I Keep Saying I'm Going To Post More....

...and then I totally forget to. Been crazy busy a lot of the time around here. Heck, sometimes I get sidetracked just going to get a cup of coffee. We've been doing pretty good, no major issues. Getting things done and doing school and all that.
Gabe is working on the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons," we had started this book part of last year, and it went well for the first few lessons, and then he wanted nothing to do with it. This time is going much easier and he seems to remember a few of the sounds. He's been recognizing words on the tv, and on dvd cases and books, things like that. We're also doing some of the BrainQuest things that I picked up over the last couple years. We have the 2-3yo all the way up to the 1st and 2nd grade ones. And we just picked up a phonics one usable for ages 2 and up.
Caleb is reading more and more, and seems to be thoroughly amazed every day when he can read something new off the tv or newspaper. Still can't seem to spell, but we're working on that! He's shown an interest in the phonics stuff that I picked up for Gabe, and has asked a few times if he can do them. I'm more than happy to let him, it will help him make more progress. Now I understand what people were talking about when they said that one day it just clicked for their kids with reading!
Caitlin is doing great school-wise, of course she's pretty much always been easier to teach than Caleb or Gabe. Her biggest issue is her attitude and it seems to get the best of her pretty much daily. So, we're working on her controlling her mouth and her behavior.
James is doing well school-wise, and is getting a ton of practical life skills work. He's learning to do things in the garage with dad and grandpa, he's helped with taking beds apart, putting things together, measuring space to make sure things fit. He knows how to do laundry in grandma's front loader now, and is also learning to cook! So far he can make eggs, and of course he's learned to read the packaging on pretty much everything else. He can microwave, make toast, etc. Knows how to make mac and cheese too. It's amazing to see how he changes and matures. Hard to believe he's 13 already!
Mike's doing good at work, he's been working in the smokehouse the last month or so. I think he likes thins job a little better. It's been 2 months since he hit the deer and totaled the car, and just under 2 months since he got the truck. And 2 months since I got my tongue re-pierced. Kind of funny that he called with the news of hitting the deer when I was at the Tattoo Shop.
Myself, I've been pretty laid back about what I've been doing. I gained back about 5 lbs, mostly because I went back to drinking pop again for a while and because of skipping my walks for a couple weeks. But I've already lost 2lbs of that just by cutting out the pop and coffee again. The weather has been up and down lately, and with it getting darker earlier it makes it more difficult to get my walks in. But that's really no excuse, so I'm getting back in the swing of things and even picked up some weights that I can use without even having to leave the house. Can't wait to be down another 60lb!
It's great to be able to measure my loss by what I used to wear as opposed to what sizes I can wear now. I've gone down 2 band sizes and a cup size bra-wise, 3 underwear sizes, 2 shirt sizes, and I can wear jeans now! I used to not be able to fit my largest jeans, which were a size 26-28. Now I can fit a 22 stretch with a little room and a regular 24 with no spandex at all and not have to lay down or suck it in to fasten them. My size 24 skirt that I so wanted to be able to fit into is now WAY too big, and a lot of the other skirts that I couldn't wear are fitting so much better! I even wore my size 20 capri's this summer! I haven't worn them in at least 5 years!
Since the kids are awake now, and it's time to start our school day, I'll have to update more later.kids

Long Time No Type!

So lets see, the last time I updated was over a month ago! Can't believe it's been that long! So many changes, lots of stuff going on.

First off, I'm now officially down 60 lbs! And wearing a size 22 pants comfortably without having to contort myself to fasten them or anything. Can't remember when I've felt this good wearing this size! I'm almost ready to go bra shopping again as this one is made as small as it can be and I still have wiggle room. Still doing the same things I've been doing, cutting back on sweets and portion sizes and cutting out almost totally on the pop. Haven't really been drinking my coffee either for a while.
I'm walking the dog every day, and sometimes also go for a walk with one of the kids or by myself. Drinking lots and lots of water, 4-8 20oz bottles a day, depending on the heat and whatever else I drink.
I'm looking forward to clothes shopping!

As far as the kids, they are fine. Same old same old. Gabe is finally sleeping more, and only rarely comes in by me.
Our living situation has changed some, and we are in the process of moving in with my inlaws. That meant that we needed to rehome Scooby, as 3 dogs is really more like 2 dogs too many.
Monday I'm going to go get our storage unit, and this week will be spent putting things in storage. It's going to be challenging at times I'm sure, but we can make it work.


I'm going to make an effort to post at least once a week, which shouldn't be a problem since our school year will be starting soon. It'll be good to keep track of all the fun we have and the projects we do.

Been a Busy Week

Lets see...what have we been up to?? Well, Saturday was crazy, because we had 2 round trips to Milwaukee. We picked up Dad and Colleen, had cake and all that, and took them back up. Dad told Mike that he's thinking about moving down here by us! That was something I totally didn't expect. He was talking about how it's so much quieter and not as busy and all that jazz.

Got the hallway primed and almost ready to paint. Just need to finish the corners and a few other little things. I plan on getting it done hopefully this week.

School has been pretty good, the kids are enjoying checking the plants and seeing if they're growing yet. We'll plant our herbs on Wednesday, and then we'll have 2 trays of plants to keep track of. I can't wait for it to get warmer and for us to have our last frost. I'm looking forward to transplanting our little plants and watching them grow.

Caleb has finally learned to tie his shoes!! It's taken such a long time for him to coordinate the necessary hand movements. I'd almost given up on him learning to tie them and was seriously wondering just how large a size they make of velcro shoes. Next to learn that skill is hopefully Gabe.
Gabe's now convinced that he needs to become a samurai or a ninja, depending on the day. I told him that he needs to learn to read and write if he wants to be either. I'm sneaky that way! Caleb is improving in his reading and surprises me daily with the little tidbits that he picks up on tv and signs.

