Category: Josiah

Oh the Perks!

There is nothing like nursing a baby with a runny nose.

First of all, there are the snot bubbles which grow and shrink as the baby valiently attempts to breathe and nurse at the same time.

Then there are the snot strings which streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch when the baby repeatedly latches and unlatches as they gasp for air in between sucks.  If you’re really bored, you can keep track of just how long they can stretch.

The best thing of all is going back to feed the next time and finding dried snot stuck to your boob and sticking it to your bra.

Good Times, people….Good Times!

Few and Far Between

I had really good intentions of posting before now, but hey, based on my recent track record…..twice in one week ain’t all that bad now, is it?

Josiah is sorta doing better.  When I have a bit more emotionl energy to actually talk about what’s really been going on – I will.  I’m not really holding anything back, per se; but you’ve just heard the bare bones of it all and as I’m sure you’re aware – I can be a lot more long winded and verbose about it all.  There are probably details that might help you to understand things  a bit better but for now – He’s doing a bit better.

We are almost ready for Christmas.  I have a hard time believeing that I’m saying that.  I haven’t left things this close to Christmas in quite a while.  It’s hard to not be on top of things, but this Christmas I almost don’t even care.  It really doesn’t even feel like Christmas.  I’ve not done any decorating except the tree and that means that I’ll have nothing to tear down except the tree…….and that’s the way it stands this year.  I have no Christmas baking because no one here can eat it, and that’s kinda hard, ’cause I LOOOOOOVE baking.  I have pulled off a few recipes, and I made vegan Oatmeal Cookies, but substituted Kamut for Oatmeal ’cause Xan and me are not supposed to have oatmeal……and I made vegan Gingersnaps and they were pretty good also…actually they were delicious, but Xan took the majority of them to her class party and so we were left with only 8 to split between the 5 of us. 

I think that I’ll ramble for a bit about everything and nothing.  I have seen the left side of 180 pounds a few times……I’m hovering weight wise right around 180…..178 – 181 – 179 – 180 – 179……I’ve been watching my weight creep down over the last 2 months and it’s been pretty cool to see those 170’s in there.  I was almost 180 when I got married and so to be at that weight is pretty exciting…….(whispers outta the side of her mouth) although I’m in no where near the same same as I was back then…..Oh to have that body back, but that would require some gravity defying surgery as “things” have sagged and fallen to lower levels and I’m not just talking about my butt or my under arm skin…….

We are trying to get back into some semblance of order here in the Culley house.  Jon’s been doing an amazing job of getting up with the kids and getting them off to school,then usually ends up putting them to bed ’cause I’m nursing Josiah…

The kids know that he’s nicer than I am and have stretched out the evening schedule to an hour and a half.  RIDICULOUS!!!! Not only that, but they continue to get out of their beds even after that, and I can’t handle it ANYMORE.  So, I’ve laid the “SMACKDOWN” on them all, and we are on a freaking rigid schedule that will not be mucked with on pain of death…….we are eating dinner at 5pm, cleaning up as soon as we are finished, and tidying the house if necessary (and you know it’s always necessary) then if that’s all done by 6:30 we’ll play a family game (either a board game or card game or puzzle or something) and then at 7pm they have 5 minutes to get jammies on and brush teeth and if that happens then Jon is reading to them until 7:30pm and then it’s on bed and Lights out for Jeremy and the girls get to read until 8pm UNLESS they’ve been rude or cheeky or disobedient……then they go to bed at 7:30 as well.

I’m not even getting angry or upset with them…..we are talking a lot about choices over here right now…if they make bad choices, then they end up with negative consequences and good choices result in positive consequences…….they may not always know what the consequence may be, but they are constantly making choices and their choices ALWAYS have a consequence……It’s been a week, and already I’ve seen a positive change in behavior and attitude….although they are still balking a bit at HAVING to tidy up EVERY NIGHT……things are still more positive than negative and so we are headed in the right direction.

One thing that I still need help with, I want to get something for my Dad…….and I’m STUCK!  I have no clue as to what to get him.  What do you get someone who can buy anything he wants.  I got him a gift certificate to a outdoorsman store for his birthday, but that just seems so…..so…..thoughtless…..What would you get for someone like that?  Surely some of you have to buy stuff for someone who can get whatever they want………What you you suggest?

My Apologies and a Question….

I realize that I’ve not been around much.

I have a very good reason.  I’ve had a sick little baby. 

