Sick, Parents Visiting, and Headed to the Beach

The Senior

S worked REALLY hard on Monday to try to finish his work for the week.  He didn’t want to have to do anything after that day.  He came close to completing his work but not quite.  It did allow him to sleep in a little bit on Tuesday though.  His focus right now is College Algebra, World War II unit, and his Human Eye course.  That will be enough since we have company for the next 2 weeks.

S was not happy with us Wednesday morning because he had an 8:40 doctor’s appointment. He doesn’t like “early” appointments, and his brother had the opportunity to sleep in since he didn’t have school that day.  S met his new PCM, and it went well.

Volunteering

S volunteered 6 hours last weekend.  He will not be volunteering this weekend because we are going out of town.

The Sophomore

J only had 2 days of school this week.  He was pretty excited about that.  He turned in his Science Fair project which made him very happy.  He has a little bit of homework to complete during Thanksgiving break, and I believe it is all done.  He is in relax mode!

Practice

J only had 3 days of practice this week due to the holiday.  He practiced for 10.5 hours.  He has a meet coming up next weekend hosted by his gym.  It will be a busy time in the gym.

On the Homefront  

Last Saturday my husband and I previewed S's senior pictures and ordered them. The photographer did an amazing job. His pictures turned out great, and it was difficult deciding which ones to order. We had a list and a budget. Thank goodness because it would have been very easy to go a little crazy ordering pictures.

It has been a weird week at our house.  I became sick Sunday afternoon and spent most of Monday in bed.  It was not a convenient time to get sick.  There was cleaning to be finished because my parents were flying in Monday night for a 2 week visit.  My husband who is awesome took the afternoon off from work to come home and clean.

My parents arrived Monday night.  I didn’t go pick them up.  I was parked on the couch asleep. I am now starting to feel better, but I am tired.  Lots of naps this week.

My mom wasn’t feeling well Wednesday morning, so she has been taking quite a few naps also. No one else has gotten sick which we are thankful for.

We had a very relaxed Thanksgiving.  We celebrated last Saturday with friends, and my parents celebrated Sunday with family prior to their trip.  Here we had brunch, Gluhwein, games, and a roast beef dinner followed by some desserts.  

We are headed to the Outer Banks this morning for a relaxing weekend.  Looking forward to getting away.  My parents have never been there.  We are thankful for friends who have a house we can use while we are there.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I will be enjoying time at the beach on the couch with chocolate.

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S had an appointment with his new Primary Care Manager.

We just returned home from S’s appointment with his new Primary Care Manager (PCM) at the Family Practice Clinic.  This was a big deal because S had no desire to leave Pediatrics, but he is aging out of Peds next week.  His pediatrician had a plan to move him upstairs.  Things didn’t go according to plan, but it all worked out in the end.  (My husband is awesome at making phone calls and emailing people).

S met his new doctor’s nurse first.  She was quite funny and joked around about S having to leave Peds.  He laughed.  Then the doctor came in and joked around about having to leave Peds.  First impressions were good.  [My husband and I are both seen in this clinic, but we have different providers.]

The doctor was very thorough.  He asked S a lot of questions about his medications and why he takes them.  He asked which specialists he sees and why.  S had prepared for this prior to the appointment.  He made a list of his medications.  He had a list of provider’s names and locations. He put these lists on his phone.  He left his phone at home.  

We discussed protocol for refilling prescriptions, how often the doctor wants to see him, the best way to contact him, etc.  The doctor did a good job of talking to S and not us.  The doctor put in a prescription for him to be picked up today and lab work that needed to be done to check his Vitamin D levels and Thyroid.

We went to the pharmacy where we waited 30 minutes for S’s number to be called only to find out there was nothing in the system yet.  This is not uncommon for him.  We don’t know why. He is convinced that there is a virus in the hospital’s computer system that does this to him. The pharmacy tried calling back to the doctor and no one answered the phone.  At that point, we just went to the lab.  It was a prescription that isn’t critical to be filled right now.

We went to the lab next.  That was fast.  He checked in, waited a couple of minutes, and they called his number.  When asked which arm he preferred to have his blood drawn from, his response was, “Neither.”   

