than mine was as I entered high school. I remember that we had a field trip to the high school in order to become familiar with it but that was about all. I don't remember any career assessments or meetings with counselors to schedule our classes.

You could always request a meeting with a counselor, but it wasn't necessary. When it was time to schedule, they gave us a list of the classes that were required and the remainder could be filled in as we saw fit. Then they set up tables in an auditorium and we went from table to table to try to get all the classes scheduled. Sometimes we would have to start all over when we found that a mandatory class was all filled up in the only spot we had left on our schedule.

David—almost a high schooler

Tonight the parents of eight graders are being encouraged to attend a Parent Program with Guidance counselors from the high school. So guess where I'll be tonight.
In March the school will hold a Career Fair during school hours.

But, so much changes in the years from middle school until graduation in our world it can be hard for a student to know what jobs will be even around in when it's time to enter the work force. This became clear when we spoke with our friend Ryan last night. Much of his classes deal with finances. With the economy in the shape it's in and the government entering as business partners in much of the banking and auto industries, are the principles he has learned going to be practiced in the future?

It is reasurring that David's future isn't held in my hands, but in the hands of our Creator.

School Pictures

In kindergarten I had been absent from school for several days due to illness. On the day of my return I had school pictures. My mom had not been made aware that pictures were to be taken so no special care was made with my appearance. And after having been home for several days I imagine she was just glad to have me out of the house.

Original portrait

When they called our class it was during play time (yes in those days they let the kids play in kindergarten. See how old I am.) So I went with the class and had my picture taken. Only when the pictures came back did we see that the cheap chain necklace that I had on during playing house was still on. My hair was sticking out all over the place and my collar was not straight.

This experience had a massive effect on my attitude about the images I captured for the little children I would photograph. I didn't want anyone else to have a photo like the one I had as a memory of kindergarten.

When David had his picture taken in October I did not go to oversee it. I know he has a great smile and don't want to be a hovering mom. Later I wished I had. The photographer didn't order the package I paid for. She also didn't take a very good picture of David. She had him lean forward so his shoulders were all hunched over. His eyes were also not as open as they should be. I had the pictures retaken because of the problems and this time I took him to school and oversaw the process.

The retake

Even though this photographer had the student before him lean forward I told David to sit up straight. The smile was great and the eyes were more natural. David fussed about sitting up straight because it didn't feel good. He actually has good posture and this has not been a problem before. We have finally received the retakes and when I showed David both pictures side by side he said "boy my shoulders sure look bad" to the first picture.

I am glad that the company now sells CDs of the images with a release, which I purchased, so that I can legally show you the images.

Mom's Advice

While planning Abigail's baby shower I wanted to follow the Biblical mandate that older women are to teach the younger women. I decided to ask each mother who attended the shower to think over the next week about the one piece of advice they wished that someone had told them. I wanted to give them enough time to think about the advice they would be giving this first-time mother and not something off the top of their heads.

I have received a few and am working (okay, bugging) the rest of the ladies to fill out the "I wish someone had told me..." form I had made to build this unique booklet. But the forms that have been filled out are wonderful so I thought I would share some of their advice.

From the mother of one child—

I wish that someone had told me "never doubt that you are able to parent this child that God gave you. Take the advice that works for you. If you try something and it doesn't work throw it out and move on. It might have worked for another mom and child, but that doesn't mean it will work for you."

From the mother of two adult children—

I wish that someone had told me (and I'm sure they did!) However, it just took a few years and experience to realize the truth that God is in control all the time even in the "not so good days." He allows problems—trials of all types, like fevers, ear aches and crying babies that makes us more grateful for the "better times" and more empathetic to others with problems."

From the mother of two toddlers—

I wish that someone had told me "what a huge responsibility parenting is. How hard it is to discipline those cute faces. How much of a blessing and how funny kids are. That taking care of me and my marriage makes me such a better mom."

From the mother of two school age children—

I wish that someone had told me "to put my baby on a schedule (a flexible one; not extremely rigid). Babies love routines and they sleep through the night a lot faster on a schedule! Also, enjoy every moment and don't worry about every little thing- it goes by too fast."

From the mother of two school-aged children—

I wish that someone had told me "to take time to love your child now. They will never be this little again. Take lots of pictures monthly to look at the changes that are going on daily in their lives. Put a calender where you change your baby to write down all the milestones for that day and when you want to transfer the information to your baby book you can do it on your schedule."

