With the scent of dill pickles filling my home, I sit to recount yet another week gone awry. Thanks to the prayers of many, I can only now look back and laugh about parts of this week. In the moment though I could feel Satan's fiery darts. I sat rather clueless in my James Bible study earlier this week as we discussed anguish and how the definition means physical and mental torment but with God, anguish gives birth to joy. I think I can give a pretty good testimony now!
On Tuesday, my Mom's sister had surgery and the next day they realized that she was losing way too much blood. It was so scary, as my aunt already seems so tiny and frail. They pumped her up with a blood transfusion and took her back in for surgery. It was very reminiscent of what happened to me after Birdie was born. I truly felt like I could pray for her intimately every step of the way. Praise the Lord that she seems to be on the mend now but it sure wasn't easy on her or on any hearts that dearly love her. Anguish.
Thursday, Brent and I made a few calls about Jasmine's case and found out that we've really been misled. The plans to move her to her aunt's doesn't seem like it will be anytime soon, if in the cards at all. It feels like after four months in, we're still at the beginning. It not Jasmine's fault but for a month it's felt like she's had one foot out the door. Plus, due to the Holy Spirit's leading, Brent's just introduced the ability to foster at a church-wide level but how do we move forward with that when we'd never want our friends to subject themselves to the heartache and betrayal we've felt. Anguish.
Brent's parents' house got broken into. They are such hard working and generous people. Anguish.
(This is the only one I can laugh about now!) After taking out all my frustrations and giving my brain a break during a hard workout, I was feeling better thanks to endorphins but I had to call my sister to unload about all the craziness. Brent was at a meeting in Little Rock and I didn't want Beatle to hear all of this so I had resolved to talk on the front porch. Jasmine fell asleep in the car so I left her there while I escorted Beatle and Birdie inside and hung my keys on the hook. I was dividing my attention between keeping an eye on the car and looking through the glass storm door at the girls in the living room. I didn't think much of it when Beatle came to tell me something except when she was struggling to get back in the house. I had to let my sister go to investigate myself. Yes, a nightmare had come true. Birdie flipped the lock on the glass door and I was utterly and completely dependent on a two-year-old to let me back into my own house!! Trying to coach her on how to unlock the door and hearing her say "poo-poo" from the inside...anguish! It was unbelievable. I tried to tear the whole door down but I'm not nearly as fierce as I think I am. I called Brent wailing. Next call, 911. It was awful. Only when I heard the dispatcher chuckle did I realize that it could be worse. The lady police officer showed up and eventually wound up using my tire iron (i didn't exactly know where to look for that right away) to pop the door open. It actually didn't harm the door at all. Oh, the kicker, my two dweebs wound up getting teddy bears from the police officer for their distress. Are you kidding me??? I needed flowers, a strong drink, a cigarette, something for my distress!!! All in all, I think the whole thing lasted about 45 mins to an hour.
Today, in my kitchen, we had an entire jar of pickles become a casualty as Beatle grabbed the lid, not the jar. So, if you don't like the way dill pickles smell and you live or visit my house...anguish. :)
Waiting for something beautiful to come from the ashes. Till next time!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Beatle and the Great Exploding Backpack Trick
So, have I blogged about the gentleman at school who assists the children get out of their cars in the morning? I think I have. Beatle's so awkward with him! We're really trying to work through that. She says it's because he wears too much cologne and says things like, "Go get 'em, Tiger". Getting out of the car in the morning is high pressure and Beatle is usually in her own world, unaware of the anxious, rushed people around her trying to make it to all of their places on time. She's mostly just preoccupied with trying to avoid the greeter, afraid his cologne will blow on her and make her smell like a man.
