Actually it might just get worse pretty quick. That depends a lot on what Essex Ford says about the car and whether there is mechanical problems as well as body damage to the car. Hopefully we will find out something tomorrow. More about that later.
I have run away from my family downstairs. I needed to get a way for just a little while, they were getting too loud and sometimes it just gets to be too much. This tends to happen more when I have missed a dose or two of my medication. But I have been good lately. It's just that the girls are all wound up and Alex insists on having the radio on constantly. I enjoy music too, but there is never a quiet moment with the iPOD either shouting out music, or the mindless rambling of the the dorks from WDFN trying to figure out why the sports teams in Michigan suck. I thought that leaving the country would save me from having to listen to them all the time, But no.....podcasts have come and bitten my on the toosh. Everytime I get something for Alex, it seems to cause me more trouble than good. With the laptop came him constantly being on the computer while we watch TV. It was so bad that the first summer we hired a speech therapist to work with Emily, one of the exercises was to have Emily arrange things and people around the house and then talk about what she had done. She put Alex laying on the couch infront of the TV with the computer on his lap. She put me laying on the bed taking a nap, I was pregnant with Sam at the time and took a nap or two. I remember her telling the therapist that the baby was going to sleep in the tub. =) Now with the iPOD, there is a contant level of noise going at all times. This above the norm that having Frick and Frack results in. It can just become too much stimuli. Though he is finishing up the dishes so I guess I shouldn't complain too much that he wants something to listen to.
It's just been a long day. Though most days are long lately. I having been fighting a cold and that does not help. Today was Jo-Jingles day with Samantha. Our music/dance class. Today they started some music theory too. Samantha was really into it. We gave her a few different instruments for her birthday last week, so we can test out the dynamics she learned on them. It is fun to go to, but rather than going in the morning like we used to, we go 1:30 - 2:15. Which means that with a toliet break afterwards, we have just enough time to drive past the house and go get Emily from school. Then we get home and have to do the snack thing, after the fight to change out of her uniform, before homework. I hate doing homework. THere isn't that much to do. The math and writing she only has on the weekends, but the reading is everyday. Emily is a really good reader. But she is not very good at retelling what she read. She wants to list details and has a hard time summerizing. So. I just about bang my head against the wall or like today, the floor, trying to drag it out of her. And she was rushing with the reading and not being careful. She has a hard time with some pronunciation, I can't blame her for that, but carelessness just drives me up the wall. And OK.........I'll admitt it. I want her to do well, and when she does n't it bother's me a lot. Sometimes it is hard to tell with her if she can't or wont do soemthing. If she if making a mistake because she can't pronounce a word, or if she is just being careless. And I don't want her to need speech anymore, and it bugs me that she does. It's not that I have a problems with her having a disability. I just hate to see her struggle, and I have had no luck finding someoen to work with her, and feel pretty helpless as to where to turn to now. We've hit so many dead ends, I could go on quite the rant about how frustrating it is to find stuff out here, and were really hoping that she would OK for now without it. It is not that I am unwilling to be "inconvienced" to get her speech therapy. I drove her twice a week for two years, starting three days after Samantha was born, ( I had to come home rather than stay an extra day in the hosptical because Alex did not want to have to take her to her first speech therapy session...but that is a different issue with my husband). I just don't know where to take her. I keep going round and round in circles trying to find a therapist. So, Emily's teacher writing in her reading diary that she sometimes has a hard time understanding Emily when she talks, got me quite worked up this afternoon. So when the reading did not go really well, I just wanted to start banging my head. I actually started hitting it on Emily's bedrom floor while crying " why are you doing this to me?" Ridiculouse I know. But I just felt like she was torturing me on purpose. How many times can you say Virginia when it is suppose to be Victoria?? And she gets all fidgity, rather than sitting here nicely and aswering me. Now in my former life I tested kids while they sat on my lap, walked around a room, and had one child literally climb across the table because he was soo ADHD that he could not sit still. That never bothered me, but Emily gets so dancing and stretching all over the place when I am asking her questions, and I just want to glue her to her seat. I know you don't have to be sitting down to hear or be paying attention, but it would be nice if she did it anyway. =)
It's also hard to work on Emily's homework with Samantha around. She wants to help or wants me to read to her while Emily is suppose to be reading her book aloud. Sam can be yammering on and Emily stills reads on. Then I have to tell Emily to start over again, which she really apprecaites. NOT. Often I have to let Sam watch TV, but i try not to make it a habbit. I don't want her tho think that if she is a pest I'll let her watch just to keep her quiet. Did I mention I hate homework time???
well, I have to get them out of the shower and tub.
