Dr. Seuss IEP's

For those of you that have ever written, heard, had, or spent time working on IEP's

(Rhythm from Green Eggs & Ham)
Do you like these IEPs?I do not like these IEPs
I do not like them, Geez Louise
We test, we check
We plan, we meet
But nothing ever seems complete

Would you, could you like the form?I do not like the form I see
Not page 1, not 2, not 3
Another change
A brand new boxI think we all
Have lost our rocks

Could you all meet here or there?
We could not all meet here or there
We cannot all fit anywhere!
Not in a room, Not in the hall
There seems to be no space at all

Would you, could you meet again?
I cannot meet again next week
No lunch, no prep
Please hear me speak
No not at dusk. No not at dawn
At 4 p.m. I should be gone
Could you hear while all speak out?

Would you write the words they spout?
I could not hear, I would not write
This does not need to be a fight

Sign here, date there
Mark this, check that
Beware the student's ad-vo-cat(e)
You do not like them
So you say
Try again, try again!
And you may, If you will let me be
I will try again
You'll seeSay!

I almost like these IEPs!
I think I'll write six thousand three
And I will practice day and night
Until they say"You've got it right!"

Johnny Kindergarten

Johnny had his first day of Kindergarten today. He cried as we left home. Once we got to school he did fine. He had a great day! The photo of Johnny is after school coming out of the class. He had a great time and really loves his teacher. He made some new friends! I am really looking forward to a fun year of school!

Back to School

I am so very grateful that it is that time of year again! Kimmie started school today. Johnny will go in for Kindergarten testing tomorrow and then start next Monday. I am really grateful that my kids love school as much as they do. Here is photos from Kimmie getting on the bus!

The Special Mother

The Special Mother
by Erma Bombeck

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressure and a couple by habit.This year nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children.
Did you ever wonder how these mothers are chosen?Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to take notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint, Matthew."
"Forrest, Marjorie, daughter. Patron Saint, Celia."
"Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron Saint...give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally he passes a name to an angel and smiles.
"Give her a handicapped child."
The angel is curious.
"Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly," smiles God. "
Could I give a handicapped child a mother who knows no laughter? That would be cruel."
"But does she have the patience?" asks the angel."I don't want her to have too much patience, or she'll drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off she'll handle it."
"I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has a world of it's own. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."
"But Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."
God smiles. "No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."
The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't know it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says momma for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see--ignorance, cruelty, prejudice--and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life Because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."
"And what about her Patron Saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in the air. God smiles.
"A mirror will suffice."

I received a copy of this at the conference. Thank you Julie for this!

Chicago II

I will be posting a lot in the next couple weeks about Chicago. It was an amazing trip and so incredible. I learned so much and am really grateful for all the prayers, work, donations, love and everything else that helped us get there. I have more hope for Kimmie in the last week than I have had for years.

Some interesting things I learned...

Denial buys the fime needed for a person to find the internal strength and external supports needed in order to accept that loss has occurred.

Pain is the solution not the problem.

One doctor told us he doesn't like the term "brain damage" especially in children. He likes to think that after seizing for so long that the children's brains start to re-decorate. Kids can regenerate and do things that adults can't do. We just have to figure out where they placed everything. So Kimmie may put the forks in with the bathroom towels. All the info is there we just have to re-train or find where they put it.

This photo was taken by my friend Karen at the Nature Museum dinner the last night we were there.

Chicago

I can't belive how much this trip has changed me. It was worth everything we had to do to get here.

Kimmie is doing okay. She is really frustrating today. Lara came in town last night! Mainly to help me and she took Kimmie to the Shedd Aquarium this morning. She got there and was only there 2 minutes before she told Lara she was too tired and needed to go back. She complained enough that Lara took her back. It cost $75 round trip with tickets and cab fare for her to see two minutes and take a nap.

I have learned so very much. The doctor that we ended up seeing was Dr. Catherine Chiron. She was amazing! She has given me advice on how to improve her eating habits! She also complimented me on the amount of things we have tried to help get her seizure free. She is about 60-70% sure with changing one med that we have with one med that we bring in from Canada may change the balance of things and make her "SEIZURE FREE!" I can't believe those words came out of her mouth. For a doctor to tell us there is any posibility that she could be seizure free would be huge. Apparently she is the world's expert in seizure medication combinations. She is just an answer to my prayers.

There is so much more information although I am suppose to be in class already so I am going to cut this short.

Thank you everyone for helping make this possible.

Erik's Suprise!!!

I have to tell you after all these years there is very little that suprises me that Erik does, especially for birthday's and anniversaries. Although I was suprised last year on my birthday when Erik forgot. That is besides the point. We went out to a movie and dinner on Saturday to celebrate our anniversary. I thought for Erik that would be about it. I bought him a card and a CD to suprise him this morning. But when I left for work this morning I sent the kids to the car while I grabbed my bags. The kids stopped at the door and said, "Mom something is wrong." I went and looked. Erik had gotten up extra early this morning and wrote with sidewalk chalk all over my sidewalks, driveway and stairs. It was so cute that I had to take photos. So if you drive by my house today notice the cute anniversary love note that my husband sent to me! The kids were shocked and suprised that I was happy about it and taking photos!