Brent came back home to switch cars after dropping her off today and said that once again, her backpack exploded. This usually only happens on a big day. As he tells it, she wanted to get out early while traffic was stopped instead of waiting until they got to the front of the school. (This is a risky move because if not done quickly, traffic can back up in to the road thereby making lots of people cranky.) Was she trying to avoid the smelly-good, jolly man? Possibly. Was she just so jazzed to bail out of the car because it is V-Day? Probably. I had all of her Valentines (spoons dipped in chocolate with M&Ms and sprinkles) tucked away in two big cups and zipped in her backpack but I fear when someone helped me put her lunchbox in there this morning, the zipper was neglected. And when she hopped out at that critical moment and went to sling her Barbie backpack where it belongs, spoons went flipping through the air and flying everywhere!! All 23 of them. Brent and Beatle scurried around picking them up and she hopped back in the car, in the floorboard actually. She just couldn't go in right then; she needed a minute to compose herself. The pulled up to the designated unloading spot and she got out with (hopefully!) all of her Valentines. (The upside: I was too lazy to label all of the Valentines so we left them generic and I sent two extra so at least I know everyone will get one and no one will feel slighted if one's still in the parking lot.)
Brent came back home to switch cars after dropping her off today and said that once again, her backpack exploded. This usually only happens on a big day. As he tells it, she wanted to get out early while traffic was stopped instead of waiting until they got to the front of the school. (This is a risky move because if not done quickly, traffic can back up in to the road thereby making lots of people cranky.) Was she trying to avoid the smelly-good, jolly man? Possibly. Was she just so jazzed to bail out of the car because it is V-Day? Probably. I had all of her Valentines (spoons dipped in chocolate with M&Ms and sprinkles) tucked away in two big cups and zipped in her backpack but I fear when someone helped me put her lunchbox in there this morning, the zipper was neglected. And when she hopped out at that critical moment and went to sling her Barbie backpack where it belongs, spoons went flipping through the air and flying everywhere!! All 23 of them. Brent and Beatle scurried around picking them up and she hopped back in the car, in the floorboard actually. She just couldn't go in right then; she needed a minute to compose herself. The pulled up to the designated unloading spot and she got out with (hopefully!) all of her Valentines. (The upside: I was too lazy to label all of the Valentines so we left them generic and I sent two extra so at least I know everyone will get one and no one will feel slighted if one's still in the parking lot.)
Monday, February 13, 2012
Keepin' it Real, Negative-Nelly Style (Sorry!)
So, last week was awful. How do you like that opening? Makes you want to dive right in, huh? :) Turns out the girls had an order of Strep all around. You haven't lived until you take three little people to the doctor to get swabbed. Birdie has always been crazy sick. Beatle's just pitiful and sweet--you want to do anything you can to comfort her. Every once in awhile, Birdie will want to sit on my lap but mostly, she's converting the exam table paper at the doctor's office to next New Year's confetti, trying daring feats of acrobatics in the waiting room chairs, and sifting through the biohazard trashcans looking for something good. (I kid! She's never actually fully-opened the trash can but I have had to sit on it before to keep her out of that tantalizing orange box.) The nurse came in while Birdie was doing some move in the chair that I learned at the Burlesque studio for my sister's bachelorette party and I told her, "Believe it or not but that one's actually the sickest." Then, when the doctor came in and she was being a Tasmanian devil, I told him, "Doc, if this is her sick, don't make her well!" She definitely needed to get better tho. We had tried to shake this thing on our own but she wasn't improving and her behavior was beyond. She'd lure me in to hold her but toward the end of the week, I didn't know if she was really going to hug me or pimp slap me. That's the thing when they are sick, you don't know how much to make concessions for--if it is them not feeling well and how much is just plain unacceptable. On Tuesday, I tried all day to be so gentle and loving, talking through every bad choice. By the end of the day, I was ready to get all black-momma on her and take my shoe right off my foot and whoop her good! It was just a constant struggle all week, possibly the perfect storm. We had just introduced the big girl bed, which for anyone who's made that transition, you know what I'm talking about. You work so hard to get your kid to sleep all through the night and you get about a year of that and then they promote and it's back to interrupted sleep, nightmares, etc. By Friday, I was starting to crack up due to lack of sleep, not being able to move without someone crying about it, and having every inch of my life interrupted. Besides getting them all on meds, we've made our guidelines about interrupting to Beatle clear, Birdie's successfully slept in her bed for three nights in a row, I'm giving myself more permission to be a person and Birdie's had a crash course on what will land her in timeout. I think Brent and I are turning this crazy train around but it's definitely been a team effort because I was running on empty.