til later
17 September 2007
11 September 2007
Alone
11 September
I just got ome from dropping Samantha off for her first day of pre-school. There we no tears, though I did get a little misty as I was walking away. She is my baby you know. And I have invested nearly three years, tomorrow it will be 3, of blood, sweat, and tears. More of the later than the first two. She gave me a big hug and kiss, and then another hug and I left. Last night she was trying to get me to say could stay for four hours rather than 3, but hopefully she will come quietly when I go to pick her up. I think I mentioned she will go three days a week, right? Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. So she'll have a day off before going back. And she wont be going on her birthday. Yesterday at our Jo-Jingles class the teacher had a balloon and card for her, and they sang Happy Birthday to her. Sam was quite embarrassed and didn't seem to know what to do.
I know you are wondering about the t-shirt for school. Well, I was right. She did get one there, along with a sweatshirt, that she can wear on Thursday. I can get more and think I am going to get atleast one more of each, That way I don't have to worry about needing to wash her stuff Thursday for Friday. I hate having to wash Emily's uniform everyday because she gets something on it. it's just nasty from running around. She had another one, but got red ink all over it that wont come out. And at 30 some pounds a pop ($60) and less than 5 weeks to wear it, I think I am going to just wait until the Spring and get her new one(s) depending on if this size still fits. After half term she goes to her winter uniform and I would rather get the winter one for now. Ford will buy her three dresses a year and I am trying to make the most of it. There are some other parts of the winter uniform that we'll get too when it gets closer. I want to wait until the frenzy at the uniform store lessons. Though I can't really wait too long or there might now be any to be had. But last week when we went to get her backpack, the store was so crowded and I didn't want to start the trying on etc. Poeple were getting mean. Samantha's gear does not cost nearly as much as Emily's. That wont happen until Samantha starts attending Woodlands. In addition to the shirt, Sam needs blue pants. Not easy think go find for girls. So she has two pair from the boy's department. Actually she has to try one on still. She did wear a yellow shirt today, the one I mentioned. I really hope she doesn't get it too dirty.
I only have a little more time to write, I need to put the ponytails back in Emily's Bitty Twin so that she will look like her twin who Samantha will get today when I pick her up. A first day of school present. Emily got her twin last year when she started Kindergarden. yea, this is two years earlier than Emily was, but I might have gotten it for her earlier it's just that they just came out with the twin girls last year, Before you could only get a set of boy and girl. Now you can get a whole bunch of combinations. Emily has a blond girl, and Samantha will have a brunette girl. With her hair in ponytails, Sam and the doll look a lot a like. =) Her birthday is tomorrow, and she'll get more stuff. But I wanted to give it to her on her first day. Plus, mom mom bought clothes for the doll for her birthday. Then, after dressing the doll. I have to work on the invitations for Emily's birthday party. We want them to go out this week, Emily wants to hand them out tomorrow. I just want it out of the way. Then I can start figureing how much of stuff I need, and how much this thing is going to cost. They don't do birthday parties cheep around here. Emily's will be quite low key compaired to others, but we'll do our best. Emily goes to her nice ( a kid called it posh the other day) because Ford pays for it, not because we can afford it. So, yes I have a little alone time. But I have to use it for mommy things as well as having a quite cup of coffee.
All in all, things are going better than they had been. Recently when I have talked to some people who I have not seen in a while, but have asked if I am all settled. I do the " yeah, I think so" And most of them go on to say something to the effect of " are you used to things, you had a bit of trouble at first didn't you?" I am honest, I admitt it has taken me a while. But maybe it is a matter of acceptance. And trying to make the most of where I am. I still find things frustrating because they are done so differently, or because I am not familiar with much of what people take for granted knowing. Usually I get all tense and mad, and do the " If I was back home (Alex hates when I call Michigan home, he says this is our home now....Even Emily who has embrassed living her and is well on her way of becoming a little Brit says that we are just visiting) I wouldn't have this problem." I am trying to take it more in stride and not panic. A new concept for me even before we moved here. =) I'll tell you about one of my more recent adventures that made me want to just bang my head against the wall.