We’ve been having problems with poop, and I am so tired of “problems”, I really just wish that everything could be “normal” for a couple of weeks (at least) so I could rest and relax and stop holding my breath all the time.

We’ve seen some blood in Josiah’s diaper, and if that doesn’t just FREAK THE CRAP RIGHT OUTTA YOU, then I don’t know what would.

Something’s been going on for a wwile now.  His poos are not normal.  I know that breast fed baby’s poos are all over the place, but they shouldn’t be filled with mucus and streaked with bits of blood and so acidic that they burn his butt every time he poops.  That’s just not right!

We took him to our family Dr, who was so busy and running an hour behind and he basically brushed me off.  CAN WE SAY FRUSTRATION?  So, I then took him to the naturopath, who tested him and said that he’s got an yeast imbalance, and appears to be intolerant to dairy and eggs…

I wasn’t surprised about the eggs because a couple of weeks ago I made eggs and ended up scrambling them ’cause I wrecked them (I like my eggs a cretain way) then I made two more and ate them with my toast like normal, and a little bit later I was still hungry so I ate the other 2 eggs……Josiah threw up ALL DAY.  Not serious vomitting, but just little barfing….the ONLY thing different about that way was the 4 eggs…..Hmmmmm – so I had already wondered about eggs.

I’ve been “supposed” to be off dairy for a long time now, but occasionally cheat, but for a week and a half it’s been hard core.  No dairy, no eggs, and right now we’ve just started no soy…….I saw some more blood yesterday, and I had a fair amount of soy on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 

It’s so frustrating and so scarey when you’re laying beside your baby in the  middle of the night and you’re not certain if they’re squirming and whimpering because they have some gas or if it’s something more serious….let’s just say that I’ve not been having very much fun the past couple of weeks.  WAY TOO STRESSFUL!

But, I have a question for all of you, now that I’ve explained why I’ve not been around so much. 

What is your favorite Christmas CD?  I’m looking for good music, and I like pretty much anything, but I am looking for some more good ones.  I have memories of growing up and listening to Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers Christmas Album.  Not that I think that they are the definition of “Good” music, but I have so many memories attached to that tape cassette.  I love Sarah McLachlan’s Wintersong, and I think that Mariah Carey’s Christmas Album is a great Christmas staple to have……..

So, what are your favorites, and hopefully they’ll be on I-Tunes so I can buy a copy?

Sleep….It is a wonderful thing!

Okay, I feel almost human .  I say almost, because I still feel traces of zombification, but MAN – it’s amazing what a little (uninterrupted) sleep can do for you.

Josiah has done 3 days in a row of amazing sleep, and I love that little man to bits for it.

He did from 11pm to 6am on Friday night, fed at 6am, and then slept until 10ish on Saturday morning.

On Saturday night, he slept from 11pm until 6am, and fed at 6am and then slept again until 10am.

LAST NIGHT……he slept from 11pm until 7:30am……yup, 8 and a 1/2 hours…..and then he fed and is still sleeping now at 10:10am…..WOW!

He should be up in a few minutes, but I figured that I could pop off a post before he wakes up.

He is getting so big, and is still such a happy and content baby.  He smiles ALL the time, and rarely cries.  He is such a blessing.  He just started rolling over.   Lat Thursday he rolledf rom his tummy onto his back, and he’s done that about 3 times since then.  He’s so close to rolling from his back onto his tummy, but I’m really not pushing him to do any of the different milestones or stages before he is actually ready.  I want him to stay a baby as long as possible…..yah, that and as long as he’s not mobile I don’t have to vaccum EVERY DAY.  Yup, can you tell that I’m looking forward to the crawling stage – NOT!

He is talking and cooing up a storm, and the giggling.  I mentioned it in the last post, but seriously, it just melts you into a giant puddle on the floor.  It’s so cute, and when he smiles – the smile just takes over his WHOLE FACE!

Oooops, I hear him calling.  Hope you have a great day… 

btw – I’m drizzling…just in case you all were wondering.  I know that it was a real cliffhanger and I didn’t want to keep you on the edge of your seats with the suspense of it all.

I should have lots of pictures of the Cookie Swap up for tomorrow or the next day…..

“Caption This”………and other crap

I took this picture last night while Jon and ‘Siah were playing on the TV room floor.   Everytime I look at it I see another “caption” , so I thought we’d play a little game.

What would YOU caption this picture with?

And now for the “other crap………..”

Xandra’s glasses just popped off her head last Saturday and threw themselves onto the kitchen floor in a fit of rage.  So we had to make an “emergency trip” into Langley to the nearest “Lenscrafters” and picked up these beauties.

