Me and the kids just went for a bike ride over to Lynn's to walk in the woods and William did not like the horns that kept poking him. You know, horns, like on rosebushes?
We had a fun day. This afternoon Ben, Wil, and Zac and I met Stacey and Henry and Kate at the park to play. We were there for a good 2 hours if not more. The boys played and played and played and played...and played. It is so fun to see Ben and his best friend. I havent really seen them play together yet, though Stacey gets to observe every Monday! I noticed that they never seem to disagree and mentioned that to Stacey and she said they never do. They never have any bad words at all. Nice :) She also told me that Henry told her they had to run around the track in gym today at school and Ben "won". Funny that he never said a word to me about it. Let me tell you, if it were Ariana or Elijah, I would have heard about it before their first foot was on the ground as they stepped off the bus. I can't wait to see Ben run, I have seen his natural athleticism for a long time and been looking forward to seeing him utilize it in the real world.
Kate and Zac were just too cute. They were born exactly 2 days apart, with Kate being older. Kate has Down Syndrome and is just cute as a button! Extremely smiley and giggley. She let me hold her without any grouching at all. Zac, on the other hand, bitched about everything. After about an hour and a half he noticed that Stacey was giving Kate little bits of graham cracker so he went over there and climbed into her lap beside Kate and was their new best friend. How male.
He also appears to be saying "I want that". He is obviously in a window of language acquisition as he is picking up new signs and words at a very rapid pace. He has this funny sign we are trying to figure out...it's like both hands signing "milk". It seems to mean a lot of different things. He signed it to Kate today and it was hilarious. We took it to mean "give me your bottle and stay away from my mother".
I enjoyed Stacey because she is as laid back as a mom as I am. When Kate put sand in her mouth it wasn't the end of the world. As a matter of fact Stacey left some of it in there...hahaha! It's not that she isn't diligent, she is, it's just that she accepts there is no way to keep every germ in the world away from her kids and it's not beneficial to anyway. I've had people shocked that I would let Zac crawl in the sand. Well, these babies crawled in the sand, in the leaves, on the grass, all over. At one point Kate coughed and Stacey joked that she must have a leaf stuck in her throat. Zac didn't eat any sand, he prefers twigs, thank you very much.
Stacey took pictures and emailed them to me and I'll share them soon. There is a great one capturing a classic boy moment. All 3 of the older boys were on their way up the ladder on the big slide when a humongous lawn mower went by. Being boys, they stopped in their tracks and watched it intently. For a very long time. So there is a picture of them in a row on the ladder looking off into the distance, and only we know it's a lawnmower they are interested in and not something deep like a sunset, or a unique bird.
We have a new big boy. Elijah last night went from being a Tiger Cub to being a Wolf. Ariana went with to (direct quote) "See Lijah turn into a wolf". He has a new yellow bandana and a bandana clip with a wolf on it. He states that he now needs a new hat because the old one is a Tiger hat and he needs a Wolf hat.
To end the post, let me describe a nice view I had today. I was on my bike on the way to Lynn's house. Wils was in the seat behind me and ahead of me, in single file, pedaling hard and fast, were all 3 big kids. Ana, Lij, and Ben! I absolutely do NOT have to wait for anyone anymore. The boys have a tendency to get ahead, actually, while Ariana and I are visiting.
See, this is why I wanted a big family. I have my own personal biking club and it meets whenever I want it to!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
When they grow up they want to be...
Ana and I have been talking about history a lot lately. It started with a special I was watching on PBS about the Andrea Doria, an Italian cruise ship that was hit by a ship leaving New York just as she (the Andria Doria) was coming in. I think this was in the 1950's if I remember correctly. The story is fascinating as a true midsea collision of ships is very rare and the crew members responsible are still alive and were interviewed. Best of all, the actual sinking of the ship was videotaped! You could see it listing, pointing, and slipping under the water. A very chilling sight.
