Watching Nathan mow the lawn and dreaming of the day he gets a turn. It seriously keeps Caleb busy the entire time Nathan mows. I thought this was cute:
March 27, 2011
March 25, 2011
Hat Day
Anna and Lydia had "Hat Day" at school a few weeks ago. I don't know why I don't have a picture of Anna in her hat. Hmmm. Lydia wore a wizard hat:
Elizabeth and Caleb wanted to have Hat Day too so they wore dragon hats.
Elizabeth and Caleb wanted to have Hat Day too so they wore dragon hats.
March 19, 2011
Kid funnies
Caleb saw a quarter moon the other night and said, "Look mommy! The moon is out. Oh no, the moon is broken!" It was so cute.
Blake was commenting on my upcoming trip to Vegas. He was joking with me that I could go get married by some guy wearing an Elvis costume. I don't know why he said that, he was just being silly. Lydia, the worrier, was so upset and said, "Mommy, PLEEEEASE don't marry a guy wearing an Elvis suit!!!"
Elizabeth temporarily forgot the word "knee" the other day. She fell down outside and when she was describing what happened to me she said she, "got hurt on my... what's it called again? Leg elbow?" I couldn't help but laugh out loud at that one!
Blake was commenting on my upcoming trip to Vegas. He was joking with me that I could go get married by some guy wearing an Elvis costume. I don't know why he said that, he was just being silly. Lydia, the worrier, was so upset and said, "Mommy, PLEEEEASE don't marry a guy wearing an Elvis suit!!!"
Elizabeth temporarily forgot the word "knee" the other day. She fell down outside and when she was describing what happened to me she said she, "got hurt on my... what's it called again? Leg elbow?" I couldn't help but laugh out loud at that one!
March 15, 2011
Update on Katie and the school
Blake and I decided we needed more info on the whole incident with Katie. I just couldn't let it rest and my mind kept going over and over all the "what if's". And I felt like I didn't have enough details of the whole thing. I thought about just calling the teacher, but I really wanted to meet face to face. And I was mean and wouldn't tell them any specifics, just that I wanted to meet again... because I wanted them to worry for a few days. So we met with them on Friday. I told the teacher I'd like to meet with her, but she said she would invite the principal. (They were probably worried about what we were going to do.) The principal was super accommodating - got us water, etc. before the meeting even started. I think they were scared. And I let them be for a little while because I was scared for Katie.
The meeting went really well. I had a list of all my questions. Blake started it off by saying that we didn't want to make it into a big deal, we're not calling the news or anything, we love the teacher and just wanted to get more details. He's SO good at handling stuff like this. And the principal started out by saying she considers this is a VERY SERIOUS incident, one that she never wanted repeated. My main concern is why they didn't call us after it happened. The principal openly admitted that she dropped the ball on that. I honestly think she was so caught up in handling it at school that she didn't even think to call us. And she admitted that and then apologized. She assured us that it wasn't "swept under the rug" (even though I never said that out loud, it's what we were thinking and she addressed that right away). Immediately after it happened,
the principal called her boss, and he called his boss. So the higher ups know about it. They have a new safety policy in place for Katie's classroom. And they all promise they'll call us if anything - even things a lot more minor that this - happens. If you remember, they were considering firing the para (aide). That got resolved amazingly quick as well. She is no longer working in the special ed classroom. I think (don't really know because they couldn't give me more details) that she is still working in the school. I'm ok with that though. It was an honest mistake and mistakes happen. Luckily this one had a good outcome and everyone learned from it so it (hopefully) won't happen again. So I didn't want the poor lady, who I'm sure is beside herself, to loose her job. But I didn't want her working with Katie either.
I also learned that Katie was only gone for about 3 minutes. That eased my mind a ton because I had all these scenarios going on in my mind that really couldn't have happened in 3 minutes. The reason the teacher didn't notice Katie was gone once they got back to the classroom is that they were still out in the hall getting drinks and she hadn't actually gotten back to the classroom yet. And then in walked Katie with the 2 principals. So yeah, she didn't know Katie was gone. But she wasn't gone nearly as long as I thought. And I'm sure the teacher would have realized it once they got back in the room. That explains why they didn't call the police. No one really knew she was gone until she was found.
The poor teacher was about in tears. I felt SO BAD for her. She's tough as nails on the outside, but has a heart of gold on the inside, and you could tell her "tough guy" outer layer was fighting a losing battle. I sent her an email afterward telling her that we appreciate all her efforts in this and that we still trust her... because I really do.
So the final outcome is that we all learned from this and I'm sure everyone is going to be extra vigilant. I'm going to get Katie an ID bracelet (and made sure the teacher wouldn't feel bad ). We're all going to practice what to do if she's ever lost again. In fact, the teacher is going to take her class on a field trip to the nearby high school and then have a high school teacher (so trusted to the teacher, but a stranger to the kids), approach the kids and then see how they respond. That way they can address issues immediately like, "oh you did good not talking to a stranger" or "you did good coming to get the teacher", etc. And they might let them "get lost" just to see how they react.