 Just in case you can’t tellthe difference between these ones and her other ones…. (don’t you all pay close attention to the eyeware of my second child?!?!?!?!)

Her last pair was red, and rectangular.  These ones are black on the outside, pink on the inside, and more oval-ish than rectangular……She’s just so cute, and thanks to the Healthy Kids program – the glasses only cost us $45 dollars.  Amazing, eh?

I’m totally jealous as I’ve had the same pair of glasses in the time she’s run through 4 pairs, but I’m hoping that I’ll be getting a new pair in the spring after I have my next eye exam.  Sounds thrilling, doesn’t it?  Aren’t you glad I shared that sweet bit of info with you.

 And one last bit of crap to throw at you (ha ha ha ha ha, I crack myself up.  I’m easily amused, can’t you tell?)

Do you have any idea what happens when you put a bar of Ivory soap into the microwave?

No?

I didn’t either until Monday afternoon.

I’ve been looking into health(y)ier alternative’s to chemical cleaners for both the house and body.  There is a lot you can do with baking or washing soda and vinegar….both very safe, and quite cheap…..and I LOVE ME SOME CHEAPNESS!

I came across this recipe for liquid hand soap.

It calls for a bar of Ivory soap (I believe it’s the smaller bars) and 3 cups of water, a pot and some essential oils.

I only had a larger bar of Ivory, but  figured “What the heck!  More is better, right?”

I also figured that instead of “shaving it” to melt it down like it says to, that I’d just leave it in one lump and……

……instead of cooking it on a pot in the stove, I figured that I’d just huck it in a measuing cup with some water in it, to melt it down.

I wasn’t following the recipe AT ALL………so basically I was following a recipe for a disaster.

I put the measuring cup with 3 cups of water in it, and the large bar of Ivory soap into the microwave, and turned it on maximum power for 5 minutes.  I figured that I’d check on it after a few minutes, as give it a quick stir or flip the bar over or something…..’cause seriously, what could go wrong.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!  Famous Last Words.  This is what I opened up the door to after 3 1/2 minutes.

At least it didn’t all blow up inside the microwave….It foamed up hard, and crawled up and over the edge of the measuring cup and over and down on to the plate, and kept on going. 

The kids were thrilled with my science experiment, and Jeremy wanted to stick it back in and make it foam some more.  I wasn’t sure it could be salvaged, so I didn’t want to put it back in anymore.It was hard, and crumbled easily so I dumped the water and what was left of the soap bar  into a larger container, and then crumbled the foam into the bowl.

Long story short, IT WORKED!I have enough mixture for 2 containers of liquid hand soap that smells like lavender Ivory soap.  It’s quite thick, and works wonderfully. 

So, that’s enough with the rambling for now….don’t forget to caption the picture of Josiah.

ps. Sorry if you got a million copy’s of this post.  I was having some “issues” with spacing and kept trying to fix them…all the while thinking that I would be annoying some of you….if you were annoyed – I’m terribly sorry, and if you have no clue what I’m talking about……..just go on with your day and have a nice life.

Abandonment

I’ve not abandoned you all.  I promise.

I’ve got to get on here and update you all on Halloween and our decision to “make” costumes this year, as well as talk about Josiah turning 12 weeks last Saturday, and 3 months old on Sunday and having his 2 month appointment today and how FREAKIN’ ENORMOUS he is…….

AND, I’m struggling with trying to be SUPERMOM.

I’m not super mom and I know it, just in case you thought I was really that misguided, but I am feeling utterly overhwhelmed.  Not to the point that I’m diving off the edge of a cliff or rocking in a corner with my hands over my ears singing, “na na na na na na” over and over.

I just need to STOP and MAKE SOME TIME to figure out the priorities in my life.  BUTI’MSOBUSYTRYINGTODOEVERYTHING,THATTOSTOPANDFIGUREIT
ALLOUT ….would mean that I’d have to actually “STOP” and figure it all out…..and who has time for that, really?

I’m working on it………sort of!

Go look at my pictures over at Flickr and see how cute the kiddo’s were.

And Josiah…..isn’t he a doll?

The 11 Week Story

Josiah LOVES to tell stories.

Well, actually he loves people.  He loves to talk and interact with people.  We went to the store today, and he cooed and cooed and cooed and cooed and the lady that was walking down the aisle beside us couldn’t believe how talkative and smiley he was.

