Win a Kindle!

I'm not giving it away, sorry I just don't have those kind of resources. However, Freely Educate is! Head on over to their page at http://freelyeducate.com and enter to win! I really don't think I'll win, but it's worth a try, right? I love this site, they always offer some amazing resources and ideas. Check them out, it's free to browse and they try to find free or low cost materials for homeschoolers, or those who supplement their kids' educations. What more could you ask for?

Homeschooling and Technology

I don't usually do homeschool posts on this blog. I'm hoping to do that more. And crafting posts too. We'll see how it goes.

I want to mention some sites/things we are doing/using for our homeschooling. What I'm mentioning are free and for some of them you can get expanded features for a little extra. I have not been given anything by these sites to use them. I like them and I find them useful so I'm sharing the knowledge. We use them for homeschooling, but they can also be used to suppliment a public school education. The grades we are working on are all elementary, so please keep that in mind.

Kid Zui is a great kid's browser. I love how I can set up accounts for each individual kid. I also get sent an email of what the kids were doing, what sites they were going to, how long they were on it. It gives me comfort to know that they are doing things that are safe. I can also allow sites to go through that KidZui won't automatically. Each kid has their own avatar that they can customize. We paid a little extra so that they can earn more points and open new options for avatars and backgrounds. Jayden's account is pink'd out and James currently has a space theme. They use this for their free computer time but also for their schoolwork. By getting the emails, I know if they were on the site they were supposed to be for doing their schoolwork.

Academic Skill Builders is another great site. Their main site has a lot of different games that introduce and reinforce basic skills. They also have a section of games that can be used with the wii. You just need to have your wii set up to go online and you can get there. The games for the wii are meant for kids with basic reading/math skills already in place. They also work on stuff meant for kids up through 4th/5th grade. There are 9 levels for each game, each level takes 1 minute. The math games are multiplication, addition, and subtraction. The language games work on grammer, verbs, and antonymns/synonyms/homonyms. By having James do the work on the wii, he's using a video game to do his work (makes it more appealing to him), I'm not needing to print out a bunch of worksheets (more appealing to me so I don't have to track the work down and I save printer ink and paper), and with it being interactive I am hoping he retains it better. I like with the wii games I can walk into the room and directly observe him doing the work and know immediately what he's doing and where he might need some help.

ABC Mouse is a site that I like for preschool and kindergarten skills. With the difficulties Jayden has with language and reading, this is a great site for her. I also set up an account for Izzy to work on some basic skills. You can try it out for a week for free, then it's $7.95 a month for three kid accounts. We did the free week trial and Jayden LOVED it. I liked that she could navigate the site with little reading skill required. The games reinforced the basic language/reading skills I am working on her with. There are math, music, and art activities as well. I love the readalong books. Jayden would pick a story and the words would light up as the story was read.

I use a lot of sites for printing papers. I'll do another post for a more in depth list of those. Some quick mentions are CurrClick and Enchanted Learning. Both sites have a lot of free downloads. With CurrClick it is a central site for a lot of different publishers. They offer free downloads and samples. You can also choose to pay for some stuff. The prices vary by publisher. With Enchanted Learning, you can choose to pay $20 a year to get unlimited downloads. By doing that you get a lot more available to download as well as downloading lessons/books all at once instead of page by page.

Prayers and blessings everyone. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Remember that just because you homeschool (or know someone that does) doesn't mean you can't utilize technology to help you teach. Look through the sites. Try them out. Share them with others. Keep the learning going.

He Started School

Izzy started school on the 27th. He rode the bus there and back on the first day. He looked a little lost when I put him on the bus, but he seems to have quickly figured it out. He won't be riding on Thursdays because of his OT, but otherwise he does every day. He came home with candy from their Halloween party on Friday, along with a cold. He's very snotty and messy and has graciously shared with the other kids. I don't know if he'll be going in the morning or not. I am going to call and ask for their opinion. I think he'll be staying home for a day or two to make sure he is over the worst of it, basically meaning his nose is no longer running like a leaky faucet. I do have some pics to share, I need to edit them. They'll be up later today (as it is now technically Monday).

We did nothing for Halloween. The kids watched a couple of movies and Jason made up little baggies (snack size) candy for them. Considering that baggie is more candy than they usually have in a month's time, they were pretty happy about it. The high temp today was 49. It was definately a stay at home and veg out kind of day.

We start school officially tomorrow (well technically today). I'm still figuring out all of the lessons and there are some more materials I'd like to get. I do want to get the ball rolling and get the kids into the groove of it.