Last night, I cut Beatle's hair. She was wanting me to cut like she had it when she was three. Crazy, that doesn't seem so long ago! I did and I think it's a cute little haircut...maybe a little amateur. Unfortunately, it does make her face look rounder. I'd NEVER say that to her tho. I kinda feel like I'm staring at myself when I was younger. She loves it though and kept looking in the mirror yesterday. One time she came out of the playroom to tell on Birdie and she seemed distracted in her speech and I told Brent, "I bet she's looking in the hallway mirror while she talking." He totally busted her! I'm glad she's so happy with it; I just hope no one says anything mean about it.
About haircuts, Brent followed Beatle in my funky little living room hair salon but between hers and his, he got me fighting mad. Bad idea! When he walked into work this morning, one of the ministers said, "Whoa! Look who got into a fight with a razor." Brent corrected him, "No, I got into a fight with the barber. This is a revenge cut." I didn't mean to botch it but I was mad and in a hurry. Not a good combo. I tried to fix it but I've done all I can until it grows out a little more. :O/
Last night, Brent watched the girls while I went to a Bible Study. When I left, Birdie was running around in just a long shirt and Brent was telling her how she needed to get panties on. When I came home, two hours later, she was in the same shirt standing on the stepstool. I asked her if she had on any panties and she just lifted her leg, like a dog at a fire hydrant and nonchalantly said, "Nak-nak". That girl! The touch of clothes must burn her body--I'm surprised she still had the shirt on.
That stepstool is a thorn in my flesh. She can push it around to anything. Nothing is off limits to Birdie. Last week, she discovered where I keep the finger paints, the laundry detergent, and permanent markers. The kitchen counter is now her snack bar. It's crazy! It's not like I'm laying around watching TV or hitting a bong! She's just that fast! I'm either tending to another child or another task and bam! Huge mess! So then, she goes to time out for getting into things she knows she's not supposed to be in and I'm her "in time-out entertainment" on my hands and knees scrubbing (for a lot longer than the minute per year suggestion!) At the end of an unusually hard day, my mom sends me a text saying, "I know you don't believe it but you're going to miss this." It was late, I was sleepy and overly emotional so I didn't text back what I wanted..."No, I won't miss this day. In fact, I just want to take a crap on it, flush it down the toilet and never see it again." I was just so raw last week, in a way that's new to me because Birdie's temperament is so different than Beatle's. Parenting is not for the lazy!!
Yesterday morning, in my three-year-old Sunday School class, we were making Valentine's Day sun catchers--super cute. The lead teacher was putting the finishing touches on them while I was writing their names on them and putting them with their things. One of the little girls coughed and Ms. Bobbie said, "Oh, are you sick?" and then BLEH! BLEH! Up it all came all over the floor and Ms. Bobbie's foot. I grabbed the trash can and told the kids to go sit on the rug on the other side of the room. Ms. Bobbie starts coughing and gagging and I told her, "Hold it together, Ms. Bobbie! I can't lose you too! If you need to (motioning to the door)..." She stepped away to get Brent and the custodian and I took the girl to the bathroom to clean her up. Poor thing! You could tell, that had been churning for awhile. And then one very-verbal, usually-rude but always-honest boy said, "Ewww! It's so stinky in here!" It was so crazy! We had to change classrooms and everything. Not your typical Sunday to end my not typical week! Haha!