Overall, it was a good morning at the hospital.  S liked the nurse.  He liked the doctor.  His comment when we left was, “Everyone was very polite and helpful.”  He was right.  I had soldiers offer to load his wheelchair for me.  A soldier came and closed the van door after S got in the van.  People offered to switch seats with us in waiting rooms to make things easier for S to get around.  

After a good morning like this, I need to sit on the couch with chocolate and enjoy it!

And as our busy season starts…..

The Senior

S stayed with friends this past weekend while we were up in northern Virginia for J’s gymnastics meet.  S had a good time.  They went to see “Dumb and Dumber To”, went out to eat, ate Duck Donuts, had pizza, and watched more movies.  My friend had 4 teenage boys at her house.  

This week S has been busy working.  He’s trying to make sure everything is completed, so he can be on a relaxed schedule the next couple of weeks since Grandpa and Grandma are coming. Love that part of homeschooling!  He has been working on his College Algebra, Human Eye Lesson 3, WW II unit, Grammar, and research paper - Notes are complete, thesis statement is revised, and outline is finalized!  The final paper will be written after Grandpa and Grandma leave.

We received his insurance authorization letter for his SmartDrive for his wheelchair this week. He is quite excited about that.  We are hoping it is here before Christmas.

S has 2 sessions of horseback riding today.  He had his scheduled lesson at 8:30 this morning (it was quite chilly), and he has a makeup lesson this afternoon.  He will be tired tonight!  My husband is taking the afternoon off to take S back up this afternoon.  He is hoping to get some good pictures of him riding.

My husband and I are going to preview S’s Senior Portraits Saturday morning.  He has decided he’s not going with us.  Fine.  He took the pictures and didn’t complain, so we will preview without him.  

Volunteering

S went back to church Tuesday night with my husband to help serve the homeless.  Their shift was shorter than expected because we had another representative from our church on site.

S is volunteering 6 hours this weekend.

The Sophomore

J has had a typical week at school.  He had a number of quizzes and tests this week.  He will be wrapping up his science fair project this weekend.  He really likes his science classes, but he doesn’t like doing the science fair.   He has an English poetry project that he will be finishing up also.  I hope he doesn't have a lot of homework during Thanksgiving break since he could use some down time.

Gymnastics

J had his first meet of the season last weekend.  He did well.  He is at a new level with new skills. There were some falls, but he did not get hurt.  That is always a good thing.  He placed on 3 events and in the All Around.  There are some things to work on at practice before the next meet.

He has 17.5 hours of practice this week.  The next meet is hosted by our gym in 2 weeks, so there is a lot of activity happening at the gym.

On the Homefront

We spent the weekend in northern Virginia.  We stayed in Old Town Alexandria.  We were able to spend Saturday morning with our niece who was in Washington DC for a conference.  That was fun.  We had brunch at the Bittersweet Cafe.  The food was delicious!  J chose to go back there Sunday morning for breakfast before we headed to IKEA.  

This has been a busy week of appointments.  My husband had 2 PT appointments.  I had 2 appointments.  I had to go to Dermatology for my annual mole check.  I have A LOT of moles. Everything looked good. The doctor told me to keep using sunscreen and come back in a year. Can do!

I have been able to get some birthday and Christmas shopping finished this week. I am a big fan of online shopping.  I don't really like going to the mall. Also, I can have things shipped to my parent's house since we are going to Minnesota for Christmas.

Tomorrow, we have S's picture review.  We are looking forward to that. Tomorrow evening we are having Thanksgiving with our friends since my friend’s husband has to work on Thanksgiving.  

Most of my weekend will be spent cleaning because my parents are flying in from Minnesota on Monday night.  They will be here for a couple of weeks - Thanksgiving, a weekend trip to the Outer Banks, both boys’ birthdays, and J’s meet.

We are going to be busy, but I will still find time to be on the couch with chocolate!

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When the insurance authorization letter arrives....

We received the insurance authorization letter we have been waiting for since last month.  It’s always an interesting piece of mail to receive because we just never know what the answer will be.  Will they authorize needed equipment or will they deem that it is medically unnecessary? What seems obvious to us as something that should be approved isn’t always approved.