Big news of the day: one of my best friends, Missy, has moved back to town! She has a little girl who will be 4, and her little boy shares Gabe's birthday and will be 1 on Saturday! Gabe will be 9 on Saturday, can't believe how fast time is flying.

Any tips from anyone on how to teach a child to read who really has no drive to learn?

Thinking Spring!

That's going to be our theme around here for the next few weeks! Tomorrow we are going to start planting our plants that we will put in the garden. And the kids will check them daily and we'll chart their growth. That means daily writing, which should help improve their writing skills, and it means working together. We'll plant 1 tray tomorrow, and the other tray either Friday or Monday, depending on how busy we get.

Another project I have is the little suncatchers that they are going to paint. I'm having them each work on one for dad and Colleen for their anniversary and his birthday. I may have to pick a few more up, not sure if I have enough, because we're also going to do a few for around the house here.
We've been pretty faithful with our daily journaling, or should I say that I've been faithful in telling them to do their journal, but they haven't always wanted to.

Took James shopping for a coat today, and to my surprise, he's able to fit a MENS Medium! With a little room of course, hopefully enough room that he can still wear it next fall and winter. Not holding out hope for that one though, because with my luck he'll hit a growth spurt and it will be too small by then. He's able to wear a men's 30-30 pants now, (30 waist, 30 inseam) but he does need to roll them and they are a little loose on him. He can wear some boys' 14's and 16's, depending on the cut. It's amazing how fast they grow! He's also in a mens size 9 shoe! Amazing since he's only 12.

Caleb and Gabe are both in size 8 jeans and a little bigger for shirts. Gabe is bigger around than Caleb, so he can wear the regular size, but Caleb fits better in the slims. Gabe can also wear the reg size 7's, and 9 slims, because he has more of a belly. The boys also wear the same size shoe, size 3-4 depending on who makes them. Weird though, because Caleb will be 11, and Gabe will be 9. Caitlin wears the same size as the boys for pants and shirts, and is finally in almost the same size for shoes, she wears a 2 1/2-3 depending on the style and who makes them. Gabe will be 9 on the 13th of this month, and the twins will be 11 in May.

Busy busy around here, got tons to do and never enough time to finish it all!

Been Gone For Nearly A Month.....

Wow, didn't realize how quickly that flew! In the last month, I've rearranged our room, painted the bathroom, painted most of the living room, cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more. It's been super busy around here. We also got some new furniture and appliances with our tax refund. That took most of our refund, but we really needed them. And scratch-and-dent is cheaper than you'd think! We now have an oven that actually preheats! And a fridge whose shelves aren't falling out every time we open the door. Amazing how little things like that really make a difference.

As far as schooling goes, we've backed down a little on the pressure that Gabe was feeling. He has voluntarily started to do lessons with me out of the "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" book. Easy? Yes for a regular child, but not so much for mine. It's not pretty, but he's trying. He already knows the letters, but not so much the sounds that they make. So this book teaches him the sounds and helps him to learn how to sound out words. Since the 5th, he has been working on the beginning lessons, and he can now recognize am, mat and sat. But we've also noticed that he's now reading more sight words without our prompting (mostly on games!). Words like "infection" and "slayer" and other game-theme related words.
He's also consistently falling asleep but 10 (most nights, we have had a few bumps), and is drawing more pictures. He wants to draw nearly every day now, faces, people, things. Always with pencil, always what he wants to draw, always when he wants to draw.
Caleb and I are working on his reading, as he can do it, but lacks confidence. We skimmed through the same book I'm doing with Gabe, and I just had him do the words. He knows the sounds the letters make, and knows how to sound them out. It only took him maybe 20 minutes to go through all the words in 23 lessons. And he had them all right. Granted most of them are simple easy words. But it's gotten him to realize that it doesn't matter how big the word is as long as you sound them out.
James and Caitlin are reading well, and we've been trying to really make sure that they are engaged in what they are reading. She's been reading the Junie B. Jones books, and is enjoying them immensely. He's reading Artemis Fowl, and has already listened to all the books on CD, and checked out a lot of them from the library before I bought him the first set that he wanted.
Our main focus the past few weeks has been their reading, because I feel that with reading, anything else is possible and will fall into place.

Aside from the early spring cleaning we've been doing, that's pretty much it. Hopefully I can remember to keep posting and not let there be that much of a break!

1/2 Way Thru Our School Year...

And time to review our goals that I made at the beginning of the school year.

Here are the goals I made:
Gabe
1) Gabe will learn to consistently make all the sounds of the letters. Not met so far, but working on it.
2) Gabe will learn to consistently write all letters. (at this point I dont care if lower case or not) Not met yet either.
3) Gabe will consistently copy and say all letters to 20 (he repeats up to 20, sometimes even higher depending on motivation, but has only written to 10) Not met.
4) Gabe will learn to put letters together into words. (ideally, i'd like him to learn at least 1 word a week, but i don't know if that's pushing to hard or not yet) Sort of met, he's been reading some sight words, even though he swears he can't read anything.
5) Gabe will learn to do simple chores (without having constant hand-over-hand to make him) This goal is met! He's started helping with simple chores, and started taking turns better!

Caleb
1) Caleb will learn 5 new words per week (and still be able to spell previously learned ones) Not quite met, as far as learning that many per week, but we are reviewing words that he used to know, and learning new ones as we can. So I'd say 1/2 met.
2) Caleb will write on the lines with correct spacing so it can be read About 1/2 met as well.
3) Caleb will control his body ( a BIG one, he has no concept of personal space!) Not quite met, but working hard at it. His mouth keeps getting him in trouble....
4) Caleb will rotate chores and learn to properly do them Met!
5)Caleb will raise his reading and comprehension level by practicing reading at least 20 minutes each day. Met, for the most part. He still resists reading unless its a book that he wants to read.