I think this baby advice book actually took seed in my brain many years ago at the grocery store. While I was behind a young mother in line at the check-out the cashier told her that the cereal she was purchasing on WIC (federal funding for women, infants and children that are in need) was not covered. The young mother explained that she needed it since the doctor had told her that her baby was ready for cereal. The problem was that the doctor assumed that she would understand that it was baby cereal and not Life cereal, Frosted Flakes or Special K. The cashier just told her no it wasn't covered and removed it from the order. David was just five at that time and I felt my heart go out to this mother that had no older mom to help her through the path of parenthood. I had the cashier hold my order aside and took the mother to the baby aisle and explained what she needed and the need to either purchase larger hole nipples or use the old nipples and cut a small cross slit in the top.

I can't wait to gather up some more advice and bind the booklet for the birth of Abigail's little one. I thought these were great pieces of advice and felt they should be shared.

A Tough Week

Late last week we found out that the one-on-one had not worked out and we began working on alternate plans. I was very upset with the agency that was contracted with Lynchburg City to provide services for David. They called on Friday and told us they had no idea who to get so we may need to look for another agency. Even though I feel this might be a good idea since overall they have not provided consistent service it does frustrate me about all the time I have dealt with them over the summer.

It is now a week later and after a lot of calls, e-mails and meetings it looks like a new one-on-one will begin on the 15th. Only this help comes too late since David received a three day suspension yesterday. Everyone agrees that David needs this support right now, but when the adults around him fail it is David that gets the short end of the stick.

The new one-on-one will be through another agency, which means hours upon hours of paperwork that I already completed with the old agency will need to be re-done. It also means many meetings to try to communicate what works and what doesn't work with David.

The old agency called today to see how it's going. Needless to say I wasn't interested in spending any time going over what's been going on since they just dumped him. I am planning to write to the board that funds this to let them know they need to dump the agency like they dumped us. If they can't provide service for a child they already have a contract with they do not need to be given any more contracts for new children.

Today has been very difficult since even though we know David needs a one-on-one we still hold him responsible for his behavior. So David is not allowed to play while he is suspended. We have him reading books and having to give us a synopsis of them. While Rich and I love to read, David has never enjoyed it. I am hoping that by reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer he will begin to see how wonderful books are.

So this has not been a very pleasant week in our home as we deal with adults and a child that are not doing their jobs.

Mom's Homework

Today was the first day of school and David was excited. I had worked hard to get all the supports in place so there would a smooth beginning to the school year. About an hour after school began I got a phone call with the news that there was a mix-up and David's one-on-one was not able to go to school today. Aargh!!

Now the worries began. David was expecting to have his one-on-one to meet him at the bus. David doesn't do well with change and I was worried this might derail the day. But, we didn't get a call from the school, just the agency that provides the one-on-one.

David, dressed and
ready for school

David arrived home and reported that he had a great day. I even got a note from his new case manager saying what a great day he had. This teacher is the one who will take over David's IEP and accommodations. When I met her last week I got a very good impression of her.

This was not the case last year. I felt last year's teacher and I were working against each other instead of together. When I would disagree with anything she said, her face would turn red and she would stiffen up. It came very close to us formally asking that she be removed from his case since I often felt she wasn't looking out for David's best interest. Once she even stated in a meeting that "all the teachers feel they can't teach with David in the room." When I gathered all his teachers together and asked them point blank, I only had one teacher who felt that way. I even had one teacher say she felt that David was a good contributor to her class. So I promptly had this corrected with the other members who had been in the meeting.

Anyone who has ever sent a child off to school knows that the kids are not the only ones who must complete homework. Last week I completed and returned all the paperwork the school required. However, today David brought home the rules and expectations due in each class. Each student must sign the contract, then the contract is to be signed by the parents.

We have survived the first day of school and are eager to see what is in store for the rest of the year.

Preparing For 8th Grade

This week I have been very busy with school prep for David. We have now gotten David's new one-on-one in place. She has never worked with David, but we know her from her previous job. I think this will be a better fit then some of the people who have worked with David in the past. It is very difficult to find the right person. The person needs to be young enough to keep up with David and his hyper activity while still having enough sense to make good judgement calls on the fly. I have also learned from past experience that I need to be more pro-active in my communication and goals with the one-on-one.