Anyway, you know how Ariana loves the Titanic. She really loves anything about ships, shipwrecks, history of any kind. She happened to come upstairs when I was watching this after everyone was in bed (I mean, "in bed") and she was enthralled. Ever since she has wanted to watch the History Channel instead of Disney--yay! She wants to talk about what she sees, too. Today she was watching a documentary of the history of flight and there was a segment about heiroglyphics in egyt that oddly show images that look exactly like modern helicopters and airplanes. They are a mystery and make some historians think flight is much older than Wilbur and Orville, to say the least.
She started to say that she wants to be a marine archeologist when she grows up, and then she said, but there are so may cool things to be, it's hard to pick! Lij answered with "I'm going to be a scientist!" and then I heard, from way off somewhere, in a monotone, "I'm going to be an artist." The artist formerly known as "Ben" is nowing signing his name "Benjamin", just fyi.
Now, big news. Ariana and Elijah did their first 1k! Ben was supposed to but he backed out at the last minute, so Elijah took his place. Both of them did absolutely fantastic and I have some terrific pictures. I didn't get any of them actually running because my hands were full of crabpot babypants whom we hope is getting teeth but might just be a grouch. Also William was rolling down the embankment we were sitting on and he kept making people trip. So I couldn't get my camera out unless I dropped baby and let him roll down the hill too. I thought about it, it might have been a good idea.
I am finally able to upload a picture--I have a hard time with this at home (I'm at work right now and it's quiet so I'm able to do this). So there they are--my athletes! They got to run through an arch with a crowd cheering them on and get medals put around their necks and their names read aloud. Ben heard "Schurman" and went nuts, although he wasn't Schur which Schurman it was.
He enjoyed watching the run and is eager to try one for himself after all, so the older 3 will be signing up for an upcoming 1k in Cold Spring in May.
Seeing all the fun made me think about doing the Twin Cities Marathon again this fall. The trick would be finding time to do the long training runs, but I think I'm going to go for it. Will keep you posted.
The last picture is of 5 pairs of new shoes all lined up for the camera. I thought the visual was cute. Ana's big size 8 Schurman feet and Zaccy's little tiny Sederlund size 3's.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Bike season!
Yeah! It's my favorite season! Most of you know my passion for riding bike, and how that's getting better every year as I add another rider to my posse. Last night I got my bike down and took 4 trips around the "block" (is it called that out in the country?) , 2 with ben and then 2 with wil. The big kids got off the bus and joined me.
Today Elijah has a friend over. Noah lives down the road a bit so he and his dad and brother just rode here on their bikes. As long as Noah had his bike here, we decided to go for ride. So while Zac was sleeping, me and all the other kids went out. Ana and Lij on their bikes, Ben and Wil in the Burley (trailer). I'm told that Ben is now riding his bike without training wheels but I have yet to observe.
SO, anyway, we went around the block, everyone doing great, staying to the side of the road. Then we go to the last turn across the highway to our road. Elijah and Noah went way ahead and CROSSED THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT MY PERMISSION! I was so mad at them. Keep in mind this is EXTREMELY uncharacteristic of Elijah. Definately scary what happens to boys in packs! I saw what was happening and I yelled as loud as I could "YOU GUYS DO NOT CROSS THE HIGHWAY UNTIL I GET THERE!"
And then from immediately in front of me I hear:
"YOU GUYS DO NOT CROSS THE HIGHWAY UNTIL MOMMY GETS THERE!" (Ana)
And then from immediately behind me I hear:
"YOU GUYS DO NOT CROSS THE HIGHWAY UNTIL MOMMY GETS THERE!" (Ben)
And then....from next to Ben I hear:
"Yeah!" (William).
.........
Oh, about the "hearing". I'm hearing all that stuff cuz I finally got my new pink implant!! Yay! It works great and I love the color. I'm finally living on the wild side.
We are heading to town in a bit to get some running shoes for a couple kids with holes in theirs. It's a bad idea to do that the day before a race, but I just didn't get to it before. Should be OK, it's only 1K. Elijah decided to join his siblings for this event but whatever you do, do NOT call it a race to him. We are referring to it as a "run" and then he is all excited. If competition is implied he's out like a light.