Caitlin
1) Caitlin will learn at least 5 new words per week (see above) Pretty well met, but I want to continue to work on it.
2) Caitlin will write on the lines with correct spacing so it can be read Met! But could still use improvement on neatness.
3) Caitlin will sit quietly when doing schoolwork (constant chatter, kind of like Caleb's lack of concept of personal space) Met about 50% of the time. Still needs reminding and redirection.
4) Caitlin will rotate chores without complaint and learn to do them properly Met! And she does a great job when motivated. Otherwise a simple chore, while done properly, can take her 5-10 times as long as it should.
5) Caitlin will raise her reading and comprehension levels by practicing reading at least 20 minutes each day. Met!

James
1) James will learn to write paragraphs with correct punctuation and grammar. Not met.
2) James will work on his handwriting skills and improve them. Improving, but still needs more work.
3) James will stay on task and complete things in a timely manner. Met for the most part, but definitely an area to continue working on.
4) James will rotate chores without complaint and learn to do them properly. Not quite met, but I'm confident that it will work itself out.
5) James will raise his reading and comprehension levels by reading at least 20 minutes each day. Met, and he can read much better than he was at this time a year ago. His math has improved as well.

All in all we have met quite a few goals, and even met some goals that I didn't list because I thought they weren't quite school related.
1) Gabe has started sleeping thru the night, by HIMSELF!!!! Not with dad and I.
2) Gabe has been taking turns! Not always willingly, but its a great start!
3) Gabe has been having fewer and fewer accidents!
4) So has Caleb! 2 accidents in 3-4 months is great!
5) The kids have been learning to help with the cooking.
6) We've been having weekly library trips where the kids can pick out their own choice of books to read and journal about, as well as movies to watch. Gabe has a real fascination with old 80's cartoons.
7) The kids are learning about respecting other people's space and things.
8) We've been helping Grandma and Great Grandma with things that they need done. And having dinner at grandma's at least once a week, using our manners and being polite.

I get down sometimes, and keeping track of our goals like this helps me to realize that even though it doesn't always seem like we are getting things done, we are accomplishing things everyday! It's slow work, but we keep going.
Now I just need to figure out which goals are the most important for us to work on the next few months.

So far, we are working on flashcards (math, words, numbers), and our reading and writing skills. We are continuing with our goals for chores, and sharing and such. They seem like such small goals, but slow and steady works for us.

Been Busy Again...

Wow is time ever flying! Yesterday was my birthday, and it went fairly well. Only a few minor hitches. Things are going well, just day to day mundane little things.
We are doing our school routine, just trying to keep it constant. The kids need a lot of direction some days. Of course so do I as of late, and I keep second guessing myself as to whether or not this is going to keep working for us. Really, on paper it all works, its just in real life that it sometimes gets gummed up.
Gabe has done much better most days on following simple directions and even though he still dislikes school, he's at least willing most days to at least try. He still struggles with retaining information that he learns, but it's progress however slow it is. Some days I really feel I need a break, but then I feel guilty, because they're MY responsibility. Not someone else's.
I've been told by quite a few that homeschooling is a bad choice, and that it's something that I can't succeed at because of the kids special needs. Some days I feel that way as well. But then I have to sit back and realize that everyone learns at their own pace, and just because my kids aren't perfect doesn't mean anyone else's kids are either. My kids have challenges, and my patience isn't always the greatest. But I'm trying. That's the most important thing to me.
I've had to really kick myself in the butt as of late to really get in the mood to do anything. School-wise that means that this week has been more about journal work, reading our library books and doing workbook work. Not really any extra stuff, but they did get some excellent books on cd that kept their attention well. And Caitlin is currently doing her own "research" so to speak on rocks and minerals with the books that she checked out from the library. She's interested in learning more, and wants to start a collection of semi-precious stones and gems.
Caleb is still having troubles with his reading comprehension and has been very discouraged. He gets so frustrated with words. I've been trying to make time for he and I to have some one-on-one time for reading and going over material to make sure that he understands it. It's been difficult to do though as mornings are hectic and chaotic. I'm thinking of breaking up our school day, instead of doing it all in the morning. Maybe just journal in the a.m. and do workbooks in p.m. and reading for an hour or so before bed. Not sure how well it will work out, but either way, it's a learning experience for all of us.
James is doing well, he's been reading more on his own and learning some harder math. What I find so ironic about all this is that I was in public school my whole life, and I've never used even 1/2 of what I learned. To me that's a LOT of wasted time and energy put out. Who really needs to know how to do long division like a math whiz when everyone else is using calculators? Or how to multiply a billion different numbers in your head? James knows his basic multiplication tables, but really has no use for them. None. Right now anyways. And if a time comes when it's something he feels a real need to learn, then we'll do it. But for right now, I think all the kids need a better reading base than what they have.
Our focus in the next few weeks is going to be on improving our reading skills and our listening skills. And of course along with reading comes spelling. Which is atrocious at the moment. I've got some words to put up on the walls in the hall on our cork-board, but then realized we don't have one anymore, so tomorrow I'm off to Staples to get another and some tacks to put our words up.
Obviously it was a good idea to post tonight because I already feel better about my new resolve and my new plans. My mind is going a mile a minute sometimes, so it's a good idea for me to get things down while I'm thinking of them.

Can't Believe It's Only Been A Week!

Wow has it been crazy around here! Lots of stuff going on, school and kids and laundry and all that jazz. Gabe has now been sleeping by himself for 3 weeks! And in that time, he's only come in and tried to sleep in our room twice! Talk about a milestone, and about time too. His disposition has gotten so much better since he started sleeping more. He's calmer and easier to redirect towards another activity. Not that it works all the time, but hey its a start.
The other kids are doing well, and we had a great visit to the Library on Friday. Gabe has been very interested in Harry Potter, as has Caleb, so we checked out a couple of the books and movies.
Things have been running smoothly around here, and going well with Mike and I. Although, right now he has a cold and is home from work. He surprised everyone at home and at work when he shaved his head Friday night. We went to his mom's for dinner, and she was less than enthusiastic about his hair cut. She used his FULL name. And then she looked at me and said, "You helped him didn't you?" I wasn't sticking around for any more of that conversation, so I hightailed it to the living room to hide from her.
We also cut and dyed mine last week, turned out well, a nice burgundy color that looks reddish or purplish depending on the light.
I'm still figuring out the new computer, trying to figure out how I can add a new profile pic, and try out my new webcam. It's easy enough on Facebook and Myspace, but it's set up different on here.

