Sunday, May 29, 2011

I Love My Job

We had a crazy week.  Tuesday Vince and I got to go to the U2 concert we've waited a year to see--it's Vince's favorite band and the first concert for either of us.  We parked at a Trax station and rode the train to the stadium.  It was a fantastic concert--until we started getting texts that there was a problem at home and ended up leaving early.  We got home just after all the excitement because it took us an hour just to get back to the car!!  Ivy lost a battle with our coat rack and ended up with 11 stitches above her eye, a concussion that required a cat scan, and a possible broken nose.  We are still waiting for the swelling to go down but so far the nose looks good.  I'm grateful for smart kids that knew who to call and how to help Ivy initially.  Ethan even cleaned blood out of the carpet while Eva and Ethan went to the hospital with their aunt.  I'm especially grateful that we have family close and that Aunt Lisa and Uncle James were home and so willing to help!!

The next morning I got to attend Eva's award assembly and Grandma O got to come and attend the awards assembly for the other kids.  Ethan ended up winning an award for his citizenship essay from the Kiwanis club.  All four kids ended the year with excellent grades!!  I brought Ivy home with me after the assembly because I wanted to keep her close all day--her concussion was a bit more severe than anything we've had at our house before.  Later Ivy and I got to go to 8th grade "promotion" where Eva performed with the orchestra and I accompanied a couple of 8th grade violinists.  Then to the dance festival where we had a hot dog dinner, watched the boys dance with their classes, and picked up books the kids wrote this year.  Then I went to a YW camp meeting. 

Thursday morning we all had to be at the dentist by 7:00 AM--where no one had any cavities!!  Then the kids went to school and I came home for a nap.  We found out Thursday that our favorite teacher at the school won't be there next year when Nathan would be in her grade--very sad. 

Friday was the end of the school year and the end of the week.  Nathan sang in a cute program and then later I took him to speech.  I've been reading and learning about different interventions and APD and asking the professor many questions the past couple of weeks.  He says I should be a therapist at their clinic--I laughed because I think most mothers must read and study how to help their kids!   They did give me  a form to fill out for APD--kind of an assessment--they wanted to give to their audiologist.  I'm still skeptical as to whether testing for that is entirely appropriate at this stage.  It was definitely appropriate a few years ago but I'm not sure that knowing about it now would change what we are doing and what we are able to do.  The professor said that I could ask their audiologist those things and that she would help me make the right decision. That sounds nice to me so I'll talk with her this next week.

Yesterday I dropped a very excited Eva off at Uncle Kevin's house so she could help take care of their little kids and get ready for their new baby.  Aunt Kristen is needing to lay down quite a bit and Kevin still has a week of school left to teach.  Kristen was very concerned that Eva would think this was a lame way to start her summer, which Eva thought was pretty hysterical--she couldn't be more thrilled!  And it feels good that we can "pay forward" the family support we had this past week a bit. 

I'm especially grateful for summer when I get to be a mom to my kids almost all the time without sending them off for most of the day.  Yesterday the kids wanted to begin some of their summer projects.  Eva, Ethan, and Ivy started typing lessons.  We told Ethan that if he could type 65 words a minute by the end of the summer we would buy him the video game he's wanted for well over a year.  Nathan started his computer program that's supposed to help with reading and listening and seemed to really like it (major relief for me!!)  We went to the fabric store and bought patterns for $1 and Ivy and Eva each chose some fabric for their first project.  The boys are not so much interested in sewing.  Ethan's first "project" will be to build screens for our windows.   

1 comment:

Amy said...

Whew-ee!!!I'm ready for summer vacation just from reading about your busy week! One of Shawn's favorite groups is U2 as well... too bad that an accident had to happen while you were there...good thing Ivy is O.K! I'm glad to hear that there's another mom out there that likes to get all ambitious and teach their kids new skills during the summer months - isn't that the fun of it all?