Evan's first week of school- transitions and adjustments

Evan has officially completed his first week of preschool! Granted this was just the special ed. preschool program since the Christian preschool doesn't begin until next Wednesday, but week one is down nonetheless.  WHEW.

As Evan's first time away from Mommy {aside from being home with MomMom and PopPop while Mommy and Daddy traveled to Russia, but that's different!} it has been a bit tough on the little guy.  We started out the week pretty well:  dropping him off in the morning Monday as well as Tuesday yielded no tears whatsoever.  I was quite impressed!  I got reports of some tears off and on during the day, but he was quite settled by the time I picked him up 2 1/2 hours later and had no signs of having cried recently.  Success!

Then Wednesday came, and we were off to the Christian preschool for orientation.  The kids went to their classrooms while the parents went upstairs for a one hour meeting about all the school policies etc.  I took Evan in his classroom first (Lina will be attending this school also), and when we walked in I think ALL the children were crying! Their first time away from mama too, and Evan joined right in as this did not look like the place he wanted to be!  Lina went right in and wanted to get to work playing, so I had to quickly leave Evan while I grabbed Lina to take her to her classroom next door. Oy.  Lina had NO problem fitting right in- she went right to the housekeeping area and had a blast.  Mommy who? Yea, I'm cool here, no problem.  I didn't grab Evan's folder with all his school papers when I dropped him off, so I peeked back in his room to see if I could grab it without being seen- nope.  Poor guy was sitting in the middle of the floor with no one around, crying. :*( Break my heart!  I saw the director in the hall and let her know that the room was full of crying kiddos, so she grabbed one of the Pre-K teachers to send her in and help out.  I worried about my lil man the whole hour of the meeting, but thankfully when I returned he was playing contentedly, as were all the other children.  Whew!  The Pre-K teacher (who had been Justin's teacher way back when) let me know she had Evan in her lap almost the whole time, and they read books together which settled him down.  Bless her!

Thursday- back to special ed preschool.  Evan was smiles as I carried him into the building, but the moment we entered the classroom- he went straight into hysterics. Yikes.  This was not a total surprise to me as it had been 2 days since he'd been here, and his last school experience began in hysterics at the other school.... the kids here were quietly sitting around the table to have breakfast when one little boy burst out with a scream- not an ear piercing scream but a scream nevertheless.  The crying began before the scream, but it certainly didn't help.

Evan is VERY sensitive to loud noises/voices, and this was a concern of mine as he entered this class.  I already knew of a little guy from playgroup who may be joining the class who has the loudest ear piercing scream EVER, and Evan gets quite upset by it. That little guy hasn't started the class yet (not sure if he will), but the teacher informed me today at pick up that there are not one but three screamers in the class of 6 kids.  She told me that if Evan isn't upset by the screaming, he's uneasy and walking on egg shells so to speak, waiting for someone to go off.  When a container of Legos gets dumped loudly on the floor- he gets upset.  She told me I was welcome to come observe the class- she was just feeling unsure about how she can make him feel better as there isn't anything Evan is doing wrong.  The assistant told me on Tuesday that Evan had gotten upset several times by the screams also. :-/

A little aside about me: I taught Pre-K for 8 years and had the speech to moms down to a tee regarding the children who cry the first week or two- how they just need time to adjust and they really will be ok.  I am not going to withdraw my child simply because he can't separate from Mom and cries a bit each day.  I can deal with that. Totally.  But when you're talking about leaving a child in a room equivalent to his worst nightmare, surrounded by his biggest fear in triplicate, the mama bear in me was ready to withdraw him. NOW.  I was ready to call an IEP meeting ASAP to discuss how Evan will receive his therapies outside the preschool setting.  I began playing through my head all the possibilities I could try to push for him.  Knowing he would still attend the Christian preschool program, I knew he'd still benefit there and didn't mind him receiving his therapies outside the preschool class, granted it would throw a huge wrench into my scheduling, but I could deal with it.  I felt like I was sending my baby into a pack of wolves.  If it was just one child who screamed I'd have an easier time saying oh just let him get used to it. But with three of them?  I felt like it was torture plain and simple.

I came home and left a message for Evan's former OT.  Miss Jennie was my absolute favorite therapist who came to the house to work with Evan before we signed off to start the IEP and receive services at school.  Miss Jennie has been in the system long enough to know it inside and out, and she's also been spending some time in Evan's classroom to assist as needed since a few of her kiddos transitioned into the class.  I left her a voice mail saying I was pretty sure I would be withdrawing him and what are my next steps.  She called me back about a half hour later.

"Don't withdraw him." Her first words when I answered the phone.  She went on to say that she believes Evan's crying is simply related to separating from Mommy.  Yes, he may start to cry if there is a scream, but there have been many times when a kid screamed- she looked right over at Evan and he was fine.  He even got through a fire drill today without tears from the alarm!  She said he could be sitting playing quietly, then suddenly look around and start to cry- most likely because he is looking for mama.  Without breaking confidentiality rules, she also let me know a couple kids will be transitioning out into an autism program, so that may help Evan also.  We both agreed that if I came in to observe that I would not get a true picture of how Evan does at school.  If I don't come in the class and he sees me- he'll be a mess.  If I stay with him the whole time- I won't know how he does when I'm not there.  I could see how he reacts to the screaming but that would be about it.  Jennie assured me she would call me next week and let me know how he does as she will still go in and help out.  I LOVE YOU, MISS JENNIE!!! Yes, I told her that on the phone. ;)

