Whenever we have our final IEP....

... I am going to throw a huge party. What a relief that will be.

So, of course, Russ had his IEP (Individualized Education Progam) because he still has delays in fine motor skills, speech and language. Without going into great detail, I think this district has many issues with their special ed type services and their management of those services. And let me say that this IEP meeting was disorganized, again, and I have still haven't received my copy. That irritates me beyond belief.

Russell's IEP is renewed every year and last Friday we renewed what is essentially a contract with the district to provide Russell with appropriate services for his disabilities/delays. Like I said before, I wasn't expecting a surprise and I got several!! Let's start with the good ones. Russ's fine motor skills (handwriting and scissor cutting, etc.) have improved greatly this year and his therapist expects to release him at the the end of next school year. Terrific! Russ's speech and language therapist expects/hopes Russell will be released from those services by the 3rd grade. So, that was exciting to hear. They have never said anything like that before. Russell has done very well this year and we are glad that he may be caught up to his age level in these areas sooner rather than later.

The other surprise we have mixed feelings about. Russell is both speech and language impaired, meaning his speech (main issue is making correct sounds while speaking so he can be understood) and language (main issues are oral sentence structure, answering questions directly, making statements out of context) are behind grade level and he usually gets pulled from class to get therapy in school. Well, next year they have decided that all the children that will be in first grade who get pulled for language therapy will be put in one class together and the remainder of the class will be regular ed students. Apparently there are only three students now in Kindergarten that receive language therapy. So, the thought is that they will get more therapy in class together than being pulled out. We are not so sure about this for many reasons. For one thing, it seems weird that if there are only three students and they all aren't grouped together now and they are all doing well, what is the point? Our other issue is taht we want Russell mainstreamed in the sense that he is exposed to as many non-disabled peers as possible. I can understand that if they are all together and need the same type of assistance in class that it might be beneficial. The other pro is that the teacher of this class has experience with these types of kids and wants to teach the class. So, I know he won't get one of the old-school teachers that needs to retire. But, we still feel a bit wary.

It is a situation I will definitely watch and I have already let the principal know that if it doesn't work well for Russell (meaning his current success level isn't maintained) we will want a change in placement. Talking to Russell's principal is interesting. He is one those that isn't a real straight talker, but I make him give me straight answers to my questions. He's got a good sense of humor and he'll laugh when I am really making him to get to the point and not letting him talk around it. I don't think he used to that.

Anyway, I just thought it was funny that I wasn't expecting any surprises this time and even wrote that in this blog. But sure enough, I got one. Like I said in the beginning when Russell is released from all these services and we have our final IEP, it will be PARTY TIME!!

Okay, Saturday we're off to Orlando. We'll give our regards to Mickey Mouse and Shamu for everyone!!

TGIF

And let me say it again. TGIF.

It has been a very hectic couple of weeks. Russell's school had their spring fundraiser, Spring Fling (on Adam's bday). A carnival type deal with goofy games, bake sale, raffle, and silent auction. I was helping with the silent auction and then got put in charge of it and the raffle. So, that was a scramble getting it all organized on top of our normal schedule of tball twice a week, speech twice a week, dentist and doctor appointments, PTO meetings, strawberry picking with Rachel and friends, working in Russell's class, haircuts for me and the kids, getting the house ready for Adam's mom to come visit, getting over a lingering cold, (are you tired yet???) and baking for the bake sale, cake walk, AND soliciting donations for the auction. Plus it was Adam's birthday and trying to make his birthday special - nice dinner, baking his cake, gifts, etc. Luckily Adam's mom is a low maintenance guest and she fits right in with the chaos and is extremely helpful!!!

The Spring Fling. Now that I have done it, next year when I get roped in, it won't be as bad. I think if I do it from the start and I can do it my way, it will be easier. I was led to believe that the actual day of the event was my big commitment. But no, it was half the day Saturday and pretty much every morning and afternoon before and after school this week following up with all the bidders and making them pay and pick up their stuff. We had a lot of furniture donated from Target, so it wasn't easy. And except for Saturday, this was all with Rachel in tow. She now knows where all the goodies are in the front office and pretty much expects special treats every time she's there. Russell is in awe of the office and going behind the counter and seeing what the office really looks like and what/who is back there, that cracks me up. All in all the auction made about $5k, nothing to complain about, in my mind. I think the event all together is holding at about $12.5k. Again, in my mind, nothing to complain about. But last year they made $17k, so there is some snivelling, but not much!!

Yesterday as we were loading into the car I looked down and had a flat tire. So flat. So very, very flat. Of course, Adam was already at work. So, I call the neighbors, Lois and Ray, and Ray takes Russell to school, comes back and changes my flat tire to my full sized spare, (thank you very much!) and tells me where to go to get it fixed. I'm telling you, I have the BEST neighbors. I drop off my tire, they fix it and put it back on within an hour for free. The manager just said, 'Remember us when you need new tires'.

