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