I am trying to be the good Catholic mother I am suppose to be, and educate my children about our faith etc. So naturaly I went looking for a class to send her to so someone who knows what they are going can teach her. Plus she ask too many questions and I get frustrated when I try to teach her anything. Let alone when she asks me questions that have been asked and contiplated forever. And to my defense, that is how we do it back home. When kids start school, if they don't go to a Catholic school, start attending what has been called CCD, catachisam, faith formation etc. You can't recieve the sacriments, ( For my non-Catholic readers- Heidi and Clint- kids make thier first reconcilation ( confession) and Holy Communion in about second grade. Then they get confirmed at about 8th or 9th) unless they have been attending for a few years before. YOu can't just show up for the good stuff. Emily didn't have to go to be on track, but she even attended last year before we left. OK so back to my story. So I call the church we have been attending. The nice secretary I spoke to didn't know what I was talking about. And why would my child need to take extra classes, she should be going to the Catholic school. I really threw her for a loop. She was quite flustered and said that I should come in and talk to the paster. So we went and had a little chat ( we= me and the girls) with the good padre. He knew what I was talkign about, had heard that they do that in America, but they did not have anything like that here. The best we could come up with was that I was going to get material and do it with her at home. This is going to be fun....NOT I was not born to be a teacher. I have no clue how I am going to do this. I don't know if I can. I don't know if it will count when we go home.
He has not gotten back to me as to whether he found any good material. My mother spoke to the religious education directer at her church and got some books to send me though, so if Fr. John can't find anything I'll at least have what Mom found. Now, my mother is not much inclined to mail things. She doesn't like paying postage, let along postage to England. Books are heavy and I can't imagine it will be cheap to mail them. But she will do it if it means her grand children will be getting the needed material and educated Catholic. She was a little concerned that us living in a country with a state religion, the Church of England, would interfer with us going to church etc and being Catholic. When I told her that Emily has a relgion class at school, it is part of the national curriculum and non-denominational, she responded " That's not the same thing, it's just learning bible stories".
Anyway, the point I started to make is....they don't have religious education classes like they do back home and now I have to find another way to make sure that Emily is on the path to make the sacrements. If we go back and she has not been in CCD for three years, they might make her wait two years to start the sacrments. Can going through the stuff with me be considered her having religious education?? We had problems finding churches that would marry us, and then baptize Samantha because of thier waiting periods for things. Will they "wave" two years??? I have not found the Catholic churches to be accomodating or make too many exeptions. Luckily, they are more willing to make acceptions here. Ordinarily the kids don't start the screments until Year three. but back home they do it in Second grade. By the time we go back, they will have already done first Reconciliation and Communion. So Fr. John said that he would let Emily into the class next year. THey do have a preperation class, but it is not a weekly thing or anything. So he'll let her do it a year early basicly. When we go back she'll basicly be on track I guess. You can't undo a sacrement, so they can't say it doesn't count. Hopefully it will all be OK. I'll do my little religion class at home I guess. Samantha can join in too. But see. Something that would have been so easy and uncomplicated has turned into an ordeal with needing to find material and get exceptions made etc. And instead of senting her off .... I have to do it all and not just the " parental support and reinforcment".
Well, I have been at this way too long and only now have 30 minutes or more like 20 to go get Sam. I get going and can't stop myself. But this was a nice way of spending my free time. Maybe I can do more on Thursday when she goes back. I can't friday because I have to help at Emily's school with swim class. Now that will be a story I am sure.
Take care all
I just got ome from dropping Samantha off for her first day of pre-school. There we no tears, though I did get a little misty as I was walking away. She is my baby you know. And I have invested nearly three years, tomorrow it will be 3, of blood, sweat, and tears. More of the later than the first two. She gave me a big hug and kiss, and then another hug and I left. Last night she was trying to get me to say could stay for four hours rather than 3, but hopefully she will come quietly when I go to pick her up. I think I mentioned she will go three days a week, right? Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. So she'll have a day off before going back. And she wont be going on her birthday. Yesterday at our Jo-Jingles class the teacher had a balloon and card for her, and they sang Happy Birthday to her. Sam was quite embarrassed and didn't seem to know what to do.
I know you are wondering about the t-shirt for school. Well, I was right. She did get one there, along with a sweatshirt, that she can wear on Thursday. I can get more and think I am going to get atleast one more of each, That way I don't have to worry about needing to wash her stuff Thursday for Friday. I hate having to wash Emily's uniform everyday because she gets something on it. it's just nasty from running around. She had another one, but got red ink all over it that wont come out. And at 30 some pounds a pop ($60) and less than 5 weeks to wear it, I think I am going to just wait until the Spring and get her new one(s) depending on if this size still fits. After half term she goes to her winter uniform and I would rather get the winter one for now. Ford will buy her three dresses a year and I am trying to make the most of it. There are some other parts of the winter uniform that we'll get too when it gets closer. I want to wait until the frenzy at the uniform store lessons. Though I can't really wait too long or there might now be any to be had. But last week when we went to get her backpack, the store was so crowded and I didn't want to start the trying on etc. Poeple were getting mean. Samantha's gear does not cost nearly as much as Emily's. That wont happen until Samantha starts attending Woodlands. In addition to the shirt, Sam needs blue pants. Not easy think go find for girls. So she has two pair from the boy's department. Actually she has to try one on still. She did wear a yellow shirt today, the one I mentioned. I really hope she doesn't get it too dirty.