So, now it is Friday - hurray! I got to go back to aerobics, hurray! A normal day, hurray! Russell does have his IEP today. I am not expecting any surprises, but with this district, you never really know. So, I am prepared to fight the good fight, but hoping there's no need. I did warn Russell's teacher that I can be kind of a different person in IEP meetings and you may describe that with the b-word, and she laughed and said she was now really looking forward to it!!! It's sad that these districts just shove this info at parents and the parents don't realize they have a say in what types of services their child receives or how they receive it. I don't put up with THAT. I'll report on the outcome of the IEP next time.

Did I mention it is Friday????? HURRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Official

I entered the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest!

A few years ago, Adam and I saw a show on Bravo TV that was about the Current Bake-Off. They featured a few of the contestants and you got to see what the competition is all about and how it works. There are winners in each of the five recipe categories and one grand prize winner that wins a million big ones. I thought, hell I can use Pillsbury products to try to win a million dollars.

The recipe has to be original and completely yours, oh, and include certain ingredients in the Pillsbury family of products. My recipe that I have done for years is what we call Thai Chicken Peanut Yumminess. It is a peanut sauce with chicken, veggies, pasta, and topped with peanuts and cilantro. Very tasty. Well, peanut butter was never an ingredient and neither was anything else in my dish. So, I have been waiting. Finally this it. This year peanut butter is on THE list. However, pasta is not. So, I thought what I can do with my recipe and fit it into their products??? My answer was making my dish minus the pasta and putting it in a tortilla and baking it like a chimichanga. Da-da-da-daaaaaa the birth of Thai Chicken Chimichangas.

After many trials at home and in kitchens of friends and family, my recipe has been finalized and I entered it last night. It was interesting to see how much it changed after people tried it and made suggestions. (Thank you recipe testers!!!) It is definitely much better than the first version. I have searched and searched and can not find a recipe like it -I am thinking it is very unique!

So now all I can do is wait until like October of this year. They will choose 100 finalists who will all compete in the Bake-Off in April of 2008 in Dallas, Texas. I am really hoping to make that list of 100. I am still not sure if my recipe is good enough to win the big bucks, but the experience of competing would be unforgettable.

Adventures in T-Ball

Russell is playing on his first t-ball team. Our little city runs a pretty decent sized baseball league and has this very large park, baseball complex, community center, soccer and football fields, and the city pound.

At first the team was very organized and we were all excited. Then bad weather struck on most practice days and our little team started to get unorganized. We got it together for picture day, but then our coach became MIA. We have games twice per week. And while we all can't make every game, we do expect the coach to come to most games or call to say he won't be there, or state from the beginning that he scheduling conflicts and accept all the help he was offered from the rest of us. Well, he declined all of our help and then decided to not show. Then last night he shows up and tells some story about how he was filling in until the city could find a new coach.... BS in all of our minds. So, another dad took over coaching, his wife and I have taken over the team mom thing and I think we are getting it together. A disppointing start to the season. We were that team that was always unorganized and the other team parents would sort of give you that 'ugh, one of THOSE teams' looks. But, after last night's game, I think we are getting it together and hopefully we won't be one THOSE teams any longer. It is nice though that we are with a group of parents that will pull together and make it happen when the squeaky wheel falls off.

Miss Rachel. Well, her hair is finally long enough for some pig tails of some sort!! This picture is a little bit old, but you can see her little tails there! She won't leave them in very long and when she takes them out, her hair sort of stays in pig tail form, but they look like horns!!! Hilarious!! Yesterday was Field Day at Russell's school and the PTO was selling snacks and needed help. So, I said I'll stay as long as Rachel will let me. They all know Rachel and her personality, so they knew what I meant. That little stinker was so good! She even took a nap in her stroller when the time came. We stayed all day. I am sure her behavior had nothing to do with being the center of attention of all the parents and 5th grade students helping at the snack bar. Or that Rachel had the gym pretty much to herself to do what she wanted to do. Or that she had her fill of unlimited popcorn. OR that mom brought the little DVD player so she could watch a couple of videos. She was such a sweetie yesterday, we had a lot of fun staying at school all day. But, now that the PTO has seen I can be there with Rachel in tow, I think I'll be asked to do more....

Earlier this week, I got a chance to talk with my friend, LaDean. What a treat!! She is hanging in there. I thought she sounded terrific considering all that she has been through these last few weeks. You know you have a friend for life when you can pick up the phone and talk to someone you haven't spoken with in a few years, but it feels llike you spoke just the other day. I really treasure that.

Next week is Adam's birthday. His mom is coming for a long weekend and we always look forward to her visits. I hope we'll be able to squeeze in some jam making! The local strawberry farm is ripe and ready to be picked, a great time make some jam. I have always wanted to make jam, but feel like I need a jam making mentor. I emailed this to Jamie and she replied she'd try to get some fresh pectin to bring. I thought "What's pectin???" I definitely will need a jam mentor!!!