While David is enrolled in school, they also require you to attend registration day. I was very thankful that Rich was home with David so I could meet the teachers and pass along pertinent information without his little ears being present. Since there are several "stations" you must stop at to complete everything that needs to be done before school on Monday, it took a very long time. There was a very long line to get the "home" school books. This is a wonderful service for the families in the district since it allows the children to keep one set of text books at home so they don't have to lug home all the books each time they have homework. This also prevents the "I can't do my homework, I left my book in my locker" excuse.

I was able to get his schedule, locker with combination, bus info, and meet his teachers.

I have high hopes for this school year. His homeroom teacher also teaches him for another class. After talking for a while about both our goals for David she said "I can see we are going to get along real well this year."

Her goals for David mesh well with our goals for him. She is the adoptive mom of two little girls. There was only one other new teacher for David. The other teachers he has had previous contact with and luckily these were not the ones he had problems with last year. The only teacher we will truly miss is Mrs. Anderson. She is a wonderful and caring teacher that has moved to another school.

Our Internet access went out yesterday and it took a while to get the problem corrected. But, we are glad to be back online.

A Tale of Two Notebooks

Normally on Mondays I stay at home and clean. However, yesterday was a run-around day. David's prescription needed to be refilled and while I was out I got some of the supplies on our list for vacation.

Also last year, since we didn't know which school David would attend until the Friday before school started, we had trouble getting many of his school supplies. Not so this year. I got his school list several weeks ago and the school supply sale ads began to appear this week. So I took my list and purchased not one, but two of everything David would need on the list. Now, I know this sounds like overkill but trust me it isn't.

Our saga began the weekend before school started last year. Half the supplies were nowhere to be found. The supplies that I could find were not on sale (go figure)! After driving all over town and finally coming up with some items that would "just have to make due" until the stores got new shipments in, we were ready on Monday morning.

Of course you know the game, the students get to school and there is a whole other list that must be purchased on top of what was already bought. At the end of three weeks David had lost his large notebook binder—with all the dividers, paper, pencils and calculator in it. By this time he had also broken the zipper on his backpack. So a whole new trip to purchase supplies, less then a month after school started.

Over $250.00 worth of school supplies between both sets. I really got upset when one of David's one-on-one's a few weeks later suggested a different type of binder for him that might work better. I firmly stated he had his supplies and that would be the last that we would be purchasing for some time.

They were already aware of the outlay in funds that we had already flowed from my purse. So I came up with an alternative. I took supplies to each class and left them there for him. He would not be able to lose or doodle them away between classes. The teacher could also let us know when he was running low.

We also had to buy many extra boxes of tissues. Each teacher had a box on their supply list. So David went with six boxes ready to give to each teacher. But the plan went awry when he gave all six to the first teacher. I then tried to explain that they were to go to all his classes, I was not donating enough tissues for the entire class. David had tried for a week and the tissues were never returned to him and he wasn't comfortable demanding them back from a teacher.

I eventually had to go in myself to collect the extra boxes and take them to the correct teachers myself. The final count on notebook binders was three for the school year and three backpacks. David did become more responsible with his supplies as the school year progressed. I think he was so concerned about the new atmosphere and what was expected that the supplies were the least of his worries.

So this year I purchased two backpacks (a great buy-one-get-one-free deal). Two calculators—one for home and one for school. Lots of extra spiral notebooks, notebook paper and pens.

I thought I found a great deal on the binders at $5.99. There were a whole row of binders that had the label $5.99 under them. But when I got up front the cashier rang them up as $15.99, a big difference. So I explained they were marked $5.99 in the back. She called a worker in that department who agreed they were put out in the wrong place, but they would cost $15.99 if I wished to purchase them.

Since the likelihood is that David will lose one within days of beginning school I really didn't want to spend that much. And even though the employees had placed the items in the wrong place I wasn't going to make a fuss. After all, we all make mistakes. But, I still needed a binder so I paid for my other purchases and made my way to the back corner on the opposite side of the store again to find a binder.

Can you imagine my surprise when I got back there and found that the sign had not been removed and the binders where still listed at $5.99. The employee who had agreed that the binders were misplaced had left them in the wrong spot. So I grabbed one of the binders and went back up front, but the closer I got to the register the more upset I got. How many people are picking up this great buy and not noticing that the price was not what was expected. Or figuring: "I'm not going all the way back for that one item."