I only have a little more time to write, I need to put the ponytails back in Emily's Bitty Twin so that she will look like her twin who Samantha will get today when I pick her up. A first day of school present. Emily got her twin last year when she started Kindergarden. yea, this is two years earlier than Emily was, but I might have gotten it for her earlier it's just that they just came out with the twin girls last year, Before you could only get a set of boy and girl. Now you can get a whole bunch of combinations. Emily has a blond girl, and Samantha will have a brunette girl. With her hair in ponytails, Sam and the doll look a lot a like. =) Her birthday is tomorrow, and she'll get more stuff. But I wanted to give it to her on her first day. Plus, mom mom bought clothes for the doll for her birthday. Then, after dressing the doll. I have to work on the invitations for Emily's birthday party. We want them to go out this week, Emily wants to hand them out tomorrow. I just want it out of the way. Then I can start figureing how much of stuff I need, and how much this thing is going to cost. They don't do birthday parties cheep around here. Emily's will be quite low key compaired to others, but we'll do our best. Emily goes to her nice ( a kid called it posh the other day) because Ford pays for it, not because we can afford it. So, yes I have a little alone time. But I have to use it for mommy things as well as having a quite cup of coffee.
All in all, things are going better than they had been. Recently when I have talked to some people who I have not seen in a while, but have asked if I am all settled. I do the " yeah, I think so" And most of them go on to say something to the effect of " are you used to things, you had a bit of trouble at first didn't you?" I am honest, I admitt it has taken me a while. But maybe it is a matter of acceptance. And trying to make the most of where I am. I still find things frustrating because they are done so differently, or because I am not familiar with much of what people take for granted knowing. Usually I get all tense and mad, and do the " If I was back home (Alex hates when I call Michigan home, he says this is our home now....Even Emily who has embrassed living her and is well on her way of becoming a little Brit says that we are just visiting) I wouldn't have this problem." I am trying to take it more in stride and not panic. A new concept for me even before we moved here. =) I'll tell you about one of my more recent adventures that made me want to just bang my head against the wall.
I am trying to be the good Catholic mother I am suppose to be, and educate my children about our faith etc. So naturaly I went looking for a class to send her to so someone who knows what they are going can teach her. Plus she ask too many questions and I get frustrated when I try to teach her anything. Let alone when she asks me questions that have been asked and contiplated forever. And to my defense, that is how we do it back home. When kids start school, if they don't go to a Catholic school, start attending what has been called CCD, catachisam, faith formation etc. You can't recieve the sacriments, ( For my non-Catholic readers- Heidi and Clint- kids make thier first reconcilation ( confession) and Holy Communion in about second grade. Then they get confirmed at about 8th or 9th) unless they have been attending for a few years before. YOu can't just show up for the good stuff. Emily didn't have to go to be on track, but she even attended last year before we left. OK so back to my story. So I call the church we have been attending. The nice secretary I spoke to didn't know what I was talking about. And why would my child need to take extra classes, she should be going to the Catholic school. I really threw her for a loop. She was quite flustered and said that I should come in and talk to the paster. So we went and had a little chat ( we= me and the girls) with the good padre. He knew what I was talkign about, had heard that they do that in America, but they did not have anything like that here. The best we could come up with was that I was going to get material and do it with her at home. This is going to be fun....NOT I was not born to be a teacher. I have no clue how I am going to do this. I don't know if I can. I don't know if it will count when we go home.
He has not gotten back to me as to whether he found any good material. My mother spoke to the religious education directer at her church and got some books to send me though, so if Fr. John can't find anything I'll at least have what Mom found. Now, my mother is not much inclined to mail things. She doesn't like paying postage, let along postage to England. Books are heavy and I can't imagine it will be cheap to mail them. But she will do it if it means her grand children will be getting the needed material and educated Catholic. She was a little concerned that us living in a country with a state religion, the Church of England, would interfer with us going to church etc and being Catholic. When I told her that Emily has a relgion class at school, it is part of the national curriculum and non-denominational, she responded " That's not the same thing, it's just learning bible stories".