Today Elijah has a friend over. Noah lives down the road a bit so he and his dad and brother just rode here on their bikes. As long as Noah had his bike here, we decided to go for ride. So while Zac was sleeping, me and all the other kids went out. Ana and Lij on their bikes, Ben and Wil in the Burley (trailer). I'm told that Ben is now riding his bike without training wheels but I have yet to observe.
SO, anyway, we went around the block, everyone doing great, staying to the side of the road. Then we go to the last turn across the highway to our road. Elijah and Noah went way ahead and CROSSED THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT MY PERMISSION! I was so mad at them. Keep in mind this is EXTREMELY uncharacteristic of Elijah. Definately scary what happens to boys in packs! I saw what was happening and I yelled as loud as I could "YOU GUYS DO NOT CROSS THE HIGHWAY UNTIL I GET THERE!"
And then from immediately in front of me I hear:
"YOU GUYS DO NOT CROSS THE HIGHWAY UNTIL MOMMY GETS THERE!" (Ana)
And then from immediately behind me I hear:
"YOU GUYS DO NOT CROSS THE HIGHWAY UNTIL MOMMY GETS THERE!" (Ben)
And then....from next to Ben I hear:
"Yeah!" (William).
.........
Oh, about the "hearing". I'm hearing all that stuff cuz I finally got my new pink implant!! Yay! It works great and I love the color. I'm finally living on the wild side.
We are heading to town in a bit to get some running shoes for a couple kids with holes in theirs. It's a bad idea to do that the day before a race, but I just didn't get to it before. Should be OK, it's only 1K. Elijah decided to join his siblings for this event but whatever you do, do NOT call it a race to him. We are referring to it as a "run" and then he is all excited. If competition is implied he's out like a light.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Horton Hears a Who
I took the 4 older kids to see Horton Hears a Who on Friday night. We had a good time. It was William's first outing to the movie theater and he did fairly well (which I have to admit surprised me, given his behavior lately). I love watching Ben watching movies (and Spongebob). He laughs his little dimpled head off and gets the subtlest humor (often he and I are the only ones who do). Elijah and Ariana are of course no trouble at all as they are old enough for that to be expected. William had the idea on the way there that he was going to get to watch his trucks movie. He didn't "get" the concept of a movie theater. It was soooo cute though, he heard me talking with the older kids about if they wanted candy or to play games in the arcade they had to bring their own money. I found him by the hutch that I keep their wallets in and he said "Mommy, I'm looking for my allowance." His voice was so tiny and cute and the concept was just darling. (It's fortunate for him that he still has those moments because I am wearing very thin at most times)
When we entered the dark hall leading to the movie and he heard the sounds of it and saw the dark, he got nervous and took my hand, but walked forward. When he turned the corner and saw the screen, it was all over. A true son of Brian. "LOOK AT THAT BIG TV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
He was fascinated by the red lights on the floor outlining the walking path.
That's the thing about having kids, they remind you that there are neat things almost every where we go, we just get so used to it as adults we forget (not that I thought those red lights were all THAT neat).
He got a little antsy a few times during the movie and got up and walked around but his sister had a fit so I made him stay on my lap and he did fine with that.
The movie itself was cute although animation leaves much to be desired for the lipreading moviegoer.
Following the movie they wanted to waste their money at the arcade (I hate arcades and those expensive games and machines). William chose to play a video game that consisted of turning a steering wheel to pretend to drive a truck. He had a great time and would have kept going forever except, of course, those games last about 30 seconds (plus, he had driven into the crowd and killed everyone).
Ben and Lij got fake eyeballs and stuck them in their faces to great effect.
At present time I'm at work at the VA in the locked cuckoo's nest. I just got an email from Ariana which I will cut and paste below:
Hi mommy william just took a nap and when he woke up he was acting CRAZY
It sounds like things at home are about the same as they were when I left!
This weather has me SO FREAKING ORNERY. Same is true for most people I imagine but I have the unfortunate talent of taking orneriness to a new level. It's an art form that Gillers specialize in. Warm weather is supposed to hit next week and I don't flippin' believe it. I think it's going to snow til my flippin' birthday just to ruin my flippin' life.
