WHO DAT!

Football season in Louisiana is something like I've never seen before! Schools are invloved, stores, newspapers, restaurants...EVERYONE! I don't even like football, but the vibe in the city just sweeps you in and makes you a fan.

Today at the boys' school is NFL day. They will be participating in NFL themed activities in both the classroom and during PE, and were allowed to wear their favorite team's jersey along with their uniform shorts. DJ chose the Saints and Cameron wanted the Steelers but there wasn't a Pittsburg jersey to be found anywhere in a three parish area...So he opted for the Saints, too.

Evan got in on the fun with her Fleur de Lis dress and matching NO Saints bow!

The List {Updated}

I am slowly, but surely making my way through my 35 before 35 list! I have accomplished so many new things (items 4,5,6 and 30, 31,and 32)! I'm also only one goal away from finishing compiling the list.

My J-O-B is going well and has been the driving force behind me accomplishing so many goals. I've got my office, my "SHELF", and was able to relocate south! As you can tell from all my previous posts Louisiana is FAB and there's a lot to see and do hear. It's DEFINITELY the best decision we've ever made.

35 before 35

1. own my own home (again)

2. spend my anniversary on a beach

3. finish my masters degree

4. get THE SHELF

5. put THE SHELF in an office of my own

6. relocate to the South

7. decorate my living room

8. have a real dinner party

9. learn to French braid

10. make Thanksgiving dinner

11. finish that third novel

12. take my kids to Disney World

13. go out on New Years Eve

14. celebrate homecoming at TSU

15. “Would Ya Like it” in the rain

16. Have date night once a week

17. Visit Washington DC

18. have a picnic with wine and cheese

19. wear red lipstick

20. go Up North

21. grow a plant

22. make a cake for a loved one’s birthday

23. restore a piece of furniture

24. attend a Broadway play (does not have to be in NY, although that’s a bonus)

25. get rid of all unnecessary debt

26. eat healthier

27. answer the question, “What’s wrong?” honestly, the first time.

28. institute a new family tradition

29. take a cooking class

30. Find the perfect school for Cameron

31. Learn to let go

32. Invest in great pics of the kids

33. Learn a new language

34. Renew my wedding vows

35.

Number 30-Find the Perfect School for Cameron- has been and on and off type thing. Last year when we placed him in Montessori we thought we had found the right environment for him...WE WERE WRONG. Montessori was way too free for Cam and he just took it as an excuse to do whatever he wanted. Now, he has an IEP and is in an Inclusion Classroom. He receives push-in services from a SPED teacher and para-pro and Pragmatic Language Services from a Speech Therapist.

Already wev've seen a MAJOR change in Cam's behavior and academics. He has only been to the office once and is currently receiving straight A's!!!

DJ is doing well too and we're seriously consierding having him tested for the gifted and talented program within the Praish they attend school.

Evan has moved up to the 2 year old room at daycare and with thatcomes potty training and Pull-Ups. I think she'll be much easier than the boys because she loves to take off her diaper.

Autism Speaks

Well, we decided to get a full battery of testing done on Cameron. We just weren't satisfied with the hasty diagnosis the outside psychologist gave us, so we asked the school to retest. He got IQ, Autism, and Speech evaluations, and this Monday his IEP meeting was held. We found that Cam has a very high functioning form of Autism and a pragmatic speech disorder. Basically, he's socially awkward, and doesn't know how to behave or engage in conversation is social situations. This diagnosis is spot on and we're so happy that we finally know what's REALLY going on with him, and have an action plan to deal with his special needs. He now has an active IEP the outlines his hours for resource services (push-in or pull-out), social work, and speech. He's going to be very busy. The new Louisiana school will have 30 days to hold another IEP meeting to discuss and revise the current IEP, and then he'll get started! We're hoping to get one to one or VERY small group modifications put into his IEP, because he really needs someone standing over him to get his work done.

The positive side is that his IQ scores came back great! He scored above average (superior intelligence) in performance based tasks and mathematics!

On the home front we are packing up and getting ready to get out of MI. Only 17 more days to go.

Cam=MJ

Check out Cam's audition video.

