Please pray!

Well...it has been quite a week. Quite an emotional week.

For those of you that teach, you understand the friendships that we develop as we teach side by side with each other. I have found that my school is a bit different...different in a great way. We really are a very tight staff. Not only are we close to those we teach with at our grade level, but each staff member.

My friend, Vicki, is my dear friend. She is a wonderful woman whom I have taught with for several years now. Vicki and I share stories each day. Me...about my girls...and Vicki about her precious grandchildren. So I have come to love her grandchildren as I have heard stories each day.

Her little grandson...whom is two....has a hernia. This is common...no biggy. They went in for pre-op appt to get him set for surgery to correct the hernia. Well, he had a fever...which turned into a cold...which turned into pneumonia. So...needless to say..the surgery has been postponed for about two months.

This pneumonia just won't go away. Well, his mother noticed his belly was a bit swollen, so she took him in to see the doctor. They seem to think it was nothing but did a CAT scan to make sure. Vicki said she had gone to worse case scenario that perhaps his bowels had twisted. She told me that she might not be at school the next day if they have to operate.

Vicki called me several hours later....crying...to tell me her grandson has stage 5 kidney cancer in both kidneys. Dear Lord....how could this be?? How do you go from pneumonia to stage 5 cancer??

As you can image, our school has emotionally been knocked down as we morn and pray for our fellow teacher and her precious grandson.

So...I ask those of you who take the time to read this....Number one....pray for this baby. Number two...count your blessings every day....count them one by one....because we just never know when tragedy will hit our lives.

God is good....all the time! I know this and believe this with all my heart. I am looking for the good in this situation. I may not see it today, tomorrow or ever ...but I pray that I do get to see what God's plan is for this situation.

I lied...

I admit it..I lied. However, it wasn't my intention to lie. I really had planned on trying to post a few times a week. But life has happened. It appears I should now shoot for once a month! haha!

I am adjusting to my new life title of "Taxi mom". I must apologize to all taxi moms before me. I really had no clue what this job entailed.

I was talking with my sister, who has a 3 and 5 year old at home, about our busy days. She said she was sure it would get easier when they got into school. I quickly informed her that the business doesn't stop...it just changes. I went from bottles and diaper backs....to daycare and play dates, to softball and Tae Kwon Do practice.

Really...let me just show you my day today...

6:30...up and going...kids in the shower, pack lunches, cook breakfast, get backpacks and bags

for further activities

8:00 out the door

8:30 Mtg at school

9:00 School day starts..(12 of my 28 students have their homework done...grrrr) BAD MOOD!

3:30 Off Work

3:31 Keeping two students whose guardians can't seem to get them to complete their homework

so I get the privilege of keeping them an extra 45 min to get it done!

4:15 Load up my kids....and we are off

4:25 Madi to softball practice

4:30 K to Physical Therapy

5:00 Boo to Tae Kwon Do

5:05 Pick up K from Physical Therapy

5:45 Pick up Madi from softball

6:00 Pick up Boo from Tae Kwon Do

6:15..Home....what's for dinner??

6:30 Cooking and overseeing homework

7:00 Dinner on the table

7:30 Dishes..clean up...bath time...

8:00 Read to the kids before bed

8:30...into bed they go

8:35 grading papers....after papers...after papers

8:40 Hubby is home...so we get to say hi for a bit

9:30. Shower time for me

10:00 In bed I fall

What is the deal???? I am not overly complicating my life. I have three kids....they each participate in one sport. I don't have my kids in too many activities. There are just some days that I wish there were just a few more hands. I don't want a nanny...I do enjoy seeing my kids practice each day....Just wish I could do it and not feel like I am "running" each step of the way!

So....again...I am sorry. I need to schedule in Blog time! Lunch break? IDK....I will try and get better! :-)

Education Frustration....

On most days...I just love my job. There is so much joy each day. I love seeing my little friends as they soak up new information. I love to watch their hearts be kind to each other. I enjoy watching them make good choices. There are so many wonderful sights I get to see as a teacher! I often wonder as I teach cursive....am I teaching a doctor to sign their name (illegible of course! haha)? Am I teaching a president to sign their name? Endless potential in this class of thirty!

But...there are some days my heart just breaks. There are children you just can't reach. These children who come from horrible homes. Homes that stunt who they are....homes that quench their fires. And there isn't ONE thing I can do about it! It continues to frustrate me year after year!

I often want to write a book to let the general public know what our young people have to deal with these days. I really don't think society understands what children are exposed to...NO, not through the media, or from the music they listen to...it is from their very OWN homes.

Children whose parents are locked up in jail: these children throw around words like, "time served" and "parole officer"

Children whose parents are drug addicts: these children throw around words like, "rehab" and "clean"

Children whose parents have lost custody: these children throw around words like, "my case worker" and "my visitation time"

Some days it is just all too much. How am I to make a 9 year old excited to learn their multiplication facts when they are going home to a grandmother who is doing her best to support her three grandchildren while her daughter is in jail for drugs???????

There are so many I want to take home with me. I want to show them a loving mother and father. A 'present' parent who is excited when they walk through the door. A parent who takes care of their basic needs so they can focus on "kids stuff". A parent who ensures warm water in the shower each morning. A parent who sacrifices sleeping in Saturday morning so they can learn the sport of soccer or baseball!

But you and I both know my home isn't that big...nor would the state allow me to take each of these children. So....for now...I will wake up tomorrow....say a prayer...use my gift of teaching...and make the 6 hours they are with me a time of security, fun, and learning.

Welcome 2009...