On the bright side (there is a tiny one) I shadowed on one of the extended care units at the VA this week (it's a requirement for school--we get to choose our locations). I wasn't looking forward to it because it's long term care and people speak negatively of it; I've also worked in long term care and know there are certain things one expects in those environment. Poop smell is the main one. To my surprise, this place was nothing like I expected. It was very clean and had no smell at all; the veterans were all very nice men, the majority geriatric but not by all means all of them. There were several younger veterans with MS, Huntingtons, and spinal cord injuries. The older guys were mostly pretty cute old farts. One guy had a hook for an arm and I asked him what happened to his real one and he said he left it in the Phillipines during WWII. A real war hero! I got to do some real medical stuff too; lots of med administration and a significant amount of procedures (cathing, nebulizers, dressings). Best of all, I found the staff friendly and fun. I was SO totally not expecting that. So, now I try to get a job on that particular unit, because who knows if I'd be so lucky elsewhere.
Remember the concert that I wasn't allowed to go to? He cried when he got home from school on Thursday because he didn't want to go, and after significant preponderance and consultation, I decided to allow him to stay home. Part of that decision was based on the awful weather (I didn't feel like going anywhere either!) and also that Joanie, who was to be our sitter for the other kids, wanted to get down to the cities to be with her mom for an appointment the next day rather than waiting til morning and chancing being unable to get there. Brian had been awake 24 hours at that point so his caretaking was not a viable option. The relief on Lij's face (on his whole being, actually) was so obvious that I knew right away it was the right decision. Now, understand, I know that we all have to do things we don't want to do, and eventually he is going to have to do this. But I learned something huge about him when I tried forcing him to go to preschool before he was ready. When he isn't ready, it isn't going to do anyone any good. When he is ready, it is so much smoother, and he does so much better. It's entirely possible the throwing up earlier in the week during concert practice was because he was nervous about it.
Not much is new with Ben that I can think of. He is his same old lover boy self. He made me a note that said "I love you mommy" (on toilet paper, with highlighter) and put it in an envelope and wrote (in highlighter) "To mommy fromme Ben". Oh, my precious :)
Ana and I had a spat last night after the movie. Never mind what it was about. But Ana is the quintessential girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead (although, of course, she has no curls). When she is good she is very very good, but when she is bad she is horrid! William's behavior the last month or so has reminded me of her when she was 3. I had totally forgotten what that was like. I guess Lij and Ben had me spoiled that way. Granted, Lij was a total wart (on my hip 24/7) and a crab, but he went to bed great and has never had these massive tantrums. William is throwing tantrums that almost put me to shame. He slams doors and throws things!!! I don't do that anymore, so don't blame me! It's genetics...cursed genetics! For the first time in his life he refuses to stay in his bed and he is an absolute brat about it. He taunts me. I have asked him several times recently where my sweet blonde baby went.
I just hope he will be back some day. Ana came back.
Babycakes continues to think walking is for grown ups, not babies. His football is his favorite toy and he gets jealous if anyone else gets near me. Go figure, I belonged to all of them first and he has the balls to think I belong to him. Fortunately they laugh at him, except William. However, when it's William who needs to be held I will almost always pass Zac off; he is just going to have to suck it up. Wil needs the extra attention right now. The naughtier they are, the more they need to know you still love them.
Well, I'm not going to post again until spring is really here, so check back in August.
When we entered the dark hall leading to the movie and he heard the sounds of it and saw the dark, he got nervous and took my hand, but walked forward. When he turned the corner and saw the screen, it was all over. A true son of Brian. "LOOK AT THAT BIG TV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
He was fascinated by the red lights on the floor outlining the walking path.
That's the thing about having kids, they remind you that there are neat things almost every where we go, we just get so used to it as adults we forget (not that I thought those red lights were all THAT neat).
He got a little antsy a few times during the movie and got up and walked around but his sister had a fit so I made him stay on my lap and he did fine with that.