Prayers and blessings everyone. I hope you all have had a safe and happy Halloween.

An Editorial I Wrote.

Yes I know it's been over a month since I posted. I have pics to put up and things like that. However, here's a quick post with a link.

I wrote an editorial to our local paper. There was a case that had been moved to our county from where it had happened about an hour south of here because the judge felt that it wouldn't get a fair jury in it's home jurisdiction. It involved a very horrific death of a young woman, who was 16, and she was homeschooled. She had special needs, the same diagnosis as James in fact. Her parents were the cause of her death, though they didn't set out to kill her, that was a horrible accident. The parents were found guilty of 1st degree Child Neglect and Abuse as well as Torture. Yeah. The young woman's name is referenced in the editorial. If you search her name through Mlive you'll find the articles regarding the hearing if you want to know more.

Because the young woman was homeschooled many many many people came out and said that there need to be tougher homeschool laws because "look at her". In fact, she had been in Public School for many years and the abuse had been reported, however CPS had dropped the ball. I believe the girl's grandmother is now looking in to a civil suit against that agency, which I completely understand. If they had followed through, the young woman would still be alive. It was stated during the trial that the investigators for the state knew of the methods of restraint (torture) and condoned it.

Needless to say, I was angry. It made my blood boil to read about this trial, that this child should have been treated so cruely, that the state passed her over, that people would assume that because she was homeschooled that was the root of the problem.

I don't know if the editorial will be printed in the local paper, right now it's just online. Our local paper has shrunk considerably, as have many/most in the US, so space is limited and I was told there were many editorials ahead of mine waiting to be printed. Here is the link. Let me know what you think.

Mommy, Just Read the Freekin' Book

"How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

"How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly he spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
With gently smiling jaws!"

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

The version that we are reading is illustrated by S. Michelle Wiggins. I don't know if it's abridged or not. I'm assuming so considering it IS a child's book, but I could be wrong. We've made it to "A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale" which is the 3rd chapter in this version. Now, please let me know if I'm wrong, but where is the Jabberwockie poem? Is that in "Wonderland" or is that in "Through the Looking Glass"?

The title of this post? That is what Jayden said to me, word for word, when I started laughing at the above poem. That poem is one of my fav's of all time. It's absolutely HILARIOUS to me!

To try to espouse the values of reading, and the learning of how, I am currently reading "Alice" to Jayden on a nightly basis. We get through a chapter or two and then it's time to quit. I'm hoping that she understands that by learning to read, she can read all kinds of great books like "Alice". Knowing my daughter, however, she'll just think she can have ME read to her all of those great books.

Jayden frustrates me to no end. She is a smart smart girl. She just doesn't have the drive, the desire to learn. It's not in her. She fights it tooth and nail. I don't know how to light that fire in her. I'm at a loss. I keep pushing her to do the work. She is able, she just doesn't want to. So she stalls and cries and fusses and stalls some more. It was her strategy at "regular" school and why her teacher thought she didn't know nearly what she does.

James is a different story. While he doesn't like the work, he will do it, and does really well doing it on his own. I do need to start working with both of them in more hands on kind of way. Doing other subjects and projects and that kind thing with them. I've been slacking in that area, relying pretty heavily on their workbooks. While I am going to keep using them, I want to start branching out. I'd like to have them learn at least the names of all 50 states by the summer, with James possibly knowing the capitals as well, along with finding them on a map. I also need to start figuring out science stuff.

Prayers and blessings everyone. Enjoy your reading, and sharing the joy of it with others. Kiss your librarian, or at least make sure to tell them a big thank you!

Executive Privelage for Pie

That is what Jason told Jayden today. He said "I am claiming executive privelage to have this pie because I want it. I'm like the President and Mommy is the Congress. I get Executive Privelage for cool stuff like pie when I want it, but when it comes to the important stuff, I can get the veto." He's right of coarse. There have been a lot of times when I have said "Hey let's go do this" and he has said "No" and I just looked at him and said "Yes, it's a good FAMILY THING to do so we are doing it" to which he always says "Ah Fuck" and goes along. More often than not, he enjoys himself while doing it. He may not want to do it to begin with, but he changes his tone as the event takes place. It helps that I do all of the driving.

I have no internet right now. Not really sure why. It worked yesterday before the tornado warning. I was about to say "before the storms" but it's been raining for about 3 days now, so that doesn't quite apply. Afterward, it didn't. I tried calling the toll free number, it said "you have to call back during business hours" even though it claims it is "24 hour support, 7 days a week".