Anyway, the point I started to make is....they don't have religious education classes like they do back home and now I have to find another way to make sure that Emily is on the path to make the sacrements. If we go back and she has not been in CCD for three years, they might make her wait two years to start the sacrments. Can going through the stuff with me be considered her having religious education?? We had problems finding churches that would marry us, and then baptize Samantha because of thier waiting periods for things. Will they "wave" two years??? I have not found the Catholic churches to be accomodating or make too many exeptions. Luckily, they are more willing to make acceptions here. Ordinarily the kids don't start the screments until Year three. but back home they do it in Second grade. By the time we go back, they will have already done first Reconciliation and Communion. So Fr. John said that he would let Emily into the class next year. THey do have a preperation class, but it is not a weekly thing or anything. So he'll let her do it a year early basicly. When we go back she'll basicly be on track I guess. You can't undo a sacrement, so they can't say it doesn't count. Hopefully it will all be OK. I'll do my little religion class at home I guess. Samantha can join in too. But see. Something that would have been so easy and uncomplicated has turned into an ordeal with needing to find material and get exceptions made etc. And instead of senting her off .... I have to do it all and not just the " parental support and reinforcment".
Well, I have been at this way too long and only now have 30 minutes or more like 20 to go get Sam. I get going and can't stop myself. But this was a nice way of spending my free time. Maybe I can do more on Thursday when she goes back. I can't friday because I have to help at Emily's school with swim class. Now that will be a story I am sure.
Take care all
This didn't take me so long
Hi
Today is Monday September 10th. It’s the first day of what will be our first full week of school. We have a lot going on this week. I am trying not to panic, but how successful I will be remains to be seen. Today Samantha and I are going to make a test run of driving to her pre-school. I hear that the parking situation can be very dicey in the morning and I want to get a look at what I am up against. I should have done this last week. In my defense I did not realize that the other kids did not start before Thursday when Emily did at her school. And on Thursday I had to wait for the milk man and then was off to meet one of the only people I know here at an indoor play place. On Friday, well I think that was just laziness. I was really tired and didn’t want to have to rush. Actually I was really bad and let Samantha watch a show so that I could lay down on the couch for a few minutes. I was right there with her, so it was not like I just left her. Anyway, Samantha is up and dressed so we are going to try it today. Sam and I also have our Jo-Jingles class this afternoon. It is a sort of music/dance class that we started in May. Today is the first day back for that too. The new part of that adventure is timing getting out of that, and getting Emily from school. Is it worth coming back home? I’m thinking that we would get there much too early if we went right to Emily’s school. Guess we just have to wait and see. I have to go to the office at her school when I get her this afternoon to hand in some papers, and I have to talk to her teacher. This is not something I really enjoy doing. I prefer to just pick her up and go, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I still have a hard time “reading” many of the British people I come across. They seem so serious, and I don’t do well with serious.
Samantha starts pre-school tomorrow. She’ll be going three days a week, for three hours a day. Which with driving home and then back to get her will mean I have about a half hour of leisure at home, but that’s OK. After nearly six years of never being home along, I will take what I can get. Plus will also have my time in the car alone each way. She is excited. We don’t know many kids her age, OK…we know one, so this will give her a chance to be around her peers. I do not anticipate separation problems. Last night at dinner she was talking about how I am going to leave her and she gets to stay there without me this time. It will be a little hard for me to leave her. Knowing me, I’ll sit in the car the whole time and wait. When Emily started we were so much closer to the school than we are now. I’ll be nervous, but I gotta let her go sometime.
Hour and half later
OK…I have started to panic. Samantha and I did our little test run. We are going to have to walk a bit. In the winter it will be a royal pain, but all in all it is not too bad. Sam was mad that she did not to stay. I am pretty sure I know where to go in, I did not want to go poking around too much. She was already starting to get a bit upset about not staying even before we went back to the car and I didn’t want to make it worse by getting too close to the door. Anyway, the cause of my panic. I thought she, director, said that with the 12 pound deposit you get one of the t-shirts with the school name on it. Yellow shirt and blue pants is the play uniform. We don’t have a shirt yet. I figured that she would get it tomorrow on her first day. Now I am starting to worry the I remember incorrectly or was suppose to have gotten it somehow before now. When we did our visit there was a little girl that was just starting and I remember Jenny, the director, giving her a shirt then. I don’t care about needing to pay more for the shirt. I am just afraid now that she will be the only one without the proper shirt. Not that I think it will matter much to her. I am probably over reacting. But hey, I have done pretty good so far. She has one yellow shirt. Not exactly what I would call a play shirt because it goes with an American Girl outfit Dee got Emily and Sam not has. I had been planning in just putting her in a regular outfit for the first day because I thought she got the t-shirt when she got there. I saw a couple kids with the school logo stuff, but I am guess, or hoping, that they attended last year or something. I guess we will see tomorrow. Atleast Samantha will get to stay and wont have to cry all the way home like today.