The movie itself was cute although animation leaves much to be desired for the lipreading moviegoer.
Following the movie they wanted to waste their money at the arcade (I hate arcades and those expensive games and machines). William chose to play a video game that consisted of turning a steering wheel to pretend to drive a truck. He had a great time and would have kept going forever except, of course, those games last about 30 seconds (plus, he had driven into the crowd and killed everyone).
Ben and Lij got fake eyeballs and stuck them in their faces to great effect.
At present time I'm at work at the VA in the locked cuckoo's nest. I just got an email from Ariana which I will cut and paste below:
Hi mommy william just took a nap and when he woke up he was acting CRAZY
It sounds like things at home are about the same as they were when I left!
This weather has me SO FREAKING ORNERY. Same is true for most people I imagine but I have the unfortunate talent of taking orneriness to a new level. It's an art form that Gillers specialize in. Warm weather is supposed to hit next week and I don't flippin' believe it. I think it's going to snow til my flippin' birthday just to ruin my flippin' life.
On the bright side (there is a tiny one) I shadowed on one of the extended care units at the VA this week (it's a requirement for school--we get to choose our locations). I wasn't looking forward to it because it's long term care and people speak negatively of it; I've also worked in long term care and know there are certain things one expects in those environment. Poop smell is the main one. To my surprise, this place was nothing like I expected. It was very clean and had no smell at all; the veterans were all very nice men, the majority geriatric but not by all means all of them. There were several younger veterans with MS, Huntingtons, and spinal cord injuries. The older guys were mostly pretty cute old farts. One guy had a hook for an arm and I asked him what happened to his real one and he said he left it in the Phillipines during WWII. A real war hero! I got to do some real medical stuff too; lots of med administration and a significant amount of procedures (cathing, nebulizers, dressings). Best of all, I found the staff friendly and fun. I was SO totally not expecting that. So, now I try to get a job on that particular unit, because who knows if I'd be so lucky elsewhere.
Remember the concert that I wasn't allowed to go to? He cried when he got home from school on Thursday because he didn't want to go, and after significant preponderance and consultation, I decided to allow him to stay home. Part of that decision was based on the awful weather (I didn't feel like going anywhere either!) and also that Joanie, who was to be our sitter for the other kids, wanted to get down to the cities to be with her mom for an appointment the next day rather than waiting til morning and chancing being unable to get there. Brian had been awake 24 hours at that point so his caretaking was not a viable option. The relief on Lij's face (on his whole being, actually) was so obvious that I knew right away it was the right decision. Now, understand, I know that we all have to do things we don't want to do, and eventually he is going to have to do this. But I learned something huge about him when I tried forcing him to go to preschool before he was ready. When he isn't ready, it isn't going to do anyone any good. When he is ready, it is so much smoother, and he does so much better. It's entirely possible the throwing up earlier in the week during concert practice was because he was nervous about it.
Not much is new with Ben that I can think of. He is his same old lover boy self. He made me a note that said "I love you mommy" (on toilet paper, with highlighter) and put it in an envelope and wrote (in highlighter) "To mommy fromme Ben". Oh, my precious :)
Ana and I had a spat last night after the movie. Never mind what it was about. But Ana is the quintessential girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead (although, of course, she has no curls). When she is good she is very very good, but when she is bad she is horrid! William's behavior the last month or so has reminded me of her when she was 3. I had totally forgotten what that was like. I guess Lij and Ben had me spoiled that way. Granted, Lij was a total wart (on my hip 24/7) and a crab, but he went to bed great and has never had these massive tantrums. William is throwing tantrums that almost put me to shame. He slams doors and throws things!!! I don't do that anymore, so don't blame me! It's genetics...cursed genetics! For the first time in his life he refuses to stay in his bed and he is an absolute brat about it. He taunts me. I have asked him several times recently where my sweet blonde baby went.
I just hope he will be back some day. Ana came back.