For example:  When S was 8, he needed a new walker.  Obviously, that should be approved. He couldn’t walk without it.  We also asked for a basket for his walker since he can’t carry anything because both of his hands are on the walker that he needs for walking.  The basket was denied because it was considered to be a luxury item.  Really?  I think if you are a child who requires a walker to walk then you should be allowed to have darn near anything on your walker without anyone saying you are in possession of a luxury.  We filed an appeal.  They wrote back.  Back and forth we went for a couple of months.  The decision was finally reversed; however, the amount of money that they spent in personnel time and paperwork cost more than the “luxury” basket for the walker.

S’s current wheelchair has light up front wheels.  We knew they wouldn’t be approved.  I will agree that they are a “luxury”.  The insurance company’s take is there are already front wheels that come with the chair.  Yeah, but if you need a pediatric ride, let’s have fun with it.  Anyway, we paid for those.  [He gets a lot of comments on his wheels.]

This brings us to the present.  S currently has a manual chair that he uses for longer distances: the airport, amusement parks, the mall, etc.  Last month we met with the Pediatric Physical Therapist and our Seating and Mobility Specialist to discuss S’s mode of transportation at college:  manual vs. power.  S has NO desire to have a power chair.  Doesn’t even want to discuss it.  His responses are:  “I am fine without it.”  “I don’t need it.”  

The reality is that he is going to have a hard time getting around a college campus with a manual chair.  We, along with other respected adults in his life, have tried explaining to him that he can expend his energy pushing himself around campus OR he can expend his energy studying and learning. As the PT clarified for him, “Your parents are not going to be there to push you around.” The Seating and Mobility Specialist uses a wheelchair and explained to S that different places call for different chairs and college is a place that he will want something else.

As we sat there and discussed different options -  power chair, power assist rims, manual chairs - the Seating and Mobility Specialist said, “S, come here and look at this video.”  S watched the video, and the decision was made.  He wanted this device, the SmartDrive.  

How cool is this?  S agreed that this was definitely something he would accept for his mobility needs.  The next step was getting insurance to authorize it.  That’s the letter we received today. They authorized it along with some replacement parts for his chair.  Wise choice on their part because it is cheaper than a new power chair.

There was something they denied.  S was ready to battle it out.  I told him sometimes you have to pick your battles.  We wanted a mesh catch-all net for under his chair since it is difficult for him to turn around to get things out of a backpack on the back of his chair.  However, this isn’t a battle worth fighting.  We have the authorization for the big ticket item.  I think we can private pay for the net.

This is worth celebrating.  You will find me on the couch with chocolate!

And it is getting busier....

The Senior  
S has been working hard again this week.  He has worked on College Algebra, The Human Eye Lesson 3, World War II unit, Grammar, German IV, and his research paper. He’s almost finished with his notes for his paper!  My husband had Tuesday off for Veteran’s Day, so he supervised note taking that day.  It was a productive day.  

S heard back from his supervising teacher at the School for the Blind for his Human Eye course. He received an A on Lesson 2. He was happy about that since he got a B on Lesson 1 after she had asked him to fix some things. He didn’t really like that.  I told him to be thankful that she gave him the opportunity to make the corrections.

S had horseback riding this morning, and it was cold!  Next week is his last week of this session.  He will have his regular lesson in the morning and a makeup lesson in the afternoon. He will be tired next Friday night. We found out he has a noon slot on Fridays for the next session. That means we can leave our house at 11:00 rather than 7:30. Woo hoo!

S has become more slack about getting up in the mornings this week.  He had done pretty well with getting up, getting ready, and taking some time to chill out before he started work at 9:00. That seemed to help him focus more on his work.  This week he has decided that he will sleep in. No reason.  Just didn’t feel like getting up when he was supposed to.  We have been trying to get him to understand that you can’t be on a schedule like that when you have college classes to attend.  The professors don’t want to hear that you were tired, so you just thought you would sleep in instead of attending class.

S will be staying with friends this weekend.  We are going out of town for J’s gymnastics meet. S has no desire to attend those any more.  It’s not enjoyable for him to sit there for HOURS, so I can’t blame him.   Often, the venues are difficult for him to get around, and he can’t see well. As soon as the meet schedule comes out, he coordinates for weekend stays with our friends. He’s taking initiative!

