Jon the chef

I have a bad reputation for burning bacon, rightfully so.  Jonathan offered to make BLT's for dinner.  I have found my bacon cooker- perfect.

Let me count the ways!

Yes, she is.

Angry Birds

Mike and Kenny have their phones.

Spelling Miracle?

I had to give Mary Jane a practice spelling test on Thursday night.  She had practiced writing them all week- which usually lends for her knowing them.  After many tears, she spelled 3 of the 12 correctly.  I had her write each word two more times.  This only netted her spelling 5 of the 12 correctly.  I told her to try her best and not to cry if she didn't know them during the test.  She came home and she got an 11 out of 12- That was unexpected!

Kenny

Last May I took Kenny to the doctor for a well visit.  Everything was fine until the pediatrician
asked if I had any concerns. I mentioned that he did not have a very wide vocabulary. Maybe he could say 10-15 words and quote some weird phrases from the movie "Up".   The doctor didn't seem concerned but said that we should get him checked out.

I took him to Child Find in our school district so they could evaluate him.  Patrick could not speak when he was a child because of his hearing problems and Child Find placed him in speech therapy and he could talk by 3rd grade.  I was thinking that this might be the same thing, without all the ear surgeries.  Well, they did an evaluation with a speech therapist, a counselor and some other therapists.  At the end of the session they told me they saw quite a few things that concerned them.   I left with a sad heart, packets on Sensory Integrative Dysfunction and the thoughts that my child may be on the Autism Spectrum.

In August, Kenny started preschool as a special education student in a class with one other student and two therapists and three aids.  He goes to school 2 1/2 hours four days a week.  They have been working on speech, motor, behavioral, and other skills.  It has been a whirlwind of emotions for me and the family.  As I researched the autism spectrum I found some things that Kenny has been doing since he was little, like spinning and smearing poop on the wall.  His funny quoting of movies is typical too.  We are in the midst of trying to get a formal diagnosis, so he can get the therapies he might need while he is still little.

Since he has started the preschool, Kenny is now saying some sentences and is engaging in play with other children instead of sitting in front of a computer. I have seen much improvement in just a few months.

Harvest Hamburger Soup

Soup for lunch.  Kenny of course is eating "egg waters" most commonly known as hard-boiled eggs.

Adam

In October I went to Adam's parent/teacher conference.  He is a very exuberant child, who never ceases to talk or make an observation.  I'm always a little wary to see what the teacher has to say.  Last year, his teacher put his desk right next to her desk so he wouldn't have anyone to talk at.  She also told me she loved Adam, and her own child had been much like him.

So, I go to see this year's teacher and she suggests that he should see a doctor, maybe for ADD.   I then began crying.  Adam is a yellow, according to The Color Code personality test, he is motivated by fun.  It even says in the book that some yellow children are misdiagnosed with ADD because of their natural want of fun.  So instead of drugging him up to behave, he has a card that he gets smiles if he behaves in class and frowns if he does not.  He has 6 smile opportunities per day.  If he gets 5 or more I give him a treat when he gets home, if he does good all week- he gets a bigger treat (like a trip to McDonald's) on the weekend.  He is receiving an award above from the principal for "being LESS disruptive in class."  I'll take it.

Patrick is a star

Patrick advanced to Star Scout.  I have my necklace that has all the cubscout and boyscout pins.