Updates

Not much...Really. Had a great spring break, but it definitely wasn't long enough, and toward the end the kids were driving us bonkers! Evan had her first Easter egg hunt, and there we found out how anti-social she really is. Sorry the video is so grainy, I took it with our camera and not our video camera

Cam's had a rough transition getting back into the swing of things at school after the break. He just doesn't follow directions! It's so frustrating. We're constantly back and forth to the psychologist and it seems as if things are taking forever. We do have a prescription for an anti-depressant (it's what they give 5 year olds with ADHD), but it's still sitting in my purse. Damon and I were just not comfortable giving him anything at such a young age, but we were on the fence...Until we listened to this podcast. We found out the ADHD can't even be diagnosed until the age of 7 and they're trying to dope up my 5 year old. Cam is a young five who, in hindsight, wasn't ready for kinder and should have stayed in pre-school another year. So, no meds for him...at least not right now.
Things with THE SHELF are fantabulous...Moving slowly, but fantabulous! Still mums the word, but we're getting closer and I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I WILL have some news by the end of the month, but until then here's some pics of the house we want.

FOOD INC.

Have you guys watched this? It's gross...just gross. It'll make you change the way you eat. Now, since having viewed this documentary, Damon and I have decided to change the way we shop for groceries, how much we patronize fast food restaurants, and what we allow the kids to eat. Instead of regular old ground beef, we get organic...Instead of fruit snacks and fruit cups, we buy fresh fruit. We're still learning, and the boys are fighting us every inch of the way, but we are holding fast. Like right now, they are going to bed early because they are refusing to eat my delicious Hot and Spicy Tortilla Soup courtesy of Gina Neely.

And because of our new way of eating (and the fact that my mom got me a subscription to Family Circle) I've been cooking.

Here's my onion, spinach, and bacon tart. SOOOOOO good (although I skipped the onions for the kids). Even Cam cleaned his plate!

The picture below is of the uncooked tart. THe cooked version has cheese all over it and you can't really see anything.

Sidebar- Check out Evan in her Princess Cozy Coupe.

Same Song

We're singing the same song this week. On Thursday I got a call from Cam's new school that he'd spit on someone so I FLEW up there and sat in on his class for a hour and a half. I LOVE the school, and still believe that Cam is in the perfect place, but he's still getting into the same type of trouble. Friday he threw a snowball at the teacher (among other things) and was suspended again. I tried to get an emergency appointment with the therapist, but it's a no go. Unless someone cancels we'll have to wait until Thursday.

We've been watching Cameron and taking mental notes about his behavior. It's obvious that he has NO impulse control. He knows all the rules but doesn't stop long enough to follow them. We're going to continue with the child study process at this new school so that he can get classified. Bottom line - he needs a parapro with him during work times so that he gets his assignments done and stop getting put out of school. We're going to try to have his psychologist fax over the paper work verifying that he has oppositional defiant disorder. That way it'll be in his file and then maybe at 504 plan can be put into place.

His new teacher says that he's in the middle to high range in his class of kinder and first graders, but she can't get him to focus long enough to really do anything. When I was there and made him sit with the small group and do the vowel assignment he finished in about 1.5 minutes with no help from anyone. That's pretty amazing considering how much school he's missed due to trips to the office and out of school suspensions.

We've been talking to him about making friends and bucket filling, and he's finally starting to open up about his feelings. He's been great this weekend about filling up our buckets by saying kind things and following directions, but who knows how this will translate when Monday rolls around.

As far as THE LIST is concerned I'm beginning to cross things off! I still think we've found the perfect school for Cam and in the event that we move after this school year he'll be in another public Montessori school wherever we end up. So, right now #29 is complete as is #31- Pics of the kids. Yesterday I reserved our session with a local custom family photographer. We'll be taking family pics next week and I can't wait! I've been wanting something done like this for a long time, but could never afford it. Now I can. These are not sit down, posey pictures...these are pics that will capture the kids' personalities in an environment they're comfortable in-HOME. Check out the photographer's work here.

The shelf is also coming into view. Things are really beginning to shape up nicely, and while I have a few different irons in the fire, my number one choice seems to be shaping up nicely. Here's another pic of our new possible city.