I came to the library (it's how I'm putting up this post) to check email and I got a person on live chat. She said that as far as she can tell it's all good, which is what our computer is telling us, aside from the unable to get online thing, so we need to call back tomorrow morning to make sure that our bill is in good standing. UGH! It's odd though, because all of our other services, like voice mail, long distance, caller i.d. and call waiting, are still working fine as can be. So I'll be calling in the morning to hopefully straighten it all out.

I'm hoping that it isn't the modem. Then I'll be stuck waiting for a new one to get to us. Other than that, things are going as usual. I am hoping to find a few books on pioneer crafts to lead up to our trip out for the pioneer days event at the Nature Center. I'm also going to pick up a couple of books to read. I requested a couple of books to be sent to the branch that is closest to the house, they aren't here at the main one (the only one open on Sunday I think) and I don't want to drive around town looking for them.

Like I said, it has been raining for 3 days now. Three streets near my house are blocked off because of flooding. Hugely overflowing ponds all over the roads. It's pretty cool to look at and I know that I'm going to try to take some pics tomorrow, which I think is also supposed to be rather rainy. I believe this is our carry over from Hurricane Ike.

I was thinking the other day about I haven't outright asked the Powers That Be for a baby, a being born at full term thriving kicking and screaming bundle of joy baby. With my next candle ceremony, I do a renewal every full moon, I'll be asking for that formally. Maybe I just need to formally verbalize and internalize and externalize and just put out there that is what I want, what Jason and I both want.

Every day that Izzy is a handful, and at 2 1/2, that is basically EVERY day, we jokingly say "we want another WHY?" I know that is our hearts desire. What we feel is right for our family. The missing piece. Our family is awesome the way it is. Every day gets better. At night, as we lay in bed, we know something, someone, is missing.

Some might say "Well, it's Katy. She isn't there all the time." I don't think that is it. In fact, I know that isn't it. We feel that when she is with us. I know that she is happy with Jenn. She is very much a part of our lives, as are of hers. She isn't here full time, but that is OK for all of us, all around.

Maybe it's my older daughter, Vyky. I aslo doubt that. Even though she isn't in our lives at all, I have an ache for her, but it is different. I know who she is, kind of. I imagine her, how she has grown. She is a real person.

The person that is missing is a mystery. A mist, a though, an idea. She/He is there, out there somewhere, just waiting to come home to us. I can feel her/him. Like a tickle on my mind, a caress on my heart. I can see a face, an outline of body. The hair and eye color aren't concrete. Nor is the name. Max I think. Though I'm not sure if that is a boy or a girl. And that changes too. However, the feeling that they are there, just waiting for us, for our home, for our lives, doesn't.

Well, I'm getting hungry, I have a roast in the crock pot at home, but I know that won't be ready for a few hours yet. I love having the slow cooked roast at the end of the day, it always turns out so flavorful and moist and tender. MMMMM. OK, that just made me HUNGRIER! So prayers and blessings all. Enjoy your full moon if you can see it, or just knowing it's there behind the clouds.

Jane Austen, Book Clubs, Presidential Elections, and the Electoral College

Yes, I know, it's a long ass title. Bear with me. This evening was movie night here in our house. It's been a rather rainy day. Not dreary really, though that is because I love the rain. It's always so crisp and clean and refreshing. I digress as usual. So I went to the Video Store and I also picked up stuff to make nachos. MMMMMM, nachos! The movies I got were Happily Never After, Harry Potter 5, I Am Legend, The Jane Austen Book Club, and 21. All of these are of interest because I or the kids have seen them in previews in our other movies. We watched 4 of the 5 tonight.

The kids watched Happily Never After, I caught bits and pieces of it while cooking up the stuff for the nachos. Then directly after they watched Harry Potter. Having read the book, I knew what to expect, and it was still a decent movie. I sent the kids to bed and Jason and I watched I Am Legend. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. It also reminds me a whole hell of a lot of Stephen King's "The Stand". That is is an awesome book, especially read in the full unabridge version. It's horridly long, and Jason on made it through the first 1/2, but it is SO worth it. I'd like to get the made for T.V. movie to have here at the house. That would be great as well.

