Whew...what a week!

What a difference a week makes!

Oddly enough, Emu was a new man after his fall down the stairs.  He practically did cartwheels into his peditricians office that Monday morning.  Needless to say, he checked out fine and she was ok with him waiting until Thursday to get in with the surgeon.  On Thursday May 11, we went to get his cast.  Normally they will only immobilize an elbow for a maximum of 3 weeks because the elbow gets really stiff and anytime after that you loose too much use of it.  Well, poor Emu had already spent a week in a temporary cast before even getting his cast.  The good news is it looks like he will not be needing surgery!  His break actually isn't too bad and his bone is expected to heal fine.  He will be in his new cast for 3 weeks (taking his total immobilized time up to 4 weeks).  The bad news is he does have an unusual amount of swelling and fluid in his elbow joint.  This too "should" repair itself, however, because of the severity of it, it will take a bit longer to heal than the bone is going to take.  He will have to remain immobilized until all of the fluid is gone.  They expect that this will take another few weeks.  The plan is to get his cast removed in 3 weeks, then do x-rays to see where we stand.  They expect that he will then have to go back into another temporary cast for a while.  They expect that he will regain use of his elbow quickly even though he will be immobilized for so long.  He has not complained about any itching under his cast and he doesn't seem annoyed with it, but he is still suffering some discomfort and pain.  It doesn't help that he falls so much :/

We had gret plans for Mother's Day.  I was so excited to get to spend the day with my family and some clos friends.  Our plans took a dramatic change though, when my mother fell and had to have emergency surgery!  After much stress and many prayers...at the end of the day, I was counting my blessings!

On Wednesday, Duckling went for a second opinion as we were certain that her speech evaluation at our local hospital was not accurate.  She scored more advanced than a normal hearing child and for a hearing impaired child who has always had one delay or another, it didn't seem right that she would be above her normal hearing peers.  Her second opinion proved that she was indeed more advanced in language development than we could have ever dreamed her to be.  This does up our concern that Emu's original evaluation was also correct...which puts him completely at the other end of the spectrum.  We are awaiting his second evaluation.

  

I will add pictures of Emu getting his cast later...right now I can't find the cord for my camera to transfer pictures!  I'm so behind in my blogging and hope to get caught up soon!

Check back soon for my review of We Chose Virtues, my mother's injury and some other exciting news!

Boys will be boys!

Wow!  Has it really been nearly two months since I've blogged here!  My how time flies!  Well, in my defense, I have been quite busy and a bit "under the weather"!  But...I'm feeling better now and things are calming down a bit....well...maybe "calming" down is not a good term to use around here.

As you know, in our house there is NEVER a dull moment and this past weekend has proven no different!  On Friday, Emu found himself in a very unfortunate position.  In his dream to become an all star basketball player, he made an attempt (with the help of a few siblings and a friend) to "slam dunk" a ball.  This stunt went very bad and he ended up with a souvineer. 

I personally didn't see the "fall" but I knew I had a very hurt little boy on my hands.  The problem with Emu is that he becomes non-verbal when something is wrong or different...so, it took about 30 minutes of examining him from head to toe to figure out what was hurting.  I finally narrowed it down to his right arm...and then I saw "it"! 

His bone was protruding out enough that you could see it was broken or maybe dislocated.  He didn't have a scratch on him, which didn't make sense and we weren't getting the "true" story of what happened but were just told by a few "bystanders" that he ran and fell and got the wind knocked out of him.  The pain he was experiencing was excruciating and after 45 minutes from his fall, I was off to take him to the ER.

The parking lot was full, but still, we were taken care of very promptly.  When you sign in to the ER you are immediately given a quick evaluation by a Registered Nurse.  Usually, you then sit in the waiting room (while more urgent patients are seen ahead of you). Then you are taken to triage and returned to the waiting room yet again before finally being taken to a room.  This time was much different.  We signed in and after his quick once over we were immediately taken to triage.  Instead of returning to the waiting room, we were taken back to a room.  Within 5-10 minutes we were taken for X-ray.  As they were looking over the pictures before dismissing us from the room, I overheard them talking about a splint and then they decided they needed more pictures.  Then, we were returned to our room.  Within just a few minutes, a nurse came in and said that she heard we were back from x-ray and that they needed to get ice on his arm.  So, she propped his arm and gave him ice.