Today, we had a snow day (even though there's not one flake left on the ground now!). But it's been a nice, unexpected day to slow down and take it easy. Last night, Beatle and I hung two ice wreaths outside (found it in Family Fun magazine--we froze red heart ice cubes and then put them in a cake pan with a cup in the middle). All day, we've been admiring our wreaths, drinking coffee, and staying in lounge pants. Brent brought his work home and my fitness classes are canceled for the night. Life feels good again. Thank you Lord for new days and fresh starts...I don't know what I'd do without them!
Last night, I cut Beatle's hair. She was wanting me to cut like she had it when she was three. Crazy, that doesn't seem so long ago! I did and I think it's a cute little haircut...maybe a little amateur. Unfortunately, it does make her face look rounder. I'd NEVER say that to her tho. I kinda feel like I'm staring at myself when I was younger. She loves it though and kept looking in the mirror yesterday. One time she came out of the playroom to tell on Birdie and she seemed distracted in her speech and I told Brent, "I bet she's looking in the hallway mirror while she talking." He totally busted her! I'm glad she's so happy with it; I just hope no one says anything mean about it.
About haircuts, Brent followed Beatle in my funky little living room hair salon but between hers and his, he got me fighting mad. Bad idea! When he walked into work this morning, one of the ministers said, "Whoa! Look who got into a fight with a razor." Brent corrected him, "No, I got into a fight with the barber. This is a revenge cut." I didn't mean to botch it but I was mad and in a hurry. Not a good combo. I tried to fix it but I've done all I can until it grows out a little more. :O/
Last night, Brent watched the girls while I went to a Bible Study. When I left, Birdie was running around in just a long shirt and Brent was telling her how she needed to get panties on. When I came home, two hours later, she was in the same shirt standing on the stepstool. I asked her if she had on any panties and she just lifted her leg, like a dog at a fire hydrant and nonchalantly said, "Nak-nak". That girl! The touch of clothes must burn her body--I'm surprised she still had the shirt on.
That stepstool is a thorn in my flesh. She can push it around to anything. Nothing is off limits to Birdie. Last week, she discovered where I keep the finger paints, the laundry detergent, and permanent markers. The kitchen counter is now her snack bar. It's crazy! It's not like I'm laying around watching TV or hitting a bong! She's just that fast! I'm either tending to another child or another task and bam! Huge mess! So then, she goes to time out for getting into things she knows she's not supposed to be in and I'm her "in time-out entertainment" on my hands and knees scrubbing (for a lot longer than the minute per year suggestion!) At the end of an unusually hard day, my mom sends me a text saying, "I know you don't believe it but you're going to miss this." It was late, I was sleepy and overly emotional so I didn't text back what I wanted..."No, I won't miss this day. In fact, I just want to take a crap on it, flush it down the toilet and never see it again." I was just so raw last week, in a way that's new to me because Birdie's temperament is so different than Beatle's. Parenting is not for the lazy!!
Yesterday morning, in my three-year-old Sunday School class, we were making Valentine's Day sun catchers--super cute. The lead teacher was putting the finishing touches on them while I was writing their names on them and putting them with their things. One of the little girls coughed and Ms. Bobbie said, "Oh, are you sick?" and then BLEH! BLEH! Up it all came all over the floor and Ms. Bobbie's foot. I grabbed the trash can and told the kids to go sit on the rug on the other side of the room. Ms. Bobbie starts coughing and gagging and I told her, "Hold it together, Ms. Bobbie! I can't lose you too! If you need to (motioning to the door)..." She stepped away to get Brent and the custodian and I took the girl to the bathroom to clean her up. Poor thing! You could tell, that had been churning for awhile. And then one very-verbal, usually-rude but always-honest boy said, "Ewww! It's so stinky in here!" It was so crazy! We had to change classrooms and everything. Not your typical Sunday to end my not typical week! Haha!