Babycakes continues to think walking is for grown ups, not babies. His football is his favorite toy and he gets jealous if anyone else gets near me. Go figure, I belonged to all of them first and he has the balls to think I belong to him. Fortunately they laugh at him, except William. However, when it's William who needs to be held I will almost always pass Zac off; he is just going to have to suck it up. Wil needs the extra attention right now. The naughtier they are, the more they need to know you still love them.
Well, I'm not going to post again until spring is really here, so check back in August.
Monday, April 7, 2008
you are not alod in my roome
The kindergartener wrote that on a sign and stuck it to his door. That's pretty good writing for 5 year old who hasn't been taught how, don't you think? Of course, it's RUDE, but.....I think the people it was intended for deserve it.
Lij threw up today in the commons area at school during concert practice. The school nurse called me to come and get him. I thought he would be mortified to have thrown up in the commons. I felt so bad for him. I told him about when I was in first grade I peed my pants twice (I did). Later (he is feeling fine now, it must have been a fluke...also he didn't seem embarrassed at all) I asked him if he had to tell his teacher that he threw up and he said "no". So I said, did she see you throw up? He said "no". So I said, well, tell me what happened. And he said...."You don't need to know."
ok.
Baby has been chasing his football around all day. It's pretty entertaining to watch. He throws it and then he puts his arms up like "touchdown!" and then he claps.
I have to study for a big test about the gastrointestinal system. Meanwhile someone is sitting nearby having trouble with theirs.
Lij threw up today in the commons area at school during concert practice. The school nurse called me to come and get him. I thought he would be mortified to have thrown up in the commons. I felt so bad for him. I told him about when I was in first grade I peed my pants twice (I did). Later (he is feeling fine now, it must have been a fluke...also he didn't seem embarrassed at all) I asked him if he had to tell his teacher that he threw up and he said "no". So I said, did she see you throw up? He said "no". So I said, well, tell me what happened. And he said...."You don't need to know."
ok.
Baby has been chasing his football around all day. It's pretty entertaining to watch. He throws it and then he puts his arms up like "touchdown!" and then he claps.
I have to study for a big test about the gastrointestinal system. Meanwhile someone is sitting nearby having trouble with theirs.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
I am so mad at William. Meow.
OK, so yesterday was William's preschool screening. This is where they check development to be sure there are no delays that should be addressed before starting school. They check vision, hearing, fine and gross motor skills, and cognitive development. Well, according to the results, William is blind, deaf, retarded, and has CP.
Yeah. He scored especially low in vocabulary because the only word he knows is "meow". She asked me if he can talk! I. Was. So. Mad.
One of the ways he was so infuriating is that when he DID cooperate (twice, I think) he aced it and scored very high, as high as Ben did (remember, it was Ben's pre school screening where I finally got validation that he is gifted). For example, she made a pyramid out of blocks and then gave him some and told him to copy her structure. He shook his head, closed his eyes oh so delicately, and smirked. I wheedled, cajoled, threatened. Finally he vveeerrrryyyyy slloowwwwllllllyyyy built a pyramid. So then she made a complicated structure with 2 blocks on the bottom, 3 in the middle, and 1 on top, so it looked kind of like a person and it required him to balance two of the blocks hanging over the edge of the bottom ones. No problem, he did it easily. But his cooperation stopped there. There were several points where she laughed out loud because of how silly he is with his eye rolling and expressions. I saw in one place that she had noted "Refused. Silly boy."
I really was mad, I was so mad I left the room and went and sat out by Max and Judy in the waiting area and Max actually held my hand. I kept saying "I'm not THAT mad!" and she looked at me with such sympathy I wanted to slap her. Or hiss and scratch.
Which reminds me, when I was desperately whispering at him to cooperate, he made kitty-slapping motions at me with his claws. There was an adult student in the room observing and she was cracking up back there.
So he can't talk, OK. Well, last night I was at work and Brian was taking the kids from home to Cambridge to meet Grandma for the weekend (Ana, Lij, Ben, and the Goddamned cat). They stopped by so I could say goodbye. I went to William to say goodbye and he said "Have fun at work. I'M going to grammas!". I looked at him and said "William, you let that lady think you can't talk." and he said "I can't."
