Alexys' speech

Alexys was asked to recite parts of "I Have A Dream" speech by Martin Luther King Jr. today in her elementary schools success assembly. This is what she recited:

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

She had it all memorized and did a great job. She didn't even act nervous. She was the only student asked to perform in front of the school so this was quite an honor. And I forgot my camera so there are no pictures... :(

Randomness

It's Spring Break this week and because I am so tired, we are doing nothing.
Not sure why I'm so tired.
I start a new job on Monday.
I will be working three hours a day at Oregon Trail Elementary as an IRC para.
I will be working with the special education students grades 3 thru 5.
I'm exhausted thinking about it.
Maybe that's why I'm so tired.
It will be fun though.

We cleaned our garage today and only found one dead mouse. That is good!
Hauled a load of stuff to the D.I.
Went on our first outdoor walk of the year...I can feel it in every inch of my body.
The boys shampooed the carpets and couches.
I bought some hosta's, bleeding hearts, and lilies of the valley to plant in my flower bed near my house tomorrow.
I have little bulbs that are starting to peak their sleepy heads out of the ground.
Found lots of green sprouts on my hydrangea plants.
The girls have rosy sun-kissed cheeks from playing outdoors the last couple of days.
Ken is patrolling on his police motorcycle again.
We finally took the Christmas lights off the house today.
The lawn is covered in jump ropes, balls, jackets, bikes, and kids.

It feels like Spring, it looks like Spring, and it smells like Spring (A-Choo!)

First Day

Today was a big day.
I thought I had a few more years before all my kids were in school.

I look back at the day when I was a firm believer in homeschooling my children.
Today I sent my 2 year old to preschool.

No pictures.
I was too traumatized.

If I wasn't convinced he needed help beyond what I can give him at home I wouldn't have sent him.
I'm glad he has this opportunity.

He attends the early intervention preschool in our school district.
He needs help with his speech.


He looked so big wearing his backpack that is as big as he is.
Or maybe it just reminded me of how little he really is.

As we hugged him good-bye his little lip started to quiver and his eyes turned red and filled with tears.
Mine did too!

They wisked him away.
Ken took my hand and guided me to the door.

As we drove away from the school Kate shook her head sadly and said, "Mom, it's just not right. Our baby is too little to go to school."
I couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

He did well.
I survived!

We picked him up and he jabbered excitedly all the way home.
No clue what he said but it sounded fun!

Tomorrow he gets to ride the school bus...
I will take a picture.

Funny moment among all my tears:
Kate was so sad about leaving Henry at school. Ken asked her if she remembered her first day of school. Kate answered, very matter of factly, "Yea, I remember it all right. You signed me up and left. Thanks!" Did I mention there was a hint of disgust in her voice?

A little scare...

Saturday morning Henry woke up with a barky cough. I fear the sound of that cough. It got progressively worse throughout the day and into the evening. Ken was working till 2:45 that night so I was home alone for part of the night. I tried to sleep as I listened to Henry toss and turn in my bed as he continued to cough in his sleep. At 2:30 I suddenly jumped up and turned the lamp on. I was staring at Henry. Something was wrong but I was still trying to figure out if I was dreaming or really awake. His cough was bad but there was another noise. It took a minute for it to register.

I jumped out of bed and grabbed the nebulizer. It hasn't been used in several months so it took me a minute to find the medicine and get the tubes all put together. In the meantime, Henry is now awake and is hysterical. He is tugging at his throat. He thinks he needs a drink. I try to convince him that he needs to wait for a second and then sit with me for a treatment. He has no idea what I am talking about and runs for the kitchen. He falls down a couple of times. He can't catch his breath. He pushes the stool to the counter and climbs up to get a cup. He dropped several cups. I was frantically trying to get the machine plugged in. I heard the cups fall and realized he was on the counter. I knew this was dangerous because he was struggling for air and a fall would not help his situation. I grabbed him off the counter and he insisted he needed a drink. I quickly filled the cup with a little water hoping to calm him so he would settle down for the treatment. When he realized the water would not help him he panicked again. I forced him to sit on my lap while he had a treatment. He finally surrendered and laid back in my arms, completely exhausted.

As he laid there I allowed myself to relax and assess the situation. Once the treatment was over, his breathing did not improve. Each breath was noisy in and noisy out. He was still struggling for air. His neck would suck in so far with every breath he took. He was no longer freaking out but he was not breathing like he should have been after a treatment of albuterol. I took him out side to see if the cool air would help open his airways. The wind was gusting which took his breath away. That was not an option. It was almost 3:00 and Ken was still not home. I called him and told him Henry needed to go to the hospital. I then found coats, shoes, woke Zach to tell him we were leaving. Ken arrived about that time and we left for the hospital.

The rest of the story is history. The diagnosed it as croup. They gave him another treatment of something stronger than albuterol which quieted his breathing instantly. They gave him a steroid shot and sent us home.

