Alice in Chains video

This is the video I took at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland Maine on April 15, 2010. The first stop in the new leg of their tour, Black Gives Way to Blue. It was an awesome show, and my husbands first concert. :) We totally enjoyed it. And had the bruises the next morning to prove it! The moshing was insane at the rail! You couldn't get any closer than where we were. It truly was an awesome experience. :)

I'll upload more video and pictures later.

Ivy got suspended from the bus. Again.

Yep. The bus company just called me. I guess this morning she got written up again. This time another girl told her to scratch this girl, so Ivy did. The girl was crying and had a red mark down her arm. The bus driver witnessed Ivy scratching her. So now she's suspended from the bus for the next two school days. :(

If this is any indication of how next year is going to go, I don't want any part of it! It makes me even more happy that they went ahead and kept her IEP in place.

The Issue with blogging

I've wanted to blog more than I have been. I know it probably looks like I'm a lazy camera phone blogger at this point, but in my defense.. I know the reason why I'm so quiet. Because I have to be quiet! Let me explain. My best writing is done at night after my little angels are tucked in for the night in their double beds with fluffy blankets. Only after my house is semi quiet can I really think about the things I like to blog about. You know, those deeper things beyond, "Where are Ivy's clean leggings?!" and "Do we have enough money to pay the phone bill this month?"  Now I know you're thinking, super! Then blog when the kids go to bed! But its not that simple.. you see the baby usually sleeps downstairs in the pack and play. And to make things worse, she's right next to my computer desk. Under normal circumstances this is the best location for her. Easily accessible so I can protect her from Odin should he try to throw a Duplo or a Matchbox car at her head. (he does have this urge frequently) Not so convenient when I want to type like a mad man with flames flying out of my fingertips. I wait for the right moment to blog when it won't wake her up, and I can still concentrate. Those moments are obviously few and far between.

So here I am! Its 7:56 AM and Sierra and Ivy are already at school. Their first day back from school vacation. The rest of us couldn't be more excited for them! Seriously. Vacations are the worst in my house. Ivy needs the structure of getting up, getting ready, going on the bus, going to her classes, coming home, having dance class and then going to bed. I need that routine too.

Update: Its now the next day. ya ya. I should have just ended and pushed Publish Post. Except I forgot! Gah! Anyway, Ivy had a great day at school. She got all 20 of her stars. Her goal is 16 stars in a day. Its part of her new behavioral plan. They've broken down her day into 20 chunks and they give her 1 star if she follows Kelso's Choices and another star if she is compliant. Yesterday was the first day she's ever gotten 20 stars! I was so happy! And then today, the bus company called me to inform me that they wrote her up yesterday afternoon for standing up on the bus. They tell me she always stands up while the bus is moving. I tell them, put her in a buckle seat please. They did last year and there were no issues. This year she's been written up twice and this time she's suspended from the bus for a day. 6 years old and suspended for hyperactivity she can't control. That really stinks. So I'm going to have to do something. I mean it can't continue this way. There are only 2 more chances and she's off for the whole year. It isn't a big deal as its almost May. But what about next year? This has to be addressable in her IEP or something. (which they DID keep btw. They even added on a behavioral plan and social stories, along with everything she currently had. Yay!!!)

Alright, posting this before life takes over again.
     

PJ lookin cute

My kiddos lookin cute

Waiting for Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains tickets are here!

Mama and the kids

Easter Bunny Love

Easter 2010 was a success! Well, as long as we're measuring success by how sunny the day was. (finally) How trampled my backyard was by little feet looking for eggs, and how much trash was strewed around my house. It didn't matter how many times I bent over to pick up the pieces of wrappers and discarded candy, in a few minutes it was back on the floor again. Candy in different colored boxes to designate which child it belonged to. When you have more than a few children it becomes a necessary part of life, this naming and color coding. And every year there is more candy than we need. I'm not sure how or why I tend to over purchase the candy, perhaps because its the basis of Easter and there isn't much else to get. One toy each child, that added up to over thirty dollars. Piper got Littlest Pet Shops, Ivy got a Wizards of Waverly Place wand (the one we wanted to buy her for Halloween but they were completely sold out.) and Odin got this really cool car from the movie Cars. You shake it back and forth and then set it down and it goes! Granted it doesn't go very far because he only shakes it a second or two, but he loves it! Though Mama and Daddy are about ready to take out the batteries! (its loud)

Sierra was with us this year. Usually she ends up with her ex grandmother because they have a big easter egg hunt with the town and the police department. This year I said no when they asked me. I wanted her here with her family. So she ran around helping her sisters and brother find the eggs in the backyard. She smiled. She had a good time. And seeing her participate in family stuff with a smile on her face made me really glad I had her stay here.

Today is Ivy's last appointment with the Neuropsychologist. Her evaluations for an autism spectrum disorder is almost complete. It took us years to get to this point. Years. Just this appointment alone took a year to get. But her behavior at school is starting to get worse. They have a behavior notebook for her now and her day is broken into small chunks of time to try to earn at least 15 stars a day. I think it might help her. But will they try to take her off her IEP next week? I don't know. But I do know that she needs a diagnosis so that I can fight for her better. We've been fighting since she was two years old, and we'll keep fighting.

My girls (and niece)

Sierra is a dork

Just me