I just got a call about getting the ball rolling for Emily and speech therapy. The panicking is increasing. I now have to get a referral from out GP. She has never seen Emily so I am not sure if she will do it with out seeing her first. More fun! I had better call now, waiting is not going to make it any easier.
Laters!
Today is Monday September 10th. It’s the first day of what will be our first full week of school. We have a lot going on this week. I am trying not to panic, but how successful I will be remains to be seen. Today Samantha and I are going to make a test run of driving to her pre-school. I hear that the parking situation can be very dicey in the morning and I want to get a look at what I am up against. I should have done this last week. In my defense I did not realize that the other kids did not start before Thursday when Emily did at her school. And on Thursday I had to wait for the milk man and then was off to meet one of the only people I know here at an indoor play place. On Friday, well I think that was just laziness. I was really tired and didn’t want to have to rush. Actually I was really bad and let Samantha watch a show so that I could lay down on the couch for a few minutes. I was right there with her, so it was not like I just left her. Anyway, Samantha is up and dressed so we are going to try it today. Sam and I also have our Jo-Jingles class this afternoon. It is a sort of music/dance class that we started in May. Today is the first day back for that too. The new part of that adventure is timing getting out of that, and getting Emily from school. Is it worth coming back home? I’m thinking that we would get there much too early if we went right to Emily’s school. Guess we just have to wait and see. I have to go to the office at her school when I get her this afternoon to hand in some papers, and I have to talk to her teacher. This is not something I really enjoy doing. I prefer to just pick her up and go, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I still have a hard time “reading” many of the British people I come across. They seem so serious, and I don’t do well with serious.
Samantha starts pre-school tomorrow. She’ll be going three days a week, for three hours a day. Which with driving home and then back to get her will mean I have about a half hour of leisure at home, but that’s OK. After nearly six years of never being home along, I will take what I can get. Plus will also have my time in the car alone each way. She is excited. We don’t know many kids her age, OK…we know one, so this will give her a chance to be around her peers. I do not anticipate separation problems. Last night at dinner she was talking about how I am going to leave her and she gets to stay there without me this time. It will be a little hard for me to leave her. Knowing me, I’ll sit in the car the whole time and wait. When Emily started we were so much closer to the school than we are now. I’ll be nervous, but I gotta let her go sometime.
Hour and half later
OK…I have started to panic. Samantha and I did our little test run. We are going to have to walk a bit. In the winter it will be a royal pain, but all in all it is not too bad. Sam was mad that she did not to stay. I am pretty sure I know where to go in, I did not want to go poking around too much. She was already starting to get a bit upset about not staying even before we went back to the car and I didn’t want to make it worse by getting too close to the door. Anyway, the cause of my panic. I thought she, director, said that with the 12 pound deposit you get one of the t-shirts with the school name on it. Yellow shirt and blue pants is the play uniform. We don’t have a shirt yet. I figured that she would get it tomorrow on her first day. Now I am starting to worry the I remember incorrectly or was suppose to have gotten it somehow before now. When we did our visit there was a little girl that was just starting and I remember Jenny, the director, giving her a shirt then. I don’t care about needing to pay more for the shirt. I am just afraid now that she will be the only one without the proper shirt. Not that I think it will matter much to her. I am probably over reacting. But hey, I have done pretty good so far. She has one yellow shirt. Not exactly what I would call a play shirt because it goes with an American Girl outfit Dee got Emily and Sam not has. I had been planning in just putting her in a regular outfit for the first day because I thought she got the t-shirt when she got there. I saw a couple kids with the school logo stuff, but I am guess, or hoping, that they attended last year or something. I guess we will see tomorrow. Atleast Samantha will get to stay and wont have to cry all the way home like today.
I just got a call about getting the ball rolling for Emily and speech therapy. The panicking is increasing. I now have to get a referral from out GP. She has never seen Emily so I am not sure if she will do it with out seeing her first. More fun! I had better call now, waiting is not going to make it any easier.
Laters!
02 September 2007
Side note
Heidi-
I don't have your email address. When blogger.com send me a note saying that I have had a comment, it doesn't tell me the email address of the person. And I can understand why you might not want to post your address on my blog, though to be honest I think the only ones who read it are you, Clint, and my cousin and his wife (they are quite harmless). So, send me an email to anita.lecea@gmail.com and I can write you.
I don't want my other readers to feel left out .....so I'll write each of you a little special note.