Today, we had a snow day (even though there's not one flake left on the ground now!). But it's been a nice, unexpected day to slow down and take it easy. Last night, Beatle and I hung two ice wreaths outside (found it in Family Fun magazine--we froze red heart ice cubes and then put them in a cake pan with a cup in the middle). All day, we've been admiring our wreaths, drinking coffee, and staying in lounge pants. Brent brought his work home and my fitness classes are canceled for the night. Life feels good again. Thank you Lord for new days and fresh starts...I don't know what I'd do without them!
Monday, February 6, 2012
What hurts? La-La
Last week, I tried to get back on the healthy eating band wagon. Since the New Year, my give-a-dang has been busted but I'm really trying to refocus. So, I pulled some stuff out of the freezer (February is our clean-out-your-freezer month, anyways) that I had made back in the summer when I was on my hardcore Metamorphosis plan. I had slow-cooked some chicken breasts with rosemary and we were going to have some sweet potato and white corn puree on the side (my Metamorphosis food). (Strained face) Mmmmm! Honestly, it resembled something Jasmine should eat, not us. But I served it with a straight face and rockin' presentation. While I fiddled around with my chicken, I watched Brent and Beatle try it. Brent shuddered a little with the first bite but quietly trudged onward. Beatle declared after her first that it was disgusting and she wasn't going to eat anymore but after Brent revealed that I lived for this dish back in the summer because I was so hungry and we played up that it had a sweet taste and it was healthy, she conquered it happily. Birdie took a bite and spit it back out. Later, we tried to get her to take another bite. It ended up half on her plate and half on the table with only a thick slobber string connecting them. When prompted to try again, she implored to us, "I choke. I choke." We all died laughing and did not make her eat anymore.
Speaking of that little Birdie girl, she has been my conjoined twin this weekend. I was just talking to a friend of mine last week about how healthy Birdie's been. Besides a snotty nose here and there or puking twice, she's been great for the past year. Hallelujah! Last week, she was complaining of her "woo-woo" hurting her and complaining when she went pee. With Beatle's urinary problems starting around the age of two, we wanted to get this checked out. Well, nothing like going to the Doctor's office to get you sick! No urinary problems but some kid, with his mom watching, hijacked Birdie's sippy cup and took a drink. Stunned that she didn't do anything to stop it, I asked, "Is he sick?" The flippant reply, "Oh yeah, he was running 104 last night." I should have just taken her cup to the car but I was worried that she needed to drink to help her imaginary urinary problems so I washed the top off with hot water and soap in the bathroom. I asked for it, I guess. Anyways, she's been sick all weekend--running a temp, which she never does, and totally glued to my side. She started saying, "Hurt. Hurt." When I asked, "What hurts?" She pointed to herself and said, "La-La." :(
Beatle lost another tooth yesterday which brings our grand total to 7. It's so cute to see her big teeth growing in; it's changing the way she looks a little. I'll catch a glimpse of her sometimes and see a young woman in there, waiting to make her debut a few years from now and then I get a lump in my throat. On the flip side, she lost one right by her two big front teeth, I'm rooting for her to loose the other before Easter so she'll have her own set of bunny teeth.
Despite my best efforts, I am the World's Worst Santa/Tooth Fairy/any other fantasy roles parents are supposed to be! The last tooth she lost, there was a big debacle where it fell out of the keeper before bedtime but I didn't know that and she checked again before bed and there was no money or tooth in there and she was crushed. So, I had to put a note in there with money after she went to sleep. We all know what happened at Christmas. Oy vey! (Here's the problem: She jumps the gun and checks things a million times before morning!) Then last night, I was expected to creep into her room containing now a dog since we have my mom's dog, Samson, a sick two-year-old having fitful, feverish sleep and a hyper-vigilant 6-year-old who has already experienced more harsh revelations in the fantasy department than I care to dispense in a lifetime. As I was rocking Birdie to sleep, I was trying to slyly convince her to put her tooth closer to the outside of her bed, but she insisted on putting it closer to the wall. By that time, I was already sweating. Then she announced that she needed a drink. While she went to the kitchen, I summoned Brent telling him I needed the gold coin and TIME! Beatle needed his help getting a cup while Birdie and I slipped out to the living room under the guise of forgetting Birdie's "bankie" out there. Brent and I shook hands in the Dining Room (cause that looks totally natural!) and I had the coin! We grabbed the "bankie", trembling, I found the pillow and the tooth, made the switch and was back in the rocking chair when she came in. Of course, she started fiddling with the tiny pillow and realized that the tooth fairy already came. She was in shock and then she was disappointed. Really? Disappointed? I can't win with this kid! She was sad she didn't have anything to look forward to in the morning. I went with it for awhile and then I told her that I think she was the only kid in the universe that was disappointed that the tooth fairy visited them!
