Where Has the Time Gone?

It has been quite the hectic month. At Easter, my ex sister-in-law dropped off my brother's two oldest children. We haven't seen them in almost 10 years because she kept moving them around and changed their last names. They are now living with my mom and it has been quite the adjustment for everybody involved. It hasn't been an easy month. As a mother, I do not understand how you could drop off your children to virtual strangers and walk away. I just don't get it.

Anyway, we are trying to make it work, but it isn't easy. My nephew is changing schools already because his mother didn't mention until he was already in our neighborhood middle school that he had an IEP. Well, the IEP could not be met at the school he has been attending for the last three weeks so yet again, he is having to change schools. We would have tried to get through the rest of the year where he is, but he was failing 5 out of 7 courses with an average grade in the 40s. He just can't keep up and this was after we spent several hours each night trying to help him with homework. What was she thinking?!?!?

Okay, enough of the negative! We have tried to keep busy and have gone to Lakes Park, Sanibel, and a couple of neighborhood parks. The kids love to bike ride and so we have been taking bike rides and that has been good for everybody involved. It is currently spring break and I am just trying to spring clean my house. It is so in need of it! I have no idea how I manage to accumulate so much JUNK! I am also looking for more work as my outpatient patients have all graduated. Good for them, not so good for my bank account! My last patient's mom and I became pretty good friends as we would chat during her son's weekly sessions. I wish there was a home health company that serviced pediatrics in this town. I love home health because you truly get to know the families (both the good and bad!).

Regan continues to amaze me. I love that little girl so much it is unreal! She is really becoming such a little person. Her vocabulary is really coming along and she can hold entire conversations now. It has just "clicked". We played with play-doh yesterday and we are going to keep working on it....she has no idea what to do with it! I feel like I have been depriving my child of one of the basic skills of childhood - play-doh play! She also graduated in her preschool class. I resisted for a long time moving her because she is so desperately attached to her teacher and I hate to move her now, again in the summer for summer camp, and again next school year. Unfortunately, the children in her class were getting younger and younger and Regan was getting bored (according to the director and her teacher). I finally consented when two things happened within a two week period - Regan started sucking her thumb (from a former thumb sucker, I didn't care that she was sucking her thumb as much as I cared that she was mimicking her younger classmates' behaviors). Her behavior was also becoming babylike with more whining, crying, and temper tantrums. The second deciding factor was that she took a real dislike to her new teacher's assistant. I didn't care for her so much myself. She was always negative. Always telling me how she couldn't wait to get home and get away from work. From a parent's stand point, what you are really saying is that you can't wait to get away from my child. Regan also began crying hysterically if she was dropped off in the morning and this assistant was in the class. Her primary teacher doesn't get to work until 9:30 and that is not an option for me to start work at 10! The director got to witness this behavior one morning and had me drop her off in the mornings to a different class, but I wasn't happy with that...she would still have to go be with the assistant during the day. The director would then watch her in the mornings and take her in the afternoons to a different class and said she loved the older class. I said we would try it and I am so glad we did, the first day she went right in, said hi to her new teacher, and joined right into the class. This class is more structured, so hopefully, this will work! Next week will be rough because Doodle never does well with going back to school after a vacation.