Getting Ready for School

I think I have been in denial that September would arrive :)  I did order my books in July and they have (almost) all arrived. I guess I am a Michigan girl at heart and cannot really start until after Labor Day (yes, it is a law in Michigan that public schools cannot start till then). But here it is upon us, like it or not, and I am racing to get things in order to start full-time school on Tuesday.

I spent some time yesterday organizing an accountability system for two of my students. I promised a MODG mom that I would post a few pictures on my blog to give a visual aid to how this works.

So, here is how I set this up:

I used library card holders with self adhesive backs and stuck them on the back of cabinet doors.  I used one for each subject.  Then I used one index card for each day/lesson of the week and slid them into the holders, in order.  So, for math, I have five cards labeled Monday thru Friday. Each school day, your child (and you) can see at a glance which lessons have been completed and which have not. (I did this system a few years ago and it seems to work better than a simple list on paper for some elementary students.  It is especially good for those students who need lots of reminders to stay on task). When the lesson is complete, the card is flipped over to reveal a cute little sticker.  I'm not sure why, but something about flipping a card when a lesson is complete brings greater satisfaction for some kids.  And we do not loose the list if we do not have one :)

Oh, and some of the cards have a little smiley sticker next to the day as you can see with Teresa's cards.  That means she can do that lesson independently.  Non-smiley lessons must be completed, at least partially, with me.  Again, with a quick glance, Teresa can see which lessons she can work on independently while she waits for me to work with her. It's a pretty simple system.  Let's hope it works! :)

 

Crystal Lake {Part 1}

 We took a little vacation to Crystal Lake to visit my parents at their lake cottage.  It was great!  We saw some family, had perfect weather and did lots of boating and swimming.  We also took over 200 photos :)  I'll post some pictures in bunches...it's much easier that way.

Aidan, kickin back, eating some lunch

The water trampline got a lot of use...

Teresa jumping over Aidan

Molly Grace and Aidan

She made it...

I'm not always behind the camera....

Moira

On Saturday, my Uncle Jeff, Cousin Mark and his lovely wife, Erin, and Cousin Kate and her kids, Mason and Casey came to visit.  We had such a fun day visiting with them. 

I love this picture of Erin and Seamus...

Mason

Kate and Mason

Kate and her kiddos, Mason and Casey

Casey

Bridget and Seamus

Erin lovin the sand...

Eileen and Molly Grace

Seamus's bright brown eyes

Molly Grace playing peekaboo with Casey

I love this picture of Moira and Seamus

The Cup

Seamus. Seamus. Seamus.  Our little guy has a mind of his own.  He loves to get drenched in rain storms and suck suckers upside down, which you may remember if you read this blog.  Now he has a new loooooove.  It's not a cute furry animal or a soft blanket. No, no no; he's much too sophisticated for that.  Rather, his love is for a Green Bay Packer coffee mug that we simply call "the cup".  He carries it around and gets upset if we try to take it away.  He has even slept with it a few times.  He knows that when it comes up missing it just may be in the dishwasher...so at times we find him pounding on the dishwasher door. Don't ask me why he loves this cup because I have no idea.  Perhaps he's a Packer fan?  Perhaps he is a closet coffee drinker?  Perhaps he wants to run away and join the Mystic Monks who happen to roast awesome coffee (so I hear)? 

Whatever the reason, the cup makes him quite content when he's fussy, and that is always a good thing in this house :)

Erin's Beautiful Picture

We had the markers out yesterday and Erin loves to color. She will sit and color for a very looooong time, making sure to use all the colors.


At first glance, this little drawing looks like typical toddler art, or scribbles on a paper. Well, it is. However, upon closer observation, this little paper of scribbles is more meaningful, and it makes me very proud! Look at the fine detail (I see much more advanced fine-motor skills than she had even a few months ago). Look at the lines...up, down, diagonal and even circular (I see all the movements necessary to form letters!). And if you look very closely, you'll even see some stars. This part floors me! I know that Erin is a mimic, and that she is a visual learner. I also know that her sisters were showing her how to make stars yesterday. I had no idea she could go from watching her sisters make stars to actually making some herself. On this paper (her sisters did not help her one bit), you can see her first attempts at stars, lots of practice making stars, and then some quite successful stars. Erin was also naming some colors and putting the caps back on the markers with ease. Oh, the things we take for granted with typical three years old! This little girl learns more slowly, but when she does, it is so much fun! She sure makes me smile :)

Medical Assistant Schools Awards Down Syndrome Blogs

There is an organization, Medical Assistant Schools, that recently gave away several awards for Down Syndrome blogs.  One of my nice followers or readers nominated this little blog...and it was picked as one of the top 30.  Surprise!  Even though this blog is not entirely about "Down syndrome", it does contain a member with an extra chromosome, thanks to Little Happy.  So, we'll certainly post the little award from MAS.  And I want to give a special thank you to the person who nominated us - that was so sweet :)

The Birthday Boys

We have two birthday celebrations in August.  Mike's is on the 18th and Aidan's is on the 21st.  That works out very nicely when Teresa spends a lot of time creating a birthday banner that we can recycle and use twice in the same week!

