Graduation is 8 days away!

The Senior

S has had an easy week.  He attended a luncheon on Monday to hear a speaker discuss the French influence on the construction of some Army installations near us.  He loved that. Tuesday’s chiropractic appointment was cancelled because the doctor was sick; however, I didn’t check my voicemail prior to leaving for the office in a massive storm.  Oops! Today he has horseback riding.

On the school side, he has been wrapping up his German IV course.  Graduation is in 8 days!!

Last week I wrote how S was waiting to hear from the community college about his College Algebra course but his transcript had disappeared.  It has been found.  He is now waiting on the official verdict as to whether or not he needs to take the Math placement test and if he will get credit for the course.  Looking forward to that decision being made so he can register for his classes.

The Sophomore

J had a great week!  His braces came off on Monday!!!!!!

He’s busy wrapping things up at school.  It is locker clean out time. Oh my word! High school is better than elementary school, but it is still a lot. He came home the other day with his PE shirt and books he had used for sophomore summer reading. We also had the AP History study book and flashcards. He had ideas as to who we could give these items too. Great idea! We are quickly handing things off to families with rising sophomores. The PE shirt is going to a rising freshman.  These families are helping us out by taking this stuff.
J's last day is June 15, a Monday.  Not only is it a Monday, they are taking finals so the kids have to be there.  Finals start next Wednesday afternoon.  He is exempt from the one Wednesday afternoon.  Thursday, Friday, and Monday are two exams each day.  He is exempt from the second one on Thursday.  Being exempt means he can leave campus. He likes that. They get the exemptions if they pass their SOLs (state testing).  They can be recommended to take the final if their final grade can be helped by it.

We scheduled J’s behind the wheel training to get his license.  That will start next Monday. These next few weeks are not going to be any less crazy around here.  We used to say “wait until things get back to normal” but we know that this is our normal.

On the Homefront

As noted from above, it’s been busy here.  We had a great time on our trip to South Carolina last weekend, but we were tired when we got home Sunday night.  

It was a busy week with appointments.  Tuesday we had bad storms and our power went out for 3 hours.  Of course, J had homework that required internet access.  Everything S wanted to get done on Tuesday afternoon required the computer and internet access so we read instead.  

It has been quite rainy here all week.  That makes it hard to get outside work done, and our backyard needs a great deal of TLC.  I happened to see an episode of “Yard Crashers” while we were in the hotel in South Carolina.  I need that to happen to us.

I have been cleaning off bookshelves. I started doing this last summer. Even so, it is amazing how much school "stuff" has accumulated through the years, and I have only homeschooled one child who did the majority of his work on the computer. We have friends from church who homeschool, so I offer my stuff to them.  I realized yesterday that I hadn't cancelled our annual subscription to ALEKS, so I got on that quickly. We have used this for S's math for 5 years, and it was a great fit for him. I have also been printing end of year/school documents: grades, transcripts, reading logs, course descriptions. I have one final letter to send to our school district stating, "S has graduated."

This weekend will be busy.  One of our pastors is moving to New Jersey.  Saturday afternoon their family and dog are supposed to come and hang out at our house while there is an Open House held at their house. That evening is a farewell dinner/program at church.  We are only going to the program.  They are expecting quite a few people which is good; however, it is very difficult for S to get around safely with that many people there.  

We are having friends over along with our pastor and his family Sunday evening for cake and ice cream.

My parents are flying in on Tuesday for S’s commencement.  There will be some house cleaning happening here!  They sleep in S's room when they visit, so he knows his room needs to be cleaned. It's not as bad as it has been in the past, so it shouldn't take him very long.

What did I write this week?

It has taken a village…

Celebrating Adoption Day

This weekend you will find me on the couch with chocolate watching the Dateline episode about medical marijuana on June 7.  My friend is in this episode.  She is an amazing woman!  

Linking up with:

A Mixed Up Kind of Week

This has been a mixed up kind of week. We had school things that we celebrated. We had an event that made us sad.

The Senior

S finished up his College Algebra course this week!  He applied for ACE credit for the course, and it was approved within hours.  Yeah!  Now, he needs to work on coordinating accommodations for his placement tests at the community college.  He is hoping to have the tests taken in the next couple of weeks, so he can register for his Fall classes.

He has two classes remaining:  German IV and English.  He is continuing with his literature study on To Kill a Mockingbird.  He is enjoying the book. The end is rapidly approaching.

S had a Chiropractor appointment on Monday, Youth Group on Wednesday, and horseback riding this morning.  He will volunteer 4 hours tomorrow.