Lastly, just want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who have been sending kind words, encouragement and prayers for Cameron. It's greatly appreciated and keep them coming! :)

These past two weeks...

I think these past two weeks have been our most difficult as parents. Cameron has been suspended until Wednesday (AGAIN), and we're pretty much over it. After talking to Cameron about his behavior, we learned that students are picking with him, calling him "weirdo", and just making his first year of school a living hell.

So, I can tentatively cross number #29- Find the Perfect School for Cameron, off THE LIST! We've decided to pull him out of school and this Friday we found what we think may be the perfect place. On Monday he begins at a Montessori school. Montessori believes in freedom with limits and that's exactly what he needs. He's not the type of kid to do well in environments where he's forced to do things, so he kept getting in trouble for not working in a group or sitting on the carpet with his class, even though he already knew all the concepts they were going over.

At the new school, Cam can walk around, get out of his seat and sit on the floor ALONE, and they have a peace room where kids who have extra energy can use a sit and spin, or jump on a trampoline before going back to class! He can even wear house shoes all day long and EVERYTHING is hands on. After touring the school he immediately said he wanted to go there...this from the kid who tells us everyday that he hates school.

The same day he was suspended we ironically went to our first therapist appointment. This one was just for the parents where we talked about our concerns and what we want to see for him. Before we could even mention looking at other schools for Cam, the therapist suggested it, because his issues may be environmental. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Here's a video of a Montessori classroom.

I also added #31 to the list- invest in timeless family photos of the children.

Busy, busy

So...I broke my promise. I know I said that I would blog more, but I've just been too busy with school, work, and dealing with all things Cameron.

We've been to a Piston's game, the orthodontist (Dj's getting expanders), the doctor to discuss Cameron's behavior issues again (after he got suspended), and gymnastics (which DJ started, just as we consider taking Cameron out because he WILL NOT behave).

On the job front I'm still awaiting word on the southern jump off. They're having a hard time finding a principal, so things are kind of at a halt. Damon and I are exploring our options though, and none of them are in our home state.

Next week Damon and I will be seeing a family therapist in preparation for Cam's psychiatrist visit. This situation has been a MAJOR point of stress for us, and we're really at loss. Child Study stuff has started and they have put new interventions in place to see if they can help him. So far, they've been working at school, but...The doctor also suggested we give him benadryl before bed to help him sleep. We see a difference, so I guess that's progress.

I also learned to make a new dish. It doesn't have a fancy name, but it's cabbage with bacon...sooooo good.

Here are some pics of what we've been up to.

I really miss blogging!

So I'm going to TRY to update more. We've just been so busy lately with work, school, grad school, gymnastics, and all the hours I spend watching General Hospital, One Life to Live, and the Young and the Restless (LOL) there's just not enough time in the day!

Anywho...I will be using this winter break to improve my culinary skills, with my first undertaking being collard greens. I'm posting my second batch, because while the first batch was good, this new batch that's going to Damon's fam's house for Christmas dinner is FIYA! They would probably taste even better with smoked turkey leg and I would have used one too, if I hadn't waited till 5 minutes before Kroger locked its doors on Christmas Eve to look for one. Beef Bacon was used instead.



I would post pics of the mac and cheese I made, but I REALLY screwed it up, so it's just not worth it. My next undertaking is candied yams. I'll post pics when I'm done.

And for cute factor here are some recent pics of my tribe.

GQ smooth and NOwhere to go
Running his mouth as usual!
YES, she's still on the bottle...

Cameron's new past time

In an effort to give Cameron something that he enjoys, we enrolled him in gymnastics. He expressed interest after some students from the gym came to our school to put on a performance during morning assembly. Last Friday was his first day, and he did...well, he did ok. He didn't follow directions a couple of times, and got into a mini-fight with one of the other boys in his class but other than that it went well. This week's class was amazing! Cameron followed all the directions of his coach (until the ornament making activity), and had a great time. He had the chance to work on the rings, bars, practice back flips, cartwheels, and front flips on the trampoline.



In other news, we have decided to put Cameron through the child study process. We are still having major school and home behavior issues, and are pretty much at a loss. Both Damon and I don't really think that his actions are "normal" 5 year old things, so it's time to call in the experts. We've also scheduled an appointment with his pediatrician to discuss ADHD or an emotional impairment. STRESSFUL!!!