As far as life goes, we are adjusting as a family to having 2 extra people here. Adrian has been a handful, and has been hitting and yelling, but I figure that's because he's getting used to the changes around him. Jane also got her due date, May 15, which is the day before Adrian's 3rd birthday. The question now is will she go early or late?

Wow Have We Been Busy!

Wow hard to believe how fast the last couple of weeks has flown! Took Mike a while to get the car fixed as he broke a couple of bolts and also messed up the wheel bearing. So he had my van for a few days and we got to catch up on things at home, and I even took the kids for a couple of rides on the city bus. We've tamed the laundry monster, and even washed the blankets and quilts already that we've had stored away waiting for winter.
Last night our low was 27 degrees, and we have a freeze warning and a frost warning that started yesterday and goes through Monday. We even had it trying to snow today! Just little flakes that didn't stay long on the ground, but enough to tell us that winter is on it's way.
Today Caitlin and I went to the farmer's market, and we spent about an hour just wandering around and picking up veggies for the rest of this week. We picked up cabbages, squash, sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers and from the Mennonite stand we picked up strawberry cream cheese bread and spicy apple cinnamon bread. From the last stand we went to we picked up big apples that we're going to use tonight for baked apples for dessert, and small apples for the kids to snack on.
Along with the baked apples, we are having turkey tenderloin with bell peppers done in the crock pot, and baked cabbage and corn. The house smells sooooo good right now. I've been baking more the last few weeks, making up banana bread, blueberry bread and corn bread, as well as making biscuits. It helps warm up the house and also gives the kids a great treat for lunch or dinner. They've been helping me with the baking and cooking, and we count the reading that we do as part of our school day.
Nothing tastes better than something you've helped make! Tomorrow I plan to make up another big pan of corn bread, and maybe do up a pork roast if we don't go to the in-laws for dinner.
School has been going well, and Gabe has been "reading" on his own, mostly picture books and Disney books. His favorites so far are The Lion King and Pinocchio. He's had dad and I both read them to him over and over. He's also showing an interest in doing journal time with the other kids, with his favorite thing to draw being faces. He draws like a preschooler, with people being big circles of mostly head, with lines for the arms and legs coming right out of the head. It's great to see him being so interested in the books, as before he would have thrown a fit if I'd suggested that he pick up a book (much less read it!).
He's also started doing some simple chores around the house without much of a fight. He puts socks in the basket, calls the other kids for me, and takes dishes to the sink. He also has been eating better as of late, and sleeping a little better. Weird how all of a sudden things are going so well, but I'm not complaining!
That's all for now I guess, can't wait to see how dinner and dessert turn out!

Changes..And Good Ones!

The wheels of change are working in our favor right now! I can't go into details, but suffice to say that things are getting better. Financially, things are getting caught up, vehicle-wise things are getting straightened around, and there may also be a move in our future.
I know, we already moved, and yes we're happy where we are. But IF we move, it will be a better environment neighbor-wise for the kids. And we'll be closer to Grandma. It's not a definite thing yet, but it is "in the works" so to speak.

Saturday will be busy, as I have 2 trips to Milwaukee and back to get Dad and Colleen. And again sometime between the 24-27th so he and Colleen can come back down and meet my sister's kids for the first time ever.
School is going well, kids are doing well. Mike and I are doing well. Hope to post more about our experiences and what will hopefully be happening at our place soon!

Bored...

Got bored, so I figured I'd use my time to mess around on here and change things up a bit. Not too bad if I do say so myself. We've been adding to our school day little by little during the week. Most of what Gabe's been doing school-wise is "child-led" type stuff. He's been willing to work with me on counting, as we use skittles or m & m's or other small candy pieces to count. He's also done the alphabet (repeating) on average of 3-4x a day with me. The other kids are doing journaling, and we do it first thing in the morning before our workbooks.
Attitudes still need some adjusting, but all in all it was a pretty laid back week. We got a lot done, and also did our regular housework and laundry.

Today was Scooby's first vet visit. He got his shots, was weighed (27.5 lbs) and was generally checked over. He's in perfect health, and goes back in 3 weeks for a booster shot. He and Shorty are getting along fairly well, no major issues there. He's very food-oriented and is willing to sit or lay down if he thinks you have a treat for him. I'll be getting their licenses on Friday, and plan to start walking them more then. They both walk together well already, bit Scooby needs to learn to not walk in front of me when we're walking.

Not much else going on, just sitting around today watching the kids play video games and the dogs sleep.

Frustrated

As some of you may know, we've been Home-schooling the kids since December. It's gone pretty well for the most part. We have more time to devote to the areas that each one needs extra help with. Mostly anyway. James has struggled with his reading since Kindergarten. It's gotten a LOT better, but in all reality he really reads at about a 3rd grade level. When he was in public school they had him held back (they say no learning disabilities), and if he were still in public, they would have him going into 4th grade this year instead of 6th like he should be going into. I'm looking for ideas to encourage him to want to read more.
Caitlin is about 2nd-3rd grade as well, she's had some issues as well with reading, but with her it seems to be more of the not wanting to sound it out in case she's wrong variety. I'd love to hear from any of you on ideas for motivating her to want to learn to read better as well.