The Sophomore

J had a busy week at school.  He received his report card the other day and was quite pleased with his grades.  That’s always a good thing.

He had 14 hours of practice this week.  He stayed home one night.

On the Homefront

We had our family pictures last weekend.  We ended up moving them up to Saturday instead of Sunday because of weather.  We thought we had the clothing thing all figured out, but that became a comedy of errors.  We were going to wear black shirts with tan shorts/pants.  

*Does everyone have a black shirt?  My husband didn’t.  We bought him one.

*Realized J’s black shirt had streaks all through it.  Not sure why.  Had to run and buy him a new one Friday night.

*J came down in his tan shorts Saturday.  Are you wearing those?  Yes.  No, you aren’t. They have black paint on them from Art class.  None of his other tan shorts were clean. Washed shorts quickly.

*S had to volunteer prior to pictures, so we sent him in his tan shorts and told him we would bring his shirt to change into.  We did bring another pair of shorts just in case. No problems there.

*My husband went to get his shorts.  Apparently, we should have checked them earlier. They were quite wrinkled.  They were thrown into the dryer quickly.

* I got ready, walked past my husband and J, and they both asked me why I had blood on my pants behind my knee.  I had nicked the back of my leg shaving, and it bled through my pants.  We were walking out the door at this point.  I just said that we couldn’t have pictures of our backs.

The session itself went fine.  Our photographer is a friend from church, so we had a lot of fun. S even survived.  He didn’t want to be there.  As he told me, “You can just photoshop me in.”

We found out this week that a pastor from our church and his family are moving this summer. They will be greatly missed.  They both did a lot with our Youth group.  They were also friends of our family.  I have taken over one of the fundraising activities, and my husband is going to become a youth leader.  

My husband and I are going for a couples massage this afternoon.  We try to go every month, but sometimes it is every two months.  It will be a good way to end this week.  My husband is traveling for 4 days next week, so he could probably use one next Friday too.

Good-bye Spotz

When my boys were 3 and 5, we added Spotz to our family.  We couldn’t have had a more perfect dog for our family.  He came for a weekend trial when he was 1 to make sure he would be good with young kids, and he never left.  He was part of our family for almost 13 years. This week we had to say good-bye to him.

What did I write this week?

Because April is the Month of the Military Child, I wrote: I need my peeps!

Linking up with:

http://www.lovethatmax.com/

Senioritis has struck!

The Senior

Here's how it started.  S had a two week Spring Break. I should have known....

All weekend, I kept reminding him of three things:

1.  School was back in session on Monday.

2.  He has work to finish in order to graduate.

3.  There are 6 weeks remaining.

My husband told him, "If I were you, I would get up and get my work done.  You could be done before the 6 weeks."  S understood this to mean:  I can sleep in until after 11:00.  That is exactly how he started his week. [I must give him credit.  He did get up earlier on Tuesday and Wednesday.]  

On Thursday, S told us that if we just functioned like he did, getting out of bed when we felt like it rather than when it was necessary, then we would be more understanding. [Someone turned his alarm clock off and didn't get up that morning. He needed to go somewhere.] My husband explained to S that he would be unemployed if he did that.

This week he continued to work on his College Algebra, German IV, and History.  We started a literature unit on To Kill a Mockingbird.  We are using an interactive literature guide from Progeny Press.  We have used them before, so S is familiar with the format.

S finished up his History!  This was bittersweet for him since it is his favorite subject.  I told him it frees up time to explore whatever he wants.  I do have to give him a shout out for finishing this course.

S has continued to remind us (on the weekends) that he needs to go to the Social Security office to finish up his SSI application.  We continue to remind him that they aren't open on the weekend.  My husband called Monday morning to schedule an appointment.  He was told they didn’t need an appointment; they could just walk in and be seen.  They went there Thursday morning.  Oh my!  My husband was given misinformation which they figured out after having been there for more than an hour.  There is an appointment scheduled now for May 19. I told S this is like trying to get through another wave.  He’s tired of making his way through the waves. I can understand. I told him he is lucky to have his dad on his side for this.

S had horseback riding this morning, volunteering 4 hours on Saturday, and family pictures on Sunday (he's not very excited about it).

The Sophomore

J had a productive weekend before heading back to school.  He helped my husband make some decorations for S's graduation party.  

We had a church meeting on Sunday.  Next year is National Youth Gathering for church.  S has gone, and now it is J's turn to go.  It is an awesome experience for the youth.  J is excited about going.  We met to discuss some basic information and talk about fundraising.  

