Pride

I got tears seeing Graces report card today and a sense of great relief. She is a really great student and getting really good grades. I struggled in school. Sometimes to just get a C for me was a relief. I am so happy she is doing so well and doesn't have to struggle like I did.  Happy Mommy Moment 😀

Star Student

So proud of O's report card 😊

Crazy Christmas!

All I can say is thank goodness for the mild weather we had during our Christmas travels!! We really had a fantastic holiday season even though it was jam packed with lots of travel! We started out on December 19th at Kay and Mike's with Adam, Amy and the kids. We had a fun dinner out at a local restaurant for pizza. That evening we opened gifts and enjoyed hanging out with one another. Grace was excited to get her new Conair hair curler that sucks up the hair and curls it! Owen was happy to get the Ninja turtles blimp!! The next morning we headed out to downtown Chicago to meet up with Bill, Cindy and Nathan. We were excited to check out the new skating ribbon that opened at a new park downtown. Upon getting there the line for skate rentals was almost a 1/2 mile and at least a 2hr wait!! Our family had brought skates so we decided to give it a go. It was a really nice experience to have the city scene all around you! Afterwards, Aaron took Owen and Grace back to the hotel for a rest as Owen wasn't feeling well. The rest of us ventured to Macy's to see the windows and made a quick stop at Pannera to warm up with coffee and cocoa. We made are way back to the hotel to join the rest of the family. That evening we ordered pizza out and opened gifts in Bill and Cindy's suite which was perfect for us to all gather in. On Sunday Aaron, Adam, Lucas and Bill had tickets to the Bears Lions game at Soldier Field. Amy and I and the rest of the kids decided to take the rest of the kids to the Field Museum. Lance was really excited to visit Sue, the T-Rex dinosaur skeleton that lives there! We started off with a 3D movie to tell us more about Sue and how she came to find her home at the museum. It was pretty cool to know that she was real! When I tend to think of dinosaurs they seem like such a fictional character to me. It was a nice day just browsing around the museum. That evening the boys picked us up and we headed home. We had a few days home before our next adventure. Christmas Eve fell on a Wednesday. We took it easy at home during the day and attended church with friends that evening for the family service. Afterwards we all gathered at our friends the Smith's for some dinner, drinks and good tidings! It sure is nice to gather with good friends over the holidays. Christmas morning the kids woke us at 7:00am sharp!! I think I jumped about 3 feet as they crashed on top of us shouting to wake up!! Owen was so excited to see a Ninja Turtle sewer lair all set up for him in the living room! Grace was pumped to get Beats headphones and lots of clothes. We decided to also surprise them with a family trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells. I had wrapped up their swimsuits for them to open. Seeing the confused look on their faces was priceless! Owen asked if I had just gotten him the same suit in a larger size! We left that afternoon and arrived by 1pm and hit the waterpark! We stayed till about 4pm the next day then headed up to Rapids to spend the weekend with G&G Kurtz. The kids recieved some nice gifts from G&G as well. Owen got a toy called Snap Circiuts that he spent about 4hrs playing the day! We enjoyed Saturday visiting with Holly's family and my childhood friend Teresa and her family. We came home Sunday from Rapids and had a few days to recoup before heading up to the northwoods. We arrived on New Years Eve in time to enjoy a dinner out with my Mom and Tom. We enjoyed snow shoeing with our new shoes from my Dad and Holly. Friday we ventured to Minocqua to take the kids tubing at a park. Kind of disappointing as it took 25 minutes of standing out in the cold before a faily lame ride down the hill. $46 not really worth the ride, so to speak! That evening the rest of the family arrived. Saturday we spent some time in the afternoon sledding down the driveway which was lots of fun. Phillip took the snowmobile out and took Owen for a ride. Before he took Owen he had taken a short ride and saw a bear on the trail! Tom and Mom always make a great dinner for us and then we have a gift exchange between adults. Sunday we headed home in preparation for going back to school and work. The time went so fast I think partly because we were so on the go however it is all worth it in the end to get the quaility time with family!

Rough day

Well today was the day I needed to dig out the NVCI (non violent crisis intervention) training I had a few weeks back. It's been a long week at school. We have a female student that is really struggling with what we think is some mental illness and gets mad really easy when she is pushed to do something she doesn't want to do. We have tried numerous strategies with her and she is a tough cookie to figure out. She goes into episodes of rage in an almost out of body experience. The week started off with this particular student acting out on Monday and Tuesday and eventually ending up in a rage that resulted in a 2 day suspension from school and the police called in to assist my coworkers. I work closely with this girl and have developed a bond with her in just the 1/2 hour a day I am with her. It so sad to see her hurting herself and others and something that a girl her age shouldn't have to be dealing with. I am just hoping they get her the help she needs. Today I thought would be better seeing as she was gone. However, I ended up having to assist my coworkers in the restraint of a autistic student twice today. The first situation I had no choice but to jump in and help a coworker that was getting slapped and bit. At that particular moment the other teachers and staff were busy calming another student that had escalated to the point they had to take him to our "time out" room. Being involved in this situation was surely eye opening. I still don't quite know what my feelings are of this situation. I am glad that I am there to be able to help assist in keeping my fellow coworkers and the student(s) safe. On the other hand I feel like this sort of behavior doesn't belong in our schools. It is so unsettling for our other students. But then the question arises as to where is the right place for these kids. Its not fair to them to be shipped off and stuck in a institution somewhere away from the real world. Just like the other students they have to learn how to survive in the real world and be around the general public. It is hard enough to find these kids the counseling and resources they need to learn how to lead a somewhat normal life. Our female student has already been turned away from one of the local counseling agencies in town because they deemed her too violent! Its all so sad. It also makes you think about why we have so many of these special needs students now days? Looking back I can't remember having anyone in my school with a mental or even physical need. It amazes me as to how many forms and levels of Autism there are. Each student is so unique in their disability. What is causing this influx of special needs students? I feel like there is still so much research and learning that needs to be discovered to be able to understand and help these kids better. I knew this job wasn't going to be easy and I will admit that in the first month I didn't think I was cut out for this. But, as the weeks have gone on I have grown to love it. Call me crazy! I never in a million years thought I would be in a teaching role with other peoples kids. However, these kids have crawled into a very special place in my heart. I feel proud that I am able to find the patience and understanding to give them the assistance they need to make their day just a little bit easier and help them to succeed. Even if it calls for a "therapeutic hug" to keep them safe and make it through the day.