End of school year

So the end of the school year is winding down and I have to say it has been eventful. I just went to Danielle's IEP meeting and it went very well. She has been going to speech since last year for communication and social skills, and she has been seeing an inclusion facilator on a regular basis along with the social worker. The Speech Therapist has decided that she will just see Danielle on an as needed basis next year. Danielle has met all of the expectation this year. There are going to be some changes though. Simce there is quite a transition from 2nd to 3rd grade Danielle will have some adjustments when it comes to testing since she struggles with articulation and she will be allowed extra time to complete all work since she gets distracted easliy and struggles with perfection. She will also get to use graphic organizers for ISAT testing and will be taken out of the room. They thought she might do well testing with Nicole sonce Nicole gets extra time on ISAT testing due to her illness and frequent use of the bathroom. Daniell's social skills have improved tremendously. I used to be known as Nicole's mom and that has changed completely.Danielle has some fears about next year but we tell her to just take one day at a time and we will get to each day as it gets here. As for Nicole she is right where she needs to be. She was ahead in everything but due to her illness she is now right on target. I will be working with both of them this summer. God has been good to us this school year and we have oversome so many obstacles.I am so proud of my girls.

Thinking of my sister on Mother's Day

It is Mother's day and I spent yesterday with my mom , husband and girls, and with my brother-in-law and my sister's little girl. It will be four years in October since my sister has passed and Kayli is looking more and more like her every day. We went out for lunch and to the park to fly kites and it was so nice just to see the thrre girls together playing and not having to think about anything else at this point. A couple of years ago there would have been tears and thoughts of what are we going to do without my sister and believe me we still go through that. Me especially since my oldest has been sick recently and my sister has always been my rock to get me through everything. I know it will be hard for kayli today as she will be going to the cemetery to bring her mom flowers and you have to wonder how a 6 year old handles all of this. But she just does. After all she was just 2 when her mom passed away. I remember all of times that my sister was sick and several trips to doctors and Kayli tagging along with us. And how Kayli would not go very far from her mother. I remember Chelle's last week with us. It was right before Halloween and we dresses Kayli up in her costume and took her up and down the hallways there in the hospital and how she had her picture taken with Chelle. Or how we can drive by the hospital where she passed away and Kayli can tell you all about it and what she was last wearing. It is so much for a little girl to take in. But she is so strong and doing so well now. And I thought we would have to remind her about her mom but she remembers so much. She will definitely be a reminder everyday of my sister who left this world at such an early age but accomplished so much before she did.

Now Danielle is much different. When I found out I was pregnant with her I cried. After Nicole was born Rick and had decided that we were not going to have another child until she was five. I did not know how we were going to be able to afford it. And then I cried because I felt guilty. Once I got used to the idea of having another child things were okay. At around 5 months I started to have back pain and nothing worked so I was put on pain meds for it. The following morning my husband woke up to me having a seizure. To make a long story short the med I was taking lowers the threshold for having seizures if you have a history of it. Which we found out later I do. Anyways after Danielle was born she was the total opposite of Nicole. She was a very calm baby. She started sleeping through the night when she was 2 weeks old, she never wanted to be held, she was scared of deep voices, and stiffened to touch a lot. As she got older we found out that Danielle had Asperger's which is a form of Autism. Danielle has been a challenge but a pleasure for us. She struggles in daily living skills and social skills but is very intelligent and surprises us every day. She is in 2nd grade this year and right now she is reading between the 7 and 8th grade reading level. She does struggle with articulation skills as well and that is something that the school is working on as well for next year. Danielle has taught me patience and she herself has learned to cope. When she asks if there is something wrong with her we tell her that everyone struggles with something in their life and whatever area they struggle in they just have to work harder at. But there is nothing wrong with her.

I thought since it was close to Mother's day it would be perfect to describe my two girls and how it all begin. Rick and I were married in May of 97 and I found out I was pregnant in July. We knew right away we wanted to have kids and yes I was a young mother. I was the first of my siblings to have kids and get married. My pregnancy went well for the most part even thought I gained lots of weight. I should have known she was going to be a handful from the start. She was always moving. The night I went into labor my sister and my mom were with me most of the time. I will always remember my sister dragging me around the block to get my labor going. Labor lasted for about 14 hours. But hard labor was really only about 2. Upon delivery she was screaming . Actually she was born in the hospital where I worked and the following morning I got a call from one of the nurses that I worked with in the nursery shesaid "Girl you are going to have your hands full." "We have been holding her all morning because she will not stop crying." She even cried all the way out of the hospital and all the way home. And you could never put her down. She always wanted to be held. Nicole has been always ahead developmentally. The day she was born she was holding her head up. At three months she was dedicated and I remember my aunt Mary Ann saying that day look at how well she responds to her name. At 4 months she was sitting up. At 10 months Rick and I were putting her between us and having her walk back and forth and that is when she took her first step. At 11 months she had two setbacks. She was put in the hospital for Rotovirus and another stomach virus. The doctors cannot say whether or not that has to do with what is going on now. And starting preschool was not an issue except for she did know how to relate to kids for awhile because she was at home with me for so long. but once she was there for awhile she was quite the social bug. She has always excelled in school and has a lot of friends. And she is quite the mother of not just her sister but of her cousins. She is always settling arguments and trying to be bossy. She can be the sweetest person but boy she can be quite the spitfire at times.