........................
He has to be rescreened (I suppose it was either that or start making arrangements for a paraprofessional to follow him all day in kindergarten and help him eat and hold his crayon). I am so dreading the rescreening. I'm working hard to find something good to threaten him with before we go. Meow!
--------
Story from the nut house....last night we had a guy in who was very nice, pleasant, personable, and crazy as a coot. He is coming down off a psychotic break. So he asked me for a robe and I went and got him one, thinking he was cold or something. I gave it to him, he put it on, then he went to his room and came out with his leather belt around his waist and started doing kung fu karate stuff. It was hilarious!! I'm going to miss this kind of guy when I graduate and move on. I won't miss the detoxers, but the genuinely sick guys are entertaining. Oh, last weekend there was a dude who was sent over from the hospital after he had surgery to remove 6 self-inserted sewing needles from his balls.
.........
Some school mates and I went to a job fair last week at the Civic Center. There were two employers I found myself impressed with an interested in. The first is my current employer, the VA. The HR rep I spoke with was very knowledgeable and encouraging. She told us we could go over right away and fill out our apps, so we did that. Now, I"m not sure the KIND of work I'll do will be thrilling, but the benefits, especially the educational ones, can't be beat. They'll pay for my RN even if I only work part time. I think I need to work full time, though, because we need the health insurance too. We do have it through the bakery but it is weak and getting weaker. The deductible is currently 5,000 for the family for the year and it is very possible that will be increasing. The VA offers plans with no deductible and very affordable employee contributions. I'll need to move to a different unit though, because of the hours we need to make it work for us both to be working full time. I'll need an evening shift that doesn't go so darn late (I get out at midnight right now). Extended care offers 1 to 9 30 pm shifts and I think that will be ideal, at least during the summer when I can spend the day with the kids. Not sure about during the school year unless I can get 10 hour shifts and do weekends and 2 days per week. I can't not be home every evening and never see the school kids. Will just wait and see how things come together. I should also add I'm not gauranteed a job, but there are several openings so my chances are good.
The other employer that interested me was one I didn't expect. REM home health. I've heard that home care pays less, but that doesn't appear to be true. They are also very flexible; the lady I talked to said they are more than happy to work around another job, and even give you one shift a week if that's all you want. The reasons I would want to go ahead and try to do this are that 1) the VA is what I need right now (largely because of the educational benefits and excellent job security), but hospice and home care are what I want, and this would be a foot in the door 2) they have openings right here in cold spring 3) the pay is actually very good and there are a lot of incentives for evenings, weekends, etc. and 4) they have pediatric patients, so I could work with kids.
Graduation is now only about 5 weeks away!!! Whoo hoo!
So, the 3 big kids (and the Goddamned cat...) are now in Wisconsin until tomorrow and Brian is at a funeral. I'm home alone with Muffins and he is in his night nights with his two funny teeth. Ah, sweet freedom! What shall I do with myself? I just went to the bathroom ALONE! Nobody watched me wipe my butt! Yay! They are probably watching my parents do that instead.
I will mom in cambridge some time tomorrow to get them. I better get going with the gazillion and one things I need to do in their absence.
PS Meow.
Yeah. He scored especially low in vocabulary because the only word he knows is "meow". She asked me if he can talk! I. Was. So. Mad.
One of the ways he was so infuriating is that when he DID cooperate (twice, I think) he aced it and scored very high, as high as Ben did (remember, it was Ben's pre school screening where I finally got validation that he is gifted). For example, she made a pyramid out of blocks and then gave him some and told him to copy her structure. He shook his head, closed his eyes oh so delicately, and smirked. I wheedled, cajoled, threatened. Finally he vveeerrrryyyyy slloowwwwllllllyyyy built a pyramid. So then she made a complicated structure with 2 blocks on the bottom, 3 in the middle, and 1 on top, so it looked kind of like a person and it required him to balance two of the blocks hanging over the edge of the bottom ones. No problem, he did it easily. But his cooperation stopped there. There were several points where she laughed out loud because of how silly he is with his eye rolling and expressions. I saw in one place that she had noted "Refused. Silly boy."