He cries when we get in the van, and I honestly think that it’s ’cause he can’t see us.  If the kids are in the van, he hardly cries ’cause they are talking to him.  It’s funny or cute or annoying depending on how you look at it, and how tired you are.

He is an amazing baby still!  We just did a week at a conference, from 9am until 6pm EVERY DAY, and people kept coming up to me and asking if he was for real.  ‘Cause they couldn’t believe how content he was and how happy and really…..he was an absolute angel.  Didn’t hardly have one fussy time the entire week.  I love this little boy!

I wish  I could edit my voice right out, but you lucky folks…you get to hear me talking to Josiah in a nice high pitched little baby talk voice. 

Has It Really Been 2 Months Already?

DimplesI think I’m kind of in shock over here.

It’s hard to believe that two months have flown by.  There have been so many amazing firsts…..although if you asked me to name any, I’d be hard pressed to pull them up – just like that.  I’m also kinda sad, ’cause I’d like to squish you down and keep you little.

Not that you are really very little at a whopping 14 pounds and 23 inches long.

I think what I mean is that I’d like to stop time.  2 months has whizzed by, and pretty soon you’re going to be graduating and moving out and getting married, and it will have only been yesterday that I gave birth.

So much has happened in these past two months, and a WHOLE lot has not happened. 

Apparently, I can’t do EVERYTHING!  Who knew?

I mean I thought I was freakin’ amazing and could do everything.  I thought that I’d just add this one little baby, and I’d still be able to do everything that I was doing before he was born.

Ha!

HA! HA!

I’m lucky if I get one thing done in a day, and even if I manage to get one thing done, and still have actual day light hours to do another thing on my list…….I haven’t the energy.  I know I’ve complained about being tired, but when I’m rocking the little bugger to sleep at 12:23am while Jon is in bed sleeping, and then up at 5:47am wandering the house trying to get my little darling to burp so he’ll just settle down, and Jon is still sleeping…oh no…..wait a sec…..the alarm just went off….must be 6am…..and now he’s just hit the snooze button…….are you kidding me?  Just get up and rock your son…..I’ve been up 3 times already and my hips are killing me ’cause I need to make a chiro appt…….and there goes the alarm again….and he’s snoozed it AGAIN…………and now 15 million snoozes later it’s 6:52am, and the older kids are stirring and I might as well just get up ’cause the baby still hasn’t………oh, there’s the burp…..and now he’s sleeping, and I’m too annoyed to sleep.  Maybe I’ll be able to get a nap this afternoon…..yah, that’s right.  I’ll try to have a nap……aaaawwwwhhhh, who am I kidding…I can hardly ever nap……….this is definately a 2 shot Americano morning. 

Oh, did I just muse all of that out loud?  Welcome to my world!  We could call the theme tired and frustrated….mostly ’cause I’m tired!  Add a 14 pound mamma’s boy to that mix, and it’s a good time, people!

I’m serious about the not accomplishing anything.  Today, for example, I had a list (I can make lists while I’m nursing, so I know exactly what and how much I AM NOT accomplishing. – Yah Me!  It’s a real boost to the ol’ ego to make a record of what you can’t get done and to watch it just get longer and longer.  So much fun!) and I needed to go shopping.  I hit Costco and Superstore, and made it home before I had to nurse.  I needed to go to about 5 other stores to pick up 1 item from each of them, and before Josiah, that wouldn’t have been a big deal, but taking the baby out of his car seat for 5 minutes and then putting him back in it is frustrating and takes twice as long, and seeing as he doesn’t really like his car seat in the first place…it’s just hell all around, and so I don’t go unless I have someone with me who can stay in the car with the baby…….yes, I AM A DIVA…I need an entourage and I’m okay with that. 

So, I get home, Jon helps to unload the van while I nurse Josiah, and then there is one last trip to make ’cause I forgot to take a deposit to the bank.  Stupid, sleep deprived me!

Now I’m tired and parked in front of my computer covered in barf…..cold wet barf….you should try it….smells lovely!  I should have started dinner, but I haven’t and now I have to scrap what I had planned ’cause there isn’t time, and I have to come up with a quicker meal ’cause I only have half an hour….maybe we’ll have chilli for the 3rd time in a week.  Won’t the kids love that?

I have so much more to say and no more time……maybe I’ll be back later tonight, but probably not…..maybe tomorrow…but don’t hold out too much hope for that either……..until whenever………….

ps.  I have a random set of pics up on Flickr, and I’ll be explaining some of them over the next couple of days posts.  You can get a sneek peek here.