Jason went to bed so I watched The Jane Austen Book Club. I will admit here and now that I have NEVER read anything by Jane Austen. What? Never? Nope, never. I have read Little Women, and Little Men, and all the ones that go with those. Louisa May Alcott, is that her name, the author? I've read a lot of classics, just for fun. I read The Scarlet Letter, Great Expectations, The Jungle, and Animal Farm over the summer before my freshman year of high school. Not for any real reason, just that I had always heard those titles referred back to, so I wanted to read them myself. I read Gone With the Wind during the school year. All 1800 pages of it. I wasn't kidding when I said I was a bibliophile. Anyone who reads required reading for fun, before it's even required, is a bit of a geek. I also refused to listen to anything but classical music, with a smidge of classic rock thrown in, all the way until I almost a sophomore in high school.

That right there is why I feel I have the qualifications to teach my children at home. I know that if I don't understand, I will read a book about it, and find someone who DOES know and I'll ask them to teach me, so I can teach the kids. My mind is like a seive. I know all kinds of odd facts and unusual information. I kick butt at Trivial Pursuit. All except the T.V./Movie and Sports stuff. I don't watch T.V and I won't watch a movie that doesn't interest me and I don't follow sports at all. I could be spending all that time sitting there reading a book.

So I'm going to read some Jane Austen. For those of you who have read her, where should I start. She only has 6 books, right? I am also doing a book club on the Four or More mommies. I guess our first book is going to be the one the guy wrote about having the worst dog in the world. I'm sorry, I don't remember the title right now, but when I go to request it from the library, I will.

Last night I was thinking about the election. I was also talking to my sister, and amazingly, our entire conversation did not revolve around her wedding. We came to the electoral college. How much of a very screwed up system it really is. How is it that only a fraction of the entire country are the ones to pick the new president? I understand that when it was first instituted, it was to make counting the votes easier. I also understand that the person with the electoral vote is not required to vote the way the state votes go. It is their vote and they can vote how they see fit. So how is it that my vote honestly counts, at least when it comes to the new president. Whomever holds that electoral vote, now they REALLY do count. And they count for A LOT.

How do you get picked to be the holder of one of those votes? Who makes that choice? Who is to say that those holders of votes are pre-loaded one way or the other? Who polices that to make sure that isn't going to happen? Do the electoral vote holders actually vote twice? Once for their own vote and once for their vote for the state? Can they be two different votes if that is the case?

In this day and age of computers and new fangled information and all that, isn't it time to redo the electoral college. Does it really provide a viable function any longer? Wouldn't it be better to TRULY put the vote of the people back in to the power of the people?

Those are my ramblings for today. I know I'm late on my sexy new story for the other board, I'm sorry, I've been a bit busy taking care of house and home and all of that stuff. I'll work on it this weekend, I promise. Prayers and Blessings everyone and have a wonderful weekend, rain filled or sunny. I think we will making a trip to the museum.

Made From Scratch

Later today I'll post pics of our home made pretzels. We made them last night, around 10 at night. One thing I have learned about having James and Jayden help me cook, I need to double check to make sure all of the ingredients are put IN to the bowl. I'm pretty sure we forgot the sugar in the recipe. They came out tasting all right, like biscuits, I expected them to be a bit sweeter, hence the belief that we forgot the sugar. We will also be attempting mini popovers later today, and for dinner I am going to try out a potato and mini sausage recipe. To me, the popovers look like sweet fruitless muffins, one of the main ingredients is honey, so we'll see how those turn out.

Brandi over at Mountain Morning is giving away another book. She sure does like to do that! The book is all about things HOMEMADE! I'll be trying to do a lot more of that in the coming weeks and months.

Jason and I have talked and we decided that it would be best for our family right now for me to, once again, take up the mantle of full time stay at home mommy. Jason worries that I may go insane, hell, I'm already there! All kidding aside, I can set up a night a week to run away, either with MF Jenn or to the library or something like that.

This will free up my schedule to allow for scouts for James on Mondays, and trips to Muskegon for Katy, and all sorts of things like that. Oh, and one of Jason's fav things, me cooking home made dinners. And him not being left with the kids by himself, especially now that I'm watching Allen and Jessi three times a week for pay while Jack and Christina's schedules over lap. I need to ask permission from them if I can post pics including their kids here on my blog (not my kids, so I'm not going to assume it's all right, though I think it should be, as no last names are used and other identifying things are kept out of the limelight).

On Thursday we are going to my in-law's for dinner. Why? Well, Jason really wants to go down and spend some time with them. That's why. That sums it all up right there, the whole ball of wax. I can understand that desire, though I usually don't share in it with my own famly. I'm not really sure why that is, but it's just how it goes around here.

