It's Monday again....

0ekend went by too quickly as usual! Lexi & I didn't find much at the Fairbury garage sales Friday night. I found a cute basket (b/c you can never have too many baskets!) and some stick/peel ABC wall stickers that I think I'm going to put up around the dining room. One of my lower scoring areas with this daycare project had to do with the fact that I don't have any posters or pictures up for the kids which is kind of hard to do b/c this is also my family's home, but maybe the ABC's will help to improve that score.

Saturday was my all-day training on taking care of children with Special Needs. It was definitely a very long day, but I think it helped that I could contribute to the conversations that were going on with my own experiences with Kiegan and his CAPD. After lunch, there were different stations set up that let us experience what it was like to have certain special needs. Lexi was set up in one of the offices watching movies and playing on the computer so I went and pulled her out and had her go to the different stations with me. Our first station had us experience what it was like to have zero vision to very little or blurry vision by putting on different goggles. Some of the goggles were completely taped over, some had a bunch of clear tape over them to si


0mulate blurry vision, the pair that I had on only allowed me to see out of the corners. So once you put your goggles on, you had to do three things 1) Pour a glass of water 2) Color a picture in the lines and 3) Read a book. It was very challenging! The second station had us putting 2-3 large marshmallows in our mouth and then trying to ask or answer questions to simulate having a speech issue. I honestly think there was more laughing than anything b/c watching a bunch of adults shove marshmallows in their mouth is just funny. The third station had us wearing gloves that had the fingers all taped together. With the gloves on, we had to 1) Put a puzzle together 2) Put Lego's together and 3) Put beads on a string which was the most challenging!! The final station had us walking with a ball between our ankles and our hands clasped together. We had to go over to a pile of toys all while keeping the ball between our ankles and with our hands still clasped, pick a toy up and carry it over to someone else in our group. It was really a great way to get us all up and moving around! I think the very last hour of the day took the longest.

After training was over, Lexi wanted to spend her birthday money. So we ran to the mall and I was hoping she would find some more shorts & capris, but apparently she is insanely picky!!! "I don't like this material." "The material's too thin." "These are too expensive." GRRRR!!! So then she wanted to go to Claire's to look at their necklaces & bracelets and ended up spending ALL of her birthday money there!! So now she has more bracelets, necklaces, headbands and ponytail holders than she'll ever need.

Sunday I planned on spending the day cleaning and doing laundry, but for whatever reason my energy level was next to nothing. I even took a nap on the couch with Maddie which is something I never do b/c I don't like naps!! Eventually I got myself moving and went to town to get my Walmart shopping done. That seemed to help me get motivated b/c I got some cleaning done and fried up some beer-battered fish for supper. We all then watched the movie The Blind Side - excellent movie - definitely one I want to buy! I assume b/c I took a nap during the day, I had all sorts of energy so I cleaned up the kitchen, picked up the rest of the house and then worked on putting laundry away while everyone was sleeping until about 11:30. I figured I should try to go to bed b/c 5:30 was going to come soon enough.

So now it's Monday and we have our usual trip to Blm. tonight. Lexi was suppose to have her first braces appt. tomorrow afternoon with Dr. Untermann, but his office just called and he's not going to be in the office for whatever reason. So now it's been rescheduled for next Tuesday! Lexi will be disappointed b/c the ding-dong is very excited to get these braces on.....I'm sure that excitement won't last long!

Till next time....

Rainy day

We've been so spoiled by these beautiful days this week that the kids are not wanting to accept the fact that we just can't go outside today! I think they've asked me a hundred times and I keep having to show them that it's raining outside. :o( These rainy days must be making us all tired and drained of energy b/c I had three kids fall asleep while eating lunch today! LOL

My mom is coming over to the house as soon as she gets in town so that Lexi & I can zip over to Fairbury for their city-wide garage sales. It's just much easier to do without having to take Maddie in & out of the van - plus the weather would just make it that much more difficult. Lexi & I float so it's ok if we get rained on! I'm determined to be a better garage saler this year b/c what I've learned from the last couple of trainings is that you can really find a lot of great things at garage sales!