All in all, everything went well and my mind is at ease and we're moving on from here. We got our concerns addressed, everyone learned some good lessons, I'm not so stressed out about it and most importantly Katie is safe.
The meeting went really well. I had a list of all my questions. Blake started it off by saying that we didn't want to make it into a big deal, we're not calling the news or anything, we love the teacher and just wanted to get more details. He's SO good at handling stuff like this. And the principal started out by saying she considers this is a VERY SERIOUS incident, one that she never wanted repeated. My main concern is why they didn't call us after it happened. The principal openly admitted that she dropped the ball on that. I honestly think she was so caught up in handling it at school that she didn't even think to call us. And she admitted that and then apologized. She assured us that it wasn't "swept under the rug" (even though I never said that out loud, it's what we were thinking and she addressed that right away). Immediately after it happened,
the principal called her boss, and he called his boss. So the higher ups know about it. They have a new safety policy in place for Katie's classroom. And they all promise they'll call us if anything - even things a lot more minor that this - happens. If you remember, they were considering firing the para (aide). That got resolved amazingly quick as well. She is no longer working in the special ed classroom. I think (don't really know because they couldn't give me more details) that she is still working in the school. I'm ok with that though. It was an honest mistake and mistakes happen. Luckily this one had a good outcome and everyone learned from it so it (hopefully) won't happen again. So I didn't want the poor lady, who I'm sure is beside herself, to loose her job. But I didn't want her working with Katie either.
I also learned that Katie was only gone for about 3 minutes. That eased my mind a ton because I had all these scenarios going on in my mind that really couldn't have happened in 3 minutes. The reason the teacher didn't notice Katie was gone once they got back to the classroom is that they were still out in the hall getting drinks and she hadn't actually gotten back to the classroom yet. And then in walked Katie with the 2 principals. So yeah, she didn't know Katie was gone. But she wasn't gone nearly as long as I thought. And I'm sure the teacher would have realized it once they got back in the room. That explains why they didn't call the police. No one really knew she was gone until she was found.
The poor teacher was about in tears. I felt SO BAD for her. She's tough as nails on the outside, but has a heart of gold on the inside, and you could tell her "tough guy" outer layer was fighting a losing battle. I sent her an email afterward telling her that we appreciate all her efforts in this and that we still trust her... because I really do.
So the final outcome is that we all learned from this and I'm sure everyone is going to be extra vigilant. I'm going to get Katie an ID bracelet (and made sure the teacher wouldn't feel bad ). We're all going to practice what to do if she's ever lost again. In fact, the teacher is going to take her class on a field trip to the nearby high school and then have a high school teacher (so trusted to the teacher, but a stranger to the kids), approach the kids and then see how they respond. That way they can address issues immediately like, "oh you did good not talking to a stranger" or "you did good coming to get the teacher", etc. And they might let them "get lost" just to see how they react.
All in all, everything went well and my mind is at ease and we're moving on from here. We got our concerns addressed, everyone learned some good lessons, I'm not so stressed out about it and most importantly Katie is safe.
March 08, 2011
The school lost Katie!
So apparently last week, the special ed class went to the school track. They had a bunch of paras (aides) with the kids and also the spec ed teacher there. I believe the ratio was close to one para per kid. One of the paras had Katie sit on a bench... and then forgot her! Somehow the paras switched kids and didn't tell each other and no one ended up with Katie. The teacher forgot to do a head count and the para basically left Katie sitting on the bench!!! I don't know what happened after that with the teachers. I imagine they were frantically looking for her. The details are still a little vague to me. Meanwhile, Katie wandered through a maze of fences, off the school track, off school grounds, down one street and was walking down another (busy) street... AWAY from the school. Obviously she had no clue what to do or where she was going. A principal from another school happened to be going to a meeting and saw Katie and thought something wasn't right. She brought Katie to the school (Katie's school) and asked if she was supposed to be there. They all of course cheered and were relieved. Katie's teacher then spent the day (and the last week) with the principle discussing this whole incident. The para is on administrative leave right now while they figure it all out and could be fired for this. They have since implemented new strategies so nothing like this will happen again.
Obviously, I'm pretty upset that it happened. I'm shaking as I type this out. Partially out of sheer terror, and partially out of... anger?? I'm not angry, just amazed really. I do still trust her teacher, she's a really amazing teacher. But I feel bad for everyone involved... for Katie, her teacher, her para, Blake and I, the school, the other school. When I first heard the story, I was just kinda in shock and I didn't really react or know what to say. I regret that now that I've had time to process it all, and I feel like it's unresolved. So Blake and I are planning on meeting with them again to get some answers. First off the story is so vague to me. Also, the thing that upsets me the most is that this happened Thursday and they're just telling us about it now... 5 days later! Crazy! I would think they would call THAT DAY! What if I would have heard it from Katie? And I would have wanted to know so I could watch for signs that she was upset or traumatized by it. She's doesn't usually tell me about her day so it would have been nice to talk to her about it. Or to watch her behavior at least. Or... well, it just would have been nice to KNOW! And it bothers me that they told us not only 5 days later, but AFTER we signed everything off at the IEP meeting. AND neither the principal or vice principal were there to tell us. The VP was there for the first half of the meeting, but then left before they brought it up. I'm really annoyed that they've handled it so poorly. So we've decided to have another meeting to discuss things further. It freaks me out to think what could have happened if that principal hadn't been driving by at the right moment and found Katie.
