Life Lesson

She screamed a heart-wrenching, tore-a-limb-off-kind-of-pain for a minimum of 30 minutes.  She's used to the sound, but not when it startles her out of sleep.

Video MIA

Did I ever mention I'm technologically challenged?  I took a video of Laea yesterday, but for the life of me, I haven't figured out how to upload it so it will show up on here.  I'll have to ask my genius nephew and get back to you. 

Laea updates:  She now reaches for toys.  She slides the little toys back and forth on her baby swing.  She tries with all her might to sit-up (doing little baby crunches), and searches for your fingers to grasp and pull herself into a sitting position.  She's eating organic brown rice mixed with apple juice like a champ (I know; juice is a no-no, but it's just a dash), and she's doing pretty well with sweet potatoes (I baked two, blended the meat with water, and placed them in ice cube trays for later--super easy and much cheaper because sweet potatoes average $0.97 each, I believe).  She begins to cry when I walk down the hallway at my mom's because she knows she's going to take a nap, but she sticks her thumb in (yes, she's a huge thumb sucker), and lulls herself to sleep.  She averages 9 hrs of sleep at night, a nap two hours after waking up, and at least one nap in the afternoon.

I'm about to give up pumping and switch completely to formula because it's just not worth it to get less than a bottle after trying all day.  I'm going to use up my Fenugreek and then most likely quit, as nothing has helped me.   It's disappointing, but I have a happy, healthy baby whom I love dearly (and who is finally gaining weight), so I'm happy as well. 

In a completely unrelated matter, S has been teaching archery at the girls' school.  Honestly, I wish he could get a job doing something like that because he loves helping others with hunting, hiking, shooting, fishing, etc. and he sounded really happy when I overheard him teaching the kids.  It's kind of like me when I'm teaching writing =)  What do you do so that other people can hear the smile in your voice? 

And She Scores...

This is Snugglebug's latest math test.  Yes, the one recommended to the special ed teacher (although no one has told me directly yet except my sister who works for the school).  Snugglebug's teacher leaned over when I picked the girls up from school and said, "There's a math test in her backpack that you're going to be so pleased with!  I brought her up to the desk and told her how awesome she did!"  

Yes, she's awesome.  But I knew that.  I'm her mother =)  

S & I had some long talks with Snugglebug last night about trying her hardest, no more shoulder shrugging, and no more "I can't do it" or "I don't know."  I told her to give her best guess if she wasn't sure, but to at least try.  And under no circumstances was she to shrug her shoulders.  She informed me over dinner that she did give her best answers, even though they were wrong, but she didn't shrug her shoulders.  She said she was a "whole new Abby."  

I'm hoping class dynamics are different next year. She's in a class with 15 boys, only 6 girls (including herself), and most of the children have a few behavior issues, let's just say.  I believe other kids were getting away with saying, "I don't know" and shoulder shrugs, Snugglebug thought that would be easier than doing work, and so she joined in.  Honestly, wouldn't the smarter child do less work if s/he knew s/he could get away with it?  I'm not saying she's a genius, but she's certainly a smart cookie--she just likes to hide in the cookie jar =)

My Child Doesn't Answer Questions in Class...It Must Be ADHD

Did you know if your child doesn't answer questions well in front of other children, or a particular teacher, s/he is automatically thrown into the pile of ADHD cases that are bombarding our country?  Although grades are overall terrific (A+ in most subjects, a C in spelling because Mommy forgot to sit down and make someone study), because she can't respond well when put on the spot, she has now been referred to the special ed teacher. 

Let me begin again.  My eldest had problems last year and absolutely hated going to school.  This year, she loves school, loves learning, and loves her teacher (despite the teacher's insistence of putting punctuation marks outside the quotation marks no matter the context).  She tells me now that she never understood her teacher last year--my second child's current teacher.  You know.  The special ed referral?

Last year, I took Lovely to the doctor to ask about ADD.  I was informed my insurance wouldn't cover any tests that would ever say she didn't have ADHD/ADD, thus I was handed a "mild" prescription.  I chose not to medicate, found some natural alternatives, and Lovely is doing wonderfully this year.  Yes, she has math tutoring, but I don't call A's and B's bad grades, and so long as she loves learning, that is was matters to me.  Any more talk of ADD?  Nope. 

So, once again, I'm researching ADHD.  I'm told she meets several of the criteria for ADHD.  Here are some examples from a few checklists:

• Fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities.  
• Avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to perform tasks that require sustained mental attention (homework, chores, etc.)
• Is easily distracted by outside stimuli 

Follow this link if you want to see the tests yourself--they're basically all the same:  http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/adhd/l/bl_adhd_quiz.htm

Just me, or do most children meet these criteria at some point?  I completely see why so many boys are told they have ADHD.  Seriously. 

Personally, I feel it's a bad fit with the teacher.  I like the teacher as a person (although I'm pretty irked by some of the things that have passed through the grapevine), but because neither of my children seem to understand her teaching style, worries have set in for next year. 

I like my girls' school overall, but I completely disagree with this--and I disagree with the ethics--I was told about this referral from a family member who works at the school, not the actual special ed teacher; she has yet to contact me. 

So now I'm rethinking the whole homeschool thing.  I thought I could leave the girls in school at least until 4th grade, but now I'm not so sure.  Ironically, I'm thinking of leaving my oldest in school because she is doing so well and I know which teacher she will have next year.  Not sure about 2nd grade.

Perhaps I'm burying my head in the sand and there are more symptoms that I don't see.  I don't know.  Perhaps it's just because I was always in advanced classes, etc., and so I can't accept that my children don't meet those standards.  However, if I can't recognize ability, then what does that say about my own ability?  

On a lighter note, Lovely was telling me how she would plan on retaliating if someone did something bad to her.  I told her she's supposed to treat people how she wants to be treated, so she reasoned it out:  If the other person was cruel, that means that person wants to be treated cruelly.  Hmmm....I never thought about it like that!