Last day of summer

School started as you have seen by earlier posts August 12th. So the 11th we went to the lake to have one last fun day of summer. Xander swam on his own and so did Dimon, first time ever! Izzy's swimming skills continue to improve and it was fun. But any day out with my kids is fun. Especially if we are going anywhere near water. Now the castle they are destroying is not one they built. It





was abandoned about 30 minutes
before I let Dimon near it. It was a good last day. Even though we were broke and couldn't go to the fair we had a lot of fun just being with the kids and splashing around in the water. Take that afternoon again any day!

Splash Pad at Karsts

Mini waterpark in Bloomington! They opened it up the beginning of August and so Andy and I decided we must grace the new park with our presence.

McCormicks Creek

So on July 31st we went to McCormicks State Park. It was a blast. the whole goal was to hike to the Waterfall. Well they have made it much easier to get to now. There is a stairway down to the creek now and so you don't have to scale treacherous rocks to get down the hill anymore, which is good when you are us! We got the bottom and discovered that to get to the waterfall we would have to find safe passage across the "raging" waters and stay dry. Well you can see for yourself how well that worked. I can say, I stayed pretty dry, I can also say I hate wet tennis shoes! But we had on our backpacks, 3 of them, one for me to carry, it had food, waters and diapers and camera in it. Izzy's had towels, Xander's had his toys. Cause if we are all going to have our backpacks then he had to have his too. It was cute he wouldn't leave the house without it. But of course Xander was also the first one to fall "victim" to the water. Ya he was so upset!!!

Facebook... I blame Melanie

After about a month of Mel telling me I needed to try it I gave in. Yes Mel, I am blaming you for the latest addiction in our household. It is facebook and all the little silly games! Oh my gosh!!! First of all I am grateful for all my friends, but I had no idea that we all suffered from this disease! In 72 hours I have collected alot of people on my friends list. Secondly we all play the silly games! Its great to realize you are not alone.... Andy is also now addicted. He started playing my games then got mad and made his own page so he could play his own... he he he
AHEM.... So I would like to take this opportunity to point the finger right at MELANIE!!! love you!

School Starts

So this year for some insane reason that is beyond my understanding, the school board and superintendent decided that to get out of school the last week of May, which is 1 week earlier then normal, we should start school August 12th! 2 weeks earlier then normal!! AHHHHH! Lets see if we can screw up parents plans and summer plans anymore than normal, for the sake of a week! I guess my biggest problem is that school starts in the middle of State Fair. Which I'm sure most of you have heard my rant, but here it goes again... What the hell are they going to do for the kids that are required to be at the fair for 4-H to care for their animals and muck the stalls and all that? What are they going to do for the parents who now have to go tend to the animals and miss work because the school board decided that it was more convenient for them???? Its just not fair. Plus you start the kids 2 weeks early to get out 1 week early? Why? We now have a 'fall break' built in but personally I would rather have my summer with my kids! Ok I'm done now....

the only good news to come out of this is that I am subbing again and so we are not near as broke, but the first check is a week out still. Oh well.

Izzy has the same teacher as last year, Karen Helms. Mrs Helms loved her kids so much that she is now a second grade teacher and has many of the same students she did last year. Kinda cool. Izzy is in heaven, she loves Mrs. Helms! So we are happy. Her room is a 2nd 3rd grade split and so there are both grades in the room, but each works on its own curriculum. Pretty neat. Izzy goes to Speech twice a week at school and for math and reading goes to Mrs. Evans room. School has fit back into her routine, but she still doesn't want to get up in the morning... wonder who she belongs to...

Xander is attending kindergarten at Summit Elementary. (The newest of the MCCSC Schools, located off Tapp Road)Over the summer they announced that all community based classrooms, like the one Xan was going to be in, were being moved and revamped. Needless to say I was not happy. We live in Grandview district and I wanted him to be there! We bought a house in Grandview for that specific purpose. (Yes I know I am bitchy today) Well they had a parent meeting to talk about a new curriculum that was going to be used in the community based rooms, which is called the STAR program. This program is based on ABA, Applied Behavioral Analysis, and works to tailor each lesson to each child. Areas of receptive language, expressive language, spontaneous language, functional routines, academics, and play & social skills are all addressed and it is a phenomenal program. So this is how we were convinced. Plus his room is limited to 6 children and has 1 main teacher and 3 paraeducators! So 4 teachers for 6 kids!!!! How amazing is that? Melinda Bunger is his teachers name, I can't remember the para's names right now, but they are all very nice. We went and met them at the summer academy this year and he works very well with them. We've only had 2 outbursts and that was both over food, imagine that. They have been very good at letting us know each day what is going on and how things went for the day. Xan seems happy. Which is the most important thing.

Poor Dimon, doesn't know what to do when Izzy and Xan get on the buses. The first day we took Izzy to school because of course Xan's bus comes at the same time Izzy's does and they have 2 different places to pick up. (Xan's at our drive and Izzy's 2 blocks up on the main drag through the neighborhood.) So we drove izzy to school and as we were leaving, he very quietly laid down in the hallway and looked up with his little lip sticking out and said, "I want Eze". So sad.... Took me 5 minutes to convince him we had to let Izzy go to school, then when we got to the car, he sticks it out farther and says "Yan-Yan gone. I want Yan!" and burst into tears. It was so sad. After a few days he is more used to it now, but he is still not happy when they leave, however he does like all the attention he gets when he is the only child. I think he forgot over the summer...

Facebook

Mindy Bartlett

Create Your Badge

Ode to the closet gamers....

even gaming dorks have talent...



stephen lynch... not kid friendly


oh my... kid friendly... may make you dumber


If you remember this you are blessed. If you admit to remembering this you ROCK!

Free Passes

How cool is this???

Free national parks pass for people with disabilities

There's still some time left this summer to enjoy the great outdoors! And now, people with disabilities can enjoy federal recreation sites for free.

When you visit a federal recreation site, just present some documentation of disability status and ask for the free Access Pass. Documentation includes a physician's statement, or a document issued by a State or Federal agency like the Veteran's Administration, Social Security Disability Income, Supplemental Security Income, or a vocational rehabilitation agency. This pass gives you and three adults free admission to federal recreation sites around the country, and it's good for life!

For more details, or to find a recreation site, visit the National Park Service's Web site: http://www.nps. gov/fees_ passes.htm and http://www.nps. gov/findapark/ index.htm . If clicking the links does not work, copy and paste the links into your browser's address bar.

Have fun out there!

just breathe

by Ken Winston Caine

Here’s a magical question that changes EVERYTHING! Practice asking it of yourself throughout your day. Especially ask it when feeling overwhelm, upset, frustration, and so forth. The question:How would you like to feel right now?

Put it in the first person form, of course. That is:How would I like to feel right now?And be perfectly honest — and really, really sure of your answer.

And then:Feel that way.Allow yourself to feel the way you would like to feel right now.And allow yourself to be vigilant about noticing and letting go of any conflicting feelings and thoughts that attempt to assert themselves. And, when you become aware that conflicting feelings and thoughts HAVE asserted themselves and are busy making messes of your internal emotional environment and mental clarity, allow yourself to pause … and ask the question again.

You’ll be surprised. The more you practice this, the better you’ll get at it.

About the Authour: Ken Winston Kaine is a Holistic Self-Help Doc' exploring the frontiers of holistics & personal development ...Sharing 'what works, what doesn't, and what's simply freakin' fascinating

I got this from anther blogger post so they get all the credit.

http://positively-inspiring.blogspot.com/