Full Day Pre-K review

Today has literally been a stressful and emotional day for me. Heck the whole week has been pretty blah. Emma had 3 days of trying out full day preschool! I hadn't heard anything the 1st day she went so in my mind all was going well. Well, I was half right. I got a fun phone call today from Emma's half day teacher. It was a speaker call with a couple other teachers. They told me she had her ups and downs. I come to find out that she was being forced to use the stairs everytime they had to go upstairs instead of using the elevator. Last week her PT and I had agreed that during this trial she would only use the stairs once per day and the elevator the rest of the time. Then I find out that "oh, the elevator has been broke all week." "Um what???" Well no wonder my daughter wasn't fully cooperative. She was exhausted from using the steps so much in one day. She can do these steps but to do them a bunch in one day was a lot for her. That's why we had agreed only once a day. Then they tell me she was being bossy with another student asking them to get her something because she didn't want to get up and get it. Again, that was because she was exhausted.

So after all that was said, they came to a decision that Emma wasn't ready for a full day class with 20  students. They decided she would be better in a 6 and 6 class which is a class with 6 "regular" students and 6 students with disabilities. Well for her to have this type of program, guess what? She has to switch schools. I'm like great, we had enough troubles deciding on this school for her. So we have a decision to make before her next IEP meeting on April 11th. We were given 2 school choices. One has the same school hours as the school she is in. The other has a later start time of 830 and goes until 3. Well I think I'm going to go with the one where the hours are the same.

Why do I wanna keep her on the same school hours? Well, that's another story. My older daughter goes to another school where the time is 9:10-3:30. I called today and found out since we live too far from the school, she is not eligible for transportation. I thought that was dumb as fuck. Kayla will be going into 4th grade next year. I've grown to love her school and the teachers and the principal and vice principal. Everyone is great so I don't want to switch schools for her. Emma will have transportation no matter what because of her disability.

All day I was back and forth with my emotions. I was mad, sad, you name it. I'm mad because I wasn't given a phone call to inform me that the elevator was broken all week. I'm not the only parent at the school with a child with a disability. There are kids there in wheel chairs. What did those kids do this whole week? were those parents notified of the non working elevator? If so, why wasn't I given the same courtesy. I wouldn't have minded doing the full day another week. Then I was upset knowing I have to go through the whole pick a new school and get to know new people thing. I almost feel like Emma wasn't given a fair chance to show that she could handle things. She was robbed of that all because o the fucking elevator. Yes, I am blaming that one thing for this whole evaluation. It will be brought up at her IEP meeting in April. I feel like they just want to pass her along to someone else because maybe they decided they couldn't handle her. Maybe this is a good thing though. I didn't care much for that schools nurse. I mean what nurse needs a parent to come in and show her how to catheterize a child. Um, you should know how to do that. Yes i understand all kids are different but come on. That took time out of my day. I'm busy enough as it is.

Being a parent to a special needs child is tough at times. There are times where I just don't think I can do it, but I do. I know things will get back to some kind of normal at some point. I just hope we don't have to do the whole switch schools again after she does this 6 and 6 program because then I will be questioning this schooling system and pulling Emma from it and doing the home school thing.

I'm going to take these next couple of weeks and write out a bunch of questions for the meeting and just go from there. I'm sure I'll end up getting pissed off again at the meeting but we'll see.

Thanks for listening to a mom vent. It's been a long day with questioning my angels future.

Valentine's Day Party and other randomness

It's a couple of days past but I wanted to share about the girls Valentine's Day parties. They both had a lot of fun and got a lot of goodies. Emma has a small class so she didn't get as much as Kayla, but I think she still got a lot.

She made one of those Valentine's for me and her dad. The big pink one she got from one of the clubs at school. Super sweet!

Kayla got a lot of snacks and cards from her classmates. The principal even handed out Valentine's! That's pretty cool if she done that for the whole school. 

I'm pretty sure Kayla's candy is gone. Emma hasn't really asked to get into her stuff. It is in reach for her on the dining room table though. I had a lot of fun actually making treat bags for the girls classes. Usually we don't have the extra money to do that kind of thing but this year we did since we got a loan out from our taxes! I wouldn't mind doing it for all the kids holiday parties if we have the money! The girls had fun helping with it all too.

The girls have a 4 day weekend from school starting today. Today they have off because it's a teacher work day. Monday is President's Day. Emma was very upset she didn't have school today. I wish I could say Kayla was upset too but she has reached the point of "I hate school" already. She's only in the 3rd grade! Oh well. She mostly hates it because of homework and projects. She got her 2nd project the other day. It's due Tuesday so I gotta go out and get poster board for it to work on this weekend. She has to come up with an idea of a new product or service. Kind of like that show Shark Tank. Kayla decided she is going to do a service. She wants to have a special hospital for endangered animals so when they get hurt she can get them back to health! I think that's a fun idea! I believe she's focusing on the big cats that are endangered. So we'll see how that goes! We have all the big questions answered that will go on the poster board. We just need to print some stuff out and create her board!