While Kiegan was at his appt. last night, Lexi & I ran to Toys R Us to purchase a few items with my grant money, but they also had a lot of other great outdoor toys on clearance that I just couldn't pass up! I did get the toddler-sized school bus with the slide, the sand/water table, and the picnic table that were on my grant list. I also ended up finding a tether ball, teeter totter, tire swing and an extra regular swing all on clearance! I'm sure it will just make Travis' day to see the awesome stack of stuff that he will probably have to help me put together and get set out by the play area. He did agree with me that it'd be a good idea to block off the play area with wood or railroad tie type thingys and then fill with rock pebbles or wood chips so maybe we can get that done ASAP before adding these new items out there. I'm excited for the kids to see them all!!!

Lexi wants to go with me to my all-day training tomorrow. I'm sure she'll regret it, but she's taking the portable DVD player & I may bring my laptop as well for her to do stuff on. It's going to be a loooong day!!

Next school year.....

I just received an email from the school that beginning next year, the school day will run from 8:30-2:30. I know I'm not real thrilled with the kids losing an hour of learning. How is it that a child's education is probably one of the most important things in life yet the schools & teachers are not receiving the funds, supplies, etc. needed to do their job??? Makes no sense.... I may be hitting on a sensitive topic here, but how is it that our country can go to so many lengths raising money to help those in OTHER COUNTRIES and giving education to those in OTHER COUNTRIES when our own people/children need the help?? Where's the telethons, benefits, etc. to raise money to give to OUR schools and teachers? I know, I know, unless I plan to take action I should keep my mouth shut but I don't even know where to begin to do such a thing. I'm just sayin'.....

Pictures

Maddie found the Angel Food Cake while I was in the bathroom....



Daddy came outside to play with us! Of course none of the other kids would go very close to him b/c they're scared of him.



Maddie trying to sit on her best friend's lap....just a slight size difference....



Maddie loves the sandbox!



My monkey decided to climb up into the window on her own.

This was the look I got when she woke up from her nap...



Then she crawled over to the end of the couch and went back to sleep!

Train Lexi & I saw on fire at the elevator by our house!

I guess she was hungry?

Finally - a ponytail!!!

Just sittin' in the window on a windy day

This was my April Fool's Day joke on Travis. When he went to put this clean diaper on Maddie, it said "I'm going to be a big sister!" Oh I'm so funny..........

This picture cracks me up! The little girl whose lap she's sitting on is 3 years old, but Maddie is HUGE compared to her!

Going for a walk!

We had to say goodbye to Bruiser's girlfriend. He humped the stuffing right out of her.

Good intentions....

I swear I have good intentions when it comes to this darn blog! I always tell myself "I just have to take 10 minutes a day to get on here and type up a little update." But then I think of 50 other things that I need to do first and it keeps getting pushed to the side. So I'm sure there is a lot that's happened - some good, some not-so-good - but I'm going to just focus on the good stuff.

Kiegan has been going down to Blm. three sometimes four nights a week for his sessions and I am so thankful that we found this program! His grades have NEVER been so good - he is currently getting all A's & B's with only one C. It just blows my mind! Of course I find myself wishing that we would have put the kids in public schools years ago so that he would have been able to receive this help early on instead of being denied for so long, but I'm thankful he's receiving it now. He has started the reading portion of the program so insurance will no longer pay for any of the sessions b/c the reading issues are not directly related with his Auditory Processing Disorder, but it's still an area that he needs help in. We of course said that we would just pay for everything out-of-pocket b/c it's absolutely worth it and it's obvious that what he's done so far is helping him. My concern now is that his special needs teacher that he goes to see every day - who has also played a HUGE role in his improvement - is suppose to be cut this next school year. I'm not sure how that will affect him next year if he is unable to get the daily at-school help that he needs. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