My big problems right now are Caleb and Gabe. Caleb is currently doing 3rd grade work (as well as Caitlin), except in reading. In reading he's at about a late kinder level. He's learning, but very slowly. Math isn't a problem, he's great at it as long as it's not story problems lol. What I've been doing with them is if they need help reading something, as long as they're willing to try and read it and make the effort to sound it out etc, I will help them figure it out (book reading wise, for workbooks I read the directions and then help individually with issues as they arise).
Caleb doesn't seem to have any "drive" to want to learn things on his own, unless it's about snakes or scorpions. I've tried to make things about his preferred subjects, but there are only so many things that you can do.
Gabe is the hardest, and the reason that we break our school day into 30 minute (or less some days) increments. He HATES school of any kind with a passion. It gets better sometimes, but that's usually very very rare. He knows the alphabet, although he still reverses letters (usually p, q, r, m, w), can count to 10 with help most days (has even counted to 15 on occasion). But he has no excitement to learn, he doesn't want to be made to do things that seem to have no meaning for him.
He's working on pre-k to kinder level work, and has made alot (for him) of progress since December. But I'm really worried that maybe I can't do a good enough job with him. I worry that he'll never learn to read, never potty train all the way, never talk clearly enough. You name it I worry about it.
It's gotten to the point where I really wonder if it was so bad sending him to school everyday. The screaming and biting and tantrums and throwing things and all that. He got to the point for the longest time where we had to spell out the word school or he'd totally flip out and cry/scream/hit. He's getting to the point now where we can go past a school without him getting anxious, but it's taken since I pulled him in December. That's a LONG time to be worried. I don't want him to be like that again, but I also don't want to fail him as a parent or as a teacher. He's so hard to teach, and some days I wonder if I can reach him with as far away as he seems.
I guess I'm just looking for some reassurance that it does get easier, that he will learn.

New School Year

Not a whole lot going on here, just gearing up for another school year. James is doing 5th grade this year, the twins are doing 3rd, and Gabe is doing 2nd grade. Or more correctly, he's in 2nd, doing Kindergarten age work. But it's better than it was at this time last year. I've gotten a lot accomplished with him. He's also much happier with how things are going now.

Shorty is home, he's doing great. I went and got him on Saturday and I couldn't believe how happy he was to be home. He and Scooby are getting along fine, almost as if he missed Scooby as well as the rest of us.
Gabe is finally feeling a little better, no more fever, but very chapped lips. And the more chapped they get, the more he resists my putting anything on them. They were getting quite cracked for a few days there, but are starting to heal now. Still has a cough, and a bit of a stuffy nose. Hoping that all goes away soon.
And the boys all got haircuts tonight too. Buzzed it right on down lol. This will probably be the last haircut for a while, maybe till Spring.
We're going to do a bunch of Fall stuff for the first couple of weeks for school. Then about Mid-October we will start doing Halloween things. I plan to do studies on the origins of Halloween and then Thanksgiving in November, and then on the origins of Christmas and New Years celebrations. We aquired a book entitled "Holidays Around the World" and we plan to do a number of lessons out of it.

Guess I need to get moving and finish finding the pencils and sharpeners before we start our studies in the morning.

Not Much Going on Here

We had Mom's birthday party (surprise party!) on Wednesday. I drove up to Milwaukee to get Dad and Colleen, and took them back up after the party(and didn't finally get home until a little after 11pm!). Dad got to meet some of the people from the VFW/American Legion post where mom and Dave go, as that's where we had the party.
They also got to spend some time with the kids and have dinner with us. Gabe wasn't in the best of moods, as he's working on another cold/sinus infection/plague. Seems like every time the weather changes dramatically he gets sick again. But this time I can partially blame it on Adrian. He was over last weekend hacking and coughing with a runny nose and bad attitude, and gave it to Gabe. Problem with Gabe being sick and feeling crappy is that since his nose is running all the time, he's always wiping it on his sleeve, and he's been licking his lips CONSTANTLY! Poor thing looks like he's been rubbing cherry koolaid all over his mouth and chin, that's how red it is. And with the runny nose also comes the drooling.
We've had the drooling under control for the most part, but when stressed or sick he drools more, and chews his shirts more. He's ruined at least a dozen since the beginning of the move.
We started going through our books for school today and even managed to read some. I'm planning on formally starting on Monday, and from there we will be on a 4 day a week school schedule. I'd like to do 3 weeks on and 1 week off, ideally. But we all know how things work out when we want to do something a particular way around here.
I'm hoping that Gabe will be feeling better by next week. For all our sakes! The more icky and out of sorts he feels, the worse he makes every one else feel. Tonight we went to Walmart to pick up some last minute things for dinner, and to pick up some school supplies. That went pretty decent until he decided that it wasn't fair that he wasn't getting a toy. Wow, you'd have thought I said that we were going to amputate his feet and make him walk over hot coals! All hell broke loose - at the checkout of course - and Mike had to take him out to the van to calm down. The cashier was very nice about it, and we talked about autism and mental retardation while she scanned our things. But the "lady" in front of us in line wasn't so nice about it. Kept shaking her head at us and mumbling things about kids these days and needing a good butt-warming.
Of course to top off the wonderful week I've been having, my computer is acting up. Sometimes it just doesn't want to turn back on and takes a few tries to get up and running. I'm actually thinking of buying a new laptop when we get taxes back in February. Maybe.
guess that's all for now, gotta go give the little monster his cough meds so he can hopefully sleep a little better tonight.