Soon, the doctor came in.  Before telling us the news, she really pushed for an answer as to what happened.  I was unable to truly say what happened and Emu wasn't saying a word to anyone.  We were repeatedly questioned by countless people and I began to feel uncomfortable with what they must have been thinking.  When the doctor told Emu they had to know what happened, I begged Emu to tell the truth and that no one was going to get in trouble but that we really needed to know how he got hurt.  FINALLY, he looked at Hawk (who had been acting very suspicious) and said "Hawk knows, he can tell you".  Hawk finally fessed up to what really happened.  He tilted the Portable Basketball Hoop down so that Emu could "slam dunk" the ball.  Emu grabbed ahold of the rim just as all the kids who were out there jumped on the base.  All of the weight on the base caused the hoop to return to an upright position...with Emu holding on to the trim.  He fell off and the rest is history.

The doctor informed us that his arm was indeed broken.  She said that they had done things backward and already had an orthopedic surgeon look at his x-rays.  The surgeon wanted him put in a splint and to be seen in the office on Monday.  The doctor was very brief about his injury but spoke for what seemed like an eternity about Emu being developmentally and language delayed.  It was what seemed more like some weird counceling session about my child whom was not "normal".  I just smiled and nodded hoping she would soon be done with her lecturing and giving of her opinion but I must say it was quite annoying.  He got his splint and a prescription for Motrin and we headed home.

On Saturday, Emu was quite uncomfortable and was suffering a great deal of pain.  We were pretty faithful about putting ice on to control the pain and swelling.   20 minutes on and 20 minutes off.  We even took a cooler and his icing supplies to Hawks soccer game.  I later spoke with the ER nurse about his immense pain and she said it was ok to give him Tylenol with codeine that he had from a prior prescription.  Yet, an hour and a half later, he was still experiencing a great deal of pain.  Coming from a kid who was evaluated at a year old to see if he had a pain disorder where he feels no pain, it was quite concerning that his pain was not relieved by such a narcotic.  I spoke with the nurse at our insurance company and she advised that he needed to return to the ER if we couldn't be told otherwise by the ER nurse.  Upon speaking with the ER nurse a second time, she said he did indeed need to go back immediately.  She said that they would be waiting for us.

As promised, they were expecting us and they were quite ready.  They had called in an Orthopedic Surgeon to look at him.  Right away, they determined that the splint that he has was a terrible splint and that was causing most of his problems.  I was concerned that they were possibly missing an injury so he was evaluated for a fractured shoulder.  All seemed well, but yet, they could not understand his intense pain.  The surgeon decided that he could still not be put in a full cast, but ordered a half cast to be put on him.  So, he was half casted and we were instructed to call the office Monday morning.

Sunday, he woke up miserable in pain.  After a dose of pain med, ice and elevation, he began feeling better.  Later that day, he was complaining once again.  He could also not keep his balance and fell numerous times.  Being right handed, he instinctively always caught himself with his right arm...OUCH!!!  That night, he was hurting a fair amount.  I went downstairs to get his pain medicine and a few minutes later I heard a "thump...thump thump.....bump bump bump thump"  I looked over and there was Emu head first with his arms stretched out in front of him at the bottom of the stairs.  Of course he was in a great deal of pain.  I gave him his medicine and propped and iced his arm.  A few hours later he woke up in pain.  I propped his arm and he fell fast asleep in my arms where he slept the rest of the night.  

Monday morning, I called to get him an appointment with the Orthopedic surgeon.  They insisted they couldn't get him in until Thursday.  So, I called the Pediatrician and got him and appointment there.  They wanted him to come right away, so, I woke him up and off we went.  Once he was up I quickly noticed that he seemed to be more himself.  By the time we got to the Pediatrician's office he had resumed to his normal activity level.  Of course I would not have been concerned had I given myself the opportunity to observe him before wisking him off to the dr. and of course she had no concerns.  She actually complimented me on the fact that she's surprised that we don't have more injuries like this in our house and how lucky we were that this was our first injury of this kind, lol!