Volunteering
S volunteered 6 hours last Saturday.  My husband and I finally met the museum historian.  S often talks about him and the conversations they have.  We are hoping he will have some opportunities to job shadow him in the spring.  

Our church is hosting the homeless this week at our church.  We coordinate with other churches in the area for this ministry.  Our church provides the workers and the meal for the first night.  We have a site rep at church the other nights.  S loves volunteering for this.  He is very comfortable sitting and talking to the guests at our church.  They love talking to him too. He definitely has a servant’s heart.   My husband will be the site rep one night next week, so S will be going back.

The Sophomore
J has had a busy week at school.  He has had quite a bit of homework for AP History; however, he does a good job of working ahead.  He started his Science Fair project presentation.  He will be glad when that is finished.  He had a half day of school on Tuesday, but he had to go to the dentist that afternoon.  He was moved out of the pediatric dentistry side to the adult side, so this was his first appointment on the adult side.  

J is happy because one of his favorite winter beverages is back in stock at Trader Joe's. Every time I'm at the store, I buy 3-4 boxes of this.

Practice 
J had practice for 17.5 hours this week.   His first meet is Saturday afternoon/evening. He’s looking forward to it.  It’s always nice to get the first meet done.  It helps set a gauge for scores since he’s at a new level with new skills.

On the Homefront

Sunday at church I had this conversation with the photographer (C) who did S's Senior Portraits:

C: Can I talk to you?
Me: What's up?
C: I talked to S in the Fellowship Hall. He asked if I could please post some sneak peek photos because his mom is getting quite antsy, and we don't want her antsy.
Me: I know you are busy, so there's no rush. We are looking forward to seeing them when you get to them. I know you are busy.

After church, I asked S about his conversation with C. His response, "I didn't use the word antsy. I told her you were impatient." Well, that's even better....She did post a couple of sneak peeks, and they are really good. I'm anxious to see the rest - not antsy or impatient but anxious.

I baked cookies on Sunday afternoon for the meals for the homeless at church. This is what 16 dozen cookies looks like. We had to eat the cookies that fell apart.

My husband is finally out of his sling!  He’s very happy about that.  The doctor was pleased with his progress, and his PT is going well still.  He has been very good about doing his exercises at home.

We have scheduled an appointment for S to meet with his new PCM up in the Family Practice clinic.  That will be in a couple of weeks.  Looking forward to meeting him.

My husband had to go to the DC area for work this week.  He went up Wednesday night and came home late Thursday night.  

We are heading back up to the DC area tonight after J is done with practice.  We were going to go up on Saturday for the meet and stay with old Army friends Saturday evening; however, we found out that our niece is going to be in the DC area for a conference and flies in today.  We are going up tonight, so we can spend time with her before the meet on Saturday.  Her conference starts Saturday afternoon, so she can’t attend the meet.  There’s a possibility that we will get to spend some time with her Sunday morning before we head home.  What a bonus for this weekend!  We are not staying with our friends now.  Fortunately, they are very understanding friends.  They are all about family.  Needless to say, my sister-in-law is a little jealous.  Even though we get to see our niece, S decided to still stay with friends.  We will all be together for Christmas next month.

This is the craziest time of year at our house.  That’s why I said last week it was the calm before the storm.  Fortunately, we know it is crazy.  We block out family time on the calendar to make sure we can all decompress.

I do make sure I have a few minutes to sit on the couch with chocolate.  Enjoy your week!

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We are an Army family.

Our family has many labels.  We are a family built through adoption.  We are a family with a child who has special needs.  We are a homeschool/public school family. We are a gymnastics family. First and foremost, we are an Army family. My husband retired 4 years ago after serving 22 years in the Army and 2 years in the Minnesota National Guard.

My husband and I dated through high school, and he joined the Minnesota National Guard his Junior year in high school.  He went to Basic Training between his Junior and Senior years in high school.  He finished his Advanced Training after his Senior year.  He swore up and down that he would never go on active duty because “that is no life for a family.” After a year of college, he made the decision to go on active duty.  That decision made the Army the life for our family.  

What did that mean for our family?  

We moved frequently, especially the first four years we were married.  During that time period, we lived in Colorado, Alabama, Texas, and North Carolina.  

"Home is where the Army sends you."