Every other day….or so….

So I was looking at my calendar on the side (over there on the left hand side – see that litle calendar of September) and if I write today, then I’ve done every other day this week.  That’s pretty good considering my track record lately.

Josiah is …..well, no he’s not really getting into a routine, at least not a predictable one.  He is nursing every 3 hours now instead of every 2 hours, and if I (whispering so no one will crucify me for doing this) put him on his tummy, he will sleep a little in between feedings, and my poor aching back can get a little bit of a break.

Yes, I know all about SIDS, and how to “put your baby BACK to sleep”, but all of my monkeys have flailed around on their backs and woken up every 3 minutes, and Josiah hates to be swaddled because he likes his hands up by his face, and really…I don’t have time to argue about this, because the kid is going to wake up, and then I’m occupied, so…..seeing as it’s my blog…..we are moving on.

Jeremy post dental surgeryJeremy had dental surgery today.  We are terrible parents, and he has a bazillion cavities, and one of his teeth was rotten so bad, that it needed a rooth canal, and so they just yanked it out and put a spacer in it’s place.  Then he had 2 teeth crowned, and a couple other fillings.  I’d like to say that we are not terribly parents, but I really don’t know.  Does he just have bad teeth.  When they came out at a year old, they had little brown spots on them, and I wonder if it had something to do with all the meds he was on as an infant, or if he just has extremely soft teeth.  I do know that he didn’t get the same care and attention as Geli and Xan, but I didn’t think we were THAT lax.  Oh well, I can beat myself up over it or move on and let it go.  We’ve been EXTREMELY dilligent with his teeth and brushing and flossing, and now that everything is fixed, we’l be able to tell in 6 months to a year if it’s us or his cruddy teeth.  Is it bad that I’m hoping it’s the teeth?

The picture is him post surgery and laying very quietly.  I think I’d like him to have surgery once a week if it means he’s going to be still and quiet for the whole day.  Just kidding!  sort of!

And, I’m tired!  Yup, I was so tired last night, while I was waiting for 10:30pm to roll around so we could give Josiah a bath and then I could nurse him to sleep, that I almost cried thinking about having to get up with him in the middle of the night. 

We made it until bed time, though, and the wonderful little man fell asleep at 11pm, and didn’t wake up unti 3:56am….and I didn’t cry when I got up to change his diaper.  Yah for me! And a huge YAh for him.  All of my kids have been pretty good in the sleep department, and it’s nice to have another one that looks like he won’t be doing the “up every hour or even every other hour” night feeds.  I don’t like those!  And no one in my family likes me when I have to do one of those.  Heck, I don’t even like me when I have to do one of those.  Mean and Nasty!

I have found one little item that I want, and I just need to save up the money to get it.  It’s not too expensive, but I don’t have any discretionary fnds right now, and I don’t want to go back to doing lunch monitoring at the school right now.

Any way, enough about that, it’s this cool little device.

The Itzbeen!

It counts time and helps to keep track of how long you fed and which side you last nursed on.  It keeps track of the details so that you and your sleep deprived brain doesn’t have to.  It even has a little flash light so you can see your baby in the dark – if you’re anal and just want to check that they are still breathing in their little bassinette right beside you….’cause it’s not like you didnt’ hear them grunting and moaning around a gas bubble about 20 seconds ago.

Anyway, it’s totally cool, and I can buy one on-line, or they have them at a shop in Vancouver.  It’s totally affordable at about $40, and SO worth the hassle of not having to try and recall all that information.

So, I’m sitting here in my pyjamas, and cooking some rice noodles for J to eat, and Sia is sleeping, and I really have to go and try to do “something”…..I’m not sure what the something is…..there are just so many somethings that need to be done.  Maybe I’ll just ignore it all and read.  That’s “something” – isn’t it?

Edited to Add:

I’d love to start my own on-line store with all the cool baby items that I’ve found  and endorse.  Doesn’t that sound like fun?  I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and will have to talk to Jon about it to see if it’s even worth pursuing the thought any further.  It’s not like I wouldn’t be ble to get a smoking website – I even know an amazing web designer who I could probably convince to make me one for some “favors”.  What do you think about the idea?

Time Flies

JosiahJosiah’s getting so big.  I’m not sure if I really like this picture, because he looks like a little boy, and not a tiny baby.