Henry continued to need treatments for a couple more days but he quickly learned that that little tube gave him air and helped him breath better and he would ask for it when he felt he needed it.

Henry is the third child I have that reacts to croup this way. Justyn was about 8 when he had his first bout with croup. He woke up breathing so loud. I had never heard anything like it before. He wasn't even coughing when he went to bed so I thought he was just being annoying. I was so tired. I told him to stop making that horrible sound. So he did. I was looking for cough medicine. I looked up at him and he was turning blue. I asked him what he was doing. He said I told him to stop making that noise so he was holding his breath. Suddenly I realized he was in serious trouble. I had so many little kids and no one to call in the middle of the night. I woke Ken up and he took Justyn to the hospital. I seriously believed I would never see him alive again. I collapsed to the floor and cried helplessly. A few hours later he arrived home with a smile breathing perfectly. Ken explained what had happened. We now keep a nebulizer and albuterol on hand.

Justyn has had a couple more attacks and Kathryn had one last winter. This was Henry's first. What was so scary this time was that the albuterol did not work. With Justyn and Kate, we just give them a treatment and they are fine. No doctor necessary. Even after they gave him the shot in the hospital and told us he would not need another treatment because the steroids would hold him over until the virus passed, he still needed at least 5 more treatments.

He is much better today. Very few illnesses really scare me. I do okay with fevers, vomiting, etc. I rarely take my kids to the doctor. That barky cough really scares me though!

New pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are two preview pictures of some new photos that we just had taken by Ken's cousin Jeni. We are very excited, and can't wait to get them printed!

My post about Shaelynne

Shaelynne is doing wonderful in her new class. She has a great teacher and she has made so many new friends. School does not come easy for her and she has to work extra hard to understand things but she loves her teacher and wants to please her so she puts everything she has into doing the best she can. I am so proud of her.

She gave up her very best friend in the whole world to move over to this new school. I think she misses her a ton. They spent all weekend together last weekend. They are so much alike. This weekend they switched their clothes around and changed their hair up. Then they stood with their backs to me and asked me who was who.

Yeah, I can totally tell my daughter from someone else's. I didn't have a clue who was who. In fact they made me guess and I guessed completely wrong. They loved it. I thought they were silly.

I should have taken a picture and let you see if you are smarter than me. Maybe next time she comes over I'll have them switch again and take a picture just to prove I'm not crazy.

It's fun to watch her grow up. I can't believe she turns 11 this year. She gets to go to girl's camp next summer. WOAH!!!

I need to bottle her up somehow and force her to never grow up! Actually, I can't wait to see what kind of woman she grows up to become. She is amazing and I am so thankful I get to be her mother.

STRESSED OUT!

I went to campus today to buy a couple of books that had to be ordered in. I found out my financial aid had been canceled. AHHHH!!!!!

I didn't have time for that! I had thirty minutes left before I needed to get the girls from school, Ken (who was with me, and helping me)had to be to work in 45 minutes, and I couldn't leave until I spoke with a counselor. I also had to fill out some paperwork, meet with financial aid, and then finish buying my books.

I have too many credits!!! CSI is a two year school and I have more than enough credits needed to graduate. Problem is, many of those credits were from 15 years ago when I didn't have clue what I wanted to major in. I found out that I have to take at least 12 credits in my major in order to get financial aid. Okay, that's not a problem. I have plenty of classes I can still take.

Wait, I don't have enough classes left in my major to get full financial aid next semester. HUH???? I have taken extra classes in Special Education, but since CSI does not offer minors financial aid won't recognize any of those classes. I only have two classes left for my major so do I finish that program while focusing on elementary education? I can, but I have to take those classes in the 12-18 credit range because those are free credits. My first twelve classes have to be towards my declared major.

Long story, short....The girls waited at the school for a half hour!! Ken was 15 minutes late to work!!!! One of my books was still not in.... and I am now taking 7 classes for a total of 18 credits so that I can graduate in two semesters and still qualify for financial aid. Here is my schedule to prove it.

Your Schedule (Registered)

EDUA 245 C02W Special Ed Policies & Procedures
EDUA 280 C01W Intro to Teaching Children's Lit
EDUC 290 C01W Education Exit Seminar
MATH 157 C02W Math for Elementary Teachers 1
MUSI 233 C01 Music Methods for Elementary Tchrs
POLS 101 C03W American National Government
SOCY 101 C06W Introduction to Sociology

That is SO many classes!! I also have to take 18 credits next fall!!! I have a husband and six kids who all have a life, need fed, cleaned, and talked to occasionally!!! I usually average 15 credits and that about kicks my trash. I am so burned out on classes right now. I miss my normal "mommy" world.

Now the pressure is on...I used to have a life beyond college...I think I'm going to die!!!!