He had a Podiatry appointment on Monday morning, so he missed his first class.  J has navicular accessories which is why he has to wear braces on both feet while doing gymnastics. The doctor hadn't seen him in a while, so it was just a check up. The doctor was pleased with how he was doing and that there isn't any pain any more.

J went to the chiropractor yesterday for some therapy on his wrist.  He did something to it at practice, not sure what.  It’s been a little sore, but it felt better after the treatment.  

School was good this week.  It is the beginning of the end of the year.  Before we know it, they will be preparing for exams.

He had practice for 17.5 hours this week.  With this year's season over, they are looking ahead to next year.  He is working new skills and fine tuning the skills he has now.  

On the Homefront

We had a busy weekend working on outside activities.  The weather was gorgeous.  My husband and J worked on decorations for S's graduation party.  I mowed.  Our front yard has been a work in progress for a while, but it looks so nice right now.  

My husband spent three days in Kansas this week for work.  He didn’t like his connection times on his flight to Kansas and coming home was worse since he missed his connecting flight.  He eventually made it home, but it was quite late.

I had drop off and pick up for those three days.  I hung out at Starbucks rather than drive back and forth.  It’s a difference of driving 1.5 hours each night or 3 hours each night since the trip is 45 minutes each way.  My husband had a church meeting Thursday evening, but he was able to pick J up from practice.

This weekend we have family pictures.  I am looking forward to it.  Our photographer is the same one who did S's senior portraits.  She is so good.  She is very considerate about the additional time it takes to get S from point A to point B and get him positioned correctly.  

What did I write this week?

When parents and students make a difference

Our Favorite Adoption Books

I will be on the couch with chocolate hoping that senioritis won't linger too long in our household. I think I might be out of luck on that wish!

Linking up with:

http://www.lovethatmax.com/

Gymnastics, Horse Show, Break

On the Homefront

I am mixing my format up this week!  I figured that I should explain how crazy busy last weekend was in order to wrap everything up for the week.

Friday night we headed up to northern Virginia for J’s state gymnastics meet on Saturday.  We slept in Saturday and headed over to the Udvar Hazy Center which is an annex of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Center.  My husband, J, and I have been there before. S had not.  He loved it!  For my history loving son, there isn’t anything much more exciting than seeing World War II aircraft.

After a late lunch at Saladworks, we headed out for J’s meet.  He had a great meet!  After the meet, we ran to Starbucks and then ordered pizza.  We ate at 11:15 that evening.  Sunday morning we were up because we needed to be back for S’s horse show.  I was able to get his time slot changed from 11:15 to 2:00.  That was wonderful.  We could leave a little bit later.  It allowed us time to stop at Quantico for Jamba Juice.  It’s the little things in life that make us happy.  

We arrived an hour ahead of time for the horse show which gave us time to visit with other families and staff at the arena.  The weather was very nice for the show.

That brings us to Monday.  We were all quite tired on Monday.  It was a fairly routine week which was nice other than my husband coming home sick from work on Wednesday.

This weekend will be more relaxing than last weekend.  Thank goodness!  

The Senior

S was not excited about having to go up to northern Virginia with us; however, he had a great time at the Udvar Hazy Center.  He is ready to go back for a longer visit.  He enjoyed looking into the restoration hangar area.

He rode well at his horse show.  He has come a long way since he started riding out there. One of his former instructors was there to watch, so that was nice.  His side walker was able to be there since they switched his time to the later slot, so he was quite happy about that.

This week for school S finished his research paper!!!  He continued to work on College Algebra, History, daily journal writing, editing, and German IV.  He is almost done with the book, Without You, There is No Us.  He is on a 2 week break right now.  I’m sure he will be keep busy watching History videos and sleeping.

S has been busy finishing up some of the life paperwork things he needed to do.  He filled out his application for transportation on Sunday.  He also needed his doctor and ophthalmologist to fill out some papers for the application process.  He received an email Wednesday evening saying it had been processed and approved! Amazing!  Now, we just need to figure out how it all works.

He looked at some Career Interest websites since he will need to create his plan for employment with Vocational Rehab.  He gathered some documents together for his SSI application. He's getting quite annoyed with all of the processes and paperwork.  I understand, but it all needs to be done.  It was encouraging to hear back so quickly on his transportation paperwork.

S had a chiropractor appointment on Monday. He will start going every 2 weeks instead of every week. He has horseback riding this morning and will volunteer 4 hours on Saturday.

The Sophomore

I have to start J’s section off with an update on his state meet.  If you will allow one very proud mother to gush a little, stay with me.  He had the best meet of his season!  He improved his score in 4 of the 6 events and his All Around score.  He took 9th on floor, 11th All Around, and 1st on Parallel Bars!  This mother may or may not have been screaming, hooting, and hollering quite a bit!  He qualified for the Regional meet which will be next month.

