by Sarah | Nov 1, 2011 | All About Molly, Autism
[flickr id=”5314105434″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]For a few brief shining weeks we had sunlight. Behaviors were eased, we were in the high-functioning range of life. There were smiles and lots of conversation and boy did we pig out.
The past few weeks we’ve been in a downward spiral.
There have been meltdowns. There have been smart mouths and pouting and stomping and periods of long angry silence.
We have been ignored in favor of ticks and quirks.
We have been witness to behavior uncontrollable enough that we’ve been asked by 2 doctors if we’ve been considering medication for her.
There has been a refusal to eat. Just about ANYthing.
We hold out hope that the worst will pass. That some modifications to schedule and school will result in an evening out. That medication will not be needed.
In the mean time we go forward. Facing each new challenging moment as it comes.
Wait for the light to return.
Hope that she can be happy. Without reservation.
by Sarah | Oct 26, 2011 | All About Learning, All About Molly, Autism, Crap, IEP, WTF?
[flickr id=”5885702438″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]School started two months ago. After the gains made last year, and the IEP already in place, we started this year with more hope than last year.
At meet-the-teacher night Archie and I both started to get uneasy.
When we waited after the session to speak to the teacher. We asked about her behavior, to which she replied that it was still too early in the year to say anything. That she doesn’t really pay heaps of attention to behavior – in her class it’s about learning.
That was the first red flag.
Then I mentioned the IEP and her teacher last year, and the response was…
“Well, I don’t look at the past. What happened last year is last year. I give the children a clean slate.”
Alarm bells sounded, dinging loud in our ears. The IEP HAS to be looked at. It’s there for a reason!!!
Still, we sat back. We gave it a chance. We had our IEP meeting for the new year. We thought everything was established and set in it. Everything was put into place. In black and white. The plan was set.
And then it came time for Parent-Teacher conferences.
During the meeting first of the year test scores were discussed. How low Riley’s results were and what they meant. And then it happened. The teacher said:
“It may have had something to do with how she handles tests. But tests are a part of life, we can’t change that and we can’t change how they are given. She just has to learn how to adjust.”
Both Archie & I were stunned into almost total silence. We wrapped up the meeting and got in the car and both said, “What the hell was THAT?”
We have an IEP that states tests are to be given in accordance with her needs. Tests CAN and WILL be changed.
We have decided to switch teachers. There are more reasons than just those two statements, but those alone are enough.
A teacher that doesn’t refer to or care about IEP’s are not what is needed. At all.
by Sarah | Oct 5, 2011 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Home, All About Kennedy, All About Marriage, All About Me, All About Molly, All of Us, Crap
[flickr id=”5293689107″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Cross Country season is drawing to a close. The final (County-wide) meet is in less than a week. Coming up there is nothing but PTO meetings, Parent/Teacher Conferences and life in general.
This also means that the teen will be home before 4PM every day.
I always thought once the girls were both in school I’d go back to work. Nothing so dramatic as full-time day jobs (and definitely NOT banking again ~gag~). I figured I would return to waitressing. With the teen old enough to babysit in short spurts, I’d be able to get a job at a real restaurant with real tips since I could now actually get into work before 6PM. Maybe we could get a (slightly) steadier increased income. Maybe we could leave SSI and its unreliable, and ever decreasing, amounts behind. Become self-sufficient again. Maybe even one day live the dream of giving up Child Support (or actually putting that in savings).
Now that day is here.
Yet we hesitate.
Last year Angel ended up in the hospital for the first time ever. It was five days where our only focus was her and making sure we saw the other two kids. Last year she wasn’t even in school. Only exposed to those hundred of viruses on the periphery.
It could happen again at any time.
We are six weeks into the school year and Angel has already missed five days due to illness. That’s one week out of six. Most of them in the past three weeks.
So now we toss up in the air whether I would even be able to maintain a job or if I’d constantly have to take off for illness or hospital stays or whatever.
I know, we can’t live life hanging by that ‘what if she gets sick’ thread…but it is a fact and a factor in everything. Having to weigh the consequences of not just being away from home several evenings a week – versus the likelihood that I will have to call in at least a couple of times, maybe more.