So... two totally different pictures were painted to me- the first from the classroom teacher and the second from Jennie.  I'm going to give Evan a couple more weeks and see how he does.  Once Lina starts at the Christian preschool I will have Mondays to come pop in and see Evan if I need to do so.  Keep your fingers crossed for him- I know this is a great program and I truly want this to workout for my little guy.  I love you, little buddy!! xoxoxo

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Wondering if I have a post by the exact same title this time last year, but too lazy to go look. :-P

This has got to be one of my favorite commercials of all time- I wish they would still air it!! :)) Though those two children in the video DEFINITELY were NOT mine- as Kaylin and Justin have been anxiously counting down the days until school starts since about the end of June. ;)

We had a long summer this year- a bit more *boring* than usual for the kids since we stuck close to home.  Lina needed time to adjust to family life, and I am not able to chase after both Lina and Evan at the same time to go anywhere in public on my own.  Since Mike used up all his vacation time (and then some) on our three trips to Russia to bring Lina home, we had no summer vacation to break things up, though we are taking a long weekend away to the lake in a few weeks- SO looking forward to that! :)

So today was the first day of school for three of the four kiddos in our house: Kaylin began fourth grade, Justin began second grade, and Evan began preschool! Evan and Lina's school schedules will keep me on my toes this year for sure as they both (hopefully) will be attending two different programs each.  Evan began his special ed. preschool today which he will attend Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 8:30-11:00.  Lina is still in the testing phase of the public school system and hasn't been enrolled yet- we were told to hope for an October enrollment date.  In the meantime, she and Evan will both attend a *regular* Christian preschool program which begins next week- Lina will be in the 4's class as I am holding her back a year instead of beginning kindergarten as her birthdate would indicate.  Lina's class there is Monday Wednesday Friday, and Evan's 2's class is Wednesday Friday.  If you're keeping track, that gives me three different schools and times on Mondays.  Thankfully (though I wasn't thankful at the time I found out last year) Kaylin and Justin's school has later start times this year which allows me to drive Evan to his preschool class held at a different elementary school on the other side of town.  He has the option of riding the bus, but I haven't been given his bus times yet, and I'm not so sure I'm ready to put him on it quite yet. Soooooooo.... it's drop off Evan before 8:30 at his school, then drop off Lina at the Christian preschool at 9:00, and from there take Kaylin and Justin to school before 9:30.  Their bus time is 9:05, so I will have to drive them to school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays come next Wednesday.

As far as Lina's placement in the public school system, I'm not sure what sort of placement they will recommend.  I'm hoping she can attend a special ed. preschool class similar to Evan's on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but there may be an issue with her birthdate since she turns 6 next week.  I am ready to put up a fight though. Developmentally, she is about at the level of a 3 year old, and physically she is the size of a 4 year old, so she will fit in beautifully in a 4's classroom.

A couple pics from this morning:

And lastly a prayer request.... as schools began here across the state, a 17 year old young man sporting designer genes was shot in the cafeteria at his high school in the Baltimore area where he too was beginning a new school year.  He was flown to Shock Trauma where he is in critical condition.  Reports say he was not targeted but rather the shooter just shot in the general direction of his lunch table and he happened to get hit. Praying for his healing and strength to get past this horribly tragic incident.

The cable remote saga

How difficult would it be for manufacturers to put a little paging button on the cable box or any other electronic device that has a remote control??  You know- like the paging button on the cordless phone to help you locate it when it's been misplaced?  Yea, we coulda used one of those for the cable remote last night.

I remember hearing Kaylin ask where it was before she got ready for bed, but didn't think much about it... until all the kiddies were tucked snug in bed and it was time for Mommy and Daddy to finally kick back and enjoy some boob tube.  Ummm... where is that remote, anyway?

I figured one of the little kids hid it somewhere- they have a knack for doing that.  Lina likes to tuck things inside purses or play kitchens, and Evan enjoys dropping things behind furniture or tossing into the next room over the baby gate.  We don't give the littles free roam of the house- they are either gated in the living room on the first floor or in the basement playroom.  Yes, Lina knows how to open almost all the gates, but she is obsessed with keeping gates and doors shut at all times and abides by the rules on this one. ;)

Soooooo.... the stinkin' remote *should* be SOMEWHERE in the living room, or within throwing distance from the gates. Mike and I tore the entire living room apart searching... emptying the toy box, taking apart couches and moving them to thoroughly look behind and under.... breaking out flashlights to look behind the entertainment center.... nothing.

So we painstakingly had to get up and push the channel up button on the cable box each time we wanted to change channels. TORTURE I tell you!!  Especially when you are dealing with hundreds of channels, right?  We survived.

Next morning I ask Kaylin since she was the first one up- do you know where the remote is?

"Ummm... I remember having it last night... on the couch... but then it was gone.  Maybe I got up and sat it somewhere and forgot."  Great.

Ok, now we need incentive to look for the remote.  Kaylin didn't care about pushing buttons on the cable box, and when I tried to bribe with money, setting a $1 and then $5 reward for the person who finds the remote- nothing.  "I don't care about money.  We will NEVER find it!  It will take WEEKS!!"  Time for a different tactic.  Time to get mean.

"Alright, NO TV until the remote is found."  Oh my gosh you would think the world was ending!! Kaylin breaks down into hysterics that it's SO not fair and they will never find it.  I reminded them of the $5 reward and they set off.  TV privileges are apparently worth much more than $5!

Within about 5 minutes, Kaylin found it.  Where, pray tell??  In the shoe pile under the table in the foyer.  Apparently she left it there while taking her shoes off when I told her to do so last night.  Nope, neither Mike nor I thought to look there, silly us!!

So if anyone could work on that little paging device, I'd greatly appreciate it! :)