Thanks to my husband for taking pictures and video taping the events.  My job is to text scores to family, friends, and our coach’s wife.

In addition to his exciting weekend, J had AP History homework to complete.  He had a Driver’s Ed test, an AP History test, and a Chemistry test this week.  He has an AP History project due on Monday and a Spanish project due on Tuesday, so he will be busy this weekend.  Can you tell the end of the quarter is coming? I promised Starbucks as a treat.  He has one week left of school before he is on break.

This week J had 17.5 hours of practice.  He is working on some new skills to include at the next meet.

What did I write this week?

California School Experiences

Save the Best for Last:  My Son’s View on Having CP

Therapy with Games

Linking up with:

7 Weeks Left - Ready for a Busy Weekend

The Senior

Can you guess what I’m going to write?  S had a productive week working on the usual: College Algebra (another assessment - the end is in sight), daily journal writing, editing, German IV, History, and writing his research paper.  He finished his rough draft!  Woo hoo!! Next week, he will edit and submit.  

We are hoping he did better on his paper this time, so he doesn’t have to do another one. If he is having struggles, he has time to write another one.  As we told him, we feel that strongly about him having the skills to write a research paper that we will keep working on it if need be. (Confession time:  My husband and I snuck a quick peek at his paper.  It needs to be edited, but we are pleased with it.)

S had a chiropractic appointment on Monday.  On Wednesday, he and I attended a Lunch in Time on the Construction of Fort Monroe.  It was quite interesting. The Volunteer Coordinator from the museum recognized him from a training meeting that was held jointly with the Casemate Museum, and she was talking to him about volunteering at their museum also.  

He had Youth Group that night followed by the Lenten service.  During Youth Group, there was discussion about his future and his uncertainty over it.  There was a lot of praying for him that night.  Prayer is good!  

We received S's graduation announcements yesterday! We are very happy with how they turned out. J did a good job. Even S thought they were nice. Maybe we will address them during Spring Break.

He has horseback riding this morning, and it is rainy.  It is a new session, and that means a different instructor and a different time.  He has had this instructor before, and he likes her; however, he has a FAVORITE instructor that he was really hoping to have again.  

S is not volunteering this weekend since we are going out of town for J’s gymnastics meet in northern Virginia.  S is going with us because he has a horse show on Sunday.  On our way home, we will swing by the barn for the horse show.  I need to remember to keep his helmet in the van after his lesson today.  

I found out yesterday that he is slotted for an 11:15 riding time.  We had requested late afternoon knowing that we would be up in northern Virginia.  I asked if they could move him to a later slot.  I guess I will find out at his lesson.  If not, we will be up and on the road early Sunday.  So much for my trip to IKEA before we head back.

The Sophomore

J had a good week at school.  He met with his counselor to register for classes next year.  He will be taking Honors English (He was recommended for AP English but he told his counselor no.), AP Calculus, AP US History, Honors Physics, Personal Finance, Photography II, and Digital Photography/Web Design.  Can you tell he is in an Arts Magnet Program?  The Art classes will help balance some of the other classes.  I’m not sure how much help we will be in Calculus, and I know I won’t be any help with Physics.  

J had a good week at school.  He had a Driver’s Ed project due and completed that. Other than that, his homework load wasn’t too crazy this week.  Thank goodness!

J had a good practice week - 14 hours.  They are taking tonight off because the state meet is tomorrow.  J feels good about it.  He has been working his landings in practice and he has been vaulting quite a bit.  His coach changed up a few things in his routines, and J is comfortable with that.  

On the Homefront

It’s been a normal week - busy!  What else is new?  We are headed up to northern Virginia tonight, and the weather should be nicer than the last time we were up there (6 inches of snow). We are hoping to get to the Udvar-Hazy Center this time.  S hasn’t been there before.  

It is a weekend of activities for the boys. Saturday evening will be gymnastics, and Sunday will find us at S’s horse show.

I guess I should go get packed and get my gymnastics bag ready. It takes a lot to keep the parents entertained at the meets. We are there for HOURS!

What have I written/posted this week?

Cerebral Palsy Awareness:  Dad’s Perspective

Sibling Relationships - Adoption Talk

Visit with DBVI Vocational Rehab (guest post by my husband)

Once I am home from northern Virginia, you will find me on the couch with chocolate in between my loads of laundry.