So, at least he is happy and in a controllable amount of pain.  We anxiously await for his appointment on Thursday to get more x-rays and to get his full cast.  It really stinks that he has lost his summer.  He was getting ready to do swimming lessons and he was going to play baseball this summer.  But...boys will be boys...I guess there's always next year!

And...in case your wondering....No, Hawk did not get in trouble for lying and no he did not get in trouble for doing something I constantly yell at him for doing.  I promised Emu if he told the doctor the truth that no one would get in trouble, so I couldn't go back on my word (though trust me, it killed me) and anyways, I knew how guilty and horrible Hawk feels and really I think that is plenty punishment.  When we are at fault for something we feel a great amount of guilt and we punish ourselves.  I think Hawk learned a lesson...and I hope the other kids learned a lesson as well.

Eagle's new curriculum arrived!!!

In an effort to always do what is truly best for my children, I have made the decision to make a curriculum change this late in the year.  While I have always loved the k12 curriculum, it was just no longer working for Eagle.  He struggled with it last year and we kept trucking along...this year has been really hard for him.  He has either been too bored by a subject, not challenged enough or too rushed to learn a concept.  The curriculum which we have always used is very fast paced and I just don't see him retaining enough of the material to make me happy.  I thought about struggling through the rest of this year, then making a switch next year, but in all fairness I felt that by doing that, he would almost be losing this year. 

As you may know, I have become an extreme Calvert lover, since using Calvert for the first time with Macaw this year.  I have seen such an amazing difference with this curriculum and we have had so much fun with it!  I've watched Macaw succeed in a way I know would not have been possible with the other curriculum we have always used.  Immediately, I wanted to use this curriculum for Eagle, but at the time it was not a feasable option for us.

Finally faced with the opportunity to get the Calvert I so badly wanted, I've decided to make the switch!  This decision did not take much thought, but I did make the decision with some level of hesitance.  Calvert would not allow him to start at the second semester as we originally thought and getting the paperwork and school records in order proved as quite a challenge!  I also later learned that Calvert is very heavy with writing composition (something that Eagle is not very strong in, although this is one of the things I felt he was lacking in our current curriculum).  I was warned that starting in 4th grade (next year for him), all students in Calvert have to take a 4th grade placement test and many students start 4th grade at the 3rd grade Calvert level.  Even students who just completed Calvert 3 have to repeat that year in the curriculum if they do not pass the 4th grade placement test.  This doesn't cause them to be "held back" a year, as they still progress by grade.  That was the decision maker for me!  I felt that if he was going to be starting next year with Calvert 3 anyways, then it would definately be more beneficial for him to start with Calvert 3 now while he is still in 3rd grade.  My hope is that this will enable him the skills that he needs to progress to Calvert 4 next year.  Even though he is starting this late in the year, with careful planning and lots of hard work, he could still progress right on schedule!  He does have an entire year to complete the Curriculum, though we plan to be finished by the end of August and even if we don't progress as planned, he will still advance to 4th grade when we do complete it (even if by some chance he doesn't pass the 4th grade placement test for Calvert). 

We were so excited when his materials arrived and just by browsing over all his new things I am so confident that I've made the right choice!  I can't wait to get started! 

Our materials finally arrive!

All organized and ready to go!

The Path I've Laid....

It is a true blessing to have the ability, patience, compassion, dedication, and the willingness to make the many sacrifices it takes to be successful in homeschooling!  Any homeschooler knows the negativity and social stigma we all deal with by schooling our children at home, but it is extremely unfortunate that my children have had to endure such horrific treatments from members of their own family!  It has often been told to them by certain people that they wish they would go to "real school" and that I was doing nothing but harming them by keeping them at home both socially and academically.  I take great offense in anyone trying to convince my children into thinking that I do nothing other than what is truly best for them.  I have always done what is best for my children, as no matter what, THEY have ALWAYS come first!  I will forever be thankful...and I will always wish and hope as well!


