Happy Halloween

We have had an exciting week! I started my new job and am really enjoying it. The entire school staff has been welcoming. My team is very nice. And, all 14 of my students are sweet! The days have flown by and I'm looking forward to getting into a routine!

Friday was my first day with students. I had spent the previous two days getting my classroom ready and finishing district paperwork and training. Surprisingly, I didn't feel stressed.....just excited.

On Friday about 2pm, my Principal and Assistant Principal both came into my room. My Principal, Ms. B, said they came to check my stress level. I assured them that I was fine and things were going very well. The students were happily painting their pumpkins and everything was going as planned. Then I noticed the post it note in her hand.

She says, "Well, your daughter's school called and she was injured in PE. They think she needs taken to the ER for x-rays of her foot. We are here to cover your class so you can do what you need to do."

Ummmm. My first day.

I grabbed my cell phone and called Troy, who was working at home. He said he would get Meg and get her x-rays. He thought I should finish the last hour of the day, then meet them at the ER. I'm so lucky to have such a supportive husband!

Troy took Megan and they were finishing up at the ER when I called to say I was ready to leave school. (Gotta love this fast ER!!!). Anyways, Megan has a sprain and is on crutches for a bit. Evidently, she was running in PE and tripped. We're glad nothing is broken!

We did the traditional pumpkin carving today. As you can see by the pictures, neither of the kids were too impressed with cleaning out the pumpkin itself.

We had many trick or treaters come to the door tonight. The weather has been very cool and there were lots of people in the streets.

It's hard to believe the holidays are upon us. We realized last night that we have lived here nearly 6 months already! October is already over. Tonight we will experience our first time change....only a one hour time difference now from Arizona? Maybe Steven will sleep in later?

Oh well, I'm off to bed!

Betsy

Oh yea.....I got a job!

Didn't want to include this in the post this morning until I had the official offer!

But, I have been offered a kindergarten full time teaching position. The school is about 3 miles from home and is very similar to the demographics of Navajo School (where I was very happy). Students wear uniforms, teachers stay for years and years and it's very structured.

I have my new hire orientation tomorrow and start at the school on Wednesday. I have to call my principal tomorrow to find out which day I get students and when I can set up my classroom.

I keep laughing because this district is so very, very different from where I most recently taught. Here, I will have 16 students and get paid 40% more than I did in Arizona.

I'm super, duper excited!!!

Betsy

This one is for Grandma Jane

We have had a busy week and I haven't posted.....but we are all doing great!

Megan had a great week at school last week and continues to earn straight A's. She has joined the Jr. High ministry program at church on Wednesday nights and seems to be enjoying it.

Steven also had a great week at school last week. His teacher asked if Steven likes males better than females. I told her that yes, he WORKS better with males, but LOVES females best as long as they don't try to make him work. He is using sign language more and more. He seems to enjoy the power of it and understands the cause and effect of signing. It's so cool to see him progress!

Troy is still plugging along with work. With all of the staffing reductions, he remains on call all the time. His cell phone is now his mistress....but at least she makes overtime! He has the week of Thanksgiving off (hoping that is still approved) and will get some much needed rest then.

I'm also doing well. I'm still subbing and really enjoying it. I got the pin removed from my finger last Wednesday. It feels so muh better! I met with a school counselor and will be starting my Master's degree on 11/17 through the University of Phoenix. I'm excited at the opportunities that this will open up for me. And, it should only take a year to finish!

The weather in Texas continues to amuse us. Someone told us this saying, "If you don't like the weather in Texas, wait 15 minutes and it will change." That is so true! In the past week, we have had two days with 4 inches of rain, then 3 sunny days, and now back to 2 more days of 4 inches of rain expected. I've officially put away the summer clothes and we are currently wearing OUR winter clohes. It's cold here. However, the locals continue to say, "Just wait until it gets cold." This worries me....you mean it's not cold yet? I think this weekend we will be buying more winter clothes.

Halloween is upon us this week. We are enjoying seeing the leaves change color and experiencing a true fall season. Everyone here decorates for Halloween. There are yard blow ups, pretend headstones, bats, pumpkins, ghosts and that yucky pretend cobweb stuff everywhere. I'm curious to see how many trick or treaters will ring our bell this Halloween!

We don't have any other exciting news to post, but I think that's a nice change for our family! No drama. Just enjoying life!

Hope everything is going well for everyone else.

B

Super Weekend

We've had such a nice weekend. I already posted about Friday night's events.

On Saturday, Megan and her friend, Karen, had fun together. I took the girls to the skate rink for a few hours, then Karen came over afterwards. The girls played board games until dinner time. After dinner, we invited Karen to sleep over. We went to Karen's to get her clothes, then picked up a movie at Blockbuster. The girls made cookies and stayed up late.

Today, we've had a lazy day watching football after doing a little bit of yardwork.

Troy and I are getting ready to enjoy our newfound respite. We are going to browse around at Bass Pro Shop for a few hours.