Linking up with:

8 Weeks Left - Graduation Prep

The Senior

It has been a busy, productive week for S.  I feel like I write the same thing every week for what he has worked on.  I guess when you are a senior with only 8 weeks of class left and you are trying to wrap things up, there won’t be a lot of change.

What did he work on?

College Algebra

Daily journal writing and editing

German IV

History-He’s trying to prolong this course.

Reading Without You, There is No Us

S has started writing his research paper.  This one seems to be going better than his last one.  

1. He did a better job with his notes (Taking notes from a printed source were better than notes from the computer - forced to paraphrase).
2. He has a good outline.  
3. He color coded his notes to correlate with his outline.  It is easy to find the notes that correspond to various topics in his outline.

S Plans to Move

S had a chiropractor appointment on Monday.  He hadn’t been to the chiropractor in 4 weeks because of weather.  He was looking forward to his appointment.  He has now started making plans to just move into the clinic.  He feels if he has access to the vibracussor, massage beds, and the massage chair that he just found there then life would be good.  

Of course, the staff there doesn’t help the situation.  They were telling him what they have for breakfast every day.  One worker said he would install a toothbrush holder in one of the bathrooms for him.  The chiropractor said they would put a sign on one of the bathrooms, “The King’s Throne.”  It’s good to be loved.  

Enjoying the massage chair.

S had Youth Group Wednesday evening and then he and my husband attended the Lenten service at church (see below why I didn’t go).  Today he is volunteering for 3 hours since he doesn’t have horseback riding.  He will volunteer for 4 hours tomorrow.

S finished his SSI application this past weekend.  This weekend he will be creating his own binder with all of his documents related to SSI, paperwork from DBVI and DARS, and other papers.  I have maintained the Great Big Book of S for 14 years.  It is time to pass the torch.

The Sophomore

J had a full week of school - no early release, no delays, and no snow days!  He had an oral Spanish presentation on Monday.  He and his partner volunteered to go first, and they received 5 bonus points.  It is finished and bonus points - a good day in Spanish!  He had a number of tests this week.  He has an English project due next week along with AP History questions and writings.  

He also filled out his wish list for courses next year.  We had talked about that during one of his snow days, so he was prepared.  It’s hard to believe he is planning courses for his Junior year!

J was supposed to go on an Art field trip to Washington DC this week; however, it was pushed to next week.  Since he would miss practice that day, he had to make the decision if he was going to still go on it since the state gymnastics meet is next Saturday.  He opted to pass on the field trip and go to practice.  

J had a full week of practice - 17.5 hours.  They have been working basics and new skills.  We attended the college meet last Sunday, and there is another one tomorrow night.  His coach likes J to attend and see the skills the college gymnasts are doing.  It is good motivation.

On the Homefront

“If you are trying to get from (name of city I was in) to (name of city I live in), good luck!”

This is what I heard on the radio after dropping J off at practice Wednesday evening.  Are you kidding me?  I have 3 options for my drive home:  the Interstate and 2 different highways. Every one of the routes was scarlet colored on Google Maps.  I called my husband and told him I was staying.

“Do you have anything to do?”

“I have my phone with my Kindle app, so I will go hang out at Starbucks.”

I was thankful I was dressed decently since I have been known to do the practice drop off in my yoga pants, old t-shirt, Crocs with socks, no jacket.  I was presentable.  Must maintain the standard at Starbucks.

Here is a picture of what I had to entertain myself with for 3.5 hours.  I was glad I was able to scrounge up a charger and cord in my van.  I guess it pays not to get everything put away immediately.  The umbrella was for the rainy weather.

On Thursday, I received the following text from J.  

Not a problem except the library doesn’t have any available copies.  Off to Barnes and Noble I ran.

Last weekend J helped create three different announcements for S’s graduation (commencement is on June 13).  We need one for the party in Minnesota on June 28, one with a special thank you note for providers/educators who have helped S get to this point throughout the years (we didn’t get this far without help), and one to send to friends who aren’t in/near Minnesota.  They are ordered!  One more thing to check off the list.  Now, I need to get everyone’s addresses.  I have time, so it will get done.

Tonight my husband and I were going to have date night; however, he had to go to Washington DC for work.  He may or may not be back in time.  If not, I will have drop off and pick up.  We will be at the college gymnastics meet tomorrow night.  

If you need some entertaining reading, stop by my husband’s blog for this week’s post, The Lexicon Kerfuffle.

What did I write this week?

Cerebral Palsy Awareness:  Mom’s Perspective

The “Great Big Book of S”

Therapy in the Kitchen

If I can get from here to there, you will find me on the couch with chocolate!

Linking up with:

http://www.lovethatmax.com/