I also forgot to mention that the other week when I had the flu, I finally got the push to do something that needed done! I finally got Emma set up with school transportation. It was getting harder and harder in the mornings. Now I just take Joey to work and come home and get Emma ready for school. She gets picked up and dropped off. She was nervous the 1st couple of days but now she loves it. And of course a few days after I set up the transportation her teacher sends home a note saying that sometime at the end of February or beginning of March they would like to try a few days of full day Pre-K out with Emma. I'm like well you will need to figure out transportation then. I just got her set up and don't need that getting messed up. We will find everything out at the meeting we are having on February 27th. So we have a couple of weeks before that happens.

So that's all for today's blog post. Hoping for a fun weekend with the kids! We've already had 1 timeout and it wasn't even 9 AM!

Ugh....Winter!!!

Well, its been a crazy past few weeks for us here. I've been kinda MIA because I was soooo very lucky to catch that dreaded flu everyone is talking about. I was only down for a week thankfully. That's also with no medicine but Tylenol. I went to one of those minute clinics that are popping up in drug stores. She was going to prescribe me Tamiflu until she heard I was pregnant. She then checked with the pharmacist who then told her that Tamiflu is a class C medication. That means it's not safe for those who are pregnant. I'm like of course that's the case. I've heard others say they had taken it though while being pregnant. So I'm not sure what the deal was. It was a week of a lot of sleep. Joey missed basically the whole week of work. Luckily he had vacation time. But now those are days we can't use when baby girl decides to make her appearance.

Other exciting things going on. This past weekend we took the kids to their first stage show!!! Paw Patrol Live. So we had an 8 year old, 3 year old and 2 year old. I was super impressed with their behavior.

Alex and Emma didn't act up too much. Once intermission hit, The attitudes and antsiness started kicking in. So Joey went and got the kids snacks. That helped them make it through the rest of the show. They had so much fun! Our seats were decent too.

And of course, it's hard to go to a show and not bring home souvenirs.

It was not a cheap trip to the show. Luckily we had the extra cash. Emma got a glow wand type thing with Skye on it and Alex got a pirate sword that lights up and Kayla got a spinny light up thing with Chase on it. Not sure what our next live show will be. Fingers crossed it's Disney on Ice. I know the kids would love that a lot!!

So tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Kayla and Emma's classes are having their parties tomorrow. It's Emma's first party where she gets to pass something out for her friends. I was excited to help her with her cards. Since she is just Pre-K the teachers ask that you just write your child's name on the card and the teachers will help pass out the cards without it taking forever. I also decided this year I would make treat bags for the girls classes.

I didn't put much in the bags. I did Hershey kisses, Sweet Tart lollipops, and the heart message candies. The Valentine's are also in the bags. The girls had so much fun with their cards and helping put the candy in.

Emma chose Peppa Pig cards and Kayla chose bugs. Yeah....I have a little tomboy. Tomorrow they will get to pass out their stuff and have fun at their parties. I kinda wish I could help Emma's class out but I have to do the mom thing at home and get Kayla ready for school. Oh well. I know she'll have a lot of fun.

So we're coming up on almost a month from finding out our little girls gender. We still have yet to pick a name for her! I can honestly say this has been the longest we've gone without having a name yet. I know soon enough we'll figure one out. I have one in mind but I'm not sure yet. Hopefully by the time she comes we'll have a name picked out.

That's all I got for today. Hope to see you back with my next update!

Let's talk baby gear

So today I wanted to talk baby gear since I'm at the half way point now. There are a lot of things moms think they need or things they just want to get. I'm not going to bore you with a list of that stuff, but just stuff that I'm probably going to be getting to make life easier around the house.

First up is this pack and play that has so many uses. I always remember seeing these with my other kids but never had the extra money for. This year we'l have our tax refund to baby shop! I like this pack and play because there is storage on the side, there's a bassinet feature on top and then the pack and play. This is basically a grow with me item! It would save us money from buying a bassinet since none of my kids slept in their crib at first. They liked the small areas that made them feel safe still.

Next up is the Fisher Price Rock n Play. I had the one in the link for Emma and Alex and absolutely loved it!! It was so portable and folded up easily for storage. It has a vibrate feature that always helped the kids fall asleep. Alex and Emma seemed to live in this thing for the 1st few months. It helped me out so many times when I needed to get stuff done. Shower time especially!! We all know how those showers are important when you don't think you'll have time with a little one or worried you won't hear them. So the rock n play will be on my list of must haves.