B

A Good Day

Today turned out better than I expected. The evaluation went as expected, but I was pleased to see that Steven's developmental age range has gotten higher. He still has obvious gaps in his skills, but his functional skills were improved from the last eval.

He also officially has autism per Texas. It's official. I guess we can be one of those parents who say, "My child wasn't diagnosed until he was 12." haha!

Tonight, we tried a church based respite program. The church is located in the historic district of Grapevine, Texas which is about 20 minutes from our house. The program runs from 6:30-9:00, one Friday night per month, and provides respite for caregivers of special needs children. It is held in the gym of the church, which has rooms around the perimeter of the gym. These rooms include a nursery, a quiet room, bathrooms, a kitchen, etc.

We were a little bit leery of trying a program that wasn't home based, but Steven rocked! He had a 1:1 attendant the entire time, and they rotated attendants about every 20-30 minutes. The consensus is that Steven is "a highly mobile and energetic little man." Steven played catch with the balls, participated FULLY in snack time, explored every room along the perimeter and laughed and laughed. The director, Joyce, told me that Steven is welcome to come back next month as long as they have the appropriate volunteer ratio to monitor him. As a sidenote, they also said they don't know how we keep up with him all the time!

While he was having fun at respite, Troy, Megan and I went to Old Town Grapevine. We wanted to be close by .... just in case. We found a great little Italian restaurant and the food was fabulous! Megan devoured a full plate of manicotti. I had enjoyed "Lisa's Pizza" with sausage, mushrooms and black olives. Troy munched on the mozzarella sticks and marinara. I think it's a new fave for our family!

When we went to pick Steven up at 8:10, he was happy to see us and was ready to come home. He said his goodbyes. AND WE MET HIS GIRLFRIEND!!! Yes, he's a ladies man! His girlfriend is Stacey. She is 13, blond hair and blue eyed. She appears to have autism and does some sign language as well.

Steven said, "Bye."

Stacey said, "Bye." and gave Steven a big hug.

Steven hugged her back and even stroked her hair !

So, yes, indeed, we will be going back next month!

A good day overall.

B

Ya think it's autism?

Today is the day that Steven and I head to the psychologist to determine if he does, indeed, have autism. Even though three separate doctors in Arizona have concurred, their diagnoses are not accepted in Texas. Only a Texas doctor may diagnose autism in order to qualify for specific state services.

So, today I will wreak havoc with Steven's schedule. I will pick him up at school early. We will drive 30 miles away to the "Texas Certified" doctor. There, we will rehash the last 12 years of interventions. We will also do my personal favorite-- go through the listing of developmental milestones that Steven has not yet reached. The doctor will get to point out all the areas in which Steven hasn't reached those milestones. Finally, we will get to determine which of the "autism checklist of behaviors" that Steven has. And, if we are lucky, two hours or so later, we will leave the office with a diagnosis we already have.

I hate these type of doctor visits. Truly, I do.

I believe we will stop at Sonic on our way home for some comfort ice cream!

B

Jeans vs. Shorts

Ahh, the age old question of what to wear. We're at the weird time of year when it's chilly in the mornings, but warm in the afternoon. So, we wear shorts and a jacket. We are ready for anything.

I told you the weatherman is a nimrod right? Well, today he really proved it. The forecast was for 92 and sunny. Instead, it is 61 and cloudy. I sent my dear son to school in shorts and a t-shirt. Jeans vs. Shorts. Mom vs. Weatherman. I think I could knock out the weatherman today.

B

Halloween

Halloween is nearly here! We have decorated our front yard with lighted ghosts that hang from the eaves, a giant,lighted, plastic pumpkin and small ghosts on stakes that line the driveway. We are planning to visit the pumpkin patch this weekend to get a few pumpkins to carve before the big day!

Today, Megan and I went to the store and she was in heaven. Her favorite holiday cookies are FINALLY in stock. Tonight, she made us a batch of the Pillsbury sugar cookies with the orange pumpkin in the middle.

The holidays are officially upon us!

B

A relaxing weekend

After such a busy week, we are enjoying a relaxing weekend. As of 3:37pm, we are all still in our jammies. There is a peaceful fire in the fireplace and we are eating warm, homemade chocolate chip cookies. This is the kind of day we all enjoy!

24 hours with the FishGods

Here's an exerpt of a typical 24 hours in our lives:

Tuesday
9am--Receive call from sitter. She is in the hospital with pneumonia. Rework the schedule for the day so I can be home in time to get Steven off the bus.

10am--Leave to drive to nursing home intake. Love using my drive time to catch up via cell phone with my sister!

11am-12pm --Complete intake paperwork at nursing home. Nurse there comments that my finger is really red and swollen. I tell her about having the pin in there and she suggests I contact my doctor. I, of course, being too busy, ignore her suggestion.

12pm-1pm--Drive home from nursing home....find a cool "short cut" that we will use tonight when we drive back.