So I went to the same cashier and asked to speak to a manager, after explaining to the manager the problem he gladly offered the $15.99 binders at the $5.99 price. He also got on the walkie-talkie to get the problem corrected in the back. Mistakes are understandable, but leaving the mistake after knowing that the mistake exists and customers are being mislead is another thing.

So this year I got two sets of school supplies for about $100. instead of the $250. I paid last year, so I am one happy camper. When I got home I promptly got David's backpack ready and labeled for the start of school.

Today is the last day of summer school, so David is a very happy boy. On to the eighth grade.

Look Mom - No Tooth!

David has had a loose tooth for the last couple of days (right next to the tooth he lost a couple of weeks ago.) He has really been pushing the tooth around to try to get it out. Apparently it wasn't going fast enough because right before lunch today he announced that he was going to pull it out. Before I could even say "don't do that" he had already gone into the bathroom and yanked out the tooth. Blood was dripping out of his mouth and the roots were still attached to the bottom of the tooth.

Call me crazy but I think he should have waited for a little while longer.

When I asked why he did it he stated he wanted to save the tooth fairy money for tracks and a new engine for his train. Not that by pulling his tooth will he have enough to buy the engine. Of course, I may find a toothless, bleeding gum boy in the bathroom tomorrow with a handful of teeth ready to ambush the tooth fairy!

Since the tooth he lost a couple weeks ago has only started to come in he may have to gum his food tomorrow.

Servant For A Day

Last night at dinner I asked David to do one little chore, take out the garbage. This is one of his normal chores so there should not have been an issue with the request. However, he decided to ask a question "why do parents treat their kids like servants?" This was just another bad decision on his part, after a week of bad decisions.

So this morning he got to see what mom does when her servant is busy playing. He is responsible to clean his room, pick up his clothes and make his bed. I had explained he would also have to mop his floor, which I usually do after he has completed his part.

He did a very quick job of shoving his junk around and mopping only in the spots left over. The dirty clothes were hidden on the other side of the bed. I made him come in and correct these issues.

After much attitude I added vacuuming the study rug, more attitude. I explained that more griping, moaning and complaining would result in more work. Time to add cleaning the bathroom sink, more attitude. Clean the bathtub and finally his attitude began to correct. I took him to the grocery store and had him bring in all the groceries (except the bread).

At lunch he started more attitude, so he got the job of cleaning the toilet (twice since the first time he just played at cleaning it). More attitude and he got to mop the bathroom floor and take out the trash in the study.

Finally no complaining.

If you haven't been reading my blog you might imagine David wasn't very smart. But, that's just the problem—he is very smart. He is also very stubborn and thinks he can outlast us. I am hoping that his day of forced labor will result in his being more aware of what I do all day.

I think he must have thought I used "mommy magic" to get it all done without lifting a finger.

No Need to Attend

Last week I received another phone call informing me that due to the unstructured last week of school it might be best to keep David at home this week. This is not the first time I have received one of these calls, the first came at Thanksgiving break, followed by Christmas, Spring break and now end of school.

I really resent these calls. The law mandates the number of hours a child under the age of eighteen must be educated. Encouraging me to keep my son at home instead of at school goes against what is encouraged in other students. It was explained that because this last week of school would be more unstructured with movies and fun time it wasn't necessary for him to attend. We were also told to send a snack for a movie in first period if he did attend. What a wonderful way to begin the school day, hyped up on snacks.

I called the vice principal this morning and explained that the teachers are still being paid to educate the children and if the students need structure it is their job to maintain it. I also explained (again) that my job is to look long-term. When my son is employed and has a scheduled vacation in two weeks he will not be allowed to take off the weeks prior because it might be too hard to concentrate.

I was informed by the vice principal that David is going to proceed to the next grade. He has only failed one course and a student is only held back if two courses are failed. I asked what he needs to do in order to go into summer school to pass the math course that was failed. It will be interesting to see if we are told he does not have to attend, since he is in special education. Non-special education students must attend summer school, but I have been told that special ed students are not required to pass in order to graduate to the next grade.

Overall we have been very pleased with this school year, both with the school's willingness to work with us and with David's progress and growth. But, I feel if we had not been so willing to do our part as parents while explaining our reasons for decisions and expectations and followed up with the school on their part this year could have had very different results. David has had some great teachers, but also some that should not have been working with special education students. We have had many false starts with one-on-ones, but it looks like there will be a new one next school year.