Square Dancing

Savannah's school had a family square dance. I was skeptical at first but it turned out to be much fun. Alex (country pirate??) was volunteering behind the grill which left me with the girls and tunes from a fiddle. The caller did a great job of getting everyone involved.  Savannah started out partnered with her friend Ella, but was partnered with others as the night went on.

Lila and Adeline had a good time with Mommy on the dance floor. It appears that we were quite a show as the comments came pouring in once I stepped off the dance floor. I had a lot of fun with them. In the clip, they aren't during much because they didn't quite feel at ease without me there to dance with them.  Lila gave up dancing before the end and put her efforts into Ella's brother.  They were too cute!

Occupational Therapy

Miss Lila recently qualified for OT services again. Her Special Instructor and classroom teacher have both commented on her clumsy ways.  Let's just say Lila leaps before she thinks!  She also could use some help in the fine motor department.  She is drawing different shapes etc. and can write her name (thank goodness it is only four letters) but her pencil grasp is immature.  Cutting also lags behind that of her peers.

Since I have no idea how to help Lila lift herself out of her clumsy ways, or rein her into cutting and drawing activities with me when she would rather be running or jumping, I am thrilled to have OT on board again.  Lila performs well for her therapists, just not mommy or daddy. 

Well, Lila was evaluated in February and qualified for OT at the beginning for March and. . . hasn't seen an OT yet.  Budget cuts, the economy, and many other factors play into overloaded therapists that can't increase their case load.  Do I care?  NO!  My kid qualifies for the services and she should be getting them.  When complaining to the case manager about her lack of follow through and persistence, I am told that I should be reassured that Lila will get all the services that are due her.  Her OT will make up for the lost weeks.  My complaint is that she doesn't have an OT and she needs the help now, not four months from now.  We need not wait until Lila has formed any more bad habits will with pencil grasp or fallen more behind in her other areas of concern. 

So here it is.  A piece of my life that sets me apart from many other moms.  I am not trying to figure out what T-ball team to sign up for, or what playdate to plan for the twins.  I am spending hours going back and forth on the phone with the county while trying to manipulate my schedule so that Adeline's OT can serve Lila.  (I begged and she was willing.  God Bless her!)  Yes, that required moving one of Lila's speech therapy sessions and  changing Adeline's bus schedule. 

At the end of the day, I feel that I spend countless hours driving, following up with therapists, and worrying if it is all worth.  It has to be right??

My Girls Minus One

Tired. . . Every Morning

Does anyone else have to literally pull all of their children out of bed EVERY school day morning?  Not only do Alex and I have to repeat this extraction process time and time again, we then have to turn around and find them flat on the floor when they are supposed to be getting ready.  Help!

Mother's Day Tea with The Belle

After the African Market, I made my way over to Adeline's school for their school wide Mother's Day Tea.  While most children have anticipation and excitement over the event, I am not sure Adeline fully understands what it means when I tell her that I will be at her school for the Mother's Day Tea.  It is really hard to know.  Because of this, I always worry that she will have an adverse reaction to all of the people or spot me in the crowd and want to come and sit on my lap.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Adeline immediately saw me and waved with a very cute, "Hi, Mommy."  She did a great job singing the songs and doing the motions.  At the end, when the preschool director stood up to speak, Adeline stepped down and climbed into her teacher's lap.  She rested her head on her should, then raised up and said, "I love you Stueve."  Priceless!!



After the singing, we joined together for some snacks and fellowship.  Adeline presented me with a gift she made.  She also had a drawing of me.  She initially did make a circle for my head and dot some eyes in but covered it up with her scribbles.  She isn't quite ready to draw due to the weakness in her fingers.

The most touching part of my time with her - possibly the only time she wasn't shoveling M&Ms in her mouth- was when she turned to me with a spontaneous, "Happy Mother's Day," followed by a hug.  I almost fell over.  She is really starting to get things! 

African Market

Today, Savannah's Kindergarten class put on an African Market. This activity was the culmination of a very exciting unit they have been working on for the past couple of months. Savannah chose to work the rain forest station because she was most interested in the gorillas. T. Michelle shared the story of Koko and his kitten which immediately grabbed Savannah's attention.  Savannah and her friend Lydia did a great job of presenting their information to parents and then to the students in her school.  I think they were pretty worn out after an hour of talking.  One thing was certain, Savannah was very proud of the work she put into this day.




Here is an example of another exhibit. There were about seven of them in all. It was rather impressive.

Belly Buttons

Does anyone else have a child that refers to their belly button as a belly but?  All three of mine do/did.  Yesterday, when going down for a nap, Lila requested, "I sleep with my belly but."  It was her way of saying that she wanted to sleep naked.  I thought is was rather cute.

I guess the heat is getting to us all.