Now I have never done the whole baby wear thing. I thought moms were crazy for this. I am going to do it this time for the simple fact that I don't want to spend $300-$400 on a triple stroller. With this you can wear your baby a few different ways which will be fun I think. My bestie, Adrienne, had this brand with her son Austin and said she absolutely loved it. So I'm going to give it a go. I just hope I don't have to deal with jealous little children.

The final item I want to get is this, the Fisher Price 3-in-1 Sit-to-Stand Activity Center. This is one of those grow with me items that I think is a great idea. This is actually a new item and just came out in the past year.

The 1st stage of this is the tummy time mat to build up that neck strength. My kids all hated tummy time. It was like you were trying to kill them. Seeing this though makes it look a little more fun! I'm hoping she will like it.

The 2nd stage of this is the sitting activity center. This is for when the head strength and upper body strength are mastered. Also when they can touch the ground, unless you have some books or something to put underneath so their feet aren't dangling too much. This will help you get some chores done while they play in one spot. You won't have that fear of "OMG! They rolled off to some other room in the house" or something along those lines.

The final stage of this activity center is the standing portion of the center for when your child has said "Enough!" to the 2nd stage. They just want to stand up and play and move around some. Also maybe engage with their siblings with the toys. I know once baby girl reaches this stage of the activity center, her siblings will be hopefully playing right along side her....keyword, "hopefully".

So these are the items that I do plan on getting for this little bundle of joy. I can't wait to have her here and to try all these out so I can give you guys some good or bad reviews! Hope you enjoyed reading some more fun baby stuff!!

Gender reveal!

Yesterday was finally our big appointment!! We got to find out the gender of this crazy child in my belly. I was a nervous wreck all morning. Even though I had 2 previous ultrasounds showing all was okay with the baby, I was still worried they would find something. When we got to the appointment, we waited about 45 minutes until we were finally called back. They were running behind, of course, on the day I'm most nervous.

I always get excited when I finally get to see my baby. Seeing them move and wiggle around is very relieving. With the anatomy scan appointments, there is certain pictures the tech has to get to check and make sure all is okay. The last pictures the tech was trying to get was the feet and toes.

She was finally able to get these pics towards the end. Look at those little toes!! I'm a sucker for baby toes. I think everyone is.

I love that the tech got this pic! So cute. I have a thumb sucker already.

Another fun pic the tech got. Baby was getting fed up and held 1 finger up. Thank God it was just a pointer finger. Hahahaha. Maybe secretly trying to use the other finger though. Like I said, trouble maker already.

I know you guys are like "OMG TELL US ALREADY!!!" So Joey and I are expecting a.......

BABY GIRL!!!!

 Joey was....well, he was hoping for another boy. Now he is stuck in a house with 4 women. He teased and said him and Alex were moving out. This little girl loves her daddy a lot already though. While watching basketball the other night, she kept kicking every time she heard him talk. Emma and Kayla are excited to be getting a new baby sister. Alex doesn't understand yet. I'm curious to see how he acts with her though. I'm thinking he'll be a protective big brother. 

Everything was cleared with baby girl. All looks great on the ultrasounds. I'm so happy and relieved that all is well with her. I even had them check her heart out because I was worried about the ibuprofen I took in September before I found out she was in my belly. I had read online it caused heart defects. All is well though. She's a healthy little girl weighing 12oz so far. 

Mommy and Daddy can't wait to meet you whenever you decide to come into this crazy world. Try to stay in mommy's belly until your sisters are done with school for the year though. That's all I ask. Or try to come on the weekend like the other 3 did. We love you munchkin!!!

ramblings of a bored mama

Today has been a productive day. Especially my 1st hour being awake. I was able to get the dishes done, get the kids situated, and get dinner in the crock pot. We're having chicken. I put a few seasonings on it and just letting it cook. The kids haven't been too bad today. The girls have been playing together and Alex has been up my butt. It's his thing since I've been pregnant. I think he knows at some point mommy is going to have to give the new baby a little more attention at first.

So let's talk about how my pregnancy is going so far. I'm 90% sure I'm done with the nausea part(Thank God!!!) That's the only part i really dread. That and that awful sugar test you take at about 26 weeks. You drink this stuff that depending on where you go can either taste really good or really awful. With my 1st born it tasted great. Since then it's not gotten any better. Tastes very yucky. I have about 2 months before I have to endure that test.

I found this picture of the different flavors. I think where I go the only choice I've gotten is the lemon lime which is awful. I had the orange with Kayla which tasted like flat orange soda or a popsicle. I didn't know there was a fruit punch flavor. Maybe I'll see if they have different flavors when I go for my test.

In 2 weeks, on January 16th, We go for our anatomy scan. I'm really excited for this appointment. In my mind, I've always known if I was having a boy or girl. I've predicted all my kids gender before the scan. With this one, I am predicting a girl because of the way my nausea was. The funny thing is, I have all these cute boy names picked out. Which is the same thing that happened when I was pregnant with Emma I think.