More to come as soon as we meet with the school again...
Obviously, I'm pretty upset that it happened. I'm shaking as I type this out. Partially out of sheer terror, and partially out of... anger?? I'm not angry, just amazed really. I do still trust her teacher, she's a really amazing teacher. But I feel bad for everyone involved... for Katie, her teacher, her para, Blake and I, the school, the other school. When I first heard the story, I was just kinda in shock and I didn't really react or know what to say. I regret that now that I've had time to process it all, and I feel like it's unresolved. So Blake and I are planning on meeting with them again to get some answers. First off the story is so vague to me. Also, the thing that upsets me the most is that this happened Thursday and they're just telling us about it now... 5 days later! Crazy! I would think they would call THAT DAY! What if I would have heard it from Katie? And I would have wanted to know so I could watch for signs that she was upset or traumatized by it. She's doesn't usually tell me about her day so it would have been nice to talk to her about it. Or to watch her behavior at least. Or... well, it just would have been nice to KNOW! And it bothers me that they told us not only 5 days later, but AFTER we signed everything off at the IEP meeting. AND neither the principal or vice principal were there to tell us. The VP was there for the first half of the meeting, but then left before they brought it up. I'm really annoyed that they've handled it so poorly. So we've decided to have another meeting to discuss things further. It freaks me out to think what could have happened if that principal hadn't been driving by at the right moment and found Katie.
More to come as soon as we meet with the school again...
March 04, 2011
Meet Ian Sterling
I got a new Build-A-Bear... yes, for me! Most of you won't understand why I'd spend money on a bear for m and that's ok. But I'm happy about it. lol. For Christmas Michael gave me money to go to Build-A-Bear. He earned extra money by doing lots of extra jobs during December. Like I said, I'm sure most of you won't understand my love of Build-A-Bear, and that's ok. But Michael knows how much I love that store so he gave me a Build-A-Bear for Christmas. I was so touched by how thoughtful his gift was. Normally I like going there because I like seeing the kids have so much fun. But I'm also a stuffed-animal-lover, and especially bears! So I got to go build my own bear and I had a BLAST!!! It was so fun!!!! I think the employees thought I was crazy when they asked why we were there and all my kids said, "For mommy!" I decided my bear would be a boy bear since I love boy clothes and because all my girls ever buy are fancy dresses for their bears. I don't like fancy dresses - for me or for bears. I like coveralls and polos and cute little athletic shoes. I finally got to buy the bear that I love (the one no one ever picks every time we go there, even when I point out how cute it is). And of course I bought him coveralls that are absolutely freaking adorable! I also bought him Sketcher shoes and a tuxedo and black shoes. So, yes, I have a bear/stuffed animal obsession. I also have an obsession for names, and (much to the excitement of his mom) Michael also shares this obsession. (I love how many things Michael and I have in common. We understand each other. ;) ) I gave Michael a name book for Christmas because he's always printing name lists from the internet. And he's always writing some story or something where he needs a name. He LOVES his book (and I'll admit to stealing it from him from time to time too). Since I love names and since I will never again get to name another baby, I settled for the next best thing - naming my bear. Michael and I browsed his book together and decided we both liked the name Ian. But I still have this need to use the name Sterling - I love it. I wanted to give Caleb 2 middle names - Caleb Isaac Sterling - but Blake said no, only Caleb Isaac. I figured since I got my favorite name for a first name, that I better not press my luck. But I still love the name. And I even call Caleb "Caleb Isaac Sterling" sometimes... just to bug Blake. And Blake, in turn, named the vacuum Sterling... just to bug me. Ugh, that guy! He says the vacuum is out so much that it's part of the family and should have a name. Anyway, so all that to say I had fun naming my bear and named him Ian Sterling. Michael didn't want to go to the actual store with me - he'd rather stay home playing video games. I tried to get him to go with me and he said, "But mom, I gave it to you so you could go have fun. I didn't plan on going with you." lol. When I got home and showed him my bear and told him all about it, he was beaming. I wish I had a picture of that smile. It's a smile that says, "I understand my mom and she understands me." He gave me a big hug and told me he loved me. And he liked my bear too. So I'm sure you won't understand my love of Build-A-Bear, or why I wrote such a long post about bears. But Michael understands. Thank you Michael! I love my bear, and I love you!
Ian Sterling in his coveralls:
Ian Sterling in his coveralls:
And in his tuxedo:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)