I have a heart that has this saying, and it has little hearts hanging from it listing places we have lived during my husband’s 22 years in the Army.  We have not always loved every place we have been sent to; however, each place has been our home.  We have stories for each location.  Life is what you make of it.

1. Fort Carson, Colorado
2. Fort Rucker, Alabama
3. Fort Hood, Texas
4. Fort Bragg, North Carolina
5. Fort Benning, Georgia/Minnesota (He attended school, and I went back to my parent’s house since our house in North Carolina sold in less than 3 weeks.)
6. Fort Rucker, Alabama (just under 6 months)
7. Hanau, Germany
8. Germany/Bosnia (This is a broken heart since we were apart while he deployed.)
9. Fort Rucker, Alabama
10. Monterey, California
11. Fort Monroe, Virginia  (My husband did 5 short notice trips to Iraq and Afghanistan while he was stationed here.  Fortunately, none of them were longer than a month.)

During this time, we have met some of the most amazing people.  We have developed friendships that withstand time and distance.  Moving away from our friends and having them move away from us is hard, but we often see them again.  We have places to stay and friends to visit as we travel. That is a really cool part of this lifestyle.  

Our kids
We didn’t have children until our last year in Germany when we adopted J.  He has traveled to some really cool places in Europe and has no memory of it. We adopted S from Bulgaria while we lived in Alabama the last time.

It was during our last tour in Alabama that we first started sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. I remember seeing military kids on TV sending their moms and dads away, and I thought, “Those poor kids.”  Then I realized that could be our family.  Up until that point, it hadn’t crossed my mind because...this was what our family did. This is what our friends and their families did.  It was our way of life.

My husband's Change of Command ceremony (November 2001).

My children didn’t think twice about attending Change of Command ceremonies or promotion ceremonies.  In their young minds, it always meant cake.  Attending the movies on post meant that the “Star Spangled Banner” was played prior to the movie starting and you stood for it.  It was strange for them the first time they attended a civilian movie theater.  They asked when we had to stand.

Even though my husband is now retired, we still identify as an Army family.  My kids know what it means.  They know what it is like to be the new kid. They know what it is like to move away from friends. They are understanding of friends whose parents have to leave home to serve. It wasn’t always easy, but it was OUR life.

I will be on the couch with chocolate appreciating our veterans, my family, and our life.

Built through adoption

We are a family built through adoption.  This was not the plan my husband and I had when we were married, but it was God's plan for us.  We can't imagine our life without these two children.

J, who is our youngest, was our first child.  He was an American baby born in Germany.  We were living in Germany at this time because my husband was stationed there.  J has been with us since birth.  At the age of 2, he went from being an only child to the little brother.  

S, who is our oldest, was our second child. He was adopted from Bulgaria when he was 4. Yes, we knew he had Cerebral Palsy at the time we adopted him.  

Our children know they were adopted.  It's not a secret.  It's part of our family story.  They also each have their own story to tell.  Their stories are not my story to tell without their permission.  

I will be enjoying some family time on the couch with chocolate.

The Calm Before the Storm

The Senior:  S has been busy working this week.  He has worked on College Algebra, his research paper, his World War II unit, and Grammar.  I keep telling him that he WILL learn how to use commas correctly. He keeps telling me that only death and taxes are certain.

He finally submitted his Human Eye Lesson 2 for grading.  There were some email glitches, so corrections he had made for his Human Eye Lesson 1 hadn’t made it to the instructor.  That is all straightened out now.  

His research paper is coming along; however, we have found during his notes check that he isn’t taking as many notes as he has told us he is taking.  This is why we are doing checks every three days, so we can get him back on track.  He becomes so engrossed in what he’s reading that he just doesn’t get around to taking the notes (Thank you ADD!).  There will be more “supervision” during his note taking time.  He isn’t excited about it.  Oh well!  We keep telling him he has to be able to efficiently write a research paper if he plans on attending college.

He had Youth Group on Wednesday evening.  This morning he had horseback riding.  His dad took him since I had an appointment.