I’d rather dress him in little footed jammies, and onesies,and have him look little rather than put really cute tiny big kid clothes on him, but I figured that if I didn’t put this outfit on him, that he’d out grow it before he ever wore it, so this was his first day of real clothes….as opposed to pajama type baby clothes.

Yes, Jon is holding him, but he made a goofy face, and this was the cutest one of Josiah.  So I just cropped Jon right out of it.  Nice of me, eh?

I still can’t believe that Josiah is almost 6 weeks old now…..Boo Hoo!  Where has the time gone?  Before I blink he’ll be 16 and learning how to drive.  Can’t go there…freaking out……….moving on to a different topic.

Jeremy!  Oh my sweet boy!  What will I do with you?  You are sure teaching me a lot of different things, and not all of them did I want to learn or ever have to deal with.

So, first of all Jeremy was placed in the Grade 2/3 split class, and because he left Grade one not meeting the requirements for the Grade 1 level – I’ll admit……I was a little shocked when we were notified that he was in this class.  And then, to learn who his teacher was……well, she’s very strict and…ummmm……….comes across harsh and….ummmm……well, she seems kind of mean – to be honest.

So, Jon tells me that we have a meeting with his teacher, and the Learning Assistance Guy, and the Behavioral Guy on Monday after school.   Jeremy hadn’t been feeling well over the weekend, but seemed to be fine on Sunday.  On Monday when we were walking to school, he started complaining about feeling sick when we were just across the street from the school.  Hmmm!  What’s up with that?

He was full on stressed out and panicking by the time we got to where his class lines up to go into their class.  I walked him to his class, and then left him there crying.  Felt like a fabulous parent – NOT – , but I was hoping that he’d calm down and get “into” it, and be okay.

We got a call at recess time saying that he still wasn’t feeling well, and could we come and get him.  We did pick him up, but told him that if he was coming home sick…sick kids had to go and get in their beds ’cause staying home from school, sick, wasn’t a very fun thing to do.  To my surprise, he went and got into his bed, and promptly fell asleep.  No physical signs of sickness though.  All stress related!

We showed up at this meeting on Monday afternoon, and it wasn’t a bad meeting,  more along the lines of trying to figure out strategies to help Jeremy and his teacher in the classroom.  We shared a bit about J, and the LA teacher shared some as well, seeing as he knows J from last year.  The behavior guy helped to tweak some ideas about how to help J and to keep the teacher from going insane.

I thought it was a pretty good meeting as far as the two aid guys, but was getting some very weird signals from the teacher.  It really felt like she was upset that she had been given “this problem” to have to deal with, and I was feeling like she was very unhappy and upset that she”had” to deal with any of this.  Then, with no warning or reason, she got up and left the meeting.  Really, it was totally rude and completely outside of normal social acceptable behavior.  So much so, that I outright asked the LA guy if “this” was going to be a problem.  He assured me that he didn’t think so and we all went our seperate ways.

Jon and I talked about this at home, and were very upset about how it had gone down.  The next morning he went in to talk to the LA guy, and while he (the LA guy) felt for us, seeing as he was the teachers colleague it was probably better handled through the principal.  He had informed the principal as to how the meeting had gone……..the grand exit and all.

Jon called the school and arranged to have a meeting with the principal this morning.  Apparently, the teacher was upset, and in our talking, had heard some things incorrectly.  At one point we were talking about how if you yell at J then he shuts down and you lose him, and until he calms down you really can’t get through to him.  She took this to say that you can never yell at him, and she apparently has a very brusque style, and was upset, and ……….well, she was just overwhelmed about everything.

The principal assured her that of all the kids in the school, she wasn’t going to find more supportive parents than us, and that Jeremy was the best kid to have in her class. 

He even explained to Jon that the reason J was in the 2/3 split was because although J lagged a tiny bit in his reading and writing levels, he was “light years” ahead of grade level as far as comprehension and verbal skills – yes, my boy can talk.

So, we’ve had two full school days since then, and although we are still working things through…..things are MUCH better that I had even thought that they would be, and he’s gone to school free from stress related illnesses, and even had some REALLY good moments.  They are working out a chart/reward system, and he’s doing really well.  I actually think that there is a possibility that  he could excel in this class and under her teaching.  We’ll see!  But I’m much more hopeful than I was on Monday evening.  On Monday, I was just plain outright upset, and seriously hoping that I wouldn’t even have to consider homeschooling…….’CAUSE I AM NOT A HOMESCHOOLING MOM! 

Thankfully, no considering needed!  Well, I’m off to nurse a screaming boy!  Later!