I really was mad, I was so mad I left the room and went and sat out by Max and Judy in the waiting area and Max actually held my hand. I kept saying "I'm not THAT mad!" and she looked at me with such sympathy I wanted to slap her. Or hiss and scratch.
Which reminds me, when I was desperately whispering at him to cooperate, he made kitty-slapping motions at me with his claws. There was an adult student in the room observing and she was cracking up back there.
So he can't talk, OK. Well, last night I was at work and Brian was taking the kids from home to Cambridge to meet Grandma for the weekend (Ana, Lij, Ben, and the Goddamned cat). They stopped by so I could say goodbye. I went to William to say goodbye and he said "Have fun at work. I'M going to grammas!". I looked at him and said "William, you let that lady think you can't talk." and he said "I can't."
........................
He has to be rescreened (I suppose it was either that or start making arrangements for a paraprofessional to follow him all day in kindergarten and help him eat and hold his crayon). I am so dreading the rescreening. I'm working hard to find something good to threaten him with before we go. Meow!
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Story from the nut house....last night we had a guy in who was very nice, pleasant, personable, and crazy as a coot. He is coming down off a psychotic break. So he asked me for a robe and I went and got him one, thinking he was cold or something. I gave it to him, he put it on, then he went to his room and came out with his leather belt around his waist and started doing kung fu karate stuff. It was hilarious!! I'm going to miss this kind of guy when I graduate and move on. I won't miss the detoxers, but the genuinely sick guys are entertaining. Oh, last weekend there was a dude who was sent over from the hospital after he had surgery to remove 6 self-inserted sewing needles from his balls.
.........
Some school mates and I went to a job fair last week at the Civic Center. There were two employers I found myself impressed with an interested in. The first is my current employer, the VA. The HR rep I spoke with was very knowledgeable and encouraging. She told us we could go over right away and fill out our apps, so we did that. Now, I"m not sure the KIND of work I'll do will be thrilling, but the benefits, especially the educational ones, can't be beat. They'll pay for my RN even if I only work part time. I think I need to work full time, though, because we need the health insurance too. We do have it through the bakery but it is weak and getting weaker. The deductible is currently 5,000 for the family for the year and it is very possible that will be increasing. The VA offers plans with no deductible and very affordable employee contributions. I'll need to move to a different unit though, because of the hours we need to make it work for us both to be working full time. I'll need an evening shift that doesn't go so darn late (I get out at midnight right now). Extended care offers 1 to 9 30 pm shifts and I think that will be ideal, at least during the summer when I can spend the day with the kids. Not sure about during the school year unless I can get 10 hour shifts and do weekends and 2 days per week. I can't not be home every evening and never see the school kids. Will just wait and see how things come together. I should also add I'm not gauranteed a job, but there are several openings so my chances are good.
The other employer that interested me was one I didn't expect. REM home health. I've heard that home care pays less, but that doesn't appear to be true. They are also very flexible; the lady I talked to said they are more than happy to work around another job, and even give you one shift a week if that's all you want. The reasons I would want to go ahead and try to do this are that 1) the VA is what I need right now (largely because of the educational benefits and excellent job security), but hospice and home care are what I want, and this would be a foot in the door 2) they have openings right here in cold spring 3) the pay is actually very good and there are a lot of incentives for evenings, weekends, etc. and 4) they have pediatric patients, so I could work with kids.
Graduation is now only about 5 weeks away!!! Whoo hoo!
So, the 3 big kids (and the Goddamned cat...) are now in Wisconsin until tomorrow and Brian is at a funeral. I'm home alone with Muffins and he is in his night nights with his two funny teeth. Ah, sweet freedom! What shall I do with myself? I just went to the bathroom ALONE! Nobody watched me wipe my butt! Yay! They are probably watching my parents do that instead.
I will mom in cambridge some time tomorrow to get them. I better get going with the gazillion and one things I need to do in their absence.
PS Meow.
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