Well, our hard work has paid off!  The private school that we were hoping Cardinal would get accepted to made the decision to accept her within minutes of receiving her portfolio.  They were very impressed with her academic background and her state test scores and we received her acceptance letter the very next day.  In order to get into this school you have to have an outstanding academic record, acceptable state test scores and students must prove that they have the ability to thrive as a student at the school.  The price of this school does not come cheap!  The tuition is $9,830 per year.  We are very fortunate that she qualifies for a $5,000 scholarship to put towards her yearly tuition. 

My children are very blessed to have the opportunity to have an education tailored specifically for them and to have the one on one attention that they each get being schooled at home.  In mid 2007 we went through some very traumatic times...Hawk suffered his head injury, my mother began fighting for her life after her near fatal heart attack and at the time Cardinal was harboring the most horrific secret any child should ever have to bear.  In January of 2008 our lives took a drastic turn...we were forced to leave our home and move into a rape and abuse shelter during which time I delivered my 6th baby and attended the indictment of my husband.  Shortly after we moved in with my parents and suffered through 10 months of court appearances, meetings, counseling, etc.  During these two years, I had the amazing ability to ensure that my children did not suffer academically!  While in the shelter, we left and returned home to attend school everyday for 3 weeks.  We would never of had to leave our home, had we not been forced out by the other person who owned the home and by being forced out our only option was to go into the shelter in order to obtain affordable housing.  Had my children not been homeschooled during that time, they would have had to be withdrawn from their current school and enrolled in the school district in which we were residing..then once we moved out of the shelter we would have had to withdrawal and re-enroll in yet another school.  No child would have been as successful for those two traumatic years as my children were.  No matter what we were going through or how difficult it was, we had the flexibility and the ability to cater to what needed to be done.  They did not "lose" a single year in their education during those two years and not one person could ever convince me that same success would have been possible if they were not homeschooled.

I have prepared them for "the real word" with a world class curriculum and I've always supplemented that curriculum with things that my children have had a direct interest in (all while having their future goals in sight). 

Cardinal was so proud of her accomplishment, she made a phone call to tell someone of her acceptance to the school she so badly hoped she would get into.  As always, this person was asking detailed questions about our personal financial business (things that should absolutely not be discussed outside of our home).  This person asked how we would pay for her tuition.  Cardinal answered the question the best she could (not having a full understanding of the situation herself, as this is not her concern and should not be discussed with a child anyways...I hate that people outside of our immediate family put me in a position to have to explain inappropriate financial business to my children...my children should NEVER have to worry about MY finances).  This persons reply to Cardinal's explanation was "It's a good thing because otherwise you would be "screwed" and not ever be able to go to school"! 

Wow...I mean just WOW!!!!

I am a mother that goes beyond the ends of the earth for my children!!!! 
I know that,
anyone who sees me parent my children knows that, people in our homeschooling community know that, anyone who has heard about me knows that....ANYONE who as ever met me "KNOWS THAT" and
MOST IMPORTANTLY...
my children know that!

My children are "who" they are because of "me".  They would NOT be where they are if it was not for me!  I take full credit for where my children are today and I am very proud of my accomplishments and what I have been able to do with them.  I am so proud of the path that I have laid for them.

Good things are happening!

I have been somewhat of a stranger to the blogging world lately...but I have some good excuses!  Good things are happening around here and we have so much to be excited about!  The past few months have left me overwhelmed with joy and anticipation and sometimes stress and worry and the past few weeks have been extremely stressfull...but things are finally coming together and I am finally able to take a sigh of relief...well, almost!