S survived his Senior Portraits!  We woke up Sunday morning, and it was raining.  It rained all through church.  Our photographer was in the same service that we were.  She texted me during Sunday School to ask what we wanted to do.  We decided to check the weather around noon.  It was clearing up, but it was quite chilly.  At least he didn’t sweat.  The problem was we had planned his outfits around the 65-70 degree temperatures we had been having.  It was 45 that day.  Plan B:  Long sleeves.  J and I  were at the store Saturday afternoon looking for some shirts. It all worked.  We are anxious to check the pictures out.

Volunteering: S will be volunteering 6 hours on Saturday.  He signed up for all 3 shifts.  He is hoping the Museum Historian is there that day because he enjoys talking to him.

The Sophomore:  J ended first quarter on Monday.  He had Tuesday off because of the elections. He helped around the house that day.  He made his dad very happy by mowing the front yard and washing the dog. He started second quarter on Wednesday.  As I told him, he is in the last half of his PE course now.  He checked his grades the other night.  He had 4 As and 3 Bs, so he is quite happy with that.

Practice:  J had practice for 17 hours this week.  He was happy to get on the high bar to break in his new grips.  His first meet will be November 15, so they are running routines.  He is excited about it.

On the Homefront:  My husband had a PT appointment on Tuesday, and the PT did dry needling. My husband said it was helpful.  He goes back to Orthopedics and PT next week and should be out of his sling at that point.  He can’t wait!  

We voted this week.  That’s always a good thing. It's been a week of meetings and appointments. 

Yesterday morning I took our 13 year old dog out for a walk before it started storming. Long story short, his back legs became wobbly while he was pooping, so he fell in his poop (remember J just washed him on Tuesday). I washed him again, in the rain. The fun never ends!

Yesterday afternoon, it was raining quite hard and the power went out. That's always fun. I was on the phone with my husband when it happened. I had to turn on the flashlight on my phone, so I could make my way upstairs to get our basket of candles that we have for just this reason. Times like these are when we figure out that most of our flashlights have dead batteries. S owns a headlight that he ALWAYS has with him except for this moment. "It's in my room somewhere." Good luck! My husband managed to find it when he came home. My husband had to go to a church meeting, J was at practice, so S and I hung out and read by candlelight and flashlight.  The power did come back on. Then, it went off again. Needless to say, my husband had to bring us supper on his way home from church.

Other than that, nothing too exciting this week.  We are busy, but this is the calm before the storm. It will get crazier for us.  Stay tuned!

For now, I will be enjoying some more time on the couch with chocolate.

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We visited the college.

Last week we took S to visit the local community college he will be attending next year.  We told him we were going to tour it and meet with the Disabled Student Services Office.  We did both of those things, but the visit was really for him to understand that this is real.  He is graduating, and he will be going to college next year.  He wants to attend college; however, he is in denial about being a senior.

We started with the Disabled Student Services Office.  S’s comment to us was that it should be called the Students with Disabilities Services Office (people first).  The man we met with, Mr. H, was very nice and had a lot of good information for S.  We told S when we arrived that the people we will be meeting with don’t want to talk to mom and dad.  They want to talk to the college student - YOU!

Mr. H talked about potential majors (History or Liberal Arts), testing (opting to not take the SAT or ACT), transferring to a 4 year school (somewhere in VA or MN), costs of attending an out-of-state college, trying to get through school debt free (AGREE!), the need to be a good writer and practice using Dragon Dictation to make it work for him (he’s heard this a time or two from us), transportation to school, process of applying and taking placement tests, etc.  It was good information for S.  He’s heard ALL of this from us, but it’s always different when it comes from someone else who is in a position of authority.  It helps him realize that his parents just might know what they are talking about.  Mr. H was pleased to hear that S is already a client of DARS and DBVI. He told S that he is ahead of the game. That's always nice to hear.

Then, we headed over for our tour.  We had a personal tour by a young lady who is getting ready to graduate and head off to pursue her Bachelor’s degree with a plan to get her Master’s degree also.  She talked about how she had a plan for her major, but she changed her mind after starting there (we have told S that it is okay to change your mind).  She was very enthusiastic and did a good job of asking S the questions.  Sometimes people try to talk to us instead of him.  

Our tour guide also told us about a program they have on campus that is for students who meet one of three criteria: low income student, first generation college student, or a student who has a documented disability. She was involved with this program, and she said it provided a great sense of community. They meet 5 times/semester and provide support in various areas in addition to doing social activities. That sounds like a great program.