Thinking About School

Been trying to write this post for a while, and keep getting stumped as to how to word it. Colossal writers block. I've been trying to figure our schedule and curriculum for this coming school year. I know, kind of late in the game for some and early for others. I had planned to start our school year on September 1st, just like the public schools here. But I don't know if I want to start at the same time or start a week or 2 later.
I already figured that we are going to do a 4 day school week, with Fridays off. And am tentatively thinking that we are either going to do 3 weeks on and 1 week off, or do 5 weeks on and 1 week off. That way we have time planned to do field trips, and visits with grandparents and all that jazz.
James is really thinking about Unit studies, which I think is a great idea, but I want to make sure that he's getting work in all academic areas. I'm also thinking of doing the same with Caleb and Caitlin. So I figure that we'll use our free Friday's to pick what the next weeks topic will be, and go from there. I'm also picking up workbooks - thick ones lol - that have a variety of lessons that will help them with grade level appropriate skills.
Gabe is the hard one, he is progressing at his own pace, but it still in the "fight with mom about doing school" phase. I've got some great learning cd-roms for him, and a Hooked on Phonics program, as well as a ton of games for his V-Smile, including numbers and letters and such. He's just recently (in the last week) finally shown an interest in any of the games and has even started playing a few of them. His fav's so far are Thomas and Scooby Doo, and the Scooby one is the one he is the best at.
My biggest fear is that with as slow as he is progressing he'll have a hard time learning to read and write clearly, since James learned to read late and had a really hard time with it. James reads fairly well now, so I know once we get past the hard part things will go smoother, it's just getting him to the point that he can recognize that letters make words, and words make sentences that's hard. He knows the letters, can even tell me the sounds most days, but doesn't seem to make the connection that c-a-t is cat. It took quite some time for the twins too, and both of them are still having little problems here and there sounding things out. Caitlin is reading at level, but Caleb isn't, he is more at a late kinder early 1st grade level, and has been there for over a year. That was also a deciding factor in bringing them home. He simply wasn't getting the help he needed at school, or the one on one attention to help him progress. The just read it to him and said what do you think is the answer. If he got it incorrect, they told him the answer. That doesn't teach him anything, it's really just the same as doing it for him.
With him and Gabe being at a lower level than the other 2, I'm working with both of them together on Reading skills, and phonics. Caleb can read some easy books, but gets frustrated easily. He can't spell easy, but he can spell b-e-c-a-u-s-e! I have to laugh because when he spells it out loud he sings it. "B-e-c-a-u-s-e spells because!"
James is reading chapter books, and so can Caitlin, IF it's something she WANTS to read, otherwise she pulls the "but I don't know how to sound that out!" or the always wonderful constant asking of "what's that word" over and over.
All in all, I know some of our goals for this year:

Gabe
1) Gabe will learn to consistently make all the sounds of the letters.
2) Gabe will learn to consistently write all letters. (at this point I dont care if lower case or not)
3) Gabe will consistently copy and say all letters to 20 (he repeats up to 20, sometimes even higher depending on motivation, but has only written to 10)
4) Gabe will learn to put letters together into words. (ideally, i'd like him to learn at least 1 word a week, but i don't know if that's pushing to hard or not yet)
5) Gabe will learn to do simple chores (without having constant hand-over-hand to make him)

Caleb
1) Caleb will learn 5 new words per week (and still be able to spell previously learned ones)
2) Caleb will write on the lines with correct spacing so it can be read
3) Caleb will control his body ( a BIG one, he has no concept of personal space!)
4) Caleb will rotate chores and learn to properly do them
5)Caleb will raise his reading and comprehension level by practicing reading at least 20 minutes each day.

Caitlin
1) Caitlin will learn at least 5 new words per week (see above)
2) Caitlin will write on the lines with correct spacing so it can be read
3) Caitlin will sit quietly when doing schoolwork (constant chatter, kind of like Caleb's lack of concept of personal space)
4) Caitlin will rotate chores without complaint and learn to do them properly
5) Caitlin will raise her reading and comprehension levels by practicing reading at least 20 minutes each day.

James
1) James will learn to write paragraphs with correct punctuation and grammar.
2) James will work on his handwriting skills and improve them.
3) James will stay on task and complete things in a timely manner.
4) James will rotate chores without complaint and learn to do them properly.
5) James will raise his reading and comprehension levels by reading at least 20 minutes each day.

Pretty simple? Yes, but it lets me know what is the most important thing to be working on at a particular time. Goals change, quite often in fact, but this it what we are starting on. I think about what we are having problems with both academically and family wise (see #4 lol) and go from there.
Right now we are having a lot of issues with calling names, shirking chores and not doing things correctly the first time they are asked. In my opinion, learning to do chores is just as important as learning to read. Who will hire someone that will not do what they need to get done? No one! A big rule around here is if you chose not to do things at home, why should I believe that you will so the same thing elsewhere. I.E. if you can't behave at home, why should I think that you will behave in public. Or if you can't manage your assigned chores, why should you be allowed to mow lawns for money, or help clean at someone else's house for money.

I'd love to hear input on what people think of our plan for school and our goals.

Crazy And Chaotic, As Usual!

Another 2 weeks or so between posts, but mostly because I've been busy packing things up and looking for rentals. Plus finishing up the end of our "homeschool" year. Officially public school here ends on June 10. Been cleaning and de-cluttering, getting rid of things we don't use, or haven't used in quite some time.
Today we got rid of a frying pan (visionware) that I've had since we got married(12yrs!) and NEVER used! Not even 1 time! Also got rid of an extra toaster and a bag full of tupperware, plastic bowls, lids that don't match anything, and old plastic plates. I also have 2 big 30-gallon trash bags FULL of outgrown/barely worn/stained/torn clothes to go through and get rid of.
We also cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom, swept, mopped, packed things in there, and partially cleaned and washed the fridge. I scrubbed cabinets, wiped walls and baseboards, and went through things bit by bit to see what we can pack (read live without!) and what needs to be left til we move.

This past couple weeks went pretty well. We had Adrian's birthday the 16th, Jane's 24th birthday was the 29th, the twins' was the 30th, Colleen's son Justin's 18th was also the 30th, and Daniel's was the 31st. Went up to Miwaukee the 30th to get Dad and Colleen, and took them back up the same day. Also saw aunt Rae, Pete, Aaron and Pete's son Bubba. They were moving and had to be out by Monday, so Mom and I and the kids went up Monday to help move, and Tuesday to help unpack. Kind of a crazy weekend, but not too bad. Going to call on some houses in Watertown tomorrow, and a few more here as well.

The kids are doing well, and Mike is too. Since he started working 3rd shift as a smokehouse operator, it's been a little chaotic at bedtime, but the kids are adjusting well, and we are making sure that he gets his sleep during the day by doing our quiet chores and things we need to finish for school while he sleeps, and going out for a bit near lunch time to get other things done. Seems to be working well so far, and he usually gets up around 2pm or so.