You see...Cardinal is going into 9th grade next year.  She has a goal of being a Veterinarian and I have tried so hard to really focus on that and to get her involved into certain programs to help enable her to reach her dreams.  I still have hopes of finding a Vet that will allow her to shadow them for a day and we will be volunteering at a local animal training facility.  We have started our breeding program and guinea pig rescue (though we are limited due to our living arrangements).  We still haven't heard from our 4-H branch but have hopes of getting her involved there as well but all-in-all we are still building an attractive resume for her.  I've always done what I feel is best for my children, especially when it comes to their education.  I am a firm believer in homeschooling, however, I have recently become aware of the fact, that my children are eligible for scholarships to attend private schools in our state.  It just so happens that we live within a few miles of a high school with the reputation of being compared to that of an "ivy league" school.  Cardinal has been begging for the past 2 years to go to a brick and mortar school.  We live in a very bad public school district and there was no way I was sending my kids to school there.  This new information made me rethink all of this.  It didn't take much thinking as far as Cardinal is concerned, as I feel that it is important to try and get Cardinal into a brick and mortar to finish out her high school career.  I want her to to work to her full potential and I just am not feeling that I am getting her to reach that at home any longer.  I often threaten her that I will not hesitate to send her to public school if she does not do what is expected of her at home.  I think she saw that as in invitation and her ticket to brick and mortar.  So, here we are.  We had a list of four schools that we were going to apply to, but come to find out all but one of them charge $100-150 for an application fee.  This is not an affordable option for us but as luck would have it, the one school we wanted to get her into was the only one that didn't charge a fee.  Although, it is probably also the hardest one to get into and come to find out the deadline to enroll was Dec. 1, 2011 and the high school entrance exam was given in November.  I called and spoke with the admissions department and with all this against us, they are still willing to look at her portfolio but things have to be done very quickly!  Today, I was able to assemble the best portfolio I can and actually...it looks pretty darn good!  I don't have everything they wanted, but I think I have "enough".  Tomorrow morning we will be off to deliver the best we've got!

With all of this, I decided to give Hawk the option of going to brick and mortar or staying home despite the fact that he excels at home and I am very satisfied with his continued progress  being at home...but in all reality, in another two years, I will be trying to get him into a high school as well, so why not give him the opportunity to adjust to a different setting beforehand.  He wants to go to brick and mortar as well.  We do have to pay a $100 enrollment fee for him, but I think he will get in the school we want for him. 

With these changes, I began to re-evaluate the curriculum I am using for Eagle.  I tried to switch him to the Calvert curriculum at the beginning of the year, but it was not an option.  The curriculum we are using for him is just no longer working for him as well, so I have decided to go ahead and switch him this year rather than feeling like I am failing him with our current curriculum choice.  He's doing ok with the curriculum we are using, but I just feel he is capable of doing better.  Our curriculum is very advanced and very fast paced and I just feel that it is a little too much for him.  I don't feel that he is retaining what I would like him to retain.  I feel that he is being rushed through a curriculum that he needs to be able to take at a slower pace and I feel like Calvert has so much more to offer him.

Macaw will continue with Calvert as she is doing much better than I could have hoped for.  Emu is beginning the Calvert K now as he is going to be quite a challenging student so I feel he needs a head start!  Duckling will be working alongside of Emu learning her letters and working on her preschool workboxes!

So, I can enjoy the rest of this school year with busy working children eager for what next year school year has to offer and striving to be their best!  I hope that we can really enjoy the last 4 months of this school year and that Cardinal and Hawk can look back with pride and know that I've done what has been best for them through all of these years and I hope they can look back at some fond memories of being homeschooled.  I feel that I have done an amazing job at preparing them for where they are headed.

Bring on the gift cards!

I've been using SWAGBUCKS and just recently cashed in my swagbucks for some giftcards.

I scored three $5 gift cards for Amazon

and

two $25 gift cards for Restaurant.com

If you haven't signed up for SWAGBUCKS...do it now!

I love getting things for free...try it out...oh...and please use my LINK you'll be glad you did :)

Traveling Awareness Bears

I was so excited to hear about "Edward" and "Emily", the newest of the traveling awareness bears.  They are being born within the next few weeks and they will travel around the world to spread awareness about Ducklings syndrome (LVAS).

Of course, the second I heard this newsflash, I rushed right to their website and requested a visit from one of these lovely creatures!  We are no strangers to how "travelers" work around here, as we have done a similar project in our homeschooling adventures!  How awesome to think we can be part of such a project with Duckling and spreading awareness about her syndrome!

We are anxiously awaiting news of when we can expect a visit from Edward or Emily and we can't wait!  Duckling is so excited!

If you get a chance, stop by their store where they have nice gifts for that special someone in your life (and you can help raise money for the traveling bears)!  We will be sure to post all about our adventures when our bear comes for a visit!