Jason is still working on the pieces for our giant map of the U.S. I've gottent through Maine in my flash cards of the state maps for James, and I've completed the state name/capitol ones and Jayden's sight words. James sees his ped tomorrow (we overslept by A LOT for the appt that was this past week, so it was rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon) for a med check. James is happier without taking the Strattera, however the Super Hyper Mode is going to drive me absolutely batty, I tell you! I want to talk to her and see if there are other med options available, or if we can try a lower dose and taking it in the mornings again. I don't want to supress his personality, but I do want him to be able to sit still for longer than 15 seconds. Tonight I told him to go to bed at 11:20 because I was DONE. I just couldn't handle the CONSTANT activity anymore. UGH.

Izzy has his Early On teacher at 11 in the morning. Once he is old enough to go in to the classroom situation, I *think* I will be taking him out of the public school system. He has to be 3 then, and I will see how he is progressing at that point.

I'm thinking this is all for this post right now. It's going on 2:30 in the morning and I'm getting pretty tired. I need to wash dishes tomorrow, try to get my tomatoes replanted (still working on that project), clean up the living/dining rooms, and find my ball of yarn that Izzy hid on me. I'm working on a great blanket that will make a wonderful gift, except Izzy picked up the ball, with the needles stuck in it, and carted it off somewhere. That boy is more and more mischevious as the days go by.

Prayers and blessings and have a wonderful day.

Technically the 18th...

Well, it's now technically August 18th. The day I set upon myself to change some serious habits. To try to make life around here a little smoother, a little nicer, a little healthier (at least for myself on that last one). I'm still on Sunday, however as it is now Monday, I'll refer to today (Sunday) as yesterday, kosher?

I asked Jason what his priorities in my trying were. What it is he'd like to see me do in a list, a chore chart. I made a list. A list that I'm going to convert in to an actual chore chart. With designated days of the week and everything. I'll also be making charts for the kids. They need to help too. It can't be just me or just Jason. It really needs to be all of us, even Katy when she is here.

Here's my list:
Kid's bath cleaned up - take care of the cats (litter, food, water) and pick up toys in bathroom
Dishes - stacked, scraped, neat
Laundry - washed, dried, folded, put away
Meals - planned, cooked, served
Playroom and Upstairs Bedrooms - picked up, dirty clothes brought down, beds neatened
Pick up after ourselves - trash, mail, toys, dishes, food
Dining/Living Rooms and Downstairs Bath - picked up, wiped down
Kitchen - clean up, wipe down stove, counters, microwave, sweep, mop up floor
Office and Downstairs Bedroom - pick up, reorganize
Table, Chairs, Couches, Floors, and Windows - wipe down and vacuum as needed
Water and Weed Garden areas - as needed
Lesson Plan for next day
Exercise
Storage Room - organize and sort
EBay/Work at Home option/Wal-Mart work
Personal Projects
Family Time
Computer Time

Ah yes, my computer time comes in dead last. It really does need to. I'd like to get a work at home job that will really replace the Wal-Mart income. I'd like to always be able to be home, to cook at least, if not for all the other good reasons. Anyone have anything where they make a decent amount of consistent income while being at home?

Obviously, not all of those things will be done every day. They'll be split up a bit. Jason said it wasn't so much the washing of dishes he wanted done, just trying to get myself and the kids to keep them a little more organized. Plates and bowls stacked. Everything scraped out. Keeping them as neat as possible, so even the dirty dishes don't look like such a mess.

I may move the exercise up further on to the list, or have it on the chart 5 days a week. Planning the meals will help also. I'd like to be able to get to the point of doing a whole week at a time. That way, on the days I do work, Jason will be able to take a look, get what is needed for the meal (if I haven't made it in advance), and put it all together. I would like to have more stuff set up in the freezer, just pull it out and heat it, however we need a 2nd freezer really to do that for the family our size.

Reorganization is going to be a big thing around here. What do we need? What can be tossed? What can be sold? What can be donated? By reorganizing, it will help keep things picked up and neater.

I will be doing more follow through with the kids. I can't tell them to go do something and then not check up on them and then be angry when it's not done. They are kids, they need supervision and direction. How are they to learn the correct (read MY way) if I'm not there with them, showing them, teaching them?

This week I will be caring for my neice and nephew as well as my kids. Allen and Jessi will be here because my brother is starting a new job, and his training is taking place during the day. From what I understand, on normal occassions, he will be working evenings. So this week will be a little more hectic than usual, but I'm sure we'll all do fine.