It has been quite some time since I have done any blogging. It seems the move, then the holidays, and then my middle daughter's birthday have kept me too busy! But I am hoping to get back into a normal routine.

I am home today...in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and thought today is a good day to start!

A fellow teacher and I are excited about tomorrow's events. I teach third grade and I teach very basic intro to our gov't. We did an election unit to discuss voting and the candidates. It was very exciting. However, as an educator, we must be very careful. I am always fair to both political parties and NEVER have an agenda when I teach.

But....I was a bit irritated when a discussion was had about our students watching the inauguration live in our classrooms. I was told that I need to get parent permission slips in order to do so. WHAT IS THAT ABOUT???

Now...isn't this our country? Isn't this history? Isn't this teaching how democracy works??
ISN'T THIS MY JOB TO TEACH????????????

I don't care who you voted for.....that to me is irrelevant.

I don't feel I need to send home permission slips in order to show my students a historical event that only happens every four years (No matter your polictical thoughts) !!!!

Taking on the Quads!

Well...Dad and I took the kiddos out to the desert this past holiday weekend and exposed them to the world of quads, rhinos, and motorcycles! Man oh Man!!! We had such a great time. The girls really enjoyed zipping around and exploring and racing each other. I must say, Madi, took to it rather quickly! She loved the quad and was driving around alone. Now..the little one, Boo, scared me half to death! She wanted to ride alone but it was obvious that there just isn't enough fear yet. She was able to drive with an adult holding on to the back. And I mean HOLDING on to the back! haah! I wasn't sure how my oldest, K, would take to this activity. She LOVED it! My goodness...the Rhino was her sense of enjoyment. She loved the big hills and jumping those jumps (small ones mind you!). I was able to get on a quad with her in front and me in back. However, it just didn't feel too safe. But we putted around for a bit. I did conquer my goal. I am now a motorcycle mama!! Haha! I have always wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle..and NO...not on the back! So, I managed over the two days to get it down! That was a ton of fun! My sister was able to make it out with her two little ones. They loved to ride as well. Her daughter was quite apprehensive with all the loud engine noise, however, got over that quickly after riding for a bit. We ended both nights with a great big bon fire. We ate tri-tip, potatoes, and of course had some smores for desert! So....guess what...we have bought two quads for Christmas! They should really enjoy that gift. SHHHH..they don't know yet! Christmas surprise!

Opening a can of worms....

We (my husband, myself, and a few friends) have been having a few conversations regarding the very controversial subject of "What causes autism?" I know...I know....touchy subject. Are they "born" that way?....Is it the shots we give them at a certain age?? I am not here to debate either issue. I have my feelings about both theories...and really have not come to any certain conclusion. I was forwarded an email from a friend the other day that said "rainy places" are seeing a rise in Autism...and perhaps the rainfall has some type of effect on our children! Areas like Washington state are seeing a huge rise in Autism. The theories are endless.

But we ended up having a rather lengthy conversation about God's will. As a Christian...I believe that God knows what is going to happen in our lives...He knows what our choices will be before we make them! So, put that into our Autism conversation....Was my daughter always meant to be Autistic OR was it a choice that I made that caused her to be autistic!?? Oh my....I just opened a can of worms!

One friend believes that God had that plan for my daughter before she was born. The other friend feels that it God could have planned for her to "normal" but due to my free will and choices (getting shots, living around farm chemicals,etc), I could have changed my daughter's future! I can honestly say that I see both sides.

However, as a mother of a child with multiple disabilities, it is much easier for me to believe that God has always planned for my daughter to have these disabilities. For if I knew it was my choices, the guilt would be endless! Maybe that is a cop out for me....maybe I need to own that perhaps I did "do" something to causes her disabilities.

But, I know right now...that there is nothing certain. And as I said in my previous post...."When you know better, you do better." If I had known, I obviously would not have chosen to do anything to endanger her health and well being.

So, in that, I find comfort...whatever God's will for her life was and is to be......

Medication and your child...

Deciding to put your child on medication is such a personal and heavy decision. Each set of parents must weigh all the pros and cons of this huge issue.

We have struggled for years with my daughters OCD issues that cause serious health issues(Putting thing in her mouth edible and non-edible). We have worked for years with a behavior specials, wait...not just one...but two! I am a teacher and am knowledgeable about positive and negative reinforcement...etc. However, nothing we have done for the past EIGHT years has helped!

So I finally agreed last year to give a psych med a try! Wow....that was a tough decision. Could this pill make her act strange? What if it causes another problem? Would she still be the same ol "k" I know and love? I have struggled with the fact that my daughter lacks communication skills. And if this "pill" is causing headaches, stomach aches, etc, she wouldn't be able to tell me. And what a horrible mother I would be to have my child take a med each day that makes her feel bad.

So...how did I overcome that dilemma?? Well, my behavior specialist looked me in the eye and said, "Heather...you know your daughter inside and out! If she feels bad, you will see it!" And with that.....we tried our first drug. However...after a year of testing out that pill, we really didn't see any results. So this past two months, we moved on to another drug. Now...I don't know if it is the pill...but the main behavior that was so dangerous has STOPPED! Literally...overnight!!!!!!!! Who knows if it is the pill, her growing up....etc....but something has clicked and it is working!

Now....being a mom...and always worried about what we have or haven't done all the time....the guilt has hit! WHY DIDN'T I DO THIS YEARS AGO!?? I can only say...I wasn't ready to go there then. And didn't feel it was right for my daughter at that time. And be ever thankful that it is working now!

So...we as parents must learn to trust our gut, do what we feel is best for our children, and when you know better....you do better!