The SPED teacher and the school social worker recommended some booksd that may help us understand and deal with Cam a little better, The Explosive Child and Your Defiant Child

My Urban Toddler

Yesterday Evan, Cam, and I met up with some friends to hang out at My Urban Toddler. It's a cute little place set up like a downtown area with a market, theater, library, art museum, fire station, and something else that I can't remember. A great time was had by all and both Cameron and Evan can't wait to go again.

Halloween

Busy Week

Even though school is officially out we're having a busy week around here! Kayla has officially moved in and is transitioning really well. She got a new bed, bike, and learned how to ride without training wheels in a span of two days. I also managed to secure her a place in summer school at my building with a phenomenal reading teacher who diagnosed Kayla's weaknesses in about thirty-minutes (vowel sounds!!!). Kayla will be in her class for the first half of summer school and then will move to working in a small group with the best special education teacher EVER! No, Kayla has not been classified as SPED, but working with the SPED teacher will give her small group, individualized instruction. Basically, Kayla won't get much of a break, but she really can't afford one either, especially if she's going to go to 2nd grade and not be retained.




Cameron started tennis on Tuesday and loves it! He even made a friend (excitement). He goes every Tuesday and Thursday for the next three weeks, then the summer flag football season will begin.

Friday we're heading out on a mini-vacay. Of course we'll post all the pics and give you a blow by blow when we return.

P.S. EVAN SAID "MAMA" FOR THE FIRST TIME YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Little Graduate

Cam's bike ride

***** Explicit lyrics

Way behind...

in posts that is . Sorry it's been so long, but we've been pretty busy around here. The school year is coming to an end, Damon is switching jobs :), Cameron is preparing for his preschool graduation, there's football practice every Thursday and games every Sunday, I'm in grad school, and Evan is still adorable.

*** Dj is well on his way to another all 4 report card, and has perfect attendance! What a scholar. I can't believe he'll be going into the second grade already. It really does seem like he was just born!

***Cam's school/behavior issues have begun to rear their ugly heads again. It's becoming evident that he's having some kind of issue that's lending itself to his behavior problems. We're going to be making an appointment with his pediatrician to find out if there's anything we can do. The problems have also started to trickle into flag football. He fights on the field when another kid takes his flag. It's sad and hilarious all at the same time.

***Evan is wrapping her her first "school year" at daycare. We're taking her out for the summer so that we can spend some time, save dome dough, and keep her from getting a runny nose every few days! She's also crawling (finally) and yesterday we caught her standing up in her bed! Yay, for milestones. Still no "dada" or "mama", but she does say what I consider to be "Hey" and wave on a regular basis.

****Kayla was over last weekend and things went well. I was able to evaluate her and found that her teacher speaks in hyperbole. She can't read, but she's not nearly as bad as the teacher made her out to be, and the suggestion of ADD was hilarious! If that child has ADD my kids need straight jackets! Anyway, we've decided to put her into the school Damon will be teaching at next year. She'll go into the novice 2nd grad class and work on remedial skills, until she's ready for grade level concepts.

Here are a couple of cute pics of the boys until I have time to do something better.

Mother Son Luau

Yesterday, DJ, Cameron, and I attended the Mother Son Luau at our school. We dressed in our Hawaiian gear, ate snacks, and Danced a grand total of three times. Once to the ChaCha Silde, once to the Cupid Shuffle, and once to a slow song I can't remember. The other hour and fifty minutes were spent watching all the boys in the gym running back and forth at full speed sweating like donkeys, telling DJ to stop crying because he lost at limbo, and chasing Cameron out of the bathroom. Fun times.







In more Evan news....

She now has 2 teeth!

STD Conversation

Yesterday we received a report the Cam had been trying to kiss girls in Pre-School. I spoke with him about it and he assured he wouldn't do it again. I thought that was sufficient, but I made silly mistake of telling his father. Damon tells Cameron that if he kisses girls his lips will get warts and his mohawk will fall off. I was like WTH, but I couldn't stop laughing. He's only 4, so I think it's a little early for an STD conversation, don't you? lol!

The Rams and The Cardinals