Been waiting to get my computer fixed, and until I do, I'm tethered to the ethernet cord in order to have internet. Windows 7 OS is nice, but doesn't have the drivers that I need for my wireless. So, my wonderful brother in law is going to re install Vista on it and fix my issues. Until then, I'll probably not be on too much, as chasing kids is WAY more important than updating the blog.

Long Week...

I just don't know some days how to keep going. Things haven't been the best in the last few months, but then again, compared to last year they are not near as bad as they were. How do those of you with more than one ASD kids do it? Caleb was dx'd PDD-NOS at 2y9m, and ADHD at 5y7m. Gabe was 5y7m when he was dx'd PDD-NOS, and 6y1m when dx'd Mild MR and a host of other things. Some days are so bad meltdown wise that I wish I didn't even get out of bed. Caleb is a screamer, and since starting school has learned some colorful vocab that he likes to share with anyone that ticks him off. Gabe repeats everything and I do mean EVERY thing that he hears others say. Both are hitters, punchers, hair-pullers. Caleb used to be a headbanger, and Gabe still is when upset.

It's hard enough with one kid doing this all the time, but when they both get going, I may as well pull my own hair out and go bang my own head against a wall. I've run the gamut of responses from other people, the whole "he just needs a good a** warming" being at the top of most peoples lists as to how to fix the problems.

The biggest thing we fight about right now is Gabe and his not sleeping. He is up most nights till 1130 or later, and always -- no matter what time he goes to sleep -- is awake and climbing into our bed by 3-4 am. I've done everything I know to get him into his own bed, to no avail. He starts out the night in his bed (I sit with the boys till they fall asleep or else no one gets to sleep), usually wakes up about midnight or so, and comes down and sits with me while I check email, falls asleep in the recliner. Then wakes again about 3 am, and comes in by us. Hubby leaves for work about 430 am or so, and Gabe sleeps thru till about 830-9 am (thank god for homeschooling, because in public school he had to be up by 6 to get there in time which really wasnt a good thing for him if he had a bad night!). If he has to get woken up earlier than that he is VERY grouchy and not happy for the rest of the day. He has always slept like that though, and naps when he was a baby were horrible. 20-30 minute naps and he woke whenever put down.

Caleb is not the best sleeper either, but he is waaaaayyyyy farther than Gabe, he has a hard time falling asleep, but once asleep he is down for the count till at least 6-7am(assuming that he's asleep by 1030 or so). As I'm typing this, Caleb is settling in bed, the other kids (besides Gabe) are sleeping, and Gabe is crying because he doesn't want to sleep in his bed. I know that part of the problem is that Gabe isn't functioning at *age* level, and doesn't understand some of the things expected of him. But that doesn't make it any easier.

I keep wondering what his future will hold and if I'll be able to handle either one of them when they get older. Gabe is the same size as Caleb even though they are 2 yrs apart, and when angry (or scared) is very strong. He's already started being aggressive (with the other kids and sometimes me) when he feels threatened. It just scares me to think of what might happen when he's older.
He's never been close to his dad, even when I was working and dad was stay at home. Neither was Caleb. But now, he always says for me to make dad go to work, and asks why dad doesn't like him or hurts his feelings or whatever the flavor of the day is. I keep telling him that dad does like him, but he's tired after a long day of work and doesn't want to be yelled at (Gabe has a naturally LOUD voice, almost yelling alllllll the time). He has been telling dad "you dont make the rules, mom does" and "you go away" and of course the all time favorite "you hate me". When he was in public school, he learned the phrase "go to jail", so he also likes to tell dad "you're mean, go to jail" and "I'll call the cops on you". I've corrected him that yes dad does make rules, no dad doesn't hate you, it's not nice to say, etc. But nothing seems to change what he says/thinks about dad. Dad doesn't go out of his way to push his authority on Gabe (at least not as of late), he leaves that to me.

I just don't know sometimes though, he's done so much better since he's been out of public school, but I'm not sure that the trade off is worth it at this point. I'm glad that he's happier at home, and that he's learning so much better here than he was there, but sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice in bringing him home.

Homeschooling is going well, we are getting better with letters and numbers. Now just figuring out how to teach him to read! That's a challenge, because while we are finally past the rejection of all things school related (due to some major issues with things at the public school). he is still very resistant to actively learning anything.

I think the thing that burned my a** the most about his school placement was that they told me flat out that it wasn't about catching him up to grade level, it was about putting him with kids his age.
Some days I wonder what it would be like to have kids without all the issues, and be able to go out and enjoy myself without calling every 1/2 hr while gone to make sure that everyone is ok and not killing each other. At this point, IF I could find a good decent placement for Gabe, I think I might just jump at it. Even though it would be hard for both of us to adjust, and he would probably hate me for it for a while. It hurts to say it but sometimes it just doesn't seem worth it to keep working so hard and pushing to get him to learn. I hate listening to him cry and say that he hates school, but I also hate having to force him to sit and do work with me. At least at school, THEY have to do that, it's not me having to go over and over and over the same things day after day and wonder what's going to stick.

Anyone else feeling this way? I want him to learn, but does it HAVE to be a constant battle?

Trying To Catch Up!

