I asked my wonderful husband to take Donovan for a haircut today. "Just 1/2 to 1 inch off the top" I said. Does it look like he listened?! His story is that Donovan was asleep when they started cutting his hair then, all of a sudden, he woke up and grabbed the barber's wrist. This resulted in an unsightly chunk in the middle of Donovan's fro. Now this could have happened, but I seriously doubt it. Chances are Tim got tired of hearing Donovan shriek every morning as I combed out his hair. The clip would have solved that but it's too late now. That first buzz cut always make little boys look so much older, but Donovan's cheeks got more noticeable so it isn't as bad. I will have to get used to it for sure. Just something else for me to cry over my vodka sweet tea about.
The rest of this post will be a photo essay of the rest of our day. Please avert your eyes if you are a diabetic. I will not be held responsible for the sugary overload :0) Hair or no hair the DonoBoo is still very very sweet.
Donovan was 'helping' Drew with his action figures in this picture. His 'helping' usually results in Drew screaming in agony that Donovan won't stop knocking over his stuff. I was there as a look out today so all was safe.
Now I don't know exactly what Drew had in mind for this little scene, but it appears that the two mice from Flushed Away are kissing. Maybe they are having a wedding. Yes, of course! I see that all of the VIP are in attendance. Superman, Ninja Turtles, Big Mouse (can't remember his name) and Zorg from Toy Story 2 . It looks like Goofy and a Power Ranger were going to come but have passed out from drinking too much....
Aha! I was right. Drew set the happy couple on their way. He insisted that I take a picture of them like this. I really didn't realize at the time what he was doing. Boys really do have a sweet side. It's not all fighting and killin after all. Oh wait a minute...looks like Spiderman has been a victim of a homicide...tsk tsk
Donovan got bored with Drew's wedding and decided to try and eat something inedible. Look at him go at that 'whatever it is' See I know a turtle would be in danger around here.
Random cuteness....
The last two are Donovan sans crib....I can't believe how fast he is growing up. Somebody hit the pause button please.
That's all folks!
Drew wants a dog. Really really wants a dog. We had a dog, Lacy, who passed away last December. She was a ditzy, fun-loving (in her younger days), sweet as pie Cocker Spaniel. Drew really loved her and Donovan really didn't get to know her. Now everytime Drew sees a dog, his whole face lights up, and he begs to pet them or "rub them" as he puts it. He is so happy just to be around dogs. After he plays with one he will say. "I miss Lacy. I want my dog"
His brother is also quite fond of dogs and Tim is itching to get another dog as well. There is only one thing in the way....ME!!..I don't want another dog right now. Don't get me wrong, I loved Lacy, and when she passed away at 12 years old I was heartbroken. But you know what? I am one of those people who only loves THEIR dog and I do not get the warm fuzzies every time I see a four legged critter. I still have a vivid memory of all the work that goes into having a dog, and I don't want any part of it. At the end, and at the beginning of Lacy's life she had many many accidents. That smell makes me very nauseous, and I know if we get another cutesy wootsy puppy, I am going to be the one cleaning up after it. I think I clean enough poop everyday already Thank You Very Much. Then there are the vet bills and kennel bills I don't want to deal with right now.
I told all of my dog yearning guys that we could get one in a couple of years. Hopefully, by that time, Drew can take on some of the maintenance. You can scoop poop at 7 right?! For now though I think I will assuage my guilt of denying my first born a doggie. He asked for a pet turtle around Christmas time. I refused on the basis of my Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Fears. If you have read it, you will remember that the little brother Fudge ate Peter's pet turtle Dribble. Having thought of nowhere that is out of Donovan's reach or climb, I did not want to be in the ER with a kid who ingested turtle for breakfast. The turtles that they were selling at the mall were so cute, but unfortunately bite-sized.
I think I will find a suitable place to keep it happily away from Donovan's gullet, so that Drew can have a pet that I don't have to give flea baths to.
I'll be sure to let you know if Mommy Solution #456 is any good. :0)
This is what I call Drew's "Game Face" It's the face we are guaranteed to see at least once during every Tee Ball game. It's the face that says "Hey! I was supposed to catch that ball" or "I just want to play in the dirt, stop calling my name" or "Just take me home!" Granted we haven't seen as much of this face as we did last season, but lucky for us, he was displaying it in full glory on team picture day. Now we have it immortalized on a button and a fridge magnet for all to see.
Today though Drew decided not to show his game face not even once.He paid attention even when he was in the dreaded field and actually listened to the words coming out of his coaches mouths. Everyone cheered when he hit a thrown pitch and I could tell he was very proud of himself as he stole glances at us in the bleachers. He was even more proud when at the end of the game he received the coveted GAME BALL. The proud Momma in me wanted to show you his reward. All together now....Ooooh! Aaaaah! Isn't it pretty....