That's all for now, it's almost 2:30 in the morning and I really need to head to bed. Jack will be here around 9:30 with the kids. I hope the migraine leaves me as I'm sleeping tonight, or I'll be a grouch tomorrow morning. Prayers and Blessings.

A Quick Update on the Garden

Well, the kids sunflowers are beginning to come up. I'll take pics and they will be drawing pics for their ongoing science lesson.

Our veggies are beginning to make an appearence. I pulled up a carrot, and for all it's plumage on top, it was a tiny little thing underneath. We have some broccoli trying to come it, but it was planted in the midst of the zucchini/pumpkin/cucumber/some kind of sqash, so it needs to be transplanted to a different area so it can thrive. I need to seperate out the tomatoes and tie them to the fence so they stay up right.

I'll post more pics in the next couple of days. Right now, I'm off to the storage room to attempt to find some clothes to fit Jayden and Izzy. I know they are up there, however it's a matter of digging through to find them.

To Comment or Not To Comment

That my dear people is the question. See, I can say people. According to my stat counter, I get about 60 hits a week here on this little blog. I don't have that many family members, and I don't keep reading it and posting more that often either, so there are those out there who ARE reading this insanity.

Yesterday I received an annonymous comment. It's under the "The (Not So) Chosen One" post. So I responded to what she, I'm assuming it was a she, said. And then she left another comment. She's right, I don't know who she is, however I would like a name to associate with the comment.

When I read the first comment, I perceived it as she was bashing my husband. When my friend Jenn read it, she perceived as pity for James and his disability. When Jason read it, he said simply "I like James as much as I can like him. Some days that's more than others, however that goes the same for ALL the kids" Which is quite true.

I've never fully explained what James' "issues" are. So maybe it is mis-perception on the part of the commenter about the actual situation. She called it "sad".

See, I don't see my life as sad at all. Trying, frustraing, angering, yeah, those all fit. Joyous, happy, celebratory, yep those too. Hurtful. Enough to make you want to cry yourself to sleep some days. On other days, you just want to throw a party in celebration. Isn't that how EVERYONE'S life goes though?

Now about James. The commenter also mentioned his "developmental disorder". I can see how she could have that mis-conception. After all, I've never explained All About James. So let me do that now. I'll list off the disorders and then I'll explain the, k?

ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disoder), ADHD (Attention Defeceit and Hyperactivity Disorder), Severe Sleep Disorder, SID (Sensory Integration Disorder) Mod-Severe, Mood Disorder NOS (Not Otherwise Specified), Severe Short Stature, Borderline Asperger's Syndrome, RAD (Reactive Attachement Disorder) and he has poor body (all of his body) control.

OK, what does all of this mean. Well the disorders you can look up yourselves. WebMD has a good write up on the basics of both ODD and ADHD. For the RAD, go to http://www.radkid.org/. What you'll find is that with the combination of the ODD and RAD make for a very argumentative and defiant child. Hell, part of the name is defiant. As far as the Doctor and I have been able to figure, the RAD came about from an extended time that James spent with his father where he was fed, kind of, and taken care of, in the barest sense of the word. That's the stark reality of the situation folks, no hiding under the blanket on that one.

James doesn't sleep unless he is medicated. I have really bad insomnia myself, but this is a step further. It's common for kids on the Autism Spectrum to not sleep. Autism? I don't see no steenkin' Autism on that list. Well, no, you don't. You see things that are ON the SPECTRUM. Borderline Asperger's (and the only reason it isn't full Asperger's is because he behaves differently at school and the teachers never see ALL of James) and ADHD are both on the Spectrum. Which means they have aspects of Autism. Sleep disorders, obsessions, ticks (also known as Stimming), and social interaction problems are all there.

James can't be boiled down to a bunch of labels for you to understand him. By the way, the Mood Disorder is a nice way of saying he's suspected of being Bi-Polar. However, a child can't be diagnosed with Bi-Polar until they are a teenager, I'm not sure why this is, but thems the rules. I could sit here all day and write a very long and drawn out post about James and his disorders.

I want to make this clear however. There isn't anything "developmental" in the delay department, in the disorder department, that is going on with James. Academically, Physically (aside from his size), Mentally he's all "developed" where he should be.

There are some out there who would say "take him off the meds, let him be who he is fully". Well, here's the beauty of this, he's MY kid, not yours. We choose to medicate. We have also recently reduced his medications. I don't know if he'll ever be med free, that will be a choice he'll have to decide on when he becomes an adult.