Things have been busy around here still. The weather has been good and bad, warm and cold, and is wreaking havoc on Caleb's asthma. Gabe has been having some rough nights and some days, with frequent waking and accidents again. It's more of the one step forward two steps back kind of dance. All in all we are all doing fairly well, not overly sick or anything.
The dryer is still broken, so we are still hanging clothes. We are still waiting on news about our apps for the house we looked at. Mike is back to work full time and is even getting some Saturday work. We did finally get the van window replaced, to the tune of $100. But that still beats paying the $500 deductible.
School is hit or miss some days as far as getting actual written work done. But we always manage to get something read or looked up on the computer, and we are picking 1 thing a day that they want to learn more about and at least getting that accomplished. It takes some of the pressure off, because with it getting nicer out, they want to go to the park and be outside more. It gives us a chance to learn about things that we see or hear outside, or about the plants that we see coming up. We currently have our own plants that the kids are helping with as part of their schooling. That's another thing that is so awesome as of late with how the kids are learning.
Caleb found a pumpkin seed in Nintendo's (the bird!) dish. Neither Mike or I thought that it would grow, but we told him if he wanted to try and plant it he could. Imagine our surprise when a few days later it was already growing and had 2 leaves!! It is now 2 weeks later and the plant is like 2-3 inches tall and has been transplanted outside to its own box. He waters it every other day, and checks it daily to make sure that no critters got to it.
The younger 3 also each got a cactus when we went to Lowe's, they are called "Moon Cactus" and they only get about 5-6 inches tall, which makes them quite manageable. They came in very small pots, and we will be transplanting them soon. The plants are proving very useful in teaching Gabe especially how plants grow and how much water, sun, and nutrients they need. Gabe's learning how often the cacti need to be watered, and when to move them, how not to touch them and all that.
I've been trying to pack things that we aren't using and get rid of things that are too small or won't fit anyone within the next year or so. Just generally de-cluttering and de-junking the house. It's been kind of crazy most days, which makes it that much harder to get on the computer and post.
Hope to post more, not guaranteeing anything though!

Crap Just Keeps Hitting The Fan...

Things have to get better instead of worse right? I sure hope so, because this last week almost killed me. Mike got up late last Saturday (he was supposed to work), and called in. Apparently he called in 3 whole minutes AFTER he was supposed to be there. Which sucks, because it put him over on points for work. Which means that he was effectively fired on Thursday, when the paper work caught up. It also means no holiday pay for Good Friday. And we won't find out until later this week if the other manager was able to get him back in to work.
Then, on this Saturday, my rear driver's side window was smashed out by some punks running through the neighborhood. The cops didn't catch anyone, and our deductible is $500. Which of course we don't have since again, no job. A used window will cost about $75, but the salvage yard doesn't have any for my van. Go Figure!
This totally sucks! Not that I mind having some help from Mike, but he drives me nuts after a while. He's been home since about 2pm on Thursday. It's only Tuesday and I already need a break! On top of all that, the heating element on the dryer went out, and of course no money for that either. So I'm (again) hanging clothes to dry. All this crap has to hit at the same time, because if it hit one at a time, I'd be better able to handle it.
It's been chaos around here, getting the plants ready for the garden, doing school and keeping up the house. The kids are doing good, Gabe gives me less of a hassle on school than he used to, as long as Mike isn't getting on him about it. Caleb is doing really well with this math game i got him for the DS. It goes from 1st grade all the way through 5th, and he can do almost everything on it! Caitlin has been doing more and more reading without even realizing it. They've all been using the magnetic letters that I have up on the door. James is working hard on 4th grade work (3rd in some areas), and working hard on doing things correctly the first time so he doesn't have to re-do them later.
Adrian is doing great, talking more and more. It really irks Gabe when he repeats whatever he is saying. His favorite is to say mom over and over like Gabe does, he knows how much it bothers him and you can see a grin on his face when he does it. Little stinker! He also sleeps all the way through the night here (at home he wakes a lot), and is taking regular naps. I still can't believe the difference between him and Gabe at this age. It's sad in a way because Gabe at this age is so firmly in my mind still.
Gabe is also getting more jealous of Adrian. When he is here, Gabe has WAY more accidents, and even refuses to go potty. He frequently tries to push Adrian away from me, and likes to get his attention and put his arms around me and say "MY MOMMY" to him.

Gotta go for now, Gabe is still awake and I need to check the other kids.

More Random

I've been trying to figure out what to post, and been sitting here for way too long without any ideas. I could post more about how the kids are doing, or what we're doing in school. I could post about Gabe's ever growing obsession for Lego Star Wars, or his slowly diminishing hatred for anything school related. He did actually do all his work today without any screaming, kicking or throwing a fit. And he now knows most of his letters. I could also post about how my baby will be 8 years old tomorrow. But when I write it I end up deleting because it doesn't come out right. Heck, I could even post about a certain 11yo boys complete and total lack of respect for anything I say. And how he goes out of his way to start trouble with Gabe and the other kids on an almost hourly basis. But I figured that was a post better left for a day when I wasn't already ticked off about the way he was behaving.

Really, there is sooooo much that I could write about, but then I start thinking about whether it's too personal to share with perfect strangers, or with certain other people that may or may not eventually find their way here and read it. I mean after all, how many people do I really need to share my personal issues with before it gets to be old news?

Mike's been having health problems on and off since the beginning of February, and has another Dr appointment tomorrow. Hopefully that is good news instead of bad. Gabe will be 8 tomorrow, and my friend Missy is having her baby boy tomorrow as well. Plus dad has his appointment tomorrow with Social Security.

On a more personal front, I've been doing bible studies by myself, not through a church or anything. I like it better that way, and am working on little ways of changing my life to get it to the way I should be living. The problem with that is that certain family members (on his side) don't think that's what I should be doing. They want me studying with people from their "church" and going to their "church" and they believe that what they teach is the only right thing. So I'm having a difficult time coping with all the pressure and the well meaning comments that I really should start coming back to their "truth". In fact, since Saturday I've had people at my house 3 times trying to get me to commit to coming back and get me into conversations about their beliefs. I love his family, and I like the people that are trying to "help" me, but when I'm ready, I'll make my own decisions about what to believe or not believe. I'm sure that in their minds, they are trying to do what they think is best, but honestly, all I feel is them telling me that what I'm doing is wrong. It's not that I don't appreciate the efforts that they put into things, but I don't believe that their way is the only way, that they have the only "true" worship.

Enough of that for now, I have kids to chase and a house to clean, and a LOT of thinking to do.