Yesterday, Birdie was so sick but Beatle had her laughing so hard while they were in the tub together. I was amazed, honestly, that she had it in her to be laughing that hard. I remember when Suz and I were about that age and my mom saying that they couldn't get her to laugh like I could. There aren't as many sounds as sweet as your children enjoying each other.
Y'all, we are SO excited about next school year! I've been researching, reading things and talking to people like crazy about curriculum options and philosophies of home schooling. This morning, I had a friend call me after she left from volunteering in Beatle's classroom saying that Beatle's sparkle was gone. (We are most definitely aware of that fact.) She went on to delicately tell me the story of her daughter and how she was diagnosed with and treated for ADD in the third grade and how they wished that they had helped her sooner. She's also shared with me how they reached the decision to retain their son and how they are so glad they did. I know that everyone's got a different opinion about how we should handle this situation and I truly love this friend and know she was counseling me out of love (and who knows? we could wind up doing both things someday! I'm not dumb enough to say never!) but I'm so excited to try another option first that works with Beatle's strengths and challenges her weaknesses in her "habitat". And, everyone I've talked with that have made the switch, don't regret it. I swear, this won't turn into a homeschooling blog! Will it make cameo appearances? Yes. But I just wanted to include an excerpt from this book (For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay) I've been reading that kind of sums up how Brent and I feel about Beatle and her public school experience thus far. "Good little Sally made only one mistake, she gets an A! But poor struggling Johnny tried his best and is rewarded with a D. How can Johnny ever take proper joy in the fact that he learned a new step?...The Bible teaches that we are like parts of a body. In other words, we are different from each other, we all have different gifts. How immoral (I wouldn't have chosen a word that strong!) to apply an arbitrary yardstick to the little child and expect him to progress at some 'normal' speed! We take from him the joy of accomplishing new skills which should be part of growing up." I think it's a strong possibility that this is why she may be so discouraged right now and why her "sparkle is gone". 'Nuff said.
Speaking of that little Birdie girl, she has been my conjoined twin this weekend. I was just talking to a friend of mine last week about how healthy Birdie's been. Besides a snotty nose here and there or puking twice, she's been great for the past year. Hallelujah! Last week, she was complaining of her "woo-woo" hurting her and complaining when she went pee. With Beatle's urinary problems starting around the age of two, we wanted to get this checked out. Well, nothing like going to the Doctor's office to get you sick! No urinary problems but some kid, with his mom watching, hijacked Birdie's sippy cup and took a drink. Stunned that she didn't do anything to stop it, I asked, "Is he sick?" The flippant reply, "Oh yeah, he was running 104 last night." I should have just taken her cup to the car but I was worried that she needed to drink to help her imaginary urinary problems so I washed the top off with hot water and soap in the bathroom. I asked for it, I guess. Anyways, she's been sick all weekend--running a temp, which she never does, and totally glued to my side. She started saying, "Hurt. Hurt." When I asked, "What hurts?" She pointed to herself and said, "La-La." :(
Beatle lost another tooth yesterday which brings our grand total to 7. It's so cute to see her big teeth growing in; it's changing the way she looks a little. I'll catch a glimpse of her sometimes and see a young woman in there, waiting to make her debut a few years from now and then I get a lump in my throat. On the flip side, she lost one right by her two big front teeth, I'm rooting for her to loose the other before Easter so she'll have her own set of bunny teeth.