We are homeschooling because of who he is. I understand, from my many years of interactions with the schools, that no matter what they come up with, he will ALWAYS have problems. There will be no "just getting by" for him. I causes him upset and frustration, and me too. Why put both of us through that?

I think that I've just made things clear as mud. Oh well. Just don't tell me my life is sad. Or the situation is sad. Or that James is sad. That's just not the case. Until you have lived a day in these shoes, your perception of our reality will always be, just that, a perception.

And in the immortal words of Forrest Gump "that's all I've got to say about that."

A Homeschool Rant

OK, today at Wal-Mart, a customer told me about KAHSA. I had thought of joining them forever and a day ago. However I never got the info packet they were supposed to send, and James stayed in school, so it became a moot point. Now that I am very serious about homeschooling, I went to look again.

I did a google search for them. I found it. It's Christian based. Okey dokey. That isn't such a big deal, I don't HAVE to teach the churchy stuff. I keep looking around. The site is well organized. Has lots of resources for non-members even. So I read the "how to join" link. I download the application. It's $20 to join. I don't know if that is one time or yearly. Even if its' one time, that's great. What a great $20 spent to get extra resources and other parents who can assist me and support groups and all of that.

I keep reading the application. the final line is this "I understand KAHSA is a Christian organization and, as a Christian, I acknowleged and support the following Statement of Faith:" Now, normally I would have no problems signing it and just going along. However, I READ the Statement of Faith.

It included such tidbits as "We believe that there is only one god who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" which is something I wholeheartedly DON'T believe.

Also included was this "We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and is without error." Without error? Who the hell are they kidding???

And the one that REALLY gets my goat and makes me refuse to sign "We believe in the sanctity of marriage and that it is between one man and one woman". They can fucking bite me! I have the site bookmarked so I can use their free resources. Might as well use all the resources I can, however I will NEVER join that organization.

Thankfully, there is a fellow blogger out there (many I'm sure, but she is the one I read) that is a homeschooler, among other things. She is Doc and she offers many many resources to a beginner (and not so beginning others) like me. I wish there were a way to contact her directly, I'll just leave a comment I think, and ask her all the questions I have.

My biggest homeschool worry is the curriculum. I figured I would kind of make it up as I went. I know that when the kids get to high school level, it'll be like I'm in high school again. I know the requirements that I have to meet in order to keep homeschooling the kids. And I'll be working on that. Making sure that I do units in all those studies, along with music and drama. I'm even going to work on some basic phys ed stuff with them, like dribbling a ball and jumping a rope.

This whole thing is so overwhelming and intimidating. My other choice is to deal with the bullshit from the school again. I just can't do that. I know it's not what is best for the kids. So as the summer continues, I will work on a "curriculum" for the "school year". Right now, we use our workbooks (the ones I got from Wal-Mart that are grade equivilent) and do some crafts. I'll be finding the materials and putting together lessons and hopefully I'll be able to teach and they will be able to learn.

If you have any resources for me, please please share them. What curriculum do you use? Is it secular or faith based or unspecified? Please give a link, if you have one, or a phone number, or some kind of contact for the group or company or whatever it is. Thanks.

It's All Beginning to Sink In Now.

Jason and I talked. I should start a whole little blog called "Jason and I talked". I digress. There was an incident yesterday while James was at program. It was pretty bad. For some reason this led to Jason and I discussing the upcoming school year. Oh wait, I know what led to that. James. And His Big Mouth. James has this brain malfunction where he opens his mouth and just says what he thinks. OK, a lot of people have that. However, this is more extensive. He doesn't know when he's pissed someone off and just keeps spouting off the stupidity. That led to James angering some pretty BAD kids and he got himself beat up. Thankfully he wasn't physcially hurt. His glasses got a little bent.

James had quite a few issues last year with school. Almost all of it was behavior related. He was suspended for a full 12 days. That isn't counting the number of times I had to go pick him up early from school. That happened about once every 2 weeks or so. Or the times I would get phone calls from the staff asking me to talk to James and MAKE him do as he needed to. Those happened, on average, at least twice a week. And if ONE phone call was made in the day, it was usually at least 3.

This next year, I don't want to deal with this. This utter stupidity of the school system and their absolute inability to handle James. I don't want the headaches, anger, and frustration from dealing with their close minded every kid fits the same form and if they don't they shouldn't be here crap. James had two teachers. His mainstream classroom teacher and his resource room teacher. Most often, he handled himself well in the mainstream classroom. There were times when I would get calls from his resource room teacher. Though not nearly as often as from the "behavior staff".