John and Lea,
Hope all is well. Give Andrew a hug for us!!! Hey, do you know where in Ireland our grandmothers came from? It's so close, but we're not sure where to start visiting first. Any ideas??
Clint,
Hi! Heard Ethan's teachers are on strike. That sucks. I don't know if they are allowed to strike or anything like that here. That might fall under being a traitor to the crown or something. =)
I don't have your email address. When blogger.com send me a note saying that I have had a comment, it doesn't tell me the email address of the person. And I can understand why you might not want to post your address on my blog, though to be honest I think the only ones who read it are you, Clint, and my cousin and his wife (they are quite harmless). So, send me an email to anita.lecea@gmail.com and I can write you.
I don't want my other readers to feel left out .....so I'll write each of you a little special note.
John and Lea,
Hope all is well. Give Andrew a hug for us!!! Hey, do you know where in Ireland our grandmothers came from? It's so close, but we're not sure where to start visiting first. Any ideas??
Clint,
Hi! Heard Ethan's teachers are on strike. That sucks. I don't know if they are allowed to strike or anything like that here. That might fall under being a traitor to the crown or something. =)
Back by popular demand
Greetings from the Old World!!!
I have heard that there is interest in me updating my blog. I apologize to my avid readers, all three of you, for my laps. Sadly, life has gotten in the way of my complaining. =) No, not complaining…lets say colorful observations about life in Jolly ol’ England.
It is hard to know where to start. I guess an update on the status quo would be a good place to start. It will give a snap shot of what is going on. Along the way I can insert commentary.
Emily goes back to school this coming Thursday, 6 September ( I have to practice writing the date like that. I swear sometimes I have to read things a few times to figure when exactly something is going on because I look for the number after the month and then have to back track) There will be much rejoicing in the Lecea household with the start of the school year. Just like my mother and I get along better now that we no longer live in the say house, those 4,000 miles and Atlantic Ocean are helping a bit as well =), Emily and I do better when we are separated from each other for a few hours everyday. She will be in Year 1, which is sorta like 1st grade. They are going the same work, plus a little, that the kids back in Michigan are doing. I find myself asking my friends frequently, “So, what is (fill in the blank) doing ?” to make sure Emily is not getting behind or anything. At the end of the last term she got quite an extensive report card. I did not realize that she worked with so many other teacher in addition to her classroom teacher. For each subject there was a write up on what they were suppose to be learning, and then the teacher wrote a narrative on how well the child has progressed. They all had good things to say about her. They say she is hard working, helpful in the classroom, etc. I just wish I knew the kids they described. How is this the same girl who complains that she is too tired to chew? Or the same child that tells me she is too busy if I ask her to pass the salt?? Anyway, the swim teacher did kinda imply that Emily wont learn to swim if she does not relax a little and be willing to get her face wet. That child I know. Emily is convinced that there is a danger of her drowning in the shower and doesn’t want to go under the spray. There weren’t any grades or even the progressing, mastered, etc that they have back home. The report card folder included a write up by the headmaster. It said that from what he has heard she will be successful in Year 1. So I am using that to basis my assumption that she passed Reception and is moving on. Plus the invoice they sent us for the Autumn term listed the price for Year 1. I am just glad that they only send up a copy of the invoice and send the real “bill” to Ford’s representatives.
Anyway, we will be very happy when school starts and Emily can see her friends daily again. Samantha and I just don’t provide the same level of companionship. She’ll develop more of an accent, it didn’t take long for it to start in the first place. My mom and sister think it’s adorable. My nephew Casey demanded that we move back to Michigan when he heard Emily say “water” in a very British way. It comes out more “war tah”. There are coming to be more and more words that she emphasizes the “wrong” syllable or the vowels come out wrong, or part of the word are just left out. It is very common her for syllables to be dropped. They can take a 15 letter word, and turn it into a single syllable.
With this in mind, recall that Emily began receiving speech therapy when she was 2 and half and has dysphasia. Her problem is that she had difficulty producing some sounds and sound sequences. If v and l are too close together in a word, she has a heck of a time getting her mouth to make the switch of position to make the sounds and she ends up dropping parts of the word. So, with this being an accepted norm, they don’t think she is doing anything wrong. And substituting ’f’ for th ( wif instead of with) or d for th (da for the), is just part of some accepts around here. So, even if I could find a speech therapist to work with her, and that has been on big pain in the ass (or as they say arse), they might not think she is doing anything wrong. I guess we might just have to hope that when we go back people think it’s part of her accent. There are a couple Americans in her year at school. But they have accents too. I have heard that the teachers at he school will actually correct the children if they pronounce words the American way, just like if a child with a French accent mispronounced a word. I guess it makes sense and they’re just trying to get the children to pronounce words properly. It just kills me that I spent three years trying to get her to speak clearly, enunciate, and pronounce sounds correctly, and now some of that is being unlearned.