Love is sitting and sketching with your brother while catching an episode of Sesame Street :0)
Whatever they were watching must have been fascinating to Donovan. Perhaps Mr. Noodle was trying to eat spaghetti again. I know that always makes my jaw drop :0)
Idea for Love Thursday came from this lovely blog. http://loveisallaround.squarespace.com/
This year has been quite a learning experience for all of us concerning Drew's education. I wasn't even sure I wanted him to start school this year. His maturity level combined with his age (youngest in class -- August birthday) AND his PDD-NOS diagnosis from last year really had me doubting my decision to let him start at all. We chose a public school Montessori program for him because I thought that would be the most 'trauma free' transition for him from the self-contained ESE preschool program he was used to. We also chose NOT to continue him in the self-contained environment and instead mainstreamed him into a typical classroom.
Some things worked and some things didn't.
What worked:
He is also academically on target for K5, so the work load is appropriate for him. He might have been bored next year if I held him back. He is really driven to learn and does well when motivated.
I am convinced that the self-directing nature of the Montessori classroom helped Drew deal with the transition. His teacher was able to be more flexible with him when she saw an iminent meltdown approaching. He could stay with 'stations' he enjoyed when other class activities were stressing him.
I am also glad we moved him to a typical classroom. He was 'pulled out' for an hour each day for the services he needed, instead of spending the entire day with an ESE classroom. Drew tends to emulate the most disruptive behaviors of his peers, so a classroom with children functioning at much lower levels than he is would not have been a good environment for him.... which bring me to what didn't work.
What didn't work:
While the Montessori environment was good for him in several ways, it was also detrimental in as many ways. The benefits of the 'freedom' he enjoyed were often overshadowed by the negative behaviors it caused. Having so much freedom allowed Drew to 'float aimlessly' for a large portion of the day. With almost 20 other children in the class, the teacher and her aide's could not devote enough time to redirecting him.
The mixed ages in Montessori classrooms was also negative for him this year. His class was composed of 3-6 years olds. With his tendency to 'behave down', he would often act the same as the 3 & 4 year olds. This would not have been a problem next year because 1 and 2 grade is grouped together.
What we hope to do next year:
We put Drew in the lottery to go to another school. This will be his 3rd school in 3 years, but I hope it will be the perfect fit I am looking for.
This school is an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme school. It is VERY structured, but I like the way it is structured. Many 'gifted and talented' children attend this school but it is not exclusive to that bunch. All the children are taught in the same way, but the gifted and talented children are placed in a classroom together. I was afraid that they would not have accomodations for a child with Drew's needs, but they have a resource specialist that is very highly recommended. He will still get pulled out for his services. I am certain he can handle the academic portion. It is the social skills that still worry me.... For example: He can read but can the teacher get him to sit still long enough to read in class settting, Will he meltdown if someone else answers a question first? , etc etc...
It is my hope that Drew will respond positively to the new level of structure and direction. He has matured a great deal over the last few months and I am hoping we have prepared him for this type of transition.
I hope we get in, but if we don't he will go to the neighborhood school. It is a good school too, but I prefer the IB one.
Just trying to get this all out so when I start doubting my choices again, I can come back to this and say Ahhhh...that's why we did this :0)
I know that title is grammatically incorrect, but oh well...On with the cuteness...
I just finished a week vacation with my boys. Drew was on Spring Break and we were supposed to travel to Mississippi and Memphis to visit my Grandmothers, but as luck would have it both Drew and Donovan came down with some kind of bug the day before we were supposed to leave. I didn't think it wise to expose my elderly Grands to my boys cooties, so we stayed at home for the week.
It was one of the best weeks of my life bar none. I enjoyed every minute of it. My house is clean, my boys were happy (after they got better) and we had fun. We went to the zoo (Drew insisted on wearing his Superman cape), we wrestled, we watched movies, we went to the park. Ahhh blisss! In my unbiased opinion ;0) They are the best boys EVER. I did not want it to end.
If I haven't mentioned it, I am still working. I don't know what is wrong with me really. I have made several dates for quitting and let them all pass. It's not like I love my job AT ALL. The people are nice enough but my position is so isolated that I don't really get to interact with anyone. I wish I could figure out my malfunction so that I could move on and enjoy my life more. Perhaps this stagnation feels 'safe' to me. I might be a tad bit extremely afraid of letting go of the financial control that I feel I have. Maybe I should call Dr. Robin. I loooove her, and if you have XM radio you should give her a listen. She seems to have all the answers. Maybe she can help me.