A couple of months ago I received a letter in the mail from our local Child Care Resource & Referral Network (CCRRN) that they were sponsoring a one-time-only project for family daycares. They were only going to select 10 daycare providers from 5 counties to be a part of the project - each daycare would then be assigned a mentor, have their daycare evaluated in a bunch of different areas (safety, toy variety, organization, etc) and each provider would have to attend some trainings. In return for all of this, each daycare would receive a $1000 grant to be used to improve the areas they scored low in during the evaluation. To be considered, the daycare providers had to send a letter explaining why they should be chosen, etc. I definitely wanted to be a part of it, but one of the required meetings was the weekend that we were all going to be at the indoor water park in Indiana so I didn't bother applying for it. A week or so later (after the deadline had passed), I was talking with one of the girls I work with a lot at CCRRN about a class I'm taking and she asked me why I hadn't applied for the project. She said they had already chosen 9 of the 10 daycares and were saving the 10th spot for me b/c they thought for sure that I would apply for it. I told her that I didn't apply for it b/c I was going to have to miss the first meeting which was a requirement and she said that they could easily work around that and to send her my consideration letter over email ASAP - so I did and was immediately accepted!! I was SOOO excited! I've been to a couple of trainings already, have worked with my mentor (who I am so thankful for) and have started my list of things I would like to purchase with my grant. I think I'm going to get the following:

1. 10-section wall locker
http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/NewDSS/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product=26377&keyword=angeles%20value%20line%2010-section&scategoryid=0&CategorySearch=&Brand=&Price=

2. Safari Book Shelf
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Guidecraft-Safari-Book-Display/10200295

3. 20-Tray Hide-Away w/ Clear Trays **This one I am MOST excited about b/c it will help me so much at quiet time. Currently, I have to pull everything out of the dining room into the living room to make room for the cots. With this cabinet, I can simply close it and move it up against the wall!**
https://store.schoolspecialtyonline.net/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=485436&minisite=10104

4. Little Tykes School Bus Activity Set
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3987666\

5. Step 2 Sand & Water Table
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3004163

6. Stuffed Animal Storage
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=536392&cmSource=Search

7. Puzzle Storage
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=608&cmSource=Search

I feel extremely lucky to be a part of this project!!

I also have an all-day training coming up on Saturday to learn how to care for children with special needs. I don't currently have any with special needs, but I guess I could have one in the future! I'm also trying to finish up an on-line class that I'm taking for childcare. Most of it's basic knowledge stuff, but I have learned TONS of ideas from other daycare providers that I would love to incorporate into my own daycare. I keep telling Travis that I would LOVE to turn the basement into a daycare/preschool (easier said than done) or he can build me a building in the backyard that I can use solely as my daycare/preschool. I doubt I'll be getting either of those!! I do feel very restricted with what I could do and what I want to do with my daycare b/c I'm using our home and we obviously need the space for our family as well. Maybe in the future....

Travis & I had our 2nd anniversary this past Monday. We gave each other some beautiful pictures to hang up on the wall in our living room. Maybe some day the two of us will be able to go on a date or something - that's not something we have much time for anymore!! LOL Joanne & Lexi also celebrated their birthdays. It's hard to believe that in one more year Lexi will be a teenager....SCARY!! She wants to go shopping for her birthday so I'm hoping we can do that on Sunday. I have Market Day to pick up Friday night plus I want to hit some garage sales, I'll be in a class all day Saturday so that just leaves Sunday!

As usual our calendar is pretty full - we've already been able to go camping a couple of weekends which is nice, but I find myself very stressed out when we come home on Sunday. The house just basically gets left in whatever state it's in Friday afternoon so I have that to deal with plus cleaning out the camper, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. to get done in just a handful of hours. We've got 3 weddings coming up, bachelor/bachelorette parties, showers, graduations, etc. So spare time is not even in our vocabulary anymore! My laptop has a "sticky notes" program and I've been using it to keep track of my to-do list and my entire screen is filled with colorful sticky notes! Every now and then I can delete one or two, but it's a slow progression. It also doesn't help that I keep thinking of more things I need to do every day.

The boys have been planting all week and are hoping to get the corn done by the end of the week if the rain holds off long enough. They're about a month ahead of schedule according to when John started planting last year. They're also licensed seed sellers for LG Seeds - so spread the word if you know of a farmer needing seed come next year!!

I'll post some pics in the next blog....