Despite my best efforts, I am the World's Worst Santa/Tooth Fairy/any other fantasy roles parents are supposed to be! The last tooth she lost, there was a big debacle where it fell out of the keeper before bedtime but I didn't know that and she checked again before bed and there was no money or tooth in there and she was crushed. So, I had to put a note in there with money after she went to sleep. We all know what happened at Christmas. Oy vey! (Here's the problem: She jumps the gun and checks things a million times before morning!) Then last night, I was expected to creep into her room containing now a dog since we have my mom's dog, Samson, a sick two-year-old having fitful, feverish sleep and a hyper-vigilant 6-year-old who has already experienced more harsh revelations in the fantasy department than I care to dispense in a lifetime. As I was rocking Birdie to sleep, I was trying to slyly convince her to put her tooth closer to the outside of her bed, but she insisted on putting it closer to the wall. By that time, I was already sweating. Then she announced that she needed a drink. While she went to the kitchen, I summoned Brent telling him I needed the gold coin and TIME! Beatle needed his help getting a cup while Birdie and I slipped out to the living room under the guise of forgetting Birdie's "bankie" out there. Brent and I shook hands in the Dining Room (cause that looks totally natural!) and I had the coin! We grabbed the "bankie", trembling, I found the pillow and the tooth, made the switch and was back in the rocking chair when she came in. Of course, she started fiddling with the tiny pillow and realized that the tooth fairy already came. She was in shock and then she was disappointed. Really? Disappointed? I can't win with this kid! She was sad she didn't have anything to look forward to in the morning. I went with it for awhile and then I told her that I think she was the only kid in the universe that was disappointed that the tooth fairy visited them!
Yesterday, Birdie was so sick but Beatle had her laughing so hard while they were in the tub together. I was amazed, honestly, that she had it in her to be laughing that hard. I remember when Suz and I were about that age and my mom saying that they couldn't get her to laugh like I could. There aren't as many sounds as sweet as your children enjoying each other.
Y'all, we are SO excited about next school year! I've been researching, reading things and talking to people like crazy about curriculum options and philosophies of home schooling. This morning, I had a friend call me after she left from volunteering in Beatle's classroom saying that Beatle's sparkle was gone. (We are most definitely aware of that fact.) She went on to delicately tell me the story of her daughter and how she was diagnosed with and treated for ADD in the third grade and how they wished that they had helped her sooner. She's also shared with me how they reached the decision to retain their son and how they are so glad they did. I know that everyone's got a different opinion about how we should handle this situation and I truly love this friend and know she was counseling me out of love (and who knows? we could wind up doing both things someday! I'm not dumb enough to say never!) but I'm so excited to try another option first that works with Beatle's strengths and challenges her weaknesses in her "habitat". And, everyone I've talked with that have made the switch, don't regret it. I swear, this won't turn into a homeschooling blog! Will it make cameo appearances? Yes. But I just wanted to include an excerpt from this book (For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay) I've been reading that kind of sums up how Brent and I feel about Beatle and her public school experience thus far. "Good little Sally made only one mistake, she gets an A! But poor struggling Johnny tried his best and is rewarded with a D. How can Johnny ever take proper joy in the fact that he learned a new step?...The Bible teaches that we are like parts of a body. In other words, we are different from each other, we all have different gifts. How immoral (I wouldn't have chosen a word that strong!) to apply an arbitrary yardstick to the little child and expect him to progress at some 'normal' speed! We take from him the joy of accomplishing new skills which should be part of growing up." I think it's a strong possibility that this is why she may be so discouraged right now and why her "sparkle is gone". 'Nuff said.
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