The thought of working again only scares me peripherally. I actually like the thought of having adult interaction, even if it is only as server to customer. I worked in banking for about eight years. It sort of ripped out my soul and stomped on it and I never wanted to work again after it. But I did, and I found a job at Bob Evans (the only place that would hire me w/ the hours I could work). The tips weren’t horrendous, but they weren’t top of the line. BUT. But…I loved my job. Even when I didn’ t like my new manager, and the employee turnover brought in some people that weren’t my favorites…I loved what I did. It was fun. It was interactive. It made me happy.
There are positives, many of them, to me going back to work…
But there are so many balls up in the air I’m afraid tossing in one more would be too much. Plus, I’d really hate to get a job I love, maybe even start earning enough to lose SSI…only to lose that job because of things well beyond my control.
We can’t live in the what-if’s…
But we can’t ignore them either.
by Sarah | Sep 8, 2011 | All About Molly, Autism, Special Needs
[flickr id=”5800817094″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Tomorrow we meet with the school.
One year later and I still can’t muster any enthusiasm for the special services department.
Yes. Riley did improve last year. She did learn a lot.
Still it seems as if it’s always a secondary thought. Like she’s lost in the sea of students. Like her needs are not as important as some other students.
We’ll see how the IEP goes.
If we find progress and hope.
All fingers are crossed.
But we’ll see.
by Sarah | Aug 19, 2011 | All About Kennedy, All About Learning, All About Molly
[flickr id=”6060662240″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]It has begun. The 6AM mornings. The scrambling for the bus. The wondering if we put on warm enough clothes.
School.
It’s heaven.
Except for the 6AM mornings.
Wonderful.
Except that KG is only half day (not long enough).
Great.
Except the girls are strung up tight and killing each other and us.
But we’ll adjust.
by Sarah | Aug 11, 2011 | All About Denver, All About Family, All About Home, All About Kennedy, All About Molly, Random
[flickr id=”6032618823″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]
(L – top to bottom. Cheese cutouts, Peanut Butter w/ banana strips. R – top to bottom. Peanut butter w/ orange marmalade folds, PB & grape jelly rolls, Nutella rolls.
Even my teen will make his own version of this for himself. Riley, the pickiest eater of them all, cleans her plate when I make this kid-friendly sushi. Since it was requested on twitter…I thought I’d post how I make them. And it’s super simple…and to be honest I got the idea from Pinterest and ran with it.
[flickr id=”6032617485″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”] [flickr id=”6033176056″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”none”]
First, the supplies. Bread (1 slice makes 4 mini-rolls), a rolling pin, whatever fillings/toppings you want.
[flickr id=”6032617723″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”none”] [flickr id=”6032617865″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”none”] [flickr id=”6032618017″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”none”]
Cut off the crust (I keep mine to feed the birds) and roll the bread flat, or cut into strips.
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Get your toppings on your bread. For fun I used a mini cookie cutter to cut the banana for some of the strips, and for others I just cut it in half and length-wise. I used my leftovers for a bowl of cereal 😉
[flickr id=”6033176704″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”none”] [flickr id=”6032618319″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”none”]
Roll them. I rolled some in spirals. I’ve read that you should roll these tight, but w/ the jelly I actually roll loose otherwise all of the jelly is squished out. For the orange marmalade I rolled in both sides and then folded to the middle (securing with a small strip of peanut butter between the two edges).
[flickr id=”6032618591″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]
Last but not least for a little extra fun I used some little cutters I had lying around to cut out shapes in cheese (I nibbled on the scraps).
Usually I make less sushi and include some small strips of carrots for a well rounded meal. My kids totally scarf these down faster than you can blink.
Some other ideas I have yet to try, but plan to…
- Butter & cucumbers rolled
- Jam w/ sweetened whipped cream cheese strips or folds
- Herbed whipped cream cheese with cucumbers strips
- Carrot peel & herbed whipped cream cheese rolls
- Nutella and Strawberry strips or rolls
- Whipped cream cheese (sweetened) w/ blueberries
These do not take me a ton of time (Well, this one did but I was taking pics and making more than I usually do)…and the kids love them. They are SO worth a shot!! Try them!!