The "behavior staff" and I butted heads more times than I can count. On the Wed. before Thanksgiving, they wanted to suspend him for leaving class. He was leaving class because he was trying avert having a melt down because he was angry and frustrated. I told them No I'm not picking him up and No you are not suspending him. The man on the other end couldn't believe I had said no. And then he hung up on me. By the way, Don't EVER Hang Up On ME. Especially when I am discussing my child. So I called his teacher. THEN I called the principal. James wasn't suspended.

The woman on the "behavior staff" would call me to tell me to come get James. And should go on about what he did and how it was bad and how it made her angry and blah blah blah. Um, you are supposed to be trained as someone who handles children with behavior difficulties and you are bothered by a little 9 year old kid telling you off? Jeez lady, grow some balls. James has this phrase he uses for all adults, people in charge. "You People". Now this "professional" lady thought he was using a racial slur. She asked me if he knew what it meant. I laughed. I informed her it was anyone in charge. That, no, he doesn't care if you are black, white, or purple, if you are telling him what to do, and you are anyone but me or Jason, but mostly me, he won't do it most often. That's just James. That's his disorder. You can't medicate that out of him.

So in light of all these issues, I am going to homeschool James. Behavior Plans aren't working for him. The Resource Room isn't working for him. What works best for him is to have him as isolated as possible. To not have to interact with the other kids unless he wants to. Well Hell, I can do that here at home.

There also has been the concern over Jayden. Her teachers just can't get her to DO her work. To work in a way so she is learning. She is easily distracted by everything around her. Also, if she doesn't want to do it, much like her brother, she won't. She pulls a different card than him. It's not a behavior issue. It's simply "I can't". Apparently, the teachers take that as it is. I have been told the entire year this past year about everything Jayden just can't seem to do. Here's the kicker here folks. YES, SHE CAN. I've put her to the test. Everything they told me she can't do, yes she can. I look at her and say "I don't want to hear you can't. You have to do this. You don't have a choice." Screw explaining the why of it right now. She's 6, she doesn't even COMPREHEND the why of it really, she just sees that mom told her to do it, so she's doing it. So Jayden is going to be homeschooled as well.

Oh, have I mentioned I'm not an organized person at all? Thankfully, I have the Four or More Mommies. Many of them are homeschoolers and they are an amazing resource. They have all kinds of info for me to take and use as need be. One of the great things about homeschooling is I can work at the pace of the kids. We don't need to spend all day doing their work, unless that is how long it takes them to complete their assignment. I can do direct rewards if need be. They are also much more likely to do the work because it is ME telling them to do it and they have been trained since birth to do as Mom and Dad direct.

So in the next couple of months I will be working on organizing our homeschool "stuff". Figuring out lesson plans and gathering teaching aids and materials. I'll be using my printer and going through lots of ink. Picking up school supplies on the cheap when they go on sale. And hoping and praying I don't lose my mind. And that I can get through to them, that I CAN teach them and they WILL learn. That's the most intimdating part of all right now.

Homeschooling does open us up a little. We were staying here in Kalamazoo because of The Promise. However, homeschoolers don't qualify. The kids will go to a 2 year college, then transfer to a 4 year if that's what they want. So Jason will be able to expand his job search area. He wants to be making more money. About $10K more a year would really give us a cushion that we need. It's still a rather low income, but hey, we already live frugally. That small amount will allow us to make sure that we live within our means, and not be so reliant on outside factors, like child support. Will we be staying Kalamazoo? I don't know. As of right now, yes. However if Jason finds a job in Holland or Battle Creek or St. Joe or....well, you get the idea, we'll move. It's what is best for the family, so we'll do it.

It would be sad to leave this house. Leave my gardens. The hard work I put in to the girls' room. However, a long commute for Jason is not an option. We tried that once. After a year, it wore us out. Both him and I. We want to stay on this side of the state. Within about an hour of where we are now. That will keep us still close to his family south of us, and all of my family to the north of us. Jason wants to be able to start taking monthly, or even bi-weekly trips to see his folks. They are getting up there in age, at both of them being over 70 now. We can't afford that right now. We can barely afford our trips to pick up Katy Beth. So his job search continues. And I start homeschooling.

Life is always full of change. I think the kind of people we are is determined by how we handle that change.