Well, I didn’t get very far reporting what is going on here. I guess I will continue this another day. I'm getting tired and I get more so, my typing and spelling get worse. And that is pretty bad since neither are very good in the first place. Hopefully I'll write again soon. I’d like to mention Samantha next time. =) And I really have not provided much information. But hopfully I did provided a laugh at two.
Til then
I have heard that there is interest in me updating my blog. I apologize to my avid readers, all three of you, for my laps. Sadly, life has gotten in the way of my complaining. =) No, not complaining…lets say colorful observations about life in Jolly ol’ England.
It is hard to know where to start. I guess an update on the status quo would be a good place to start. It will give a snap shot of what is going on. Along the way I can insert commentary.
Emily goes back to school this coming Thursday, 6 September ( I have to practice writing the date like that. I swear sometimes I have to read things a few times to figure when exactly something is going on because I look for the number after the month and then have to back track) There will be much rejoicing in the Lecea household with the start of the school year. Just like my mother and I get along better now that we no longer live in the say house, those 4,000 miles and Atlantic Ocean are helping a bit as well =), Emily and I do better when we are separated from each other for a few hours everyday. She will be in Year 1, which is sorta like 1st grade. They are going the same work, plus a little, that the kids back in Michigan are doing. I find myself asking my friends frequently, “So, what is (fill in the blank) doing ?” to make sure Emily is not getting behind or anything. At the end of the last term she got quite an extensive report card. I did not realize that she worked with so many other teacher in addition to her classroom teacher. For each subject there was a write up on what they were suppose to be learning, and then the teacher wrote a narrative on how well the child has progressed. They all had good things to say about her. They say she is hard working, helpful in the classroom, etc. I just wish I knew the kids they described. How is this the same girl who complains that she is too tired to chew? Or the same child that tells me she is too busy if I ask her to pass the salt?? Anyway, the swim teacher did kinda imply that Emily wont learn to swim if she does not relax a little and be willing to get her face wet. That child I know. Emily is convinced that there is a danger of her drowning in the shower and doesn’t want to go under the spray. There weren’t any grades or even the progressing, mastered, etc that they have back home. The report card folder included a write up by the headmaster. It said that from what he has heard she will be successful in Year 1. So I am using that to basis my assumption that she passed Reception and is moving on. Plus the invoice they sent us for the Autumn term listed the price for Year 1. I am just glad that they only send up a copy of the invoice and send the real “bill” to Ford’s representatives.
Anyway, we will be very happy when school starts and Emily can see her friends daily again. Samantha and I just don’t provide the same level of companionship. She’ll develop more of an accent, it didn’t take long for it to start in the first place. My mom and sister think it’s adorable. My nephew Casey demanded that we move back to Michigan when he heard Emily say “water” in a very British way. It comes out more “war tah”. There are coming to be more and more words that she emphasizes the “wrong” syllable or the vowels come out wrong, or part of the word are just left out. It is very common her for syllables to be dropped. They can take a 15 letter word, and turn it into a single syllable.
With this in mind, recall that Emily began receiving speech therapy when she was 2 and half and has dysphasia. Her problem is that she had difficulty producing some sounds and sound sequences. If v and l are too close together in a word, she has a heck of a time getting her mouth to make the switch of position to make the sounds and she ends up dropping parts of the word. So, with this being an accepted norm, they don’t think she is doing anything wrong. And substituting ’f’ for th ( wif instead of with) or d for th (da for the), is just part of some accepts around here. So, even if I could find a speech therapist to work with her, and that has been on big pain in the ass (or as they say arse), they might not think she is doing anything wrong. I guess we might just have to hope that when we go back people think it’s part of her accent. There are a couple Americans in her year at school. But they have accents too. I have heard that the teachers at he school will actually correct the children if they pronounce words the American way, just like if a child with a French accent mispronounced a word. I guess it makes sense and they’re just trying to get the children to pronounce words properly. It just kills me that I spent three years trying to get her to speak clearly, enunciate, and pronounce sounds correctly, and now some of that is being unlearned.
Well, I didn’t get very far reporting what is going on here. I guess I will continue this another day. I'm getting tired and I get more so, my typing and spelling get worse. And that is pretty bad since neither are very good in the first place. Hopefully I'll write again soon. I’d like to mention Samantha next time. =) And I really have not provided much information. But hopfully I did provided a laugh at two.
Til then
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