1pm-2pm--Arrive home. Rotate laundry, mop floors, clean bathroom. Call doctor to make sure paperwork was faxed to the nursing home. Call case manager to ask a few clarifying questions.

2pm-4pm--Intake with nurse from respite agency. Decide to get a second opinion on the finger while I have an RN in the house--she confirms I need to see the doc.

4pm-6pm--Call my doctor to get appointment, make dinner, eat dinner, clean kitchen, etc.

6:30-9:15pm--Go with Megan to the choir concert at the high school. Very impressive program with the various middle schools and the high school.

9:15--head home. Remember need gas for tonight's drive to the nursing home. Get home at 9:30. Consider going to bed, but realized that I would need to be awake in an hour to leave again. Decide to have a pot of coffee.

10:15-10:30 Wake up the family and get everyone bundled in blankets in the car. Heading towards the nursing home. Looking forward to my short cut!

Troy and I agree that we both need some caffeine to get us through the next few hours. Stop at QT and get drinks while the kids sleep peacefully in the back seat.

On the way there, it started to rain. I grew up in Arizona. I'm not really that experienced driving in the rain. But I managed. Even when the windshield wipers had to be on high and I couldn't see the road. Even when the pea sized hail started hitting us. Even when the wind was blowing so hard I could barely stay on the road.

I missed the turn off, followed someone who was more lost than I was, took the scenic route through Prosper, Texas and finally ended up at the nursing home in time.

I was so stressed out and tired that I told Troy he could drive us home! Why is it that he got the easy turn? The wind, rain, and hail all blew over before we headed home, so he had an easy drive. Of course, he also followed the directions provided......whereas I tried to find a "short cut".

We made it home about 1:30am. Steven had developed a fever and a cough during the late afternoon yesterday. By the middle of the night, it was sounding really bad. The kids both went back to bed and slept great. Troy and I were too amped up to sleep and stayed up until about 2:30am.
Even then, I couldn't sleep because I was worried about Steven's cough and afraid I would oversleep my 8:30 doctor appointment.

7:00am --Finally get out of bed. More coffee. Shower and get ready. Wake Megan. Make lunches. Wake up Troy to watch Steven while I take Megan to school and go to my doctor appointment.

8:30--Doctor confirms finger is indeed infected. Two options.....1) remove pin, strong antibiotics, then start process all over again with surgery. 2) Deal with pain, take strong antibiotics and have pin removed on 10/21. I'll take option 2.....thank you very much.

In the meantime, I'm back splinted and tightly wrapped and cannot get finger wet. If it swells more, fever gets over 101, then call doc and we'll go with option 1.

9:30am--Troy and I take Steven to his doctor. He has bronchitis. Get prescriptions for me and Steven filled.

Come home and chill.

So, for those that wonder why I don't call too often (ANGELA), this is why!!!

We are looking forward to a mellow night at home.

Love you all!
Bets

It's Official!!

Today we got a call from the State of Texas Medically Dependent Children's Program. We've been going through their process of trying to get approved for respite. Normally it's a 3 year wait, but I have stalked the right people and we are officially approved!

Our case manager, Tammy, got Steven approved for 42 hours PER WEEK of respite, two weeks of camp, one weekend of camp, and medicaid. This will help us out soooooooo much!

We have had Sarah working for us about 6 weeks and she will become contracted with the agency. We also recently hired Christina and she will begin next week.

We have a few hoops left to jump through in the next 24 hours, but they are relatively easy. Today at 11:00am, I will drive to the nursing home to do a 2 hour intake session and provide medical history. Then, at 2:30, the nurse from the agency will come to do the 2 hour intake session their agency needs.

Our last hoop to jump through is a nursing home stay. The stay is normally 30 days. Yes, 30 days. Evidently, they cannot assess Steven's needs and behaviors in less time????? Tammy, the case manager, found a way for Steven to stay "24 hours or part of two calendar days" ......tonight we check in at 11:45pm and leave at 12:15am. That meets the "part of two calendar days" rule.

We are so excited at how this will help our family!

Mother Nature and I are gonna talk.....

It's date night. Sitter all lined up. Troy came home early. We were ready to go.

Sitting in the living room, waiting for the sitter, we notice the wind in the backyard trees. A look out the window and we see the storm brewing!

Turn on the TV and we see severe thunderstorm warning until 11pm. Go outside to take a look and hear the tornado sirens. Sitter calls to tell us traffic lights are out, tree branches falling into roads and raining so hard she can't even see the road.

A closer listen to the TV tells us the tornado watch is in effect, (means sighted when the sirens are blaring), 70 mph winds, hail and a really good storm. The Emergency Management system for our town even called with a recorded message to stay home, stay indoors, away from windows, blah, blah, blah.

Needless to say, date night cancelled for tonight. I'm gonna have a talk with Mother Nature....storms like this cannot happen on date night in the future!

We ended up having a nice evening at home anyways!

B