S realized that the campus isn’t quite as large as it looks driving past it on the freeway.  It is a manageable size.  The students who were there were very friendly and helpful by pointing out ramp locations, assisting with doors, etc.  In general, he feels comfortable with this transition.

We took him to the bookstore, so he could get his school t-shirt and a water bottle.  We also had him look at textbook prices.  He didn’t care for the prices.  He’s already trying to figure out ways to save money there.  

It was a good visit.  This will be a good stepping stone for him before he transitions to a 4 year school wherever that may be.  We are looking forward to the future and the opportunities that are waiting for S.  He just needs to work on the application process now.

Since this is going as planned, I will be hanging out on the couch with chocolate!

Things are Coming Together

Once again, it has been a busy week.  That’s not unusual, so is it really worth writing every week?

The Senior:  S has been busy doing his schoolwork.  He has been working on College Algebra, Daily Grammar, World War II unit, his research paper, and he finished Human Eye Lesson 2.  

He attended the adult Sunday school class at church on Sunday because they are discussing the history of the church.  He brought a book home after class and has been reading that this week.  One of my friends said when S first walked in the room she couldn’t figure out what he was doing.  Then she realized they were discussing history, so it made perfect sense.

We heard back from our state homeschool organization regarding accessibility for the state homeschool graduation ceremony.  It all sounds good.  Check that off our list!

My husband was able to successfully change S’s PCM to our first choice doctor.  My husband emailed the gaining doctor asking if he had room in his caseload.  That doctor spoke to the pediatrician.  He then emailed my husband back and said he would open a slot for S.  Yeah!

S toured the local community college Thursday afternoon and met with the Disability Services office.  It was a good visit.  We received a lot of information that will be helpful as we move forward.  The tour was good.  Our guide was very energetic and knowledgable.  After the tour, we took him to the bookstore to look at textbook prices.  That was an eye opener for him!

S is having his Senior Portraits done on Sunday afternoon.  That will be an interesting time. He doesn’t think they are necessary.

Volunteering:  S volunteered 4 hours last weekend.  He isn’t volunteering this weekend.

The Sophomore:  Because J worked hard on his homework last weekend, he had a little more time to breathe this week.  He had a project due for AP History that he finished on Sunday night.  He was glad he had done that because he had friends that left the whole thing until Monday night.  It wasn’t a difficult assignment, but it was time consuming.

It is the end of the quarter, so that means it is quarterly assessments in all of his classes.  He’s taking it in stride.  It means no homework other than studying.  The plus is that he shouldn’t have much homework this weekend other than a current events writing which he enjoys doing.  

He also managed to carve our pumpkins this weekend.  He enjoys doing that.

He had to go to the Orthodontist Tuesday morning.  His appointment was originally scheduled for Nov. 4, a day off of school.  Of course, it had to be changed.  We picked a day that he has PE:  1.  Not his favorite class  2.  Easier to miss than a strong academic class.  He was a little irritated that he missed part of Photography though.  Can’t win everything.  He had 3 brackets put on (2 new and 1 replaced) and a new elastic combination.  He has had his braces on for 27 months at this point.  He goes back in January.

Practice:  J only had 14 hours of practice this week.  They take off on Halloween.  He ripped another pair of high bar grips, so we had to order new ones.  Little did we know, he had ripped his spare pair also.  There are 2 new pairs of grips coming and scheduled to be here today! They were going to check his rings grips to make sure they are good.  Better that we replace them now rather than right before a meet.  Last year, we had to replace grips right before the state meet.

On the Homefront:  My husband had PT Wednesday morning.  He is driving now!  Yeah!!!! He is quite excited.  He will be more excited when he is out of his sling.  He goes back to the Orthopedic Surgeon on Nov. 10.  He has PT again next week.

I had a physical.  I called for an appointment thinking it would take 3-4 weeks to schedule an appointment.  Imagine my surprise when I could get in 2 days later.  Of course, my bloodwork wasn’t done before the appointment.  

We had friends over for Halloween.  It has become a tradition.  We eat pizza, hand out candy, and have a good time together.

Enjoy your weekend!  You will find me on the couch with chocolate!

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