We wiped out a chocolate cake earlier in the week for Mike's b-day.  Aidan opted for the Spiderman cupcakes...

 

Seamus found a spider ring on the floor that still had a little frosting on it....lucky him :)

 

We had the cousin gang here...

 

Presents were opened (don't mind the girly wrapping paper, Aidan didn't even seem to notice.  It builds character, I say)...

Thanks for the card and birthday money, Grandma and Grandpa!

Seamus enjoyed the paper, as usual...

And one more, just for cuteness!

The other birthday boy!

Well, let's see, since more Legos entered our home, and another Favre jersey, I'd say both boys had a fabulous day!

Perfect Rainbow

Last night after our huge downpour this rainbow (actually it was a double rainbow) filled our sky.  It rained so much we had considerable flooding here.  Lombardi Ave had a good two feet of water, so I hear.  Mike had to navigate a different route home from work, as the west side often has drainage problems after big rains. I sure hope there aren't too many in our area with wet basements (we had just a little)!

Hives, Bugbites and Hamburger Helper, OH MY!!!

I think that is the funniest title I have ever written on blogger! I'll bet that peaked your curiosity, eh?

Just in case the swarms of mosquitoes in WI aren't giving us enough to scratch about, I'll throw in a little post about hives to boot!

Little Happy woke up the other day looking like this....

Poor thing.  And they got worse before they got better.  I asked a friend who happened to stop by if she knew anything about hives.  She asked if Erin had eaten Hamburger Helper.  She explained that when her son had hives the doctor asked her that same question.  Turns out it's a routine question asked in the doctor's office when a child has hives!  Who knew?!  Evidently, something in Hamburger Helper triggers hives in some kids.  Well, Erin did not eat HH, so I cannot blame it on that.  Like most cases of hives, we have no idea what caused them.  They were completely gone the next morning, thankfully!

Speaking of Erin, I have a great update:  Since she has been wearing an eye patch two hours per day, her eye has almost completely stopped turning out!  This means that it is possible for her to avoid eye surgery (at least for the near future)!  That makes me very happy indeed : ). 

Werewolf by Day

There is a new blockbuster homevideo thriller coming out this month called Werewolf by Day. It is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat; you won't want to miss this one!!! It is from Breresan Productions (ok, in others words, it is a movie by Bridget, Teresa, Theresa N.(a friend) and Aidan). Bridget loves to make movies; I have shared a few on our blog before, I think. And just to tease you.....here is the trailer (be sure to turn your speakers on):

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

New Words...

Well, this blog has been quite neglected this summer!  I guess that means I haven't been taking many pictures.  It certianly doesn't mean that the action in this household has slowed down.  Nope, not at all!

So, what's new?  A few words out of the mouths of babes and toddlers.  Both Erin and Seamus are saying some new words....and it's pretty cute if I do say so myself!  Here are a  few new words we're hearing a lot lately:

Seamus:
Mama
Dada
ffffffan
ni-ni (goodnight)

Erin:
aaaaa-choooo (she pretends to sneeze.  The sneezes can go on for quite a while.  Drama queen!)
suuuure (this word often replaces the word "yes". 
all beber (meaning, all better)
Owen
Emmett
Coeeen (colleen)
Conal
Aret (Margaret)
Kell(e)y
lo (hello)
pay (pray)
Oh no!
Babie (barbie)
lami (salami)
ow! (thanks to Seamus!)
no not (no I am not)
I won't!
I will!
cute
petty (pretty)
potch (patch)
rosy (rosary)
amen
gogurt (yogurt)
dinner
no mimi! (no Seamus)
thaaaaaank you!  (said while taking a huge bow, so low that her head almost touches the floor.  More drama!)

So, those are some new words Erin has been saying on her own without being prompted. Now, the thing with Erin is she will try to say anything.  She is a mimic.  Eileen got her to say pathetic the other day.  We find that if we ask her to say words enough times, she will start to use them on her own. She actually loves to try to say new words; she finds it to be fun, rather than work. For that, I am very thankful!  It's so much fun to watch her speech develop!