Boy Names

• Anakin
• Luke
• Ben

Girl Names

• Leia
• Jasmine

Jasmine was suggested by Kayla. She loves Princess Jasmine. As you can tell with my name choices, I'm a Star Wars geek. I've been told no with all the names.....except Ben. I haven't brought that name up yet. I wish there were more fun Star Wars names for girls. I know if I suggested Rey that would be a big no because it sounds like a boys name. Such a task picking out names.

More things you can find out at an anatomy scan are any possible birth defects your child may or may not have. We found out at the anatomy scan with Emma about her Spina Bifida. We've had 2 ultrasounds already checking for things that can be caught earlier and so far all is good. I still worry a tiny bit that something will be found at the scan. Even though it's been shown everything is fine so far there will always be that inkling of a doubt. It's just something that will be there for me because of what we went through with Emma.

Another issue I'm having is, if I do have another girl, she'll be okay with shirts when she hits 2T but pants will be a hit or miss. Since Emma does a lot of crawling still at times the knees in the thinner pants don't last as long. I try to steer clear of the thinner pajamas but sometimes they are cuter and have the characters Emma likes.

Now onto talk of this insane weather we've been dealing with. Now I live in Cleveland, Ohio. We are used to the snow and cold. This past week though we have been dealing with wind chills that have reached -25F!!! Yeah, it's cold. Emma and Kayla are luckily still on winter break but I have 2 friends with girls who went back to school Wednesday. One friends girl went back and the other had a snow day. Today and tomorrow both girls get the day off as well. My cousins kids went back yesterday and are also off today and tomorrow because of the extreme cold we're having.

These are the temps right now but it's still pretty cold out when we're talking below zero. Hopefully the weather warms up some when my girls go back on Tuesday. They need to get back to school. They are driving me bonkers. 

But now I will head off to catch up on shows that I forgot started back up last night. SVU and SEAL Team. 

Happy new year!

Well it's officially a new year!!! Time to update you on how our holidays were. I honestly was very happy with the gifts the kids received. My mother in law signed us up for a secret santa type thing through a coworkers church. The kids each received a large garbage bag filled with gifts.

In all honesty, I was happy with the gifts Joey and I got for the kids but the gifts they received were nice. They got a lot of clothes and a few toys and they each got new winter coats with hats and gloves which they all needed!

They loved all their gifts. They each have 1 gift that they are in love with. For kayla, it's her Descendants doll, Mal. For Emma, it's been her Peppa Pig lights and sound house. Alex loves his new talking Spiderman. 

 These are the gifts Alex received. He's played with them all and enjoys them.

 Kayla's gifts and toys. Emma's underneath.

After our morning at home opening and playing with toys we headed out for the afternoon. I'm going to be completely honest....next year, I'm not wasting my time going out. If anyone in our families want to see us or the kids, they can come to us. One reason is I'm not trying to get 4 kids ready to go out. Another reason is, no one really wanted to be bothered it seemed like. Christmas used to be about spending time with family. On my side of the family it hasn't been that way since Kayla was a baby. So now Emma and Alex get to miss out on that. On Joey's side of the family, everyone just doesn't get along too much so they would rather not be around each other. Everyone would rather sit in their rooms and not be bothered. So we went to Joey's mom's house and spent a little over an hour there. We ate and that was it. There were no gifts for the kids because there are too many grandkids to buy for. I've learned to deal with it but if we're coming over, then spend time with everyone. Don't be a hermit and sit in your room. After Joey's mom's house we went over my dad's house. That was also a joke. No one wanted to be bothered as well. The kids opened their gift and I ate a little more because I'm eating for two. We stayed an hour and went home. So like I said. Next year, I won't waste my time going out. Everyone can come to us.

The girls have been on Winter break since December 22nd. They don't return to school until January 9th! They've been trying to keep busy and occupied. They were done with their toys for the most part a day or 2 after Christmas. They wanted their tablets again. I was hoping they would play with their toys a little more than one day. Yes they do still play with them but more so the tablets. We just live in times where technology over rules at times. 

I am at 17 1/2 weeks. In 2 weeks we find out if we're having a boy or girl. Everyone is insisting it's a boy because then it will make things even. Um, well that would be nice but that's not how it really works. I'm still saying it's a girl because of all the nausea I've dealt with. It's gone for the most part now but if I don't eat for awhile I get sick. So i try to eat every couple of hours to make sure there is food in my stomach. It's still not real to me yet. I was the same way when I was pregnant with Alex. It didn't hit me until I was at the hospital giving birth. I think this will be the same way. I haven't really felt kicking yet so that's also a factor on why it's not real yet. Hopefully soon enough.

So that's been our life over the holidays. 1 more week to relax with the kids being home. Hopefully it's a good week. No arguing would be nice but we all